Sometimes I just love how things come together!
The other day I was at the pharmacy and passed a whole row of nail polish. I thought, “Wow, THAT’S something I’ll never buy again.”
Then yesterday I saw this video tutorial via a link found on Pinterest, and I thought, “Hey, I can do this with paper!”
And then I went back to the pharmacy and was asked, “Credit or debit?”
carlasonheim.wordpress.com 
Credit please! LOVE the designs!
I Love what you did here! Very imaginative and beautiful! I’m Pinning it 🙂
Now I know what to do with the bottles of polish I have just sitting around.
Was going to trash them as I don’t wear polish any more. This looks like such fun! I love what you did with it:)
Delightful spin! A creative mind like your deserves a huge round of applause!!! Clap!Clap!Clap! There you go!!
Thanks for sharing this!
Can’t wait for April ……
Hi Carla,
I just watched all of the tutorial and have a couple questions for you.
Can you please tell me
1-Did you put the water and polish in a large bowl?
2-What type of paper did you use and did you dunk it into the bowl? Or?
Thanks! I’m hoping to try this later this afternoon. I’m limited in what I can do at the moment-have a splint on my left hand/wrist. Doc thinks I have tendonitis. Said not do much. Really?? Been two weeks of no driving the car and only going for walks. (besides laundry, cooking, etc) Time to do some art!!
Hope you’re having a great day!
Hi Ethel!
I put the polish in a regular plastic cup I had (a small Starbucks cup).
When you first drop the polish in, it might seem to disappear on you, but it’s there! Keep dropping in drops fairly quickly.
Then, just drop the paper (I used 140# watercolor paper, hot press) onto the surface of the water and press down with your finger. The polish on the edges will wrap around to the back of your circular paper. Then, lift carefully out to dry.
Have fun!
wow, that sounds really nice. i’ve some green nail polish…. i think to could used it for this HHAHA
Carla, you are one of the most creative, innovative artists I know. I admire you!
I’m in love! Can’t wait to see where this one goes with YOUR creative mind!
That is such a creative idea! Love it. Going to try it.
Carla, who woulda thought? This looks awesome! Love it! Thanks for sharing this with me! I’m gonna try it — you know it! Hope all is well with you and that your new book is moving ahead smoothly!
FABulous! I knew there was a reason I saved my old nail polish.
QUESTION: From your response to Ethyl, it sounds like you cut your paper to the size of the cup. Is that right?
Thanks for sharing your creativity, Carla. You inspire me every day. 😀
Serena
Yes, smaller than the mouth of the cup…
Wow, that is impressive! Some of them look like oysters!
Hi Carla, I volunteered to present a recycle project for our calligraphy guild. I have many corks that I save for someday. So I set to work hot gluing various found items to the end of the corks and carving designs. But I was unhappy with the results. Then I read today about using nail polish instead of acrylics or stamp pads. Should work great. Here is the link: http://www.mrkate.com/2011/11/03/diy-of-the-day-easy-printmaking/
Scroll down to see the corks but I love the idea of using old nail polish too. The crew is going to love your tip as well! Thanks, as usual, for making me smile. Mary R.
this is an extremely fun idea for both nails and art. thanks for the link info. love your pages.
love it! gotta try. 🙂
Wow, I remember marbling with inks when I was a child to make end papers for project books. I’d never have thought to do it with nail polish!! I’m going to share this with my little girl 🙂 Thanks Carla!
Soooo cool – thank you much for sharing!
So brilliant! Thanks for sharing Carla xx
I still love to paint my toes and occasionally my fingernails also. I just love bright unusual nail enamels! I have one especially deep midnight blue color that I love. I need to try some of these techniques here with it. Thanks for sharing!
I love this idea!!! What a great post, Carla!
Coolest thing ever!
cool idea — and thanks for your continued inspiration :0) looking forward to flower class — :0)
That is awesome! Did you do it in a larger cup/container for the paper? We have a LOT of nail polish sitting around. I will have to give this a try! I wonder what it would feel like on fabric. . . hmmmmm
Wow, now I know where my old nailpolish is gonna go; what a great idea!! Lovely designs!
What’s most amazing about these seemingly ‘random’ interactions of the nail polish – is that they are undeniably still your style coming through! So cool! New art material market? 🙂
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I forwarded this tutorial to my 18 year old granddaughter, who’s a senior in High School. Last weekend she and her girlfriends all tried this technique. It has raged through the tiny high school (like a virus) in the tiny little mid-west town she lives in. All the girls are having a blast doing their nails and enjoying all the different results. She knows I’ve taken some classes from you at Artfest and asked me if I’d find a way to THANK YOU for showing them this fun and creative exercise. They are tickled pink, and red, and purple, and gold, and blue and and and…
Love it!
that did it! I’m buying your book … I teach drawing and mixed media … and often project this blog on the wall to inspire, stimulate and jump start students. I thank you for sharing your experience and ideas! Melissa Manley sent me your way!
hello Carla,
This looks fabulous. I love the colour choices and the way you showcased several designs on the dark background. I’d love to do this with children. Do you mind if I ask how you got the dark background? Did you cut the watercoloyr paper to these shapes after you dipped them or before? Did you glue them to the background? What is the background? How do yo
u get the white colour in your designs? Is it white nail polish? I hope you don’t mind me asking. It’s superb!
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