"Life Is A Highway" Nails

These were inspired by the nail art below by Frippery Digits.  The "LIFE" lettering is based on the popular board game of the same name.

I changed mine up a bit from the original project and spelled out "LIFE" on the index through pinky nails then put a black highway with white dots in the center and silver for the shoulder of the road. 

Source: fripperydigits.blogspot.com via Kathryn on Pinterest

I used 7 different nail polish colors and a thin brush dipped in white polish for the lettering to achieve this look, but you could be creative and change it up any way you would like.

On the right hand side I painted the lettering upside down and on the right I painted it right side up. 

Getting the lettering to look decent on you own nails is tricky and I had to do some nails more than once - if I do this again I am going to try printing the lettering out on a label, cut out the lettering with an X-Acto knife and then stick it to the nail after applying the different colors to give it a more professional appearance.

If anyone out there tries this, I would love to see how yours turns out.

Happy crafting:)

Spider Web Nails

See Spider Web Nails and 1000's of others - or share your own on Cut Out + Keep

This look was created using Orange nail polish and a black nail art pen and the how-to is posted over at Cut Out + Keep as I am not HTML savvy and have a terrible time getting the formatting to work on Blogger.

It is is based on the video tutorial by JulieG713 where she used red and gave it a more "Spiderman" look.  Above is my first attempt at trying this and I got a little heavy handed with the black lines and I think the middle finger look more like a wagon wheel) but surprisingly, I received a couple of compliments at the grocery store in spite of that.  It is not difficult and would be easy enough for a grade school girl's Halloween sleepover.

Getting Nail Art to Last

See Nail Art and 1000's of others - or share your own on Cut Out + Keep\

As commercial nail art/stickers can be a bit pricey, here is how to make it last a bit longer. I did these nails before we went on vacation and it last 10 days (until I took it off) with no touch ups.

The hardest part of this is being patient enough to allow the polish to dry completely between coats.
I posted a picture tutorial at  http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/nail-art-4 here is the quick and dirty version.

1. Clean Nails.  Use nail polish removal to remove any prior nail polish so you will start with a clean nail.
2. Base Coat.    Use clear nail polish/hardener/varnish on nails before applying nail polish to fill in ridges so you will start with an even surface.  Allow to dry completely.
3. Apply Nail Polish.   Depending on the brand you use, use one to two coats.  I use cheaper nail polish and usually use two coats.  Allow to dry completely.
4. Apply Nail Art.   Apply stickers and/or any other decoration (if glued on, such as rhinestones, allow to dry.)
5. Apply 2-3 coats of Top Coat.  Use clear nail polish/hardener/varnish on nails to seal and protect the polish and art on your nail.  Allow to dry completely between each coat.

Chanel Inspired Nails

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These were inspired by Heidi Montog's Chanel nails from about year ago that were white on black. I wanted to change mine up a bit so I did mine as black on white instead.  

I posted the "how-to" at Cut Out + Keep at the above link.

Horror Nails - Bloody Hand Prints

 This entry is an entry for your "Horror Nails" Contest at  Lacquer Files "Horror" Nail Art Contest

Items used:

• Sally Hansen Diamond Shine Base and Topcoat
  
• Sinful Colors in Tokyo Pearl (while nail polish)
  
• Red Sharpie or red nail polish and very thin brush or toothpick.

Prime nails with Sally Hansen base coat

Use 3 coasts of the Tokyo Pearl or other white nail polish.  Allow to dry completely.

 Use the red Sharpie to draw three vertical dots for each finger and two dots to the side for the thumb. 

Use the red Sharpie to or polish and draw a sort of an upside down half circle from the "thumb" to the "pinkie" then draw a small circle to squarish shape inside that and use short strokes to fill in the area between the outside edge and the small circle.



















Seal with the Sally Hansen or other top coat.

Happy Hauntings!

Horror Nails - Stitched Skin

This was an entry into the "Horror Nails" contest and also my first attempt at any sort of nail art. 
It is an entry into Lacquer File "Horror Nails" contest here http://www.thelacquerfiles.com/2010/08/horror-nail-art-contest-let-voting.html

The inspiration for it was it reminds me of how my ankle looked after I was in an auto accident - pretty darn gross and horrifying.   I also wanted to give it a bit o'glam, like the many diagonal designs that are popular and combined the two concepts to make it sort of  "Zombie Couture".

I used the following polishes:

Base Coat:                                      Sally Hansen Diamond Shine Base and Topcoat

Background Color:                          Sally Hansen Hard As Wraps Polish in "Stone Creme"

Black Lines & Stitches:            Nail Star Two Way Nail Art & Pen Brush in "Black"
Purchased on EBay (http://myworld.ebay.com/b2cpowershop/) for $2.59 (free shipping)

Red Color for "Blood":                     Sinful Colors "Under 18"

I first applied a base coat, then one coat of the background color.  Next I drew on the black diagonal lines free hand - as it was to be sort of mimic an injury I didn't want it to be perfectly straight.  Allow to dry completely.

I dabbed the red polish in between the line to represent blood/wound.  Allow to dry completely.

Next draw horizontal lines lines over the top of the "wound", allow to dry and it is done!