Weird Wednesdays ~ DIY Water Marble Decals!!!

Hello Dahlings!

Yep! You read da title of this post correctly. I did indeed figure out how to make water marbled DIY decals. I was reading Light of the Moon Nails blog & like it so often happens when reading what Tina's been up to...inspiration struck! Is it possible to make water marbled decals so as to not have to go thru all of da regular water marbling steps?

Yes ma'am, it is!

 

 See? While its not a good water marbling attempt

(thanks Ciri for da cat hair hanging off da tip)

it is water marbling on a DIY decal!!!

 

A few things you have to know how to do before attempting this technique:

 

How to water marble using polish: My Simple Little Pleasures

Colette is THE DIVA of water marbling & can teach you everything

you need to know about how to do it successfully.

 

How to make DIY Decals:

my method ~ DIY decals on silicone

Missy Gnarly Gnails method ~ DIY decals on wax paper

Michelle Lacquer or Leave Her! method ~ DIY decals on plastic

 

I've heard about making decals on a nail stamping tool, but don't have a link.

My recommendation if you use this method to make your decals,

is to tape your stamper like you would your nails

so you don't have that mess to clean off your stamper.

 

 Da line up: Peripera WH801, China Glaze Naked,

Bizarre Blurple & Splish Splash

 

I made my decal bases at this point so they would be dry when I was done applying da base color. Instead of painting clear rectangles that fit my templates, I carefully poured da clear polish onto da silicone & used da brush to spread it out to cover 3 nail templates & da spaces between da templates. Also, my silicon is cut into a 1" x 8" strip which makes it easy to dip into da water. If you use a silicone pad, wax paper or thick plastic bag, you need to cut it into an 1" wide strip (as long as you like, but wider than your longest nail) before you make your decal bases.

 

I tried placing da larger silicone pad my strip was cut off over da bowl I use for water marbling to see if I could make a piece as large as da surface of da water, but da pad buckled as I pushed it into da bowl to da level of da water (my lil bowl has lines about 1/2" below da rim & this is where I fill da water to). I also tried this with a thick piece of plastic & that too buckled before it got low enuf to do da job. You really need to use a strip of whatever material you use to make decals, unless you're using a stamper.

 

Why don't I use a stamper to make my decals? I prefer doing my nails production style (i.e. 1 step done to all decals at da same time before moving onto da next step) rather than one nail at a time.

 

 2 coats of WH801.

(I like this white much better than CG WoW.)

 It does go on streaky with da 1st coat, but it self levels on da 2nd coat.

Da lil bit of roughness you might notice on my ring finger is from a patch made of Orly's Nail Repair. I had taken da top layer off that nail in spots while removing chunky glitter & this stuff is great for filling in those spots & keeping them from peeling. I just need to buff it smoother when doing da next mani.

 

I made 2 decals, each large enuf to cover 2-3 nails. I only did enuf for 1 hand, so for both hands you'll need 4 decals this size. Normally I put da decal base polish on da other side from where I drew da nail templates with a Sharpie, but I ditzed & put da polish on da wrong side this time. So I have template lines on my decals that limit where I can cut them to get da best pattern for my nails. I redrew those lines on my silicone using a silver Sharpie so I don't do that again.

 

 Yeah, I know. My water marbling skills need mucho practice. LOL But I did manage to get rings of polish to form a stripy pattern of sorts & I got that pattern to transfer to da strip when I lowered da strip into da water. I then used a skinny cuticle stick to clean up all da unused polish & to wipe excess polish off da edges of da silicone strip.

 

 This is da other decal I made.

I let them sit wet for a couple minutes so da polish cured a bit & then carefully blotted da water off da polish with a tissue. I then let them dry for about 15 minutes.

 

 I used da angled end of da cuticle stick to gently lift da edge of da decal & remove it from da strip. I trimmed pieces to fit my nails, then applied them, marbled polish side down, using da same clear polish. I secured da edges & top coated with Seche Vite da same way I do for stamped decals. I apply my decals polish side down so I don't smear da design while cleaning up da edges with acetone or when applying top coat.

 

Above is a left over piece of decal. You can see how thin they are, but they don't easily tear. You can also see da template lines forming a rectangle on da template. Polish will lift da Sharpie off da silicone & its easier to avoid doing this than to fix it after.

 

Ta da...da worst water marbling you may ever see,

but I did it on decals!

My theory proved true, but my skills need lots of practice!

 

Why do it this way over traditional water marbling?

No taping of my fingers.

If I don't like what I get, after dipping, 

I can easily make another decal

& not have to redo a nail.

 

How do I clean my silicone template?

I let da polish left overs fully cure for hour or so

then use my plastic stamping scraper to remove da worst of it

them wash it in warm soapy & water to get da lil clingy bits off.

I pat it dry & it's good to go for da next time.

 

I really like da added versatility making my own decals gives me

& plan on trying some other messy nail art techniques

that I've resisted doing cuz of da mess to clean up after.

 

>^. .^<

 

 These are my neighbor's 2 cats.

I don't know their 'real' names (like any human knows da true name of any cat?) so I call da white one Doofy cuz he's a lovable dufus & da black one Bandita cuz she looks like she could be da daughter of my mom's departed cat Bandit. Why are they on my porch? Da weather went below freezing & stayed there for most of a week in December. These 2 are outside a lot of da time & there was no water for them to drink cuz it was all frozen. So I brought out a bowl of warm water for them. They were friendly to me before this, but they're really friendly now! LOL

 

Doofy is as soft as he looks & loves to jump into my lap for a snuggle. When it's really cold he likes to burrow under my coat & sit in my lap with just his head peeking out. This lover boy can purr like a finely tuned engine! Do I want them for my own? Heck no! (I still have 4 cats...I do not want 6, again.) I don't feed them & I don't let them into my house, tho' Doofy tries to slip in on a regular basis. Their owner feeds them well & they certainly high tail it for home if a car they know pulls in to their driveway or somebody opens da door at their house. I enjoy their visits, but that's all I want from them.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Inky