Monday, November 29, 2010

Nail Art Tutorial: "Christmas Ornaments Inspired" Nails

Happy Monday!!!  Today's nail art, well I wanted to put this on December 1, 2010 for that really nice kick-off for Christmas celebration!  But you know me, I've done it, and I want to share it ASAP!

I actually do have an inspiration for this week's nail art tutorial!  I was on a date with my mom and dad at the SM Mall of Asia and I can't help but stare at the gorgeous looking Christmas trees on display!  From green Christmas trees to white, gold and silver!  What drew me closer to a certain Christmas tree are the sparkly Christmas balls!  I was looking closely at its texture and I told myself it is a project I will be doing once I get home!  A nail art inspired by the metallic Christmas balls!  

**photo taken from Google images
This is my version in which I will show you step by step on how to achieve!  It's so funny how I finally decided to come up with these three colors by using hubby's fingernails to sample the color combination first before I decided with these 3....


Step 1:
As usual, apply your preferred Base Coat as this lessen the yellowing of your nails or even protect it from getting brittle and weak.  In using glittery polishes, the white base underneath is very important for the "glittery shades" to pop up.  I am using 1 coat of ELF Matte White polish topped with Caronia's Frosted Polish in Crystal


Step 2:
This is the trick to create a "texture" with your nail polish.  When your base polish is approximately 90% dry, meaning, its not too wet and yet its not on its driest stage, I would say approximately 5 minutes, do the sponge method not to create gradient nails but to create both texture and "airbrush" finish.

Apply Skin Food Nail Vita polish in metallic green directly onto a sponge


You can remove excess by blotting the sponge first onto a sheet of paper then gently tap it on the lower half of your nails.  Do not worry about the excess as you can clean them off later on.


Step 3:
Do the same step as above this time using Caronia Polish in Gold Rush or any gold polish of your choice. 


Directly press the gold polish in the middle part of your nails overlapping the Skin Food polish in Metallic green.  You can redo the steps above until you are happy with the pigmentation of the gold polish.  Again, do not worry about the mess!

Step 4:
To complete the 3 Christmas Balls color that I've been aiming for --- Green, Gold and Red.  I used Caronia Polish in Stellar and brush the polish directly onto the sponge.


Gently dab it on the outermost part or the tip of your nails.  Try not to create an obvious "line" that separates each color, try to create gradient in each shade!

Step 5:
While waiting for the polish to further dry up.  This is the perfect time to clean up the mess!  Dip your cotton bud with a polish remover and gently wipe off excess.  Be very cautious at this point as you don't want to mess up! 


You can choose to be happy with your nail art, apply a coat of Top coat and let dry.  In my case, I wanted to move further and do a bit of drawing.

Step 6:
Using Prettynails' 2 Way Nail Art Pen in White (my favorite), draw a tiny star.

Step 7:
I added some dots for that "shooting star" effect.  You can choose to draw my stars but I find it a bit tiresome to do so, so I opted for dots!  *lol*

Step 8:
Very important to wait at this point to make sure the stars and dots are COMPLETELY dry.  Apply your favorite top coat to protect the nail art design you worked hard for. 


My Christmas Ornaments Inspired Nails
So ready to party!!! :)

I know this may look "stressful" to some of you but here's in all honesty, using sponge as nail art is one of the easiest that I've done!  You don't have to have steady hands to dab the sponge!  Give it a try and you can always add up stickers or rhinestones instead of drawing! :)

Give it a try!  Life is too short to worry :)
Keep smilin'
Stay happy!

 

21 comments :

  1. wahh..i wish creative rin ako ate tulad mo..:(

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  2. Perfect for the holidays! Really cute nails. :P

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  3. this is very pretty, Nikki! Thanks for showing us how to use the sponge :)

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  4. Tomorrow Christmas eason will be open here as well :) YAY!

    Lovely nails! Very inspiring for the holidays :)

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  5. hey sis!!! this is so so fancy!!! love the snowy effects!

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  6. i must agree with how easy it is to use the sponge method.. aside from the nice gradient and texture it creates, i love that i don't have to wait too long for the polish to dry. =)

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  7. Pretty! it seems so easy to work with the sponge!

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  8. kawaii!
    very christmas-sy!

    i have been growing my nails long for i want to have a va-va-voom nails this christmas. I'm already deciding what nail design im going to don nga on that day e.. (excited masyado?!hehehe)

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  9. winner effect of the styro ^_^ love it ^_^

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  10. real cutie..love the idea..i'm into nail polish too:D hope i can spend some time to do such instead of spending too much at a nail salon...

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  11. Cool nail art as always Nikki! I want to try the sponge technique except I keep forgetting to buy disposable sponges every time I go out! Boo!

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  12. I love it! They are so pretty and Christmassy!

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  13. Love how festive it is! So pretty!

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  14. ganda sis...ako hirap gumawa ng gradient huhuhu hindi ata ako magaling magmatch ng colors eh...

    i hope i could get to try it again...

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  15. You're really creative.. *envy* Wanna try the sponge method but I think I'm using the wrong sponge cos it soaks up all of my nail polish =_= Cute stars though! I need a white nail art pen!

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  16. lol nikki. that is so cute having keith's nails as practice!

    i have yet to convince my bf to be my nail art tester. hihi.

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  17. hello po! I did this on my nails din po! It's cute! I used only the colors I have and fortunately same colors din po sa ginamit niyo but of lighter shades lang except that I don't have the star. Hehe. Wow! I love it! Thanks for posting din po! Your blog is awesome! Happy New Year! GOD bless (:

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  18. hi.. i love your posts.. uhm I suggest you try putting scotch tape all over the sides of your nails, so you wont have a hard time cleaning up the excess afterwards.. :)

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  19. Thanks everyone for the compliment and for the suggestions :) :) :) Go go go to nail art lovers! :) Let's rule the world! Nah! :P

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I'd love to hear from you! Feel free to comment your questions, suggestions and just anything you may want to say! Keep smiling and stay happy!