Pinbusters: Newspaper Nail Art

IMG_2033 FTWBy Taylor Griffin
A&E Editor

Why read The Baylor Lariat when you can wear it?

Boldly going where no newspaper has gone before, this beauty pin was a pleasant change to my typical reddish-orange OPI “Cajun Shrimp.” I’ve seen many craft fail websites that have attempted this pin, and very few have turned out as flawless as the original. Honestly, I had no expectation my trial would go any differently.

To my surprise, my nails didn’t turn out a complete travesty. Like most pins, there were a few bumps in the road that could easily be modified should I choose to try it again. Of course, this project gave me the perfect opportunity to recycle past issues.

Name
Newspaper Nail Art

Originally pinned from
beauty.beautyandlace.net/newspaper-nail-art

What you’ll need
Newspaper clippings
Pastel nail polish
Rubbing alcohol
Top/base coat
Polish remover & cotton swabs

What to do
After applying base coat, paint the nails with pastel polish. Let the polish dry completely, about 20 minutes.

Soak one nail in the alcohol for a few seconds. Immediately apply a strip of the news print on the nail, pressing down without bumps in the paper.

Slowly remove the newspaper after a few seconds. Repeat for each nail. Clean up the ink around the nails with the remover and swabs. Apply top coat to each nail.

What happened

Unlike other newspaper nail art on Pinterest, this craft only uses the ink from the news print, rather than gluing a clipping directly on the nail. For my polish, I used Essie’s “Adore-a-Ball,” a ballet pink that even after four coats turned out much more white than I liked. With a little practice, the news print technique could turn out clearer and less jumbled.

Final consensus
In retrospect, a little patience on my part would have made the difference in this craft. I waited a good 15 minutes after painting my nails to use the news print, but five or 10 minutes more could have produced better results.

While it wasn’t exactly nail salon quality (not to mention the alcohol dried out my cuticles) I wouldn’t mind giving this pin another go-round. It’s a quirky manicure that excites the inner news junkie.

As far as the craft overall, I’d say the original blogger “nailed” it.