Got nails?

One of my favorite things is having a nice manicure. Pretty fingernails make me smile because I'm not paying $40 or more to sit in a salon and have polish put on my nails with the same brush that's been applying polish to heaven-only-knows how many previous nails before me.

So there I was this morning, browsing through Pinterest and looking at the different designs of 'nail art' that are all over the Internet. And art it certainly is, especially when you get to the glitter and rhinestones and paintings that can be applied with nail polish these days.  I didn't much like the tiny jewels and pearls on the fingernails... that's not exactly where I want that kind of texture. I can see everything getting caught on those rhinestones, not to mention the little textured rose petals that can be applied to one's fingernails. They were certainly pretty, but not as practical as smoothly painted and polished nails.

I especially loved the nails with glitter, and looking closely at those designs, I knew that I could do that myself. So that's what I set out to do this morning.... and it worked beautifully. First--- clean, clean, polish-free fingernails to start. Then you apply a coat of clear and let it dry thoroughly. Then on goes a coat of whatever color you like.... my 'signature' color is a brick-red shade that I've worn for years, simply because that was always my Aunt Dolly's favorite color... it's a bold color without being brassy, and it works in all seasons.

After the brick-red dried, I took a softer rose color and applied that in one stroke on the left side of my nails, in sort of an upside-down triangle shape, with the wide part of the triangle being at the tip, and the shorter point going down the left edge of each nail. Pretty just as it was, but I wanted to add some glitter.

When the rose-colored triangle had dried, I took the clear polish and brushed that over the triangle... one nail at a time because before that could start to dry, I took a little shaker-bottle of gold glitter and sprinkled a bit over the wet rose-colored polish.  As the polish dries, the glitter sets itself into the wet color and when it dries, it stays there.  When all ten fingernails had the glitter, I waited about fifteen minutes and then applied a coat of clear polish to the entire nail. When that first coat was dried, I added another coat of clear..... and the end result is fantastic, if I do say so myself.

The one coat of clear at the beginning smooths out your nail surface before you start adding the colors... and the last two coats of clear polish will harden your nails and protect the colors and the glitter, and make your manicure last longer. It goes without saying that when you go to this much trouble for your nails, a pair of rubber gloves for the kitchen is a must. Ditto for any kind of gardening.

So here I sit, with a really pretty manicure, which cost me pennies instead of huge dollars, plus it was fun doing it, and while you're waiting for the coats of polish to dry, you can scroll through your Blogs or look through the endless categories on Pinterest.