Sunday, February 20, 2011

Paper Source Sunday - Hearts!

Hello everyone. Sorry for the delay in posting! This Week's Paper Source Sunday is inspired by Valentines Day! (I had the best Valentines Day EVER thanks to my AMAZING friend Rob ;) )



Now, how to do it:

Step 1) Apply basecoat (I used Seche Vite Base Coat)

Step 2) Paint nails white. It may take a few layers because white is the hardest color to paint nails and make it smooth without streaks. I used 3 coats of OPI Alpine Snow.

Step 3) Use a large dotter tool to make two dots next to each other to form the top of the heart. I didn't have a large dotter, so I used the back end of a pencil. It worked fine. Erasers work as well.

Step 4) Use a thin, small brush to pull out the red and form the bottom of the heart. You're basically making a triangle and then filling it in.

Step 5) Continue making random red dots next to each other, all over your nail as the tops of the other hearts.

Step 6) Use the same method in step 4 to pull the hearts down and fill in the triangle. Remember to make them all go in different directions like in the pattern.

Step 7) In the empty gaps, add more hearts, or parts of hearts to fill the space.

Step 8) Add topcoat. When the nail polish dries, wash your hands so that the area that got onto your finger comes off. You're done!

Thanks for following my blog! Please spread the word to your friends!

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Paper Source Sunday - White on Red Dots

With Valentine's Day fast approaching, I was examining some red designs. I love short red nails, but spicing them up with white dots just adds to the effect and makes them even cuter. This week's Paper Source inspired look comes from a vellum gift wrap:

http://www.paper-source.com/cgi-bin/paper/item/White-Swirls-Red-Vellum-Gift-Wrap/3104.080/10162850.html

The design is so easy to make! I promise! All you really need is a dotter, and if you don't have that, you can use a toothpick (cut a little) or the tip of a pencil.

Step 1) Apply base coat (I used: Seche Vite Base Coat)

Step 2) Paint your nails red (I used a red by OPI - sorry I don't remember the name). Also, Don't worry about it getting onto your nail because that will wash off easily after they dry.

Step 3) Blot some white (I used Orly Pointe Blanche) onto a piece of scrap paper and blot with a blotter (or any other tool listed above).

Step 4) Dot a white circle in the lower left corner of your nail to a little bit past the center.

Step 5) Create a square of four dots at the end of the previous circle and start a new one on the upper left corner of your nail with those two dots as the base.

Step 6) Fill in reach circle with more dots arranged as smaller, inner circles.

Step 7) Finish filling in the circles all the way.

Step 8) Add two dots in the middle of the empty space on the upper left and lower right of the nail.

Step 9) Continue doing this with the rest of your nails.

Step 10) You're finished!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! It's a lot easier to do than it looks when finished :)