31 Day Challenge Day 7 - Black & White Nails

Day 7 #31DC2014 is black & white nails!

I completely forgot to post this last night when I posted the photo on Instagram, so here we go!

I used:

Sinful Colors- Black on Black, Glow in the Dark

Sinful Shine- Wisp

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Water Marble Decals

So, I love water marbling but it is a serious undertaking for time and cleanup. My nail friends and I do weekly challenges. We did a decal challenge where we had to apply store bought or homemade decals. We also did a water marbling challenge and after the messy process of the water marbling, I decided I should try to make decals to make this process cleaner and hopefully less time consuming.

My homemade water marble decals.

I have also started doing home gel manis and love how long they last, except they last too long, I like to change it up before they "go bad"! I thought I would try a gel backdrop (blank canvas) that I could apply art to with regular polish. This way I can do my art then remove it and still have a blank canvas to work with!

Here is my blank canvas I started with for this water marble mani.

First you have to make the water marble decals.

What you'll need to make the decals:

• Water marbling tools (bowl of water, polish, toothpicks, etc.)
• Parchment paper (wax paper might work too, but I used parchment)
• Tape (any tape that will stick to the parchment paper, I used masking tape)
• Base coat
• Toothpicks

Start by painting a clear base coat on parchment paper in rectangles (about 1X2 inches). Let them dry for a couple of hours or over night.  Next you want to cut into smaller rectangles and add a toothpick to the back of each.

It's time to do the water marbling! Here are some videos I used to learn how to do the water marble technique. Wait for it to dry well, then you can add a topcoat or leave it be, it's up to you. Save them for later or use them now if you can't wait!

What you'll need to apply your decals:

• a base coat (anything clear will do)
• a top coat (I like a quick dry)
• tweezers
• a means to clean up your cuticles (Qtips, brush etc.)
• acetone for clean up
• and your decals of course

Start with a base mani, I chose to do a white gel mani so I can remove this when I'm ready to do new art on the same blank canvas. Then decide what part of your decal you want on your nail and trim it, large enough to cover your nail with a little extra for wiggle room. Apply your clear base coat and immediately put your decal on face down. This is the side of the decal you didn't put the top coat on, if you did put a top coat it doesn't matter which side is up. Now use your finger to press the decal onto the nail, once in place crease the edges into the cuticles (don't use too much pressure or you risk tearing your decal), and push it down over the free edge of your nail. Now you are ready for some clean up, clean the edges with your brush and acetone. Now top it off with your favorite top coat and voila, low mess water marble!!

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Water Marble

This is a fun technique but can be tricky to get the hang of, so if you don’t get it the first time try again! Once you get it you will love it. I watched a lot of videos on YouTube to help me figure it out. If you want to check out some of the videos I liked you can see my YouTube playlist here.

How I did it…

1. Apply base coat (I used Gelous) 2. Apply background color. I used white but any light color should work, It will help your colors pop and if any little spots are missed they won’t show! 3. Tape fingers to make cleanup easier. 4. Make design with polish and dip fingers. 5. Apply top coat. All finished!!

Polishes I used left to right:

Gelous Base Coat

Sinful Shine “Wist”

Sinful Colors “24/7”

Sinful Shine “Royal Flush”

Sinful Shine “Break Away”

Spoiled “I’m So Jaded”

Seche Vite Top Coat

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