Polka dot skittles - TPTC

Hey y'all!

Something that I haven't been posting about here is that I recently joined a Facebook group created by Debbie (of the Crumpet-y fame) dedicated to learning nail art from the cuticle forward, as it were, called SIMPLES.  I wasn't sure when going into it exactly how much interesting blog content I'd be able to derive from this process, but it was important to me to be able to join a group of ladies with ALL LEVELS of experience and sort of go "back to school" with techniques.  If the Techniques Challenge has taught me anything, it's that my skills definitely need practice and honing, and so I thought this might be a good way to go about it.  We spent the first 4 weeks going over some real basics, like glitter accent nails and simple skittles.  This week we've moved on to dotting tools, and Debbie set us with the first lesson I'd never attempted before:  the polka dot pattern.  Since this was a first for me, and also because I needed to save myself a little bit of time this weekend with painting, I decided to combine today's TPT with this week's SIMPLES and so I give you my tri-polish polka dot skittles!

I had originally thought I would play with texture as well, but as I played it out in my head, it quickly became an idea where I decided to reign it in rather than end up making a mess.  However, my polish choices include a matte, a gloss, and a texture.  (And the matte topcoat I elected to even the playing field.)

L-R: LA Colors Magnetic Force, Pretty Leather Look (unnamed) turquoise, Orly Country Club Khaki, Sally Hansen Big Matte top coat.

I began with two coats of Country Club Khaki on my middle finger, two coats of the Pretty turquoise on my thumb and ring fingers, and two coats of Magnetic Force on my index and pinky.  When those were dry, I topped them with Big Matte and let dry thoroughly.

Using a large dotting tool, I followed Debbie's instruction video and went to work laying contrasting dots atop each fingernail.  I obviously didn't think it out too far in advance or I would've avoided having turquoise dots on two adjacent nails, but c'est la vie.  I was far too busy trying to keep my rows straight (a herculean task on my curvy nails)!

I'm a bit disappointed that the khaki polish ended up spreading quite a bit on the nail, especially when the blob was fresh.  This is the kind of thing that happens when you try new techniques with untried polishes, though, and I chalk it up to another learning experience. 

Are you interested in venturing into the world of nail art but not sure where to start?  I highly recommend and encourage you to come join the fun at SIMPLES - Nail Art from Muggle to Mastery.  So far we've been having a lot of fun and Debbie is about as good a teacher as you could ask for.  You can start the lessons at your own pace, as well so don't feel worried that you're "behind" everyone.  The group is there to encourage each other as we all grow together!

Hope you're all having a great week.  Don't forget to check out the other Tri-Polish looks this week.  Next week we'll move on to a new set of three colors for July!

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Also, before you leave... have you entered the giveaway yet?