31DC-D26 - Metallic Fishtail Braid

Hey y'all!

Short post today as I'm struggling with a bad tooth that's giving off a lot of temperature sensitivity and it's got me in a bit of pain, so the dentist should be expecting me!  Today's prompt is Fishtail Braid, and I've gone metallic for a soft but chic look accented with square studs.

This time I've turned to the three Barry M Foil finishes that I have.  Usually I try to save these for stamping, but I couldn't pass up the chance to use them together for this look.

L-R: Barry M Silver Foil, Gold Foil, Lilac Foil

To start this look, I painted each of the three colors over about an inch long segment of clear cellophane tape and let it dry.  I then cut each segment into strips and set them aside.

I applied a single coat of Lilac Foil on my thumb, index, and pinky, and set two gold square studs down the center of each nail. 

On my middle and ring finger, I applied a thin coat of Gold Foil just around the cuticle area, only pulling about a quarter of the way down the nail.  I then began lining my pre-cut, pre-painted tape strips down the nail, working from cuticle to free edge, alternating sides and colors as I worked.  I used cuticle nippers to trim the excess tape off each side as I worked. 

When I got to the cuticle, I had run out of tape strips, so I just finished the tips with a swipe of the next color, as it was only the free edges, and trimming those bits of tape would have been far trickier.  Application was not quite as painless as I had expected and you can see a bit of bubbling in the tape where it didn't want to stick fully, but overall I was able to get the finished look in a fraction of the time it would have taken to do this technique the "real" way.  This is also a good option if you're not comfortable with free-handing straight lines.  Once everything was applied, I slapped a coat of SV over it, and the look was finished!

For more Fishtail Braid looks, check out the inlinkz below!

An InLinkz Link-up

Hope you're all off to a great start of the week, and I'll see ya tomorrow!