“It’s the most wonderful time of the year!” says Athens-based nail tech Stella Sampson. “Everyone loves Christmas sweaters, so how about wearing them on nails too?” 
 Follow Sampson on Instagram @nailart.stella.  

1. To create the sweater texture, start by painting the nail white and applying matte top coat. Cure. Using white gel paint and a liner brush, draw a V shape on top and continue downwards by drawing rhombus shapes. Cure.

2. Draw vertical lines right next to the rhombuses. Cure. 

3. Draw step-like shapes. Cure.

4. With the liner brush, draw vertical lines inside the V shape. Using a dotting tool, add the dots to perfect the design. Cure. 

Tip: It’s best to cure between each step to keep the gel in place, create a delicate final design, and prevent ruining your design by accidentally touching it.

1. To create the ugly Christmas sweater pattern, paint the nail deep red and use matte top coat. Cure. Using white gel paint and a liner brush, draw four horizontal lines. Keep in mind that you need to leave space for the Christmas trees. 

2. Outline two Christmas trees starting from the top triangles. You don’t need to worry about making perfect lines in this step since you are going to fill the design later. 

3. Fill the trees with white gel paint and draw X shapes above and below the lines. Cure. 

4. Draw one line above the X shapes on the top and one line below the X shapes on the bottom. Using a dotting tool, add the dots to perfect the design. Cure.