DIY: Newspaper Nails

How To Do: Newspaper Print Nails


This is an old post I put up on my tumblr and facebook, decided to post it again on here :)

basically, you'll need:
-light colored polish
-rubbing alcohol
-a small bowl
-a qtip/cotton bud
-newspaper/s

when you're done cleaning, cutting, filing, shaping your nails, cut a page or a part of the newspaper that you want printed on your nails, then set aside.

1. start with a clear base coat/nail hardener (ex. Caronia Base Coat and Nail Hardener) this is different from the clear nail polish used for top coats, because they're simply used as a gloss while the base coat protects your nails and keeps them hard. if you're using Caronia, try not to use it too much or too frequently when you paint your nails because it contains Formaldehyde which can cause your nails to crack and/or chip after a long period of time.

2. paint your nails a light color. i usually do white so the prints can be clear since most newspaper prints are in black. basically you can paint on whatever color you want, but it's best to use light colored ones. a light grey color works really well, too. if your nails don't have those yellowish stains, you can even use clear polish if you want. depending on your brand of polish, you can put on a second coat if you can still see your nail through the polish. it's best to put on 2 to 3 thin coats instead of just one thick coat. let your polish dry, but as much as possible don't use quick-dry, because they're mostly oil-based and if you have that on then it'll be hard to print your nails afterwards.

3. when your polish is dry, pour in a bit of the rubbing alcohol into a small bowl, and dip your nails in one at a time, for around 10 to 20 seconds (and if you want to be extra certain, then make it 30) after dipping each nail take it out of the bowl, then take the newspaper cutout you've chosen and press it onto the nail, and with a cotton bud or q-tip, dip it into the rubbing alcohol and stroke it along the newspaper where it presses your nails. stroke it about 5 times or more. after about 5 to 10 seconds, pull back the newspaper. you Have to make sure your polish is dry for this part, otherwise the newspaper will stick to your nails. repeat for every nail.

4. once all your nails have been printed on, wait for everything to dry for maybe just a minute or two, then put on a clear top coat. your prints must absolutely be dry before you put on the clear top coat because if it isn't your print could have these strokes or lines from when you put on your top coat.

and done! :) and you don't have to limit yourself to the text prints, (the one i used above is cosmo and wanda which i got from the kids page in sunstar) you can use the ad prints as well, the crossword puzzles, the colored pages, the comics. you can use other prints as well, like flyers, or a comic, or a book, but from experience, not all of those work as well as newspapers.


Have fun! ;)