Guest Post #2: MARY!

Today my post is from my good friend, Mary.  She doesn't have a blog, but she's an amazing person and she has great nails!  Thanks, Mary! 

Hello everyone! I'm Mary and although I don't blog I'm in a nail polish group on Facebook with Katie and she kind of 'volunteered' me to do a few guest posts for her. I was completely surprised and honored that she liked my style so I accepted.

Let's get to the post shall we?

Ever since I heard about the technique last summer I've been wanting to try water marbling, so this post will be about my first ever attempt at doing it.

I started by choosing the colors I wanted to use. After a little experimenting I chose Zoya Carey, Zoya Anja and Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Bubblegum pink.

Next I prepared my work area. I used a paper towel to protect my kitchen table and a shot glass to marble in. I filled the shotglass with lukewarm tap water and placed a drop of each color polish into the water to make sure it floated on the water rather than sinking or disappearing. I also made sure I had acetone and cleanup tools at the ready for when I was finished with my design.

I started with a base of a no name white shimmer polish from Claire's. When it was dry I taped the skin around my nails to 'mask off' the areas I didn't want to marble.  Then I placed a drop of each color I chose to marble with into the shotglass, being careful to use them in the same order each time. I then took a toothpick and pulled the polish from the putside to the inside of the 'polish ring' until I had a somewhat recognizable 'flower' design.

Now I was finally ready to dip my nail. This step took a little practice. I found I couldn't just dip my nail into the shotglass and bring it right back out. My design ended up looking like mud when I did. The technique that seemed to work best for me was to dip my nail in an 'arc' - starting with my nail parallel to the surface of the water, picking up the design and dunking my nail completely under the surface of the water while turning my finger upright at the same time. It's important to always keep your finger moving forward and when you bring your finger out of the water to do so quickly. The whole motion should be fluid to pick up the design properly.

I think next time I'll try some lighter colors but I had fun! Take a look!

Before cleanup

After cleanup

I think my favorite is my index finger. It looks like a flower, complete with stem!

Which is your favorite? Have you tried water marbling yet? If you haven't, you should. It's lots of fun!

Thanks for reading! I have a few more posts in mind so keep an eye out!