Quick tutorial on how to get red white and blue swirl nails from nail polish – –
So, the other day I saw this on Pinterest:
So obviously the swirl affect was not my idea – – but I WAS the genius who thought it’d be fun to go with Red White and Blue for all the patriotic summer shindigs.
I got my girls involved:
So a quick tutorial – – grab your colors and drop paint into a cup of water:
Use a toothpick to swirl the colors around:
Dip your fingers in and out – let dry – voila! But let me tell you, this is SUPER messy! How did that Pinterest picture get hers looking so neat?? I have no idea. We used remover on the under-side of fingers and around the nails, but it still wasn’t perfect.
So why am I posting about Red White and Blue in the middle of June?? to prep you, in case you, unlike me, don’t have those colors sitting in some cabinet from 10+ years ago waiting to be used…..(see, I told you this was messy – – my camera buttons look as spotted as the nail polish lids!)
This is how mine came out – it was a first attempt and I think I could do better a second time around (I think the key is in how you swirl)….
(doesn’t my hand holding the nailpolish look like some giant claw?!? – yikes!)
Go try it, and let me know if you have any helpful hints I need to share with everyone!!
Cool technique! I will have to try it! BTW Flag day is June 14th!
Use regular clear tape to create a mask for your nails before dunking them. Also do 2 drops of each color first 3 colors then layer the 3 colors again, the colors will look a little less blobbish then! I also find that some brands work better than others but have had success with Sally Hansen xtreme.
this looks so cool! I wish I could do my toenails with this technique; but, I imagine it’d be difficult to do.
I did a search and found this tutorial on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRjCKf_-N70
I would never have thought to do it that way. So clever! Did it take forever to dry since it was in water?
Well that’s just nifty! But I do so much sewing nail polish doesn’t last long – pins are rough on them….maybe before vacation when I won’t be sewing I’ll try this 🙂
Super fun!!! Might have to give this a try! 🙂
I saw this on pinterest and wanted to try it but was scared. 🙂 Yours look great – even if they aren’t “perfect” – love the red white and blue.
I’m going to have to try this. My girls LOVE to get their nails painted. We usually make a mess, so I’m not too intimidated by that part. Thanks for sharing!!
https://btanders.blogspot.com
Thanks Amber! We just tried this and I wish now I had read the comments first the masking would have saved me about 40 minutes of clean up on 3 little girls. Some types of nail polish that didn’t work well. Quick dry polish, it makes a film. Matte finish polish, it may mix with other matte, but we tried mixing with regular. And mixing the clear kind with sparkles left us with patches of nails with out color. Thanks! I occupied an entire afternoon, and they couldn’t wait to show their friends.
yep< I’ve done it with the tape, but I have heard that you can also use glue(elmers or maybe even rubber cement)as a mask on your fingers. Another tip would be to paint your nails white first, it makes the colors pop:)
This looks so cool. You should win some sort of Cool Mom Award for doing this with your girls. 🙂
My sister tried this after I shared the Pinterest link with her & my dad suggested putting Vasoline on her skin before dipping into the polish. She said it worked great & was definitely less messy. Love your red, white, & blue!
You did better than me 🙂 I’m going to give it a go again soon
I found that having the water level close to the top allows you to dip the nail without the whole fingertip being dipped. Less mess as long as you don’t spill the water. I’ve heard that they mix better if you stick with one brand.