We know you don’t have a lot of time, especially if you’re working on back-to-back clients. For those last minute requests for nail art, we’ve put together fashionable, yet easy to do nail art designs. They’re fun for beginners and effortless for advanced nail artists.

Remember, there are hundreds of ways to make your creations look detailed without taking up too much time. For instance, try adding rhinestones, decals, or stripes on the nails for an added touch.

Holiday Cheer

1. Ward purchased feathers from a nail art company and cut out a picture of the turkey from a catalog to create this Thanksgiving design. She began by gluing the feather to the middle of the nail. Then, she used a sticky base coat and placed the turkey on the base of the nail. She finished it off with top coat.

2-4. Ward began by painting the back-ground with glitter paint, then painted yellow and white circles for the faces. She drew a different hat for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Next, she drew the eyes, and smiles, and outlined each face with black paint. She drilled a hole through Santa’s hat and attached a bell for an added effect.

5. For this glitzy design, Ward began by painting the
nail with a lime green paint, then painted glitter over it. Next, she painted the tip a French white and finished off by placing light green and diamond rhinestones on the left side of the tip.

6. This festive scheme was done with gold paint. Ward first painted the nail gold, then made it into a French design using white paint. Next, she painted a black stripe across the nail and four black stripes from the right edge with a striper brush. She added a gold rhinestone for an added touch.

New Year’s Dazzle

Showing what a stripping brush can do for you in a matter of minutes. Judy Jensen of Studio 302 in Las Vegas created these five-minute nail art designs.
1. Jensen made this festive design by painting the nail with purple mood polish. Then, using a striper brush, she started at the top corner of the cuticle area and applied dark purple and white stripes, and repeated at the tip side. She added stripes of gold glitter with a striper brush and finished with top coat.

2. Jensen turned this regular French manicure into a dazzling nail art design simply by striping gold glitter and white paint through the middle of the nail. She finished with top coat.

This nail was created u sing a red paint on the base of the nail. Next, Jensen used black paint and gold glitter and with a striper brush, created the design in the middle of the nail.

3. The “sun” design was completed with a red paint on the base of the nail, however, you can use any color you’d like. Then, with a striper brush, she painted gold glitter and white paints starting from the right hand comer of the tip to create the sun ray effect.

'80s Chic

Sheila Lumsden of Oliveri’s Salon in Fargo, N.D., created these “glam” tips that clients can wear for going out on the town or simply to spice up their nails.

1. In less than a minute, Lumsden created this design using a fairly dry, small fan brush, two shades of brown paint, and gold paint. She began by brushing a dark brown paint on the nail, then followed with a lighter brown, and topped it off with gold paint and top coat. Lumsden recommends using water-based acrylics since they dry fast and says that if you’re in a hurry, try using a small blow-dryer.

2. This design was done by first painting the background a purple shade. Then, Lumsden used a stippling tool, dipped it in silver paint, and painted dots from the left corner of the nail, cascading down to create a “comet” effect.

3. For this sparkling creation, Lumsden began by painting the nail a hot pink shade. Then, using a small detail brush, she brushed a turquoise shade, followed by a flat white. She finished it off by adding tiny dots of silver and top coat.