How to Make Fun, Quick And Easy Nail Designs

Match your nails to your mood with quick and easy designs.

Nail art offers a way to express your style, personality and creativity. Creating nail designs does not have to be time consuming or require an expensive trip to the nail salon. Decorate your own nails at home easily and quickly with just a few simple tools and your own nail polish. These designs work for short, long or acrylic nails. Create coordinating designs on your toes as well. Always begin with clean and buffed nails for a smooth application.

Things You'll Need

• Nail stickers or stamps (optional)
• Clear protective base and top coat
• Toothpick or small paint brush

Instructions

1. Purchase nail stickers or stamps from a craft or beauty supply store. Paint two coats of nail polish for a base color and allow to dry. Place design on nails and finish with a clear protective top coat.

2. Create simple stripes for a geometric print. Purchase a thin paintbrush from a craft store or use a toothpick. Paint horizontal, diagonal or criss-cross lines in the colors of your choice. Use black and white stripes for a zebra look or black and yellow for a bumble bee pattern.

3. Use glitter nail polish for a festive look. Paint the glitter over a base color, use alone or paint just the tips of the nails.

4. Make polka dots using the non-bristle end of a thin paint brush or a toothpick. Dip the end of the brush or toothpick into the nail polish and carefully dot the nails. Cover the entire nail, overlap different colors or create a pattern along the edge of the nail.

5. Paint small flowers on nails by using the polka-dot technique. Make a circle of polka dots using one color. In a different color, place a dot in the center of the circle.

6. Replace the traditional French manicure colors with bold contrasting polish. Instead of using of pink and white, experiment with pink and green, blue and yellow or black and white. Paint two layers for a base coat in one color. With the other color, carefully paint across the tips of the nails. Use two or three coats.

7. Draw simple faces with eyes, nose and mouth using black nail polish and a toothpick. In the color of your choice, paint two coats on each nail for the base layer. Draw a different face on each hand or match the faces to your mood.

Tips & Warnings

• To prevent dark colors from staining nails, use a clear base layer before painting the nails.

• A clear protective top coat helps prevent chipping. Paint on a top coat every other day to maintain a manicure.

References

• Become Gorgeous: Easy Colorful Nail Art Ideas
• Brokelyn; Get Stuck on DIY Manicure Shortcuts; Sue Smith; April 19, 2011

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• Read this Article in Spanish