Autumn Ruffle Nails Tutorial

Afternoon, everyone!

With all the cardigan weather and pumpkin spice baked goods lately, I've been really getting into the autumn spirit this week, so I thought an autumn-color themed mani was in order! Since cool breezes and warm beverages make this my favorite season, it's no surprise that I have a ton of seasonal colors in my giant polish collection, and, brat that I am, I wanted to use ALL OF THEM. Well, that was impossible because I only have ten fingers so I settled on eight of my fall favorites and chose a ruffle pattern that wound up reminding me of that gorgeous multi-colored jewel corn that's used so often to decorate this time of year. So I got out my camera and decided to make a quick tutorial on how to achieve this easy, adorable ruffled look.

Please excuse my messy palm, I used it as a cleaning pad for my dotting tool.

Before I got started, I made sure to use a cuticle remover paste treatment and give my hands and nails a good scrub to make sure that my application would be easy and my edges would look clean. I also took a few minutes to ever-so-slightly roughen the surface with the fine-grit side of my buffer, remove any hang-nails, and file and shape the tips. After my nails were prepped, I massaged some coconut oil into my cuticles to make sure they were nice and soft, and then cleaned my nails thoroughly again so that they were free of oils that might prevent my polish from adhering to my nail and cause premature chipping!

Here's what my nails look like, naked, unmoisturized, and roughed up a bit!

And here they are with a coat of my favorite primer. (China Glaze Strong Adhesion Base Coat)

Primed and ready, I set out to choose my colors and the order in which I wanted my ruffle pattern! Here's a list and photo of the polishes I used.

Primer: China Glaze Strong Adhesion Base Coat, Base Color: L'Oreal Paris in Rainy Piccadilly, Rimmel London 60 Seconds in Golden Hour, NYColor in Battery Park Purple, Sinful Colors in Pull Over, L'Oreal Paris in Lifetime Love, China Glaze Kalahari Kiss, Mahogany Magic, and Harvest Moon. Top Coat: Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat.

I told you I had a lot of fall colors.

Anyway, to achieve the ruffle effect, I used a specially made dotting tool, but I could very easily have created the same look with a toothpick, bobby pin, the butt of a paintbrush, or the head of a pin pressed into a pencil eraser. So, if you don't have any special tools, not to fear, this requires only simple ones!

I started with two coats of Rainy Piccadilly as my base color. I love this creamy navy/teal color for fall.

Beginning from the cuticle end of the nail, simply make a row of dots by making a little pool of polish on a paper plate or sandwich bag (I used an old tile sample, because it was within reach and already had polish all over it), and dipping your dotting tool into the polish. Think "string of pearls".

Continue making rows of dots in your chosen color pattern, overlapping the rows as you go.

Here I am a few rows in. I wish I'd been more careful to make my rows more 

evenly-spaced, and that I'd drunk a few less cups of coffee this morning.

Now, at this point I should let you know, that this is not a tidy process. For one thing, you'll need to wipe off the tip of your dotting tool between each color. I used the palm of my hand because I am impatient and forgot to prepare an acetone pad. Since you're smarter and more efficient than I, you'll put a cotton pad soaked with acetone on your paper plate palette to clean your dotter. Also, you're going to get nail polish ALL OVER YOUR CUTICLES. It's unavoidable, don't worry, that's why we trimmed and oiled our cuticles before we started, outside-the-lines polish is much easier to remove from smooth, healthy cuticles than from dry, jagged ones! Think Teflon versus Cast Iron.

Continue overlapping your rows of dots, stopping when you've overlapped the free edge of your nail.

Here's what they look like pre-cleanup and without a top coat. They're a mess.

To clean up, get out your acetone and a small, stiff paintbrush. It doesn't have to be a nail art brush, I just use a little watercolor brush I got at Walmart. Dip your brush into your acetone and drag it slowly around the edges of your nails. You may have to go over them twice or even three times, cleaning your brush in your acetone as you go, but if your cuticles are clean and smooth, it should take the excess polish right off.

And voila! Add a nice coat of Seche Vite Top Coat to protect, dry, and smooth

your creation! It will add a smooth shine and unify your layers.

Overall I love this look, but I would have done a few things differently. I used my largest dotting tool, which turned out to be a little clumsier than I would have liked. Doing it over I would have used a smaller dotting tip, and I would have paid closer attention to make my rows even. I love the colors I chose, but next time I will separate the China Glaze Mahogany Magic and Harvest Moon rows, since they are quite similar in shade. I thought they might be different enough since one is a rich creme and one is a very sparkly foil shimmer, and in person they look like distinctly separate rows, but the reddish-golden undertones in both meld together quite a bit in photos.

These ruffles are great for any color scheme, especially if you're as indecisive as I tend to be when choosing my colors! They'd look great in neons over a white base for summer, a grey scale hombre with a matte topcoat, or shimmery cool blue tones for winter. Any combination of colors you can dream up!

Hi Everyone!

Good afternoon, all!

My name is Alyssa, and I'm here to share my love of all things creative and cute. I've been crafting for years and I've recently been given the push and a platform to share my adventures with anyone interested.

Anyone who knows me will tell you that I'm what some might call a "hobby hoarder". Have you seen the show hoarders? My life is just like that, but instead of collecting old newspapers or fast food wrappers or cats, I collect a vast array of craft supplies, projects, and ideas (and also maybe some cats).

I love the feeling of starting a new project, especially if it's in a medium I haven't worked with before. I have a tendency to dive in head first and bite off as much as I can possibly chew. Case in point, I once decided I wanted to complete a complicated crochet pattern, despite having never picked up a crochet hook in my life. So, I went to the store, bought the supplies, and spent hours on the Internet poring over YouTube tutorials, basic stitches, definitions of the abbreviations and language used in crochet patterns, and accidentally crocheted a number of perfectly round, plush coasters getting the hang of crocheting and increasing in the round. I still haven't finished that initial project, but I've learned so much about crochet, and it's become a favorite for keeping my restless hands busy!

So, here I am. I'm looking at a room full of craft supplies, some entirely unused, and I want to get to work! While I am mostly blogging to document my experiences with new projects, I have a few passions that I'm sure will work their way into my posts. First, I have been baking and decorating cakes and cupcakes for years, and while my style has evolved from boxed mix cupcakes with cartoonish frosting art to gourmet flavor profiles with complex fillings, toppings, and garnishes, frosting will always be my number one medium of choice, and you can check out my cooking and baking website at www.frostilebakeover.com for recipes and cupcake stories.

Second, I have a particular weakness for crafts with scrapbook paper. I love pairing patterns and colors, as well as constructing simple pictures and messages with handmade pieces. I love the charm and thoughtfulness of a handmade card, and the surprise on friends' faces when they realize you've made the envelope as well. Holidays and birthdays are some of my favorite project opportunities, and I find that a message built by hand is always well-received (and occasionally hung on the fridge).

And of course, my third love, albeit a bit unorthodox in the arts and crafts realm, will always be nail art. Creating a pretty, creative, or funny manicure has always been fun for me. It also inspired me years ago to stop biting my nails and picking at the skin around my cuticles and fingertips. I must warn you, dear readers, that I will often post about nail art, new polishes, and nail art tools, but I will do my best to keep these posts related to the creative potential of the subjects. By the same token, anyone involved in the nail art community (yes there is a community and I am fully immersed), will know that indie polish makers are blowing up at the moment. These amazing lacquer loving people are all over the forums with lovely etsy shops filled with handmade polishes beyond your beauty supply store shelves as well as your wildest dreams. I will not only be occasionally swatching and reviewing a few of these unique beauties, but I am in the process of beginning my own food-themed indie polish line called Cake Polish, and I'll be detailing my steps, sources, triumphs, and failures here.

This blog will be written and edited by me, so be wary of bad jokes and groan-worthy puns, and all of the included photographs (unless otherwise cited) will be my own. They will be taken with my Nikon D3000 DSLR camera (or my iPhone 5 if I'm really desperate), edited either in Adobe Photoshop or Windows Picture Viewer, and for the real photo nerds, all specs should be available to view in the "developer mode" of your Internet browser. Another note to my fellow photography lovers, please excuse my lack of light box. I am currently working on building my own, though I have very little space for it. For the time being, all of my photos will be taken at my desk. Please find it in your hearts to forgive my perpetual mess and background clutter. I am always working on several things at once, and while I try to keep at least one area dust, clutter, and distraction-free for photos, I have limited space and four very nosy cats who have other ideas, and no knowledge of boundaries or considerate shedding practices.

So to all of my fellow creative warriors, please join me on my quest to explore and conquer every facet of the DIY world. Be inspired with me by my fellow crafty bloggers, adorable Pinterest projects, and the necessity of an otherwise unmet need.