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Start off by applying a base coat. I used Sally Hansen’s “Double Duty Base and Top Coat”.

Then, apply a white nail polish as the base color. I used Sally Hansen’s “White on”.

Next, using a striping brush, paint some thick black lines going vertically down the nail. The number of lines depends on the size of your nail and how large or small you want the print to be. You want the black lines and the space in between them to be relatively the same size. I painted three lines on each nail and used Apple Barrel’s “Black” acrylic paint.

Then, using the same striping brush and a white acrylic paint or polish, paint lines going horizontally on the nail. Again, you want the lines and space to be relatively the same size. I used Apple Barrel’s “White” acrylic paint. I found painting the lines instead of just painting the squares to be easier and it makes the overall design look better because all the squares are aligned perfectly.

Next, using a very thin striping brush and the same black color, paint two small lines coming from two corners of each square. The corners should be diagonal from each other.

Then, using the same materials, extend the lines of each square on one corner.

Then, at the tip of the new lines just created, paint a line connecting them back to the square. This should make a triangle shape and then just fill in the triangle.

Lastly, apply top coat. I used Sally Hansen’s “Advanced Hard as Nails Strengthening Top Coat”.

Your Houndstooth print nails are finished!

Start off by applying a base coat. I used Sally Hansen’s “Double Duty Base and Top Coat”.

Then, apply a base color of your choice. I used Sinful Colors “Rich in Heart”.

Next, using a liner brush and red acrylic paint or nail polish, paint four humps at the middle of the nail for feathers. I used Apple Barrel’s “Bright Red”.

Then, using an orange polish or acrylic paint, do the same process only slightly lower down. I used Apple Barrel’s “Pumpkin Orange”.

Then, using a large dotting tool, place a brown dot towards the top center of the orange colored area for the turkey’s head. I used Delta Ceramcoat’s “Autumn Brown”.

Next, using the same brown color and a line brush, paint the body of the turkey by painting two curved lines coming from both sides of the brown dot and going down ward.

Then, using a small dotting tool, place two white eyes in the center of the head. I used Apple Barrel’s “White”.

Then, using an even smaller dotting tool, place two black dots in the center of the white dots previously created.

Next, using a liner brush and the same orange color used before, paint a small triangle slightly below the eyes to create a beak.

Then, using the same red color as before and a liner brush, paint a small curved line coming from the beak for the turkey’s snood.

Lastly, apply a top coat. I used Sally Hansen’s “Advanced Hard as Nails Strengthening Top Coat”.

Your Thanksgiving manicure is finished!

Start off by applying a base coat. I used Sally Hansen’s “Double Duty Base and Top Coat”.

Then, apply a base color of your choice. I used Migi Nail Art’s “Hot Pink”.

Next, take a straw and either dip it in polish or coat the polish on one end. Then blow on the other end to spray the paint on the nail. The straws I used were from Rite Aid and they were normal size, not too big, not too small.

I found that the thinner the polish the better this turned out. I used Migi Nail Art’s “Baby Blue”, “Pastel Green” and “Pastel Yellow”.

Lastly, clean up around the nails using a Q-tip dipped in nail polish remover and add top coat. I used Sally Hansen’s “Advanced Hard as Nails Strengthening Top Coat”.

Your splatter nails are finished!

Start off by applying a base coat. I used Sally Hansen’s “Double Duty Base and Top Coat”. For this design you should pick three polishes of the same color in different shades. For example I used a light blue, a medium blue and a dark blue.

Then, apply a light colored base color. I used a white nail polish, Sinful Colors “Snow me White”.

Next, paint two think lines going vertically down the nail, one slightly off center to the right and one all the way on the left. It is easier if you outline the thick lines with thin lines first using a striping brush and filling it in with a liner brush. I used Ruby Kisses “Schoolgirl Blue” (the medium blue).

Then, paint two thick horizontal lines, one between the middle and the top of the nail and the other at the bottom. I used the same striping and liner brush and the same nail polish.

Next, using the darkest shade, paint squares where the two lines overlap. I used a liner brush and Maybelline’s “Sapphire Siren”.

Then, using a thin striping brush and the lightest shade, paint four thin lines going down the center of the four thick lines. I used Wet n Wild’s “I Need a Refresh-Mint”.

Next, using the same thin striping brush and the darkest shade, paint three thin lines. Paint one lines going vertically down the area between the two thick lines and then two lines going horizontally between the two thick lines and one at the top. I used the same medium shade used for the squares created earlier.

Lastly, apply a top coat. I used Sally Hansen’s “Advanced Hard as Nails Strengthening Top Coat”.

Your plaid nails are finished!

Start off by applying a base coat. I used Sally Hansen’s “Double Duty Base and Top Coat”.

Next, apply a white base color. I used Sinful Colors “Snow Me White”.

Then it is time to start painting the skulls. I used a liner brush and Apple Barrel’s “Black” acrylic paint. First, paint a C shape with the curve at the top of the nail.

Next, to paint the cheekbones of the skull, just create two smaller C shapes coming from the ends of the larger C shapes made before.

I forgot to photograph the next step, but to create the chin, paint to connecting curved lines coming from the cheekbones. I also didn’t create skull on my pinky nail because of how small it is. So on the pinky nails, I painted a flower in the corner of my nail and a vine on the other corner. For the flower, I painted a C shape in the corner and then some connecting wavy lines coming off of it for the petals. For the vine, I painted a wavy line with some curved leaves coming off of it.

Continuing with the skulls, paint some circles towards the top of the skull for the eyes. I used the same liner brush for this but a dotting tool would be much easier.

Then, to create the nose, paint an upside down heart in the center of the skull. For the mouth, paint some connecting C shapes with a line separating them.

Now time to decorate the skulls. For this design I kind of made it up as I went, so I will try my best to explain it. For the skull on my thumb, I painted some heart shaped eyes with a dot in the center, filled in the nose, placed some dotted flowers in the cheekbones, some dots around the mouth and some connecting C shapes around the top of the skull. For my pointer finger, I filled in the eyes with black, filled in the nose, painted some flowers in them using a dotting tool, and some dots around the top of the skull and mouth. For the middle finger, I painted flowers with lines as petals in the eyes, filled in the nose, put dots in the cheekbones and dots at the top of the skill. For my ring finger, I filled in the nose, painted a cross at the top of the head, placed a line of dots on the cheekbones, flowers made of dots in the eyes and dots above the mouth.

For all of the skulls I painted two flowers in the two lower corners that are the same as the one on the pinky. I also painted random designs towards the top of the nail. All the designs were filled in and outlined C shapes, coma looking thinks, triangles and dots. All the colors I used for the skulls were Craft Smart’s Acrylic Paint “Rosemarie” (pink), “Light Green”, “Soft Butter” (yellow), “Rich Lilac” (purple), “Tangerine” (orange),  and “Native Turquoise” (blue).

Lastly, I outlined all the flowers in black and filled in the colors on the pinky nail.

Finally, apply a top coat. I used Sally Hansen’s “Advanced Hard as Nails Strengthening Top Coat”.

An easier alternative for this design is the paint just the eyes, nose and mouth larger on the nail so that the nail is the skull. This design is simpler and can easily be done with just a dotting tool and decorated much easier.

Your Day of the Dead nails are finished!