Back To School!

             Ok guys, here we go.

                   I'm going to take it nail by nail...starting with the notebook paper nail. 

                   This is what I used for the index finger:

                   Start by painting the entire nail white. You'll most smooth results if you paint a few thin coats at a time rather than using medium coats like with other colored polish. Since I knew I would be painting over the white, I just went for it and used a medium coat. 

                   Then with a thin brush or striper polish, paint on the light blue lines. You can also use a toothpick but make sure that the white is completely dry. If not, the toothpick may streak the polish and you will either have to repaint or be left with a top coat that has "dents". 

               
                       If you want super straight lines, you can use nail tape too. It's a little more time consuming but it will give you clean, straight lines. Next, using the same tool you used for the blue lines, make one vertical stripe going down the side of the nail. (Make sure the tool you use is clean and there is no blue polish left on it) 

                      And you're done with the index finger! You can go ahead an apply your top coat, I like to do that at the very end when I'm done with all my fingers. 



                     Next we have the middle finger which is going to be my chalkboard nail. Below are the colors I went with. Start out by painting the entire nail your favorite black polish. 

                        To make the letters I used a striper polish that I purchased from a Sally's Beauty Supply store. It's regular nail polish but it has a long thin brush rather than the traditional square one. You can use a paint brush dipped in white polish too. I like the stripers because they are a little more thick than regular polish and they dry faster and more opaque than using a non-striper polish.

                        The letters with round components are harder to draw. My tip is don't draw them out in one or two strokes like you would if you are writing with a pen on paper...use more. For the "B" I started out with it's "backbone". Then draw the top hump first like a mini "c", then the bottom one. Close the two to make it look like a "P". Now do the same with the bottom part of the B. See the diagram below, followed by the pictures of my nails. I numbered the strokes in orders that I painted them. 

                     I noticed that my "A" was smaller than the "B" and "C" so I made it a little larger by going over it again with the white. 

                     Now everyone is happy :) We're done with the chalkboard!
  
                     Next is the ringer finger which is the eraser. This is what I used:

                      Start out by painting your entire nail yellow. Then, with your gray polish carefully paint a band going across the nail. I used the brush straight out of the nail polish bottle. You can use a small paint brush if you'd like. 

                      Next, to get more of a "pencil" look, paint a couple of vertical lines in a lighter yellow shade above the band. I didn't have a lighter yellow polish so I used acrylic paint and a thin paint brush to get my lines. 

        
                         Then, using the darker gray, make two horizontal lines outlining the light gray band. Then put a line in the center as well. The lines I made look black, but they are actually gray. Black will work too.

                          The last step is carefully painting the bottom of the nail pink for the eraser. I used the brush right out of the bottle to paint below the lowest vertical line. You can use a paint brush for this step too. If you accidentally paint over the dark gray lines you can always touch them up and go over them again. Don't worry, everything can be fixed! 

                         That's it for the ring finger! On to the pinkie...
                         Here's what I used for the apple on the pinkie:

                            Start by applying your base color first. I chose "Beaches and Cream" by SinfulColors. You can really use any color you think will go with the apple's red color.   
Then I made a heart shape line at about mid nail for the apple. For this line I used a thin brush dipped in the nail polish. Fill it in using the brush of your choice. I used a small square brush to help me stay inside the lines.

    

                          For the stem I used some brown acrylic paint and a long thin brush. For the leaf I used green polish and the same long brush.

                 Using the "Beaches and Cream" and the thin brush I made a little streak on the side of the apple to make it that shiny effect. You can also use white for this. 

 

Now its time for the thumb!

This is what I used for the school bus:

             
                            Paint your entire thumb nail yellow. I wasn't too worried about having a nice smooth coat (as you can see) because I knew I would be adding more to it and would cover up the the mistakes.

                         Then paint a thick black stripe on the top of the nail. I used a black striper polish because its easily guided and dries quicker. 

                           Then, using a light blue polish and a small square brush, paint two squares under the thick black line. These will be your windows. Mine are not perfect but once you outline them in black (I used a striper) they even out.

                             Below the windows we have to make the grill for the bus. Using a darker shade of yellow will look best. I didn't have one so I used a thin coat of an orange polish that I had. After you paint the hood, add horizontal lines going across for the grill.

  

                         Now, using the white striper, write the word "BUS" on the top of the black line. Remember, the more strokes you use the better the letters will turn out. If you mess up just fill in with the black again and start over. Add two white dots on either side of the word "BUS" for the lights. 

                      Now we can add the windshield wipers. With the striper or a dotting tool, add two small dots right above the windows. Put them in the center. Then you want to make a line going diagonally down. 

                           With an orange polish, paint over the two white dots you made next to the word "BUS" to make the flashing lights. I used Finger Paints "Vermillion Dollar Painting" because its a nice red-ish orange with some shimmer to it.

Voila! We're done! I used a matte top coat for all the nails except the pinkie and half the ring finger. For the ring finger I used matte over the pink eraser and regular top coat over the rest of the pencil. Not too shabby, eh? Happy painting  everyone!