November 29th, 2012 
Vicky 
Hello and welcome back! Nail Your Books is a feature at The Princess of Storyland blog that Cristina created in order to show off some great book related nail ideas. They can be anything from a book inspired design to a matching nail varnish. Since I love nail varnishes and – as my Twitter followers know – I often create book cover inspired nail designs for myself, I decided to join this feature and bring them here to the blog to show you.
Due to popular demand I will also try to include a short tutorial with my photos so that if you like a certain design, you can try it for yourself. This week’s nails have already been done on Twitter back in October but I wanted to show them to you here on the blog since I know lots of people don’t have Twitter or just simply missed my post. The holidays are upon us and what better way to get into the festive spirit than by curling up with a nice Christmasy book, a warm blanket and a mug of hot chocolate. And what better way to make the holidays even more fun is by creating some cute nail designs!
This week’s nails are not your usual snowflake or snowman sort of design – the good news is, however, that they can be worn at any time of the year. People won’t look at you strangely if you try them in October, February or even in summer. Today’s nails were inspired by Abby Clements’s Christmas novel called Meet Me Under the Mistletoe, a book that I reviewed last month. Its cover looks very sparkly and it has all these shiny gems on it which made me want to do a similar nail design. Well, here’s the result.
I’ve a bit of an obsession with gradient nails and this was one of my first attempts at making it. If you’d like to recreate this look for the holidays, this is what you will need:
- Base coat (Nail Experts Gold Strengthby Avon)
- Two other colours (Heavy Metallilac by Catrice and Blue Escape by Avon)
- Top coat (Ultra Gloss Nail Shine by Essence)
- A cosmetic sponge
- Silver nail art pen
- A toothpick
- 10 silver rhinestones
After starting off with a base coat to protect your nails, apply one coat of blue and let it dry. And here comes the tricky bit – the gradient. It’s not as difficult as it looks like, trust me. I will refer you to a tutorial on Youtube which might be helpful and it basically explains how I did my nails as well. There’s a few other methods but for me this one was the easiest so far. So, to do the purple gradient, check out this video and follow the instructions. (obviously, you will only need two colours for this one) When you’re done, apply a top coat to blend the colours together and to give your nails a lovely shine.
Important! Before the top coat would dry, you’ll need to apply the silver rhinestones. Here’s how to do it: pick up a toothpick and dip it into water. By using the toothpick, pick up a rhinestone, place it onto your nail and press it gently. And that’s it. When you’re done, take the silver nail art pen (or a dotting tool dipped into silver nail varnish, if you don’t have one) and make a dotted line above the rhinestone. When you’re done and it’s completely dry, you can apply another top coat to prevent the stones from falling off, but this is entirely up to you. And that’s it! Believe me, it’s a lot easier than it looks and the result is gorgeous.
Just a tip: your fingers will look super messy after the sponge method for the gradient effect. You’ll probably have paint all over your fingertips (or maybe I’m the one who’s terribly clumsy) – but don’t worry. Just get a few cotton buds, dip them into nail varnish remover and clean the extra paint off your fingers.
Will you give it a go? Do you have any other holiday themed nail design ideas you’ll try? 
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Cool new feature and my daughter would love this, she is in college and every time I see her, she has some cool design painted on her nails!
kimbacaffeinate recently posted..Crusher by Niall Leonard
Your daughter and I would get on reeeeally well
OMg! I LOVE this!!! I love nail art. This is an awesome feature. I you continue it.
Rebecca @ Bending The Spine recently posted..Blog Tour Review & Giveaway: Not Quite Dating by Catherine Bybee
Thank you! So do I!!! I’ll definitely continue it. I won’t make it a weekly feature because I know I don’t have much time these days but I’ll post as often as I can
Sounds like a fun feature, I love painting my nails! Now I’m off to watch that tutorial so I can try it tonight!
Mist@Bookaholics recently posted..Reached – Review
There are at least 2 or 3 different methods of doing gradient nails and you’ll find all of them on Youtube but for me this was BY FAR the easiest.
Good luck!!!! Will you post a photo if you decide to give it a try?
Yes, I always post pictures of my nail art on Instagram which goes through to Twitter/FB/Tumblr so you’re bound to spot it somewhere lol
I’ll keep an eye on Facebook and Twitter, then
I love the feature. And the nails! If only I could be arsed with nails, they look beautiful.
Hannah @ Once Upon A Time recently posted..Cover Lover #10
Ah, c’mere. I’ll do your nails for you.
Anytime. *hurries to the airport*
Do want!!
Hannah @ Once Upon A Time recently posted..Cover Lover #10
What a great feature, lady! I just wish I had a steady enough hand to pull this off. Looks fantastic!
Aw, thanks Nikki! Hmm, maybe you could start with just the gradient nails and a rhinestone? You really can’t go wrong with those two and I think it would still look nice
Love the idea behind this feature and tose nails! So pretty!
Melissa recently posted..Cat Thursday: How to Read thru a Cat!
Thanks M – so do I! I don’t know how I hadn’t come across Cristina’s feature before..
Gorgeous! I love the sponge method for gradient nails but the cleanup is always so much work. How do you keep get your cuticles so nice and clean?
It is! But I usually just get a cotton bud and dip it into some nail varnish remover and try to clean it off after painting my nails. My nails look super messy after the sponge bit but hey, you can always get rid of that by using the buds.
Beautiful. Love the colors you used. Gosh, I need to learn more about doing this. I love it, but kinda am bad at it, haha.
Jennifer @ Dream Reads recently posted..Cover Reveal: Elder by Raine Thomas
Thank you so much! And you never know! We all have to start somewhere, don’t we?
This is such a fun feature! I love nail design, trying out crazy colour etc. but I must admit, I cheat most of the time & go to a nail bar
I recently purchased a new gel kit with a blue in it so i’ll have to give it a go.
Thankyou for sharing!
Sharon – Obsession with Books recently posted..Author Spotlight + Cover Reveal: Rhiannon Paille (The Ferryman + The Flame)
Ooooo! *chants* Nail salons don’t count!
That would be great! Will you let me know if you give it a try? I’d love to see it!
Misty from Bookaholics Book Club has just tried it with a dark/light blue combo and it looks pretty good, apparently. x
Your nails look adorable and this is such an awesome idea.
Veronica Morfi recently posted..Happy 23 Giveaway
Aww, thank you
And HAPPY BIRTHDAY! *throws confetti* Did you have a nice day/celebration?
Yeap, it was awesome
Veronica Morfi recently posted..Tirade Release Day Party + Giveaway
I love gradient nail designs! I haven’t actually given it a go myself yet, but I’m totally changing that soon, because I think it looks great. I love love love this design, Vicky!
Hollie @ Music, Books and Tea recently posted..Waiting on Wednesday (50)
Thank you so much!
I knoooow! I love gradient nails. Seriously, I’ve a bit of an obsession with them… I thought they’d be very difficult but they’re not, really. Cleaning the extra nail varnish off your fingers takes a bit of time but that’s about it. And it looks so nice!
I LOVE this feature!! I’ve always wanted to try nail art on my nails… great idea and great job! your nails look awesome!
Ang @ The Next Chapter recently posted..WWW Wednesdays 43
Well, now’s the time to give it a go!
Thank you so much!!!
OH MY GOODNESS. Nail art! BOOKS!! This is like the best invention…EVER! Thanks for the wonderful tutorial! New follower!
Thanks for dropping by my blog for Top Ten Tuesday. I hope you have a fantabulous week!!
The Inkies recently posted..Top Ten Tuesday (6)
I know, right? I’m SO happy I found this feature on Cristina’s blog
I love the idea.
And thank you so much for following! It’s lovely to meet you x
Too cute. I’m terrible at doing my nails myself, so I’ll have to get someone else to try it on me!
Christy @ Love of Books recently posted..Hale Maree by Misty Provencher: Review & Giveaway
Oooh, pretty! I am DREADFUL with nail varnish – I never leave it long enough to dry so I end up smudging it all within the first hour – but I do like oohing and aahing over other people’s nail-art genius! You’ve matched the cover beautifully, it’s inspired!
P.S. Your ‘welcome’ photo, of you and the bookshelves – are they yours? I was just looking at the stepped shelving and thinking how clever it was. I constantly double-stack my shelves but when they’re all the same height it’s a pain the neck trying to find anything!
Ellie recently posted..Damn you, PenguinTreat50!
Thank you! Yeah I know! I’m TERRIBLE at waiting for my nail varnish to dry. I usually try to do them before I start writing a review or something like that so that while I’m working they have plenty of time to dry
And yes, they are! They were actually a MESS a while ago. I started running out of space so I decided to reorganise the whole thing and voilà. I’ve wanted to do a blog post about it for AGES but I haven’t had time yet. Should I schedule a post for next week? I know I already have some photos for the post and everything, I just completely forgot to actually write it.
It’s such a great way of double stacking books, though. It makes it so much easier to find books!
What a great new feature, I love it! I’m also a bit obessed with nail polish. I really need to try that gradient effect, it looks good
The design matches the cover perfectly!
Mel@thedailyprophecy recently posted..Feature & Follow 16.
Thanks Mel! Ah, you’ll love gradient nails. Seriously. I tried them a few months ago and I’m totally obsessed now. If you give it a try, feel free to post a photo here – I’d love to see it!
I’ve seen some of your designs on Twitter and they’re fab. Looking forward to seeing more.
Mama J recently posted..Saved By Cake Challenge – November
Oh I am going to LOVE this new feature! I’m a huge nail polish hoarder and this will be a great way to use them up! Bookish and Beautiful – gotta love it!
Jess Hearts Books recently posted..Make a Book Bloggers Dream Come True?
I love gradient nail paint and as your first attempt, you’ve definitely nailed it! Also, you picked the perfect colors ever. I got to try this sometime.
Great feature! =D
Sana @ artsy musings of a bibliophile recently posted..Review: Greta and the Goblin King by Chloe Jacobs Blog Tour + Interview + Giveaway
i’m not a girl but cool
I love the idea of this feature! I love seeing people do something special with their nails, and I really have to try it someday! The nails here look great for the book too
Kelsey recently posted..Showcase Sunday (25)
[...] adore Vicky’s new feature – Nail Your Books. She creates some fab nail art and the idea of creating nail art to match favoured book covers is [...]
Cute feature!!!
I am addicted to nail polish too! But I can’t do nail art. haha.
JoAnne @ The Fairytale Nerd recently posted..Twitter Conversation Between Nicole And Dale from Betwixt by Melissa Pearl
This is really beautiful!
Petra recently posted..Ten Books of 2013
Ooh, nice feature and love your nails. I’m too lazy to do all the hard work though, wish you were my neighbor. *sad*
Pragya recently posted..December TBR Pile
I’d LOVE to be your neighbour! *dreamy look* I could do your nails and we could swap books too!
Wow! Wouldn’t that be great! And I can be friends with your cat (Is he/she friendly?) and I am just drooling thinking about your book shelf (all the books I would borrow) and maybe help you out with your reducing bookshelf space and…. *dreams away*
Pragya recently posted..December TBR Pile
It’d be amazing!
She’s friendly once she gets to know you, otherwise she’s very shy and tends to run away from strangers. I’ve a friend who came to visit a few times and after about the third visit my cat started to get used to her and not hiding/running away, so… yeah. 
Well, I can board up at your house until she gets tired of me and befriends me. :-p
Pragya recently posted..December TBR Pile