GITD Holiday Lights DIY Decal Tutorial!

Hello Dahlings!

Yes, my title for today's post is a mouthful. LOL

This post is also chock full of pics, so grab a beverage & enjoy da show!

 This is da fun I have for you to try! (pic shot in black light to show da art & gitd bits) I am assuming that you already know how to use nail stamping supplies. I'm just showing you a method I find easier than stamping directly on my nails that can also be used to increase the design possibilities in your nail art. There are a bazzilion YouTube tutorials showing how to stamp on your nails if you haven't learned how to do this yet.

 Da line up: Kleancolor Metallic Black 168, Republic Nail silver gitd, Nabi gitd Blue 07, Nabi gitd Navy Blue 17, Nabi gitd Fuchsia 06, Nabi gitd Purple 08, Kleancolor White 04 & my tiniest dotting tool with da pointy tip on one end.

 1 coat of Metallic Black. Yes, one coat! This polish is also good for stamping & has a nice, not streaky, foil finish. If you're worried about dinging your nails while working on your decals, you can apply a coat of your fav fast dry tc. Kleancolor polishes do tend to have a bit of an odor, but da low price helps make up for it. I usually buy this brand in lots thru' Amazon which knocks the MSRP from $3.50 each down to $1.50 or less including the s/h & many times I don't have to pay any shipping.

 This is my new silicone DIY decal mat & the best decal base polish I've found so far, Milani Glosse' Top Coat.

You don't want a fast dry tc cuz it can shrink & curl while drying & that won't work for decals. I tested several clear, slow drying polishes (NYC, L.A. Colors, Orly Top2Bottom are a few I can remember) & they either curled or were so thin when dry that I had to apply a 2nd or even 3rd coat to da decal base or risk tearing them when removing them from the template. You want a thick clear polish. My 1st bottle of Glosse' I found at Dollar Tree (& I'm still using it) & then I went to Amazon & bought a lot of 5 bottles. Eventually I may have to find something else to use, but for now I'm well stocked!

 My decal template is a strip I cut off a hot glue silicone pad I got at Michael's years ago. They still carry silicone hot gluing pads, but da one I just got is clear with black zebra stripes. Any smooth silicone pad (Ii.e. a silicone baking sheet or hot pad coaster from da kitchen supply are other sources for these pads, check da sale bins too!) should work for this, but a see thru one will allow you to trace your measured nail forms on one side & use da polish on da other. I used a small ruler to measure each nail from cuticle to tip & from side to side. I added about an 1/8" extra to those measurements for wiggle room & used da ruler with a fine tip black Sharpie to draw da lil rectangles on one side of da mat. If you draw your forms on da same side you polish, da polish may remove da lines after awhile. My nails tend to max out at 3/4" from cuticle to tip, so I made my forms to fit this length. But since my nails are currently much shorter than this, I only used what I needed this time. (I know of several bloggers that use a nail stamper to make their decals & this method works, but it means making your decals one at a time while switching back & forth between polishes. My method is more of a production line approach that uses your time & polish more efficiently.)

To make da decal bases, paint da clear polish on da mat using a thickish amount. Sometimes I add a drop of polish to da center of each decal to smooth things out & make them a bit thicker over all. Let your decal bases dry for at least 5 minutes.

 I used da open design tree lights on da right from Vivid Lacquer plate 007. When your decal bases are dry, stamp da design on each one & let dry for a few minutes.

I did this step using da Republic Nail silver gitd polish.

 Grab a piece of scrap paper, foil, or wax paper to use as a palette. (I use sticky note pads my mom gets from drug reps at da clinic where she works. I use each sheet until it's full, then peel it off & throw it away once da polish dries.) Make a small (1/4") puddle of da 1st color (I think that's da Navy Blue) on your palette, then dip da tip of da pointy end into da polish & carefully dab it on one of da lil light bulbs. Try to stay in da lines, but don't sweat it if a smidge goes over. I basically started at one end of da string of lights on a decal & counted as I went. Dab of polish, 2, 3, 4 lights, dab of polish etc, until I had that decal done. I did this using da same color on all 10 decals. By da time I finished da 1st color, da decals I did 1st were dry & I went on to da 2nd color.

I did this for all 4 colors & let them dry for a few minutes.

 I then went over all of da lil lights using da same pointy dotting tool & White.

Why? These gitd polish are all jellies & I used black for my base color. By adding da white behind da lights da colors will show true & glow better than if I just applied da jellies over da black. Over black my lights would still gitd, but in da daytime my nails would look like my lights weren't turned on. Sometimes it's these lil details that make all the difference in your nail art.

 Once da White was dry, I carefully peeled off one decal (this is one for my pinky) using reverse grip tweezers. (This type of tweezers requires you to squeeze da handle to open da prongs & holds onto da item when you stop squeezing, as opposed to regular tweezers that you have to squeeze to hang on to stuff. Those work for this too, but da reverse grips are easier to use.) I set da tweezers down & applied a very thin coat of Glosse' to da nail. I didn't worry about getting da polish all da way to da cuticle or tip, just the center of da nail.

 I stuck da decal down & moved it to where I wanted it.

I then used my finger to gentle press da decal down to da edges of da nail.

 I then used small scissors to trim away most of da excess decal.

 Using a small flat angle paint brush dipped in acetone (you can use polish remover) I wiped away da remaining decal bits on my skin. As I did this, I made sure to secure da edges of da decal to da nail around da cuticle & sides as well as wrapping da excess on da tip to da back of da nail. I repeated this step for da other nails & applied a coat of Seche Vite.

 Ta Da! Custom nail decals any way you want them,

when you want them

& at a fraction of da cost of store bought fancy nail wraps.

 Under black light...

...and in da sink! (My black light gets clamped to a drawer in da bathroom

& da sink is in shadow making a perfect black hole to show da glow.)

Some of you have asked about adding end wear pics

& info to my posts...ask & you shall receive!

 

These are my right hand tips after 2 days. Keep in mind that I only applied one coat of base, one coat of KC Metallic Black plus one coat of Glosse' (the decals) & one coat of Seche Vite (wrapping da tips with everything but da base). During this time I typed a 7 page newsletter, my hair & nails post & answered a couple dozen emails on top of every day life. (dishes, showering, scrubbing da floor under da cat box cuz somebody decided to miss da box etc.) I had no chipping & considering how thin my mani was at only 3 layers over da tips, da Metallic Black held up pretty well.

 

How 'bout some Ciri Spam?

 

 Meowmy? Why do's they tag team me?

 

Who us? We do everything together cuz that's what we do!

 

Have you entered da Jingle All The Way Giveaway! ...why da heck not?

You have NO chance of winning a gift card for your choice

of one of da five fab vendors if you don't enter!

 

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Inky