Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Tutorial: Newspaper Print Manicure

This is an awesome technique where you can transfer lines of newspaper print onto your nails. Check out the first time I tried it here. This is very different from another type of newspaper manicure where you actually put little pieces of paper on your nails and stick them there like a decoupage. I much prefer this method. Doesn't it look pimp? :P
It's actually really easy! All you need is some newspaper, a pair of scissors, a small container that is deep and narrow, and some rubbing alcohol or vodka.
1. Paint your nails with your base color. Choose a very light color like white, light gray, lavender, silver, pink, etc. The color I chose for this tutorial is my latest favorite, Zoya Piper! Let your color dry completely. You can use a top coat to make it dry faster, but you probably shouldn't use drying drops as you'll need another top coat after the print.

2. Cut a separate piece of newspaper for each nail that you'd like to do. The piece should be about half an inch longer than your nail, and half an inch wider than your nail on each side, for ease of handling and to assure you completely cover your nail.
(Excuse the wet nail here, I skipped to the next step then went back to take this picture.)

3. One at a time, dip your nail into the alcohol all the way and leave it for a couple seconds to make sure it's all the way wet.

4. Take it out, then immediately press the piece of paper onto your nail so that if fully covers it. It won't cover it all at once because we aren't magical, but that's okay. Just make sure to always be holding the paper in the same place on your nail at one point, while rubbing gently with your fingers on the other parts of the nail. Make sure to get the parts closest to the edges and the cuticles as well. You can peek under the newspaper after you think you've got your nail covered with the newspaper print to see if you're really done. (This picture was hard to take because normally you'd have both hands).

5. Do the above with all 10 nails before putting a topcoat on to seal the design in. I made the mistake of topcoating each one as I did it because I watched a tutorial like that and I messed a lot of them up. Just be careful as you're doing the other nails that you don't dip one you've already done in the alcohol, or rub it, as the print will come off. This is what it looks like before the top coat. The top coat makes it so much better. Not only does it seal in the design, it makes it appear more clear so the final result is better.
This is actually a really easy manicure to do. It was only difficult because I was doing this tutorial on a false nail instead of my hands. It was actually way easier on my own nails because I could hold the paper with the hand I was doing with my adjacent fingers, then rub the paper with my free hand.

Please let me know if you try this!

5 comments:

  1. Ooo nice! I may try this with an off white nail. :)

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  2. Oooh yea then it will look like real newspaper :D.

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  3. I will be trying this within the week.

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  4. Awesome! I'd love to know if my tutorial helps you, if it worked well, etc. Just remember the details like rubbing around the edges, etc. I want to see pics!!

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