With the infinite possibilities for creative manicure ideas, it’s a shame we only have 10 fingers. One of the blogs I follow religiously, chalkboardnails.com, happens to be all about our 10 digits. In a never-ending effort to save money, I do my own nails. I, and I’m sure many college girls, can’t justify spending $20 or more on a manicure that only lasts a few days. Since I admire exciting nails, why not spice up the average polish job?
Chalkboardnails is continuously updated with beautiful manicure projects and detailed DIY steps, making it super easy to try yourself. Aside from chalkboardnails.com, Pinterest is flowing with mind-blowing nail art. From Christmas lights to Cookie Monster, there’s nail art for every possible occasion. Most of the images link to the original website and give how-to tutorials.
While trying a few of the projects myself, I realized I had a lot to learn. Some are definitely easier than others, but regardless they’re so much fun to try. The first one I tried was the marbling design. It’s as easy as it seems, but it takes a long time! I would recommend doing it to only your thumb or ring finger, then painting the rest a coordinating color to save time but achieve the same tie-dye effect.
After the marble design, I just fooled around and ended up with flowers and waves. It was super fast and came out pretty good, even when painting with my bad hand!
No matter what you try, have fun! Just be patient and make sure you have a lot of time dedicated to it. You wouldn’t want to chip a masterpiece. If you still can’t stand painting your own nails, try Sally Hansen’s Salon Effects nail strips. They surprisingly work great and much longer than the typical polish. The more elaborate the design on them, the less chips show. My personal favorite is the cheetah.
