This weekend I am attending a conference and wanted to try some nail art to accent my nail polish. I have to say that I can not draw, or paint, nor do I have steady hands that would allow me to create nice dots or stripes by hand. I remembered I saw someone on Pinterest use tape to create stripes and decided to give it a go. I have to say I am quite pleased with how it turned out. I took step by step photos to share.
To start, I chose Orange Pop to be my base color. I used three coats of Orange Pop, and did one coat of top coat on all the nails before applying the “artwork”. I selected three creams in teal, purple and magenta to compliment the glitters in Orange Pop. The color of the blue polish is actually more teal in person.
I then gathered my scotch tape, a scissors and top coat. The tape is my workshop tape, so you can clearly see that it is well loved, and “decorated” with splashes of polish.
I then painted three stripes onto the tape, without removing it from the holder. I let the tape dry before removing. I chose polishes that covered well in one coat, but you could add a second if needed.
When dry, remove from holder. I cut close to the last color so the tape was not so long it folded back onto itself.
Then using your scissors, cut a strip of the first color. I cut my strip to be 1mm wide.
With the painted side up, sticky side down, stick the stripe onto your nail. I stick the strip so that one edge lined up with the edge of my nail. Do not press the longer edge down.
Using your scissors, trim the long edge of the stripe to fit your nail. It might be easier if you have cuticle scissors, but regular ones worked fine. After trimming, press the rest of the stripe down. Looking at the micro shot, you can see some of the glitters through the stripe, but you can not see that at a normal distance.
I then moved on to the pink, cutting a stripe from the tape. I placed it on my nail at an angle so that it crossed over the purple stripe.
Again, trim down the strip and press down so it sticks to your nail. Move on and cut the last strip, using the blue color.
I then stuck the blue to the nail, going across the opposite direction of the pink, so that the stripes form a asterisk.
Again, use the scissors and trim off the excess.
When complete. Press down tape, ensuring all edges are secure on the nail. Then cover with at least one coat of top coat to seal. I did two coats to ensure it was smooth.
And here is the finished look!
Not bad for having no art skills at all. Next time I would probably do a second coat on the tape so the polish was a bit more vivid. I think the pink blends in a bit too much. There was plenty of painted tape left over, so repeating on the other hand would not be an issue. I could also see myself using punches to create shapes from painted tape. Maybe a scalloped nail edge or flowers. I have to give props to all those out there that can create murals and designs freehand. If you have any you created using KBShimmer polish, or with KBShimmer polish as a base, send it to CustomerService@KBShimmer.com. I would love to share them on here!
