Green Squares

Apologies for the lack of posting last week - I got behind and simply forgot to post this. It's all good though since this week's manicure didn't exactly work out, so I'm glad I have this to share with you. :-)

There are a lot of photos this week...bear with me! For this manicure, I used some of the new stencils from Nail Art Delights (linked to the right). As a point of disclaimer, I bought these (and several other sets) to try...and I'll be buying more. I love them! Settle in - I'll show you how they work. Before I started polishing, I cut the stencil stickers in half - I wanted to use the squares/diamonds three at a time rather than six.

I started with a base of Avon's new green, "Jade". Two coats, and it dries very quickly. Nice that Avon is finally putting out new nail colors!

 

Then I put two coats of another new Avon color, "Olive Green" diagonally across each nail.

I defined the line between the colors with my black Sally Hansen nail art pen, which I'm completely in love with.

Then it was time to start stenciling! These stencils have adhesive on the back. Avon polish dries quickly, but as per the stencil directions, I stuck them to the pads of my fingers several times to take the adhesive down a bit. Then I positioned it on the Jade side of my thumb.

I brushed on Olive Green to fill the stencil:

And then I pulled the stencil off carefully right away. If you leave the stencil on, the polish will seal it to your nail - don't do that!

Then I did the Olive side with Jade squares:

And voila! Neat little squares in a straight line, no rhinestones or embellishments needed.

I sealed them with two coats of Seche Vite, and cleaned them up the next morning. This is after a few days of wear.

As you can see, I didn't get the polish as smooth as I'd have liked, but I still think it turned out pretty well, overall. I can't wait to try more of these stencils - so much easier than stamping for me!

Stop by Friday for Notable Nail Art around the blogosphere! Until then, Happy Polishing...