Monday, April 30, 2012

{Mani} Monday

Kendel here for {Mani-Monday},linking up with Heather over at Just Lovely Things and Heather at Glitter and Gloss sharing a quick tutorial on my most resent at home mani.

 I love an accent (after all I am marrying an Englishman next August!) 
 but in this case I am talking about an accent nail

This go around I chose to do something a little different than my usual. I chose to do a leopard print on both the ring finger and thumb of both hands as an accent. 
You can never have enough leopard print right?
{Via Here}
{Um.....ok, so Nicki may have proven me wrong on this one!}


Supplies Needed: 
Nail file 
2 colors of nail polish {of your choice}
 Clear coat 
Sharpie Marker {yes....really!}
Glitter nail polish {optional, for those who really want to shine!}

Start with clean unpolished fingers. 
File the edges to the shape you prefer. {I prefer mine just squared but you can round them as well.}
 Next pick two shades of polish that coordinate with each other. I picked white and a coral color. But I have also done it with gold and brown.  Have fun with it! 
 Once you have decided on the two colors, pick which one will be the base. Paint the entire nail with this color (2 coats is usually a safe bet). Let dry completely. 

Next, using your 2nd color, using the end of the brush add small dots to the finger that you are "Leopard-ing" {disclaimer: when reading this blog, you'll find, Jeni and I make up words...often}. 
Your dots don't have to be perfect circles, sometimes the beauty is in the imperfections! Let your new polka dots dry completely. 
For this next step it is really important that the previous work is completely dry.
 Alright, now using the trusty Sharpie {which is also good for coloring in chips in wood furniture, a last minute grey hair cover up, and So many other things!} add a black border around each of the dots made in the previous step. 
Now, the key is you do not want the black to wrap completely around the dot, but rather just in some areas
Repeat this on all nails with dots. Let dry. 
This is where the glitter comes in - once you give your Sharpie borders a few seconds to dry paint glitter over all nails. Let this dry and proceed to paint on a good top coat {which is the key to a great, long lasting mani - I use Orly's "In a Snap" top coat }

Voila!
Now you have a chic modern mani that you can do over and over in any color variation. 





Try using this for all of your nails too, it is not limited to accent status! 

Stay tuned for next week to see what fun nail design we come up with next


10 comments:

  1. Oh my gosh, I looooooove it! What a great idea to use a sharpie. Thanks so much for linking up!!

    xo,
    Heather

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    Replies
    1. When in doubt, use a Sharpie - they're good for everything! Thanks for the opportunity to link up - it gave me an excuse to paint my nails!

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  2. Oh, I love this!!! So easy even I could do it.

    I'm visiting from Mani Monday.

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  3. Nope you can NEVER have enough leopard print! So cute! :) stopping by from mani Monday.

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  4. Oh, that looks so lovely & easy! I adore leopard print, I'll have to try!

    Stopping by from Mani Monday.

    ♥, Emily

    freckledfiasco.blogspot.com

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much for coming by! Can't wait to see pictures if you try out the leopard print! It's an easy way to make a big statement, that's for sure!

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  5. I am soooo doing this! I've been nervous to try, so thanks for making it look doable!

    Visiting from Mani Monday!

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    Replies
    1. So glad! It truly is a piece of cake! We would love to see pictures of it when you're done!

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  6. Ah, a Sharpie! That never would've occurred to me! Great idea.

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  7. I love it! Found you thru Mani Monday, I love me some manis!!

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Thank you for stopping by! Your comments are always welcome and appreciated!