The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

I'd have to say that this is the most elaborate design I've done. Not that it was particularly difficult, but that it is technically five designs and took quite a bit of time.

I've always been a big Wizard of Oz fan...always. I love the movie, have the Barbie versions of Dorothy and her friends, a quilt, and let's just say that if I had it my way when I was younger my sister would have been named Dorothy (I was out voted...).

Anyways, for some reason I decided to use that movie as the theme for my nails this week. It was a pretty popular design. There were a lot of different ideas that I had, but I decided to go with pretty recognizable motifs from the movie.

If you're going to recreate this look here is what you'll need:

• two yellow polishes (one darker than the other)
•  black polish
• white polish
• red polish
• red glitter polish
• light blue polish or striper
• silver polish
• striping brush
• fine point sharpie (this part is definitely optional)
• acetone or nail polish remover

Polishes I used:

• Sally Hansen "Lightening"
• SoEasy Gold Striper
• Finger Paints "Paper Mache"
• Finger Paints "Black Expressionism"
• CQ "Rouge"
• Finger Paints "Romanticism Ruby"
• SoEasy Light Blue Striper
• Nina Ultra Pro "Smoke-n-Mirrors"

To start off, paint your thumbs yellow.

Once the yellow polish has dried, use your striping brush and the darker yellow polishes to create brick lines. Basically, draw a few vertical lines then stagger small horizontal connector lines. This will be your yellow brick road.

 Next, paint your index (aka "pointer") and ring fingers white. Let those dry. We're going to paint those index fingers first. Using that striping brush, which you cleaned off with acetone, paint horizontal black lines over the white polish - this gives you the Wicked Witch of the East's socks.

Your middle fingers are going to be painted as if they are the ruby red slippers. First, paint on that plain red polish.

After it has dried, paint the red glitter polish on. You can't really tell here - but this is glittery.

 Your ring fingers are going to be painted up like Dorothy's dress. Using that cleaned up striping brush and the light blue polish, paint a grid of thin lines over the white polish on your ring fingers.

Finally, your pinkies are going to be the Tin Man's chest. Paint on your silver polish first.

Use your striping brush and black polish to paint a vertical line down the center of the silver polish. You can also use the tip of the striping brush to put three small dots for rivets.

Clean up your striping brush. We're going to use it along with that red polish to paint a small heart on the left side of the vertical line. After all, the Tin Man wanted a heart.

There you have it. A Wonderful Wizard of Oz manicure!

Thumb to Pinky: Yellow Brick Road, Witch's socks, Ruby Slippers, Dorothy's dress, Tin Man

If you opted to use that fine point sharpie here is where it comes in. You can use it to write on the yellow brick road. I wrote "No place like home..." on my thumb nail. It was tricky and I recommend clear polish over the sharpie...otherwise it rubs off. Turns out sharpies aren't' permanent on nail polish.

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French with a Twist(er)

Earlier this week I was watching That 70's Show (love that show!) on NetFlix; in the episode I was watching Leo mentioned the game Twister. I thought this would be a fun twist on a french tip manicure, or it would look cute as a full nail design. The nice thing about it is that it's soooo easy!

For this design you are going to need:

• clear coat (for the base and top coats)
• white polish
• red polish
• blue polish
• yellow polish
• green polish
• toothpicks (one for each color if possible) or a dotting tool
• a palette (paper plate, piece of paper, etc.)

The polishes I used were:

• Finger Paints "Paper Mache"
• Santee "Neon Sapphire"
• Wet n' Wild "Sage in the City"
• CQ "Rouge"
• Sally Hansen Insta-Dri "Lightening"

First things first - paint on that clear base coat. This will help protect your nails from staining.

Next, paint all of your nails white. Depending on your polish it may take more than one coat. I did two so that the polish was opaque (not see through).

The toothpicks I used are pointy on one end and blunt on the other. The blunt end makes a perfect dotting tool. If your toothpicks aren't make like this here is a secret. Dip the tip of the toothpick in a polish, then let it dry. Do this a couple of times until you get a bead of polish built up to the size you would like your dots to be.

I decided to do only a couple dots at a time of each color - that way the dots looked more random and layered. However, you could do all the blue dots at once, then the red, and so on. Also, I only did the tips of my nails. It was cute, but feel free to get creative!

Use your scrap paper or paper plate as a palette for your nail polish. I would only put a little bit on of each color at a time. That way it doesn't dry out and a bunch of polish goes to waste.  Like I said before, I alternated colors. The following pictures show how the look progressed. You can use any order of colors though.

That's it! It's simple, and it's quick! Paint on your top coat and you're good to go!

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Popcorn Nails!

My husband and I have been watching a lot of movies and DVDs over this past weekend - due to our internet being out. It's working again for the time being; just decides to take a break every now and then. *eye roll*

Anyways, watching all of those movies inspired this manicure! I think it would also be great if you are going a fair or carnival.

You can paint all of your nails with this design, or like I did here - just painting it on your thumb and ring finger as "accent nails."

What you'll need:

• clear polish (for your base and top coats)
• white polish
• red polish
• light yellow polish
• darker yellow polish
• dotting tool (a toothpick works well too)
• thin brush or striper

The colors I used:

• Finger Paints "Paper Mache" (white)
• CQ "Rouge"
• Sinful Colors "Unicorn"
• Sally Hansen Insta-Dri "Lightening"

As always, paint on that clear base coat to protect your nails.

You'll need to decide if you want the popcorn design on all of your nails, or just as an accent. If you want the design on all of your nails, paint all of your nails white. (Depending on your polish this may take two coats to be opaque.) If you are going to have the design as an accent, paint your ring fingers and thumbs white. Next, paint the other three fingers on each hand red. Like so.

Now you are going to need that striper, or thin brush, to paint vertical stripes on your white polished nails. Personally, this is the hardest part for me...especially on my right hang. Take your time and steady your painting hand on the table.

Once your stripes have dried it is time to put some popcorn on those nails. First, take your light yellow polish and use your dotting tool to put groups of three or four dots together. This is going to be the puffy part of the popcorn.

When those have dried use that dotting tool again to put a couple darker yellow dots in each popcorn piece. If you put them on different sides of the light yellow groups it looks like the popcorn is facing different directions.

Let that dry for a little bit, then use that clear polish to paint on a top coat. I prefer to use a fast-drying top coat with designs that are thicker - you'll notice that the popcorn dots are raised a little. I use Sally Hansen's Insta-Dri top coat, but Seche Vite is a very popular one...I like Sally Hansen's prices better. :)

I hope you enjoyed this one! It was a lot of fun to do.

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July 4th Nails

 
So, here is my first attempt at a tutorial. I hope to eventually do video tutorials, but that will take some trying things out.

This design is really easy to do and you don't need any special tools or anything, although it does help to have a thin brush or striper for the white stripes.


What you will need is:

- clear base coat/top coat
- white polish
- blue polish
- red polish
- white striper (optional)

The colors/brands I used are, and the order is:

• Yellow Stopper base coat
• Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear "White On"
• Santee "Neon Sapphire"
• CQ "Rouge"
• SoEasy Stripe Right (it's a silvery white)
• Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Hardener
  

1.  Paint your nails with a base coat to protect your nails.

2. (optional) The only reason I painted my nails white first is because it helps the blue show brighter. So, depending on your blue polish, you may be able to skip this step. Anyways, paint your nails white...if needed.

3.  Paint all of your nails blue.

4.  Next, use your red polish and paint the first half of your nails red.

5.  Use your white polish, or striper, to paint a couple of white strips over the red portion of your nails. I suggest painting one stripe where the blue and red meet, to cover any uneven lines.

6.  Finally, paint your nails with a top coat to protect your design. The last step is to clean up around the edge of your nails. You can do this part with a cotton swab and nail polish remover.

Yay! That's it for my first tutorial. Like I said, I hope to switch to video tutorials in the near future.

Please leave any comments below. I'd love to hear your thoughts!

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