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"Art Gallery" showcases the nail art of some of the best artists in the industry. Every month, the column features four to six nail art designs created by one or more of our readers with easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions. The nail art usually follows a theme for an upcoming holiday or season and depicts that theme in creative, easy-to-replicate designs. The column also provides promotional tips to help readers make the most of their nail art businesses.
Nailpro is actively seeking nail art submissions, so send in your best examples today. If your art is chosen, we'll pay you $25 per nail and you'll be featured in an upcoming issue. Package nails securely, using bubble wrap, a padded box or cotton, and send by snail mail to: Nailpro, 7628 Densmore Ave., Van Nuys, CA 91406, Attn.: "Art Gallery." Don't forget to include your name, address and phone number! |
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Help your clients celebrate special family bonds.
By Pam Minch
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 May is the month to pay tribute to the special women in our lives. Whether she’s a mother, stepmother, grandmother, daughter or some other significant person who helped shape us, now is the time to thank her for her love and guidance.
Some of the ways we show our gratitude to the women we love include giving gifts of dazzling jewels, heart-shaped cards or fragrant flowers. For this month’s “Art Gallery,” we’ve found ways to incorporate these tokens of love into gorgeous nail art designs that will surely please all of your female clients, young and old, and especially mother/daughter clients who frequent your salon. The twist: Offer two nail art options—one for the mother, one for the daughter—that go hand in hand to form one design. On the following pages, nail tech Audrey Watabe shares some of her favorite mother/daughter-themed nails.
What Mother’s Day would be complete without flowers? I designed a pair of pansies that you can paint over two nails—or paint one half to give your clients a tiny blossom of spring.
No matter what mother/daughter designs your clients choose, they’ll be wearing expressions of love courtesy of you, their talented nail tech! In our examples, we show step-by-step photos for one nail design, but we list instructions for both nails.
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 Step 1. Polish nails using glittery pink polish. Create a French tip with white polish on one tip.
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 Step 2. Using pink paint, write “Mom Is the Best” diagonally on the white tip. Using white paint, write “Thank You I Love You Mom” diagonally across the pink nail.
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 Step 3. Glue rhinestones and gold bullion along the smile line of the French nail and two rhinestones onto the pink nail. Finish with top coat.
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Average Time: 5 minutes per nail.
Suggested Price: $5 per nail.
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 Step 1. Polish one nail lime green and the other nail holographic silver. Paint French tips on each using the opposite colors. Allow to dry and apply top coat.
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 Step 2. Glue rhinestones to the nails (follow the pattern in the photo or come up with a pattern on your own). Finish with top coat.
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Average Time: 5 minutes per nail.
Suggested Price: $5 per nail.
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 Step 1. Polish the nails shimmering light green. Using pale lavender paint, create the main flower shape across two nails. Allow the design to dry. Remember to match up the nails so that the flower’s edges meet.
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 Step 2. Using blues and purples, start shading from the center of the flower, moving outward to the edges. Make sure to thin your paint for this step. Apply several layers to make the correct effect. Gradually add darker purples as you paint closer to the flower’s center.
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 Step 3. Using deep purple, paint the outside petals. Allow the design to dry. Use the same shading technique as before, using purple and blue paints.
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 Step 4. Create green leaves. Allow the design to dry.
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 Step 5. Accent the leaves and add dots to the center of the flower using yellow paint. Allow the design to dry and add veins with dark green paint. Allow the design to dry and add top coat.
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Average Time: 5 minutes per nail.
Suggested Price: $5 per nail.
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 Step 1. Polish both nails pearly lavender and allow them to dry. Using pink, paint half of a heart on one nail and the other half of the heart on the second nail. Make sure to line up the heart at its top and bottom.
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 Step 2. Fill in the noses and insides of the ears with light pink. Glue on rhinestones and flower stones for accents. Finish with top coat.
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 Step 3. Create the bears’ details—eyes, nose, ears, arms, legs and tail—using black paint. Add red/pink smiles to both bears. Outline the bodies in black. Allow the design to dry.
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 Step 4. Fill in the noses and insides of the ears with light pink. Glue on rhinestones and flower stones for accents. Finish with top coat.
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Average Time: 5 minutes per nail.
Suggested Price: $5 per nail.
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When I create nail art that spans across two nails, I prefer to sketch the design first on a sticky note. I then cut the sticky note down the middle and scrutinize it. This helps me determine which parts of the design go on each nail.
Celebrating her 25th year as a nail tech this year, Pam Minch specializes in nail art at Elysium Day Spa in Parker, Colorado. Her art has been featured in Sports Illustrated and several other publications. She has been a top nail art competitor, a competition judge and an educator for a major manufacturer.
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