Perfectly Polka Dotted

I'm not naming names or anything because she'll know who she is, but let's just say that one of my dorm roomies *Cough Cough ... Alex* made a really nice attempt at painting a friends nails polka dotted once... unfortunately they weren't excellent, but there was a lot of love that went into them... which has to count for something right? So, since I no longer live with her... maybe this will help! So, this one is for you, aw_nels!

Do not ask me why, but of all the intricate and detailed designs I do people are most impressed with the "perfect" polka dots I am able to paint. I have not a clue why people are so impressed by them because, honestly, they are super simple to accomplish! Every time I paint polka dots onto someones nails they always ask how I do it and then are super let down when I tell them how easy it really is. So... I decided to let more people in on my tips and tricks to get the perfect spotted manicure!

In this blog post I have given two ways that you can get spot on... pun intended... polka dotted nails. Whichever way you choose is up to you and your own personal preference!

YOU WILL NEED: 
A dotting tool one size smaller than you want your spots
A base color polish
A color for the polka dots
A clear coat

Just remember when choosing your dotting tool, that the polka dots will be a little larger than the size of the dotter on the tool.

I chose my smallest dotting tool because I want the smallest possible dots.




FYI
Before following these steps make sure you have applied two coats of your base color (I chose white) and let them dry completely. 

Step 1:
Begin by applying one dot to the center bottom of each nail.

*when applying the dot you must press down firmly to ensure equal sized dots each time.

Step 2:

Eyeball the next few dots and guess how much space you must give in order for the dots to be equally spread. I usually end up applying 3 or 4 dots depending on the length of nail. 

*If you struggle with this step, try applying a dot at the bottom and top center of each nail and work your way toward the center

Step 3:

On the rows surrounding the center guideline you just created, apply a dot next to each of the spaces between the dots from row 1. 

*Notice that each dot in the row 2 is equally spaced from the center of the gaps as the dots do from one another from row 1

Step 4:

Keep filling in dots parallel to gaps in the previous row to finish. 

Finish with a top coat to complete the pedi/mani. 

TRY ME... if you aren't comfortable eyeballing the spaces

 measure finger against CM side of ruler

 apply piece of tape so one edge covers the marks on ruler

 make marks with a sharpie where top and bottom of fingernail hit

 make a mark in the center of the top and bottom marks

 make marks in between center mark as well 

 peel tape off ruler and apply to center of nail 

 with dotting tool make dots next to each marking on the tape

 peel off tape 

Finish by creating dots between each of the original dots

Then seal in with a top coat

I really hope one of these ways to perfect polka dots work for you! 

Harli