Polka Dot Experiment

I realized after completing my Hello Kitty nails that I never did  a set of nails devoted to polka dots.  I find that polka dots can be a little boring, so I decided to spice it up by experimenting with different patterns of polka dots on each finger.

My index finger was meant to have the illusion of being very curved, which didn't exactly turn out, but I think it still looks neat.

The thumb and pinky are my favorites and they were inspired by Konad plate #m79. I love trying to copy Konad plates because I have no idea how to use Konad, but they sure have some cool designs!

Lime and Black Experiment

I use the term "experiment" when I don't go in with a plan. These nails are quite possibly my favorite experiment ever. I think they look a little bit tribal, but not too much. They are block-y and fun. Usually my experimentation stems from a the "oh my god I'm in love with this color and I need to put it on my nails now" feeling. I guess I do this because I don't really swatch nail polishes, so if I want to see how they look, I have to come up with something fast. So these nails are me playing around with Sally Hansen's Lickety Split Lime because sometimes I just love lime. 

Marbleized

I think some of the most popular and successful nail art designs are  marbled. Water marbling and the technique of marbling without water always turn out the most beautiful nails. I have tried water marbling, and it turns out I'm not so good at it, plus it's just too messy. I have tried marbling on my nails without water (if you're wondering about this, check out Robin Moses's video tutorial here), and I enjoy it, but I don't think it's *that* spectacular. So I decided to attempt a faux marble design of my own. And these are what I came up with!
Since this was a bit of an experiment, it didn't come out perfectly, and after trying it a few more times I think I've perfected my technique. What do you think of the design?

The Blues

Here's another day where I was bored and experimenting. The basket weave pattern has turned into one of my favorite to do (there are at least two sets of pictures coming up featuring just the basket weave). I also really loved the ring finger. I told myself that I would try to tweak this design a bit and put it on all my nails, but I never did. Do you have an suggestions for how to make it not so boring?

Patterns - An Experiment

Sometimes I hate planning, which means that sometimes I just start painting without thinking at all. That's where these nails came from. The checker board nails are meant to be an illusion, and if you look at them from a far... like really far... then they appear to be convex. The pattern on my index finger just came after me doodling for a while. I think there are probably about 15 layers of paint on there (good thing I wasn't using polish!). And the thumb and pinky were painted last. I literally had no idea what I was doing. I just started painting triangle/diamond shapes for some strange reason, but I LOVE how they came out. I keep meaning to do a set of nails where they are all like the thumb and pinky. Would any one be interested in a tutorial on that?

Anyways, I hope these nails inspire you to just start painting without a plan. You can get some really great, unique creations that way.

Acrylic Paint

After reading about a million nail art blogs, I found out that you could use acrylic paint instead of nail polish. As far as I can tell, the advantages are almost endless: First, it's WAY cheaper - you can get a huge container of paint for what one tiny nail polish costs. Second, you can mix your own colors much easier than with polish. If you've ever tried to mix polishes, you know it can sometimes be hard to get them to mesh. Some other reasons that paint is great are that it dries quickly (which means no wait time between coats), if you get it on your skin it comes right off with soap and water, and it can be much more manageable than polish.
During these first attempts, I just  did some ladybug french tips (above) and an ant carrying an apple (below). It took me a while to get used to the paint because I never painted before. When I use polish, I just dot on the color, but with the paint I had to get used to the feeling of holding a brush and how that reacts.
I didn't really start embracing the paint until recently because it was still confusing to me, but I am so glad I stuck with it, now I could hardly live without it.