week 1= TAPING

WEEK 1 of the 52 WEEK CHALLENGE!!

So the first week started this Monday (10/1) and the theme is TAPING! I have done this technique here and here on this blog before. I liked my splatter nails from the weekend SO much that I couldn't part with them just yet. Sooooo I just used them as the base :)

First I taped up my nails. I didnt really use any sort of pattern. Just did one strip of tape on each nail. Made the strips pretty thick so you could see the splatter design. Sorry the tape is kind of hard to see...

Then I painted on the gold color(Go for the Gold by Essie) that I used for the splatter.

Here is the final pic:

So here is a quick list of TIPS FOR TAPING that I have learned along the way:

1. Your base coat must be COMPLETELY dry. Otherwise it will be picked up by the tape when it is removed.

2. If you are worried about the base coat coming off with the tape, stick the tape once on your skin before applying it to the nail. This will make it less sticky, but hopefully still sticky enough to stay on your nail.

3. Remove the tape as soon as you paint on top of it. I usually tape one whole hand, paint one nail, remove tape, paint one nail, remove tape... etc. Then repeat with the other hand.

4. Make the lighter color the base color and the darker color the top coat. If you want the top color a light color you have to make sure it is opaque. You can't really wait for 3 coats to dry to take off the tape.

5. If you are using thin strips of tape, try to pre-cut them before applying. It is quite difficult to use a scissors with taped nails :) Below is how I had the stripes laid out for this one. I cut more than 10 just in case I didn't like some of the sizes.

So there you have it. Quick tips to taping and the start of a year of fun nails weekly!!