Nails 101: A Student Blog

Old School Nail Art Video...and Lots of Flowers

by NAILS Magazine | May 8, 2013 | Bookmark +

I have to honestly say that it was very hard to get up and get to class on time today. When I woke up I wasn't really feeling that well — headache, queasy stomach, and tired. I'm guessing that this week I pushed myself a little more with a full-time job, coming home and taking care of the family, and trying to squeeze in some practicing with sculpting a nail using the forms. I've been going to bed extra late and still getting up at the same time, and the one day that I have to sleep in and rest up is used to actually play catch up from everything that I didn't get to during the week. But I bared back my teeth (no really visualize me biting down to fight the urge to stay in between the covers) and got up and went to class.

Fortunately for me my instructor must have ESP and she took it easy on us by bringing out a movie demonstrating some common nail art. This movie was so old; I mean VHS old! We laughed at how technology had changed, we laughed at the corny elevator music that kept going in and out, but most of all we laughed that almost every design was some kind of flower. True we did learn how to do some common lines and how to jazz up a design with swipes of glitter, but really...9 out of 10 designs centered around a flower. I'm not talking about a tulip or even a rose, I'm talking about where you make a dot in the center and five dots around it and...voila you have a common flower! Times have surely changed. Now we use micro beads, foil, even small washers (for my DIY no explanation is needed but for everyone else a washer is most commonly used with a bolt to help secure something in place...like when you're putting together a bed frame; there are washers to be used...lol) if that's what the design calls for. And let's not even bring up 3-D art...that's in a class of its own.

Mrs. Patsy (my instructor) brought out some art supplies and Stripe Rite paints so we could practice designing on our practice nails. She kept saying, “Bring the design from your mind onto the nail.” To me that's easier said than done. I design better when I have an image in front of me that I can refer back to if I need to, but I managed to pull three designs from my mind and they seemed to come out OK. My classmates really seemed to think so and asked me to put a few of the designs on their own nails (which was sweet and made me feel pretty good).

 

Just when I thought the entire day was going to be care free my instructor then announced that we'll be learning how to do an acrylic overlay. This wasn't as hard for me as sculpting a nail. The hardest part of sculpting a nail in my opinion is trying to get the form just right or trying to get the form to stay in place. I was told that it's harder to put a form on properly using a practice finger but I practiced on a few of my classmates and I was still having a hard time. I know that I need help in this area, so if anyone has any advice that they are willing to share for free (smile) then please leave a comment. Any and all help is much appreciated. I've included an picture of my third attempt in practicing an acrylic overlay (please keep in mind that it might look a little discolored b/c of the glue dots that I use under the tip to keep it in place).

— Stacelyn

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