A Little Bit of Pink Leopard...

I decided this morning that it was time for my pink paisley toes to go.  They were chipping a little, so I had to say goodbye to them and figure out what I wanted next. 

One of my favorite designs to do is leopard print.  (I usually think it's a little much for fingernails, but on toenails I think pretty much anything goes.)  Since I'm still in the mood for bright spring colors, though, I decided to do pink leopard print!  Fun, right?  :)

I also thought I would take pictures of the process in case anyone ever wanted to give it a try.

  This is the end result...

I think it will be pretty fun for the next week.  Then, I'll try to come up with something "Easter-y."

I've done this design with quite a few colors... natural brown and gold, pink, green, and blue.

The key is to have a light and a dark polish in the same color family, along with a black.

These are some color combinations I've used in the past.

 

I really like using this nail art pen for the black areas because it lets me easily do precise work.

If you don't have one though, you can use a very small paint brush or nail art brush.

When you decide on your color scheme, start with the light color first. (Technically I start with a clear undercoat, but you don't have to.)  Don't worry if the light coat isn't thick.  Just make sure everything is covered for the most part.  You don't want it to get too thick because you have other layers still to come.

When the first coat has dried, it's time for the next step.

Use the darker color to put random "spot" shapes all over.

It's very important that the shapes are random in shape and in placement.  You want it to look organic and not like a structured, repetitive pattern.

It will look something like this...

Allow those spots to dry, and then it's time for the black.

Remember to keep in mind that this is mimicking the pattern of a living critter, so it's not going to be perfect or uniform.  You want to keep the irregular thing going on... no "perfect" circles or uniform shapes.

Use your nail art pen or a tiny brush dipped into a dot of black polish to add a little black around the dark shapes.  Do not just circle the whole shape.  It's won't look right.  You want to randomly cover 2 or three sides of each spot in an irregular way.  The black should be varied in thickness and shape.  

It should look something like this when you finish...

Here's a closer look at each step...

Let everything dry really well, and then finish with a clear coat.  (If you don't wait long enough, you'll blurr it all together and ruin all the work you just did.... so be patient!)

(I love this polish by OPI... It's a base coat and a top coat, and it's fantastic!)

Before you know it, you'll have leopard print toes!

  Enjoy!

 Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend!  If you haven't already, go check out the new stuff in my Etsy shop.  Feel free to share it with anyone who might be interested!  :)