Money Smart nail art - my entry!

Chalkboard Nails posted a Facebook status about this competition by moneysupermarket.com, and after scouring the rules I discovered that it wasn't limited to only the US or UK, so I can enter! :D

Basically, you need to write a blog entry about money smart nails. Aka, how to have nail art without spending $100 at a salon. This can involve getting a local nail artist (like me! me! pick me!) to do them for half the price, or learning how to do it yourself.

As of yesterday, I offer both of these options! I've had tutorials for months, but here I have my Trade me listing for my nail art services. So that's one option I'm putting forward - finding a local nail artist. I do nail art from as little as $10, and kids are $5 each with any appointment. I charge up to $50 for really complicated designs but considering how long they take, it's a bargain.

Now, if you want to do it yourself, I have heaps of options for that as well. I have a whole page dedicated to my tutorials, which you can find here. 

I'll post three of my most popular tutorials in this post :).

First here's my Chuck Taylors nail art tutorial. This one has had lots of praise for "turning out the way it looks!" It's not too hard, but not too easy either. And it looks amazing; this is one of my all-time favourite designs!

Here's my cupcakes nail art tutorial. Isn't it the cutest? I'm thinking about volunteering at the local hospital for a day and painting all the little girls nails like this. It's such a cute, happy, young design! Again, it's not too hard to recreate either!

Last but not least, here is my tribal nail art tutorial! This is a bit harder than the other two as straight lines can take awhile to get the hang of, but it's still a pretty simple tribal look.

As for tools you can use - I use dotting tools and nail art brushes, but if you don't have any and want to try these out NOW, don't worry!

For brushes, see if you already have some thin paint brushes somewhere in your house. Most people tend to have something. Even if it's too big, use some scissors to cut down the bristles until they're nice and thin. I do this for my thicker nail art brushes too. If you can't find anything at home, whip down to your local craft store and grab a few. No waiting on mail then! 

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For dotting tools, there are several different tools you can use. I think a bobby pin would work best - you know, the things you put in your hair? Here's a picture to see why they'd work well.

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They have nice round tips - just straighten the pin out and dip the tip into your polish! Nails and toothpicks can be used too, but they have a sharp tip that may 'stab' the nail polish and make an ugly dent.

I would still recommend ordering some dotting tools and a nail art brush kit off ebay though - they're super awesome and really cheap.

Thanks to moneysupermarket.com for this cool competition! I hope this post helps people who are wanting to try out nail art!