Dot Gradient Tutorial

So I've been told I should do some more tutorials and I realised I've had this one done but not uploaded for a while. This is actually the first gif tutorial I made but I wasn't too happy with it and was planning to redo it. I haven't bothered with that so I hope you can cope with this jumpy messy tutorial.

For this nail art you will need two nail polish colours and a small dotting tool.
I used a toothpick. 

1. Paint the whole nail with the first colour.

2. Place some of the second colour onto a piece of paper and dip in the toothpick.

3. Make small dots all over the nail but ensure they are well spaced out. You will need to keep re-dipping the toothpick to keep it well covered in polish. 

4. On the top three-quarters of the nail make more dots so that they are slightly denser. 

5. Keep adding more dots towards the top of the nail until your desired gradient effect if achieved.

6. Cover with a top coat to seal the design and you're done!

I usually try to fill in the tip of the nail completely so it is just the second colour. Also, If you find you've added too many dots you can go back in the with first colour on the other end of the toothpick. I used that technique on the nail below when I'd added too much blue towards the base of the nail.

Dotty Tutorial

These dotty nails take patience and a steady hand but are not too difficult to create. I found it hard to keep the dots even in size and neat looking at first but that comes quickly with practice.

You will need white nail polish and a few different coloured nail polishes, I used four for this design which helped to keep it balanced but you could do it with any number of polishes you like. You also need a piece of paper, a bobby pin and something to clean it with. I used a cotton pad. You could also use a separate bobby pin for each colour to avoid any contamination.

1. Paint your entire nail normally with the white polish.

2. Dab a bit of your first colour onto a piece of paper and dip the tip of the bobby pin in it.

3. Use the bobby pin to make a line of dots vertically up the centre of the nail. Be sure to leave a large enough gap between each one for another dot. 

 4. On either side of the first line, with enough space left for another line of dots, make another line with the first colour. Repeat until the nail is full. 

 5. Dab some of your next colour polish onto some paper and dip in the bobby pin. Use this to fill in the gaps between the dots all over the nail. 

6. Do the same with the other two colours in the vertical gaps. 

7. Using a small brush or cotton bud dipped in nail polish remover clean up any nail polish on the finger. 

7. Seal in the design with a top coat and you're done!

You will need to keep re-dipping the bobby pin in the polish after every few dots. You may find that straight after dipping the dots are much larger than after a few dots have been made. I try to press lightly for the first few dots each time so make the sizes more even. You will also need to keep re-applying polish to the paper as it will dry out. As the polish dries it can become tacky and harder to work with. I would advise that instead of struggling with unworkable semi-dry polish, you just add some more to the paper.

It doesn't matter too much if the lines are not perfectly straight as the design just looks random when you're not up close anyway. Mine certainly were not perfect but they did the job.

Happy dotting!! :)

Vintage Rose Tutorial

 These vintage rose nails are so cute and I think they look a lot harder than they are so they're perfect for impressing with!

You'll need a two contrasting polishes, one for the background and one for the flowers (I used lilac and mint green). You will also need a slightly darker version of the flower colour and white and green striper polishes.

1. Paint your entire nail normally with the lilac polish.

2. Using the white striper polish, paint thick stripes vertically down the nail. 

3. Using the mint polish, with its original brush, make rough circular blobs on the nail. 

4. With the green striper make small triangles around the blobs to look like small leaves. Two or three leaves per flower usually looks good. 

5. Next, I used the pen part of my striper pens but you could use a striper polish, small brush or toothpick. Using the darker colour, make small arcs within the flower blobs. These add definition to the flowers and are meant to look like the petal shapes in a rose. 

6. Add further arcs with the white to highlight the shapes. 

7. Using a small brush or cotton bud dipped in nail polish remover clean up any nail polish on the finger. 

8. Seal in the design with a top coat and you're done!

Union Jack Tutorial

With the Jubilee and the Olympics it's clear that the Union Jack is going to be a big design this summer. Here is my tutorial on how to get the flag on to your nails. 

You'll need a dark blue polish, a white polish or striper and a red striper. You could also use a normal polish with a thin brush. I sometimes use thin, cheap art brushes but I've also seen make-up brushes used for this sort of thing. 

1. Paint your entire nail normally with the blue polish.

2. Using the white polish, paint two thick lines. One vertically down the centre of the nail and one horizontally across the middle. When painting horizontal lines it can help to rotate your finger.

3. Using the white again, paint diagonal lines through the centre of the nail.

4. With a red striper brush paint two thin lines in the middle of the white cross. 

5. Paint four small diagonal lines with the red striper. These should not touch the red cross in the middle.

6. Using a small brush or cotton bud dipped in nail polish remover clean up any nail polish on the finger. 

7. Seal in the design with a top coat and you're done!

When I did this design I found it hard to make the lines look solid at the ends without getting polish all over my fingers but it is easy to remove so don't worry if you make a mess. :) Also don't expect to do the lines in one go. I had to go over each one a few times to get it solid and clean.