Black and White Interlock

Hello Lovelies!  This week's Nail Art Nation prompt is black and white.  Since you can't have one without the other, I thought an interlocking design would be perfect for this prompt.  I have done this pattern once before Interlocking Dot Nail Art, and it is relatively easy to create...

Materials I used:
Basecoat - SuperChic Lacquer 'Bring it On!'
White polish - Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear 'White On'
Black polish - Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear 'Black Out'
Quick drying topcoat - SuperChic Lacquer 'Marvel'
Scotch tape
Dotting tools
Holo topper - Dream Polish 'Dream Dust'

I began with a white canvas.  When doing an overlapping design it is best to start with the lightest color or the thinnest polish for your base.  Of course, I don't recommend using a thin polish for an overlapping design, but sometimes you have a polish that you just have to use.  I topped this with a quick drying topcoat.

When the base color was dry, I taped off half of my nail at an angle, painted it black, and immediately removed the tape.  Using a medium/large dotting tool I interlocked the black and white by placing black dots on the edge of the black overlapping into the white, and likewise with the white.  Switching to a smaller size dotting tool I placed a dot of each color in line with the previous dot.  Lastly, I did that with an even smaller dotting tool, filling in any voided area but still keeping it in line with the other dots.  I repeated this pattern on all my nails, but alternated the black and the white on each nail.

After a bit of clean up with acetone and a brush, I topped it  with a holo topcoat.  Dream Polish Gem Glam topcoat also happens to be a quick drying topcoat, so no need to apply another topcoat.

And here is a macro shot so that you can see that holo bling, I only added one coat because I wanted a very subtle holo affect.  More coats would have increased the holo factor but I like it just like this...



I really enjoy creating the interlocking design because it seems so complex, yet is very easy.  This design is perfect for a beginner, and requires only basic tools.  I hope you enjoyed this nail art design, see you next time.

Your Fellow Plebe,

 

Sugar Spun Candy Corn Nails

Hello Lovelies!  We are officially one week into October, which means that Halloween is only three weeks away! Many of you already know that Halloween is my favorite holiday ever! For many people Halloween is all about the candy and goodies, so I decided to represent with the most iconic Halloween candy of all, candy corn.  Personally, I don't like candy corn but I love the colors and everybody thinks Halloween when they see them.  Last year I created a gradient candy corn design, so this year I wanted to try something a little different...

Materials I used:
Basecoat - SuperChic Lacquer "Bring It On!"
Polishes - Sinful Colors "Black on Black", Butter London "East End" & "Brick Lane"
Scotch tape
Toothpick
Topcoat - SuperChic Lacquer "Marvel"

I began with a black base polish topped with a quick drying topcoat.

Once dry, I prepped my finger by placing two pieces of scotch tape to create a triangular shape on my finger.  Using my Uber Mat as a work surface, I placed three dots of polish in white, orange, and yellow.  In order to create a sugar spun design the polish needs to thicken enough to become stringy.  When you are able to pull the polish up with a toothpick its ready for spinning.  Stir the polish a bit with the toothpick to speed up the process a bit.  When the polish is ready, simply pull strings of polish across the nail until you are satisfied with the coverage,  I repeated this process with each color.

When finished spinning, remove the tapes.  Clean up with gentle acetone and a brush if necessary.  I chose not to apply any topcoat over this, because I didn't want to ruin the textured affect.  If you choose to use a topcoat be sure to allow ample time for the design to dry, otherwise it will run when you apply the topcoat.

Even though I don't like the taste of candy corn I love this look, and it was incredibly easy to create.

I hope you enjoyed this quick simple Halloween nail art design too.  Thanks for stopping by, see you next time.

Your Fellow Plebe,

 



Patriotic Waterfall

Hello Lovelies!  Today, I have a super easy, super quick nail art design that will work on any nail length or shape.  You don't need a lot of skill to create this look so it is perfect for a beginner too.  I've created one of these waterfall manicures once before, my ROYGBIV Waterfall Nail Art design.  I used the same exact technique but used a red, white, and blue patriotic color scheme...

Materials I used:
Base coat - INM Ridge Free
White base - Color Club 'Blank Canvas'
Art Club stripers - red, blue, and silver
Top coat - Beauty Plus Salon

I began with a nice white blank canvas, using 'Blank Canvas' (what a befitting name, for a white polish).

I then used my three nail art stripers in red, blue, and silver to create the waterfall.  A waterfall manicure is simply a series of vertical stripes that run different lengths of the nail (often about halfway) and typically start from the smile line (cuticle area) or the tip of the nail.  Of course, all of these variances are up to you.  I began with red...

I then used blue to stripe in between the red stripes...

I finished up with silver, using it to fill in the slightly wider spaces.

Lastly, perform any clean up if necessary and apply your favorite topcoat, and you're done.  Super simple and super quick.  This took me approximately 30 minutes, including photographing.  If I didn't have take the time to take pictures I probably could have done this in 10-15 minutes. 

This is a perfect patriotic mani for someone who has limited skill, limited time (because your to busy getting ready for that Fourth of July party this weekend), and it's great for any nail length.  You may have noticed in my step-by-step pictures that my mid-finger was significantly shorter than the rest.  I had an epic break yesterday, when I was folding laundry, of all things!  Normally, I would avoid photographing a hand with a broken nail but I decided to use it as a guide to show you that this also works on short nails too.

I really hope you enjoyed this quick, easy, Fourth of July nail art design.  I will be posting one more Fourth of July manicure, so stay tuned.  Thanks for stopping by, see you next time.

Your Fellow Plebe,

 

 

Ikat Style Single Chevrons

Hello Lovelies!  I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend so far!  I know I am, the weather has been better than forecasted, I got to bring my daughter to the circus yesterday, and I got this week's Freehand Challenge nail art done.  This week's Freehand Challenge prompt was Ikat.  For those of you that are unfamiliar with Ikat, it is a type of fabric printing that I believe is Indonesian.  It is often represented as a triangular or diamond shape pattern but can be many other patterns too.  I have done an Ikat nail art design once before so I wanted to try something a little different.  This time I went with an Ikat style single chevron print that was actually inspired by a cake I saw on Instagram created by @malihacreations, a custom cakery in Charlottesville, VA.  I inserted a picture of the cake into the picture with my nails below.

Materials I used in this design:
Base coat - INM Ridge Free
Base color - Lacquered Polish 'Irish Crème'
Stripe colors - Color Club 'Antiquated' (gold), China Glaze 'Petal to the Metal' (Pink), and 'Capacity to See Beyond' (blue)
Small detail brush
Small dotting tool
Top coat - Rica 'Glossy Glam'

For my base color I used a neutral shade of polish that actually has some gold shimmer to it, that is difficult to see in the pictures, but I promise it's there.  This was a polish created by Lacquered Polish as part of a collaboration set I purchased back in March.

I created the Ikat chevrons by placing three small dots in the shape of a V as guides for my stripes.  Then using a small detail brush, I created my first stripe (about two striping tapes width wide), using a hashing motion.  Essentially moving the brush up and down while creating the V-shaped stripe.  I created a second stripe with a secondary color about the same width using the same motion.  I then outlined both stripes with my third color.  Trying to make the outline stripes as thin as possible, I used a stippling or dotting technique with the same detail brushed used for the previous stripes.

As almost always, I performed a bit of clean up with acetone and a brush and then topped it all off with a glossy top coat.

As you can see I changed up the accent colors and the order of the color stripes a little bit.  I did keep the gold somewhere in the middle only because it just seemed right that way.  I did intend to flip the V's (points up near the cuticle) but I forgot I wanted to do this once I got started, *forehead slap*.

I really love how the bright pink and blue compliment the neutral background color.  The addition of the metallic gold also gives it a little pop, which is nice too.

I enjoy creating Ikat style nail art because you really can't do it wrong.  Ikat prints are a little messy, a bit uneven, and irregular.  That makes it a great design for beginners or someone with an unsteady hand.  I highly recommend you give this pattern a try if you haven't already.

I hope you enjoyed this nail art design and found the tutorial useful.  By the way, if you ever have any questions on this post or any other post please feel free to ask in the comments down below.  Thanks for stopping by, see you next time.

 

Your Fellow Plebe,