Nails: Tri-Color Polka Dots

I love polishing nails and experimenting with nail art. I usually keep it pretty basic, but I like to switch it up once in a while, too. I've been seeing a lot of girls with grey polish lately, and have wondered how I would like it. I was worried it might make my hands look pretty sickly. 

I found a dark, slate grey that I actually have grown to love! I kept it simple with 3 colors of polka dots. Green, pinkish-red, and white. 

(I think next time I'll polish the ring fingers pink or green then have some grey dots mixed in instead!)

Start with 2 coats of polish, letting each coat dry completely before adding the next.

Then, using your DIY Dotting Tool (click here for that!), or a toothpick, begin with your first color of dots.

Add the second color of dots.

Now add the third color.

Once the dots are dried completely, add a clear top coat.

If you would like the list of colors I used, here it is. :)

CND Vinylux- Asphalt 

Essie- The More the Merrier

Essie- Ole Caliente

Pure Ice- Superstar

+ clear top coat

Stormtroopers Nail Art w/Sharpies

Last week, I had the opportunity to travel with my husband for work. We were able to stay in a nice hotel for 2 nights, completely paid for. He did have to work each morning, but only until 1 pm, then we had the rest of the day to shop, walk the beach, and enjoy the city!

Since he worked each morning, I had some time to myself while he was gone. Awhile ago, he suggested I try to do Star Wars nails at some point. I figured this would be a good time to attempt it!

They definitely didn't turn out perfect, but for my first time, I think they turned out pretty good.

I started with a solid white. 

Use 2 coats, letting the polish dry completely between coats.

{I know it's a bad polish job...please ignore my imperfections! :) }

Using this as an inspiration, I began the details.

(Image source: www.plasmainfusion.com)

Using an ultra fine-tip Sharpie permanent marker, I made the outline of the design.

Then, I filled in the centers.

I added the mouth.

Then the bottom pieces of the helmet.

Once done, lightly spray a coat of hairspray (to set the marker) over your nail. 

Let dry completely.

Then, go ahead and finish off with a clear top coat.

To pull things together, I added the Star Wars logo. 

Er...I tried to anyway. It was pretty hard to do with my left hand.

My husband was pretty impressed. You should surprise your Star Wars-loving husband, too!

Hatching Chick Nails

Since Easter is coming up quickly, I decided to do some Easter inspired nail art on a couple residents at work on Monday. They turned out super cute, so I wanted to do it here so I could share it with all of you. 

Unfortunately, it wasn't as easy to do it on my own nails as it was someone elses, so it doesn't look quite as cute as it did. The lines are a little sloppy, but I figured you would still get the point. 

Plus, when chicks are hatching, the shells don't break open perfectly anyway, right? That's right. So let's just say that the sloppy lines were all on purpose. ;)

I did a base of white on my ring finger nails, then topped with "Unicorn" by Sinful Colors. 

(Putting white underneath the yellow makes the light color cover better.)

I painted the rest of my nails with "Boogie Nights" by Sinful Colors. 

(It's actually a little more peachy looking in person.)

 Using white, black, and orange nail art, you can paint the hatching chick.

Paint a white broken shell on the top and bottom.

Paint a little orange beak, then finish off with black beady eyes. :)

Color Block & Polka Dots

I like to play around with different styles of nail art. There is a resident at work that always jokes that she is my "guinea pig" when it comes to nails because she lets me do whatever I want. I do her nails every week and each time, she comes back telling me about the compliments she gets on her art. When a woman in her 90's walks around with polka dots, stripes, candy canes, butterfly wings, and even newspaper print on her nails, she's bound to get some attention. :)

I decided to start the nail art posts with a simple tutorial. The best thing about nail art is that it's fun to switch it up with your favorite colors. This particular tutorial is combining the popular color blocking along with the trendy polka dots.

I used O.P.I. (OPI on Collins Ave) polish, black nail art, and white polish.

Start with 2 coats of your base polish, letting each coat dry thoroughly before adding the next.

Using the nail art brush, carefully make a line down your nail were you would like the color block to stop.

Fill in the area and let dry.

Pour some polish (for the dots) on a piece of plastic wrap or paper. 

Using the DIY Dotting Tool and a toothpick, dip the tips in the pool of polish and dot your nail as you like.

Once dry, polish with a coat of clear polish to finish it off.

DIY Dotting Tool

My nails are not always done, but when they are, it's rare that I will put a coat of polish on and leave it at that. I love nail art! It can be something as simple as polka dots or even a little more crazy like butterfly wings. (I'll have to post that tutorial soon because it is super cute and surprisingly easy!) Even though this DIY Dotting Tool seems like a pretty common sense solution, you would be surprised at how many people ask me how I do my nails. Therefore, I decided to post this in case you didn't know.

All you need is a pencil (with an eraser) and a ball-headed pin.

Next, stick the pin in the center of your eraser. That's all it takes. Pretty easy, right?

Now you are free to dunk the ball tip in a pool of polish and make many sizes of circles.

 Go ahead and practice on a sheet of paper before actually doing it on your nails.

If you like the really tiny polka dots, just use toothpicks. However, if you like bigger dots, this is your tool!

DIY Matte Nailpolish

After seeing some tips on Pinterest about making your own matte nail polish with cornstarch, there was no link on how to do it, so I had to go ahead and experiment on my own.

I started with some clear nail polish and some cornstarch.

Add cornstarch, a little at a time, and shake it up to mix well until the polish is nice and white.

I quickly painted a couple nails with this purple polish that is always very glossy. 

This is how the polish looks when it is dry.

After topping it with a coat of the cornstarch polish, this is how it looked. Definitely toned down! I think the more corn starch you add to the polish, the more matte it will appear.