Bonjour/Bonsoir!
I took a really long break between revising French grammar *shudders* and made this post below. You should know that my brain is fried from the countless hours in contact with the digital world. Oh the confounding things on french.about.com and oh my camera.
As the festive season approaches, I thought it would be fun to combine my hype for the celebration and my current interest in nail painting. As an amateur, I am pretty proud of myself (ha!). Feedback is very welcome. So here are 6 easy CNY nail art designs! Enjoy.
The ang-ang nail aka ombre nail.
1) Start off with a red base.
2) Sponge (do not use a makeup sponge, use the one for household chores.) on a darker shade of red on the tip gently.
3) Add on a slight touch of golden glitter.
4) Apply a generous amount of fast drying top coat. Remember to seal the tips of your nails to prevent chipping.
There you have it, super auspicious nails. Your grandmother will be very proud of you.
The most uploaded design on YouTube aka The cherry blossom nail.
1) Start of with a pastel/light base. Too dark of the colour will not give a nice contrast.
2) With a nail art brush (Daiso sells them in packs!), paint on 2-3 branches with a dark brown colour. Use a gentle stippling motion.
3) Add thinner branches, fanning out in random directions. Don't go overboard as they do give you a real sense of accomplishment. Exercise self-control and remember.....you still have to leave some space for the blossoms.
4) With a dotting tool (easily sub-ed by a toothpick), place dots of a coral colour at the tips of the branch. Make small clusters of the dots.
5) If you like, paint on a hint of yellow in the middle of the clusters. Seal with a top coat.
You can avoid smearing your design by gently patting down a dollop of top coat over the design. Then, go back for a second helping and paint over the other areas.
The gingham nail.
1) Paint your nail in a dark colour. I like navy, but I don't have navy.
2&3) Use a nail art brush or a real tiny dotting tool, draw on vertical lines. Again, stipple your way through.
4) Paint two horizontal lines. Try to have the same spacing between lines as the ones painted in the steps before. Keep that in mind and you will have emulated the print pretty perfectly. Top coat!
You have plaid flannel shirts, flared plaid minis, plaid midis, plaid flannel scarf varieties, plaid pants...... So why not plaid nails.
1) As I like keeping to the traditional print, I started with a red base.
2) Use the nail polish brush of your dark colour, wipe off two faces of it. With your polish laden side facing down, gently press, drag and lift the brush on one side of your nail (Pick A Side Quick!). Go over another time to fill in the line.
3) With your small nail art brush, draw 2 lines across. They do not have to be evenly spaced.
4) Add another vertical line on the other side where they may serve you cookies.
5) Paint in 2-3 thin white lines. This really accentuates the plaid effect.
6) My Christmas ornaments have gold accents, so glam it up! Finish with a fast drying top coat.
I would recommend that you save a picture of your wanted print as reference.
The 福 nail. Did you know that according to tradition, we place the 福 sign upside down as a sign that 福 (good fortune) has reached your house. But my mum begs to differ.
1) Paint red nail polish onto a small length of scotch tape. Allow it to dry!
2) Use a permanent black marker (fine point sharpie would do great) and write the word in. Let it dry. Be mindful of the width and height of your nail.
3) Cut it out, diamond shape. Or diagonal square. I mean, whatever way you to interpret it as. Place it on your nail.
4) Flatten the ends down gently using a dotting tool. Paint on your topcoat. My word ran a bit..... the 田is now a black square. Boohoo.
So best to paint your word in with black polish. If I had the time, I would have painted the words 馬 and 春 as well.
The main muse of Gangnam Style is _____. Yes you got it right. The horse nail (wtf?)
1) Start with a white base.
2) I know it looks like an acorn, but no, you do not draw an acorn. Use your nail polish brush, draw in an inverted triangle, or at least attempt to. Just keep the top broader and you are set!
3) Use a small nail brush, fill in the sides to even out the horse's face and give the poor thing a snout. Also extend a neck out for him/her/it.
4) Don't know about you, but ear-less horses would freak the hell out of me.
5) Give it a white diamond patch in between the eyes using a nail art brush. Give it eyes using a larger dotting tool (or ball point pen in my case) and black polish. Give definition to its snout and mane using black polish.
5) Dot white polish on its eyes and snout to make it come alive, kawaii no?
This is what I intended my horse to look like but......
Oh and that was the pen I used.
There you have it. I hope you have fun recreating them! Remember to clean up the mess around your nails which I forgot about! If all else fails, go for the classic red nail.
Till the next post.
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