Well, Punksatony Phil (the groundhog) saw his shadow early this morning and predicted we will have six more weeks of winter. What a bummer! Well, I guess since we will be having more snow and cold weather why not paint your nails with snowflakes on them, right??? I actually did these nails on my mom early in January, but since winter will be continuing six more weeks (especially in the eastern states), they seemed appropriate to share today.

Note: I will be providing instructions on how to achieve this look with plain polish, along with Gel Polish.

Step 1: Prep Nails

View my post on Nail Polish Prep.

 

Step 2: Paint Nails Blue

Paint all of the nails with two coats of blue polish. I used the Shellac color called, Cerulean Sea.

Gel Polish: Apply two coats of polish. Cure 2 minutes in the UV light, or 1 minute in an LED light.Let It Snow

Step 3: Snowflakes & Polka-Dots

On the ring fingers, I began by painting a small “squished” X and then did an extra line along the other side, fill in that shape. Let It Snow

Now paint thin lines that extend from in between those lines. Let It Snow

On each line, paint lines that remind me of the back of an arrow (I’m not sure how else to explain these lines). Let It Snow

After you do those lines on each thin line, add a dot of paint on the end of each line.
Let It Snow

For the index (pointer) fingers, do half of the same snowflake on the corner tip of the nail.Let It Snow

Now on all the nails, add some medium and small polka-dots.

Note: When hand painting images on your nails use acrylic craft paints, not polish. You will get crisper lines and much more “pop” than you would with polish. Some polishes can sometimes dry almost transparent which makes the image hazy and you won’t get the wow factor you are going for.

Snowflake Nail Art

Step 4: Rhinestone Jewels

Apply a health top coat to all the nails. Make sure the paint is completely dry before adding top coat to help avoid smearing. While top coat is very wet gently push the jewel into the top coat in the center of the snowflakes. This will create the jewel to be sealed into the top coat layer.

Shellac: Apply top coat and jewel. Cure in UV light for 2 minutes. If needed, do another application of top coat and cure in light.Let It Snow

Note: The best way to pick up the little jewel is to use a toothpick. You touch the toothpick to a damp cloth and then to the top of the jewel. Place on to the nail.Baby, It's Cold Outside

 

Step 5: Allow to Dry and Apply Cuticle Oil

Allow your polish to dry completely. Apply a cuticle oil just around your nails on the cuticle and rub into the skin.

Gel Polish: Remove sticky residue on top of nails with a little alcohol or polish remover and apply cuticle oil.
Let It Snow

Remove gel polish after 2-3 weeks, check out Gel Polish Removal for the quickest, easiest and best way to remove gels.