The other day as I was admiring my latest nail polish color and ogling over my color collecting addiction, I told my boyfriend I had enough nail polishes to paint my nails a different color every week for an entire year. To which he responded, "You should do that! And make a blog about it!"
WEEK 19: Refined Turquoise
Next I took a toothpick and drew lines slowly through the polish. This creates the random folds and swirls of the marble look. Don't worry about trying to make a particular perfect pattern, only half a dozen random strokes through the color are necessary.
Quickly pick a spot in the design that looks particularly appealing and slowly press your taped off nail onto the polish and down into the water. Wait a few moments and then bring your finger back up in the same way you placed it down. After a moment or two remove the tape, quickly clearing away 90% of the mess, and voila! Marbled nails.
Now you'll notice there is left over polish in the water after removing your finger. If there's a spot that looks usable you can always press a second finger back into the polish, or if it looks pretty messy, as it normally does, wait a minute or so for the polish to set up and then twirl a toothpick around in it. The polish will stick to the toothpick and wad up onto it leaving the water clean again and ready for a second go. Repeat this process until all your nails are finished.
Because my design was originally inspired by the actual turquoise stone, I decided to used a gold polish to delicately trace along some of the black lines and then do some extremely light sponging of gold over the entire nail.
In this week's post I will be doing a piece on nail marbling. Now, before you get a bad case of deja vu, yes, I have used this technique before in my post entitled Marbled Earth. I felt, however, that it was about time I revisited this style for two main reasons. One, Marbled Earth was one of my very first posts, back before I began doing tutorials, and I have had multiple people asking about how I did this design. The second reason is because it is an awesome technique with infinite possibilities and variations. So I thought this a great opportunity to hone my marbling skills.
Let me just start out by saying that this is an extremely difficult procedure to explain through still images, but I will do my best. It also must be done at a fast pace so read through the entire tutorial before attempting it yourself. If you're stopping to read each step as you go, it's probably not going to turn out because the nail polish will start to set up before you can create your design.
In preparation I painted a solid base of turquoise on my nails, then I used simple scotch tape to mask off the skin around my nail. You don't have to do this, but I highly recommend it because it saves a lot of clean up work. Next I filled a cup with room temperature water, grabbed some toothpicks, and unscrewed each of the lids to the nail polishes I was going to use so that I could quickly switch between colors. The more liquidy the nail polish the better the design will turn out, so don't use any thick ones you've had around for years. Also be aware this IS a messy technique so you'll want a paper towel or two on hand as well as a cup you don't mind ruining. Disposable plastic cups work well.
I used my turquoise to lightly set a drop or two of color onto the surface of the water. Don't be surprised when the color suddenly spreads out and is barely notable, it's supposed to do that. Next I put a drop of black polish into the center of the turquoise. I quickly alternated back and forth between these two colors until I had a layered target-like design on the water.
In preparation I painted a solid base of turquoise on my nails, then I used simple scotch tape to mask off the skin around my nail. You don't have to do this, but I highly recommend it because it saves a lot of clean up work. Next I filled a cup with room temperature water, grabbed some toothpicks, and unscrewed each of the lids to the nail polishes I was going to use so that I could quickly switch between colors. The more liquidy the nail polish the better the design will turn out, so don't use any thick ones you've had around for years. Also be aware this IS a messy technique so you'll want a paper towel or two on hand as well as a cup you don't mind ruining. Disposable plastic cups work well.
I used my turquoise to lightly set a drop or two of color onto the surface of the water. Don't be surprised when the color suddenly spreads out and is barely notable, it's supposed to do that. Next I put a drop of black polish into the center of the turquoise. I quickly alternated back and forth between these two colors until I had a layered target-like design on the water.
Next I took a toothpick and drew lines slowly through the polish. This creates the random folds and swirls of the marble look. Don't worry about trying to make a particular perfect pattern, only half a dozen random strokes through the color are necessary.
Quickly pick a spot in the design that looks particularly appealing and slowly press your taped off nail onto the polish and down into the water. Wait a few moments and then bring your finger back up in the same way you placed it down. After a moment or two remove the tape, quickly clearing away 90% of the mess, and voila! Marbled nails.
Now you'll notice there is left over polish in the water after removing your finger. If there's a spot that looks usable you can always press a second finger back into the polish, or if it looks pretty messy, as it normally does, wait a minute or so for the polish to set up and then twirl a toothpick around in it. The polish will stick to the toothpick and wad up onto it leaving the water clean again and ready for a second go. Repeat this process until all your nails are finished.
Because my design was originally inspired by the actual turquoise stone, I decided to used a gold polish to delicately trace along some of the black lines and then do some extremely light sponging of gold over the entire nail.
When it comes to any form of art, we should never be afraid to revisit an old piece or technique. So what if you've done it before? Do it again, and do it better. No matter where you are in life, when you find yourself in the same situation you've been in before, don't see it as running in circles, see it as an opportunity to improve. No one becomes good at anything by accident, it takes intentional repetition, sifting through your mistakes, and slowly perfecting your technique. Even precious stones need refinement.
Products Used:
- OPI - Can't Find My Czechbook
- Heaven - Hula Girl
- Sally Hansen Miracle Gel - Game of Chromes
- Nail Art Brush Set
- Heaven - Hula Girl
- Sally Hansen Miracle Gel - Game of Chromes
- Nail Art Brush Set
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