Veterans Day Tutorial

Here in the Untied States we have Veterans Day, a holiday to honor our armed service veterans. For other countries, there is Armistice Day or Remembrance Day. With the exception of Italy who celebrates on the 4th, these holidays are celebrated on November 11th. Here is my attempt to honor US veterans, the only way that truly comes from the heart, with nail art. It's a photo tutorial too!!

I used Wet n Wild - I Red a Good Book and L.A. Colors - White for the stripes. The blue is China Glaze First Mate and the stars and holo glitter were painstakingly dug out of Wet n Wild Fergie - Hollywood Walk of Fame.

I've been asked many time how I get such perfect stripes. I wouldn't exactly call them perfect, but I'll take a moment to explain. As you can see in the second step, I use tape. I don't use any special kinds of striping tape or anything, just regular scotch tape. I put a piece of tape on some wax paper and cut notches along the length, as evenly spaced as I can get. Once I have notches across I use them as a guide and cut the whole way up the tape. After that, it's simple to peel the tape off and create stripes with it along my nail. Make sure your nails are completely dry before you put tape on them. Press lightly along the edges and make sure you get the tape into the edges of your nails. If the tape has any bubbles near the edges or there are any raised parts polish will seep under and it might ruin your stripes. Paint over them and immediately—carefully—remove the tape.

Cut the tape larger or smaller for larger or smaller stripes. I've used this method to create stripes side to side, up and down, and sunbeams too so be creative. And, if this isn't enough to make you happy, just think of all the money you're saving by not having to buy striping tape!