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Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Tutorial Tuesday: DIY Cutout Decals

As promised, I have a tutorial for the dress inspired manicure from last Friday. This is made with a technique that I have been playing with for a while and involves nothing more than some nail polish and a ziplock bag. I think the possibilities with this technique are endless. These cutout decals are just one example of what you can do...

Supplies
Steps

Insutrctions
  1. Using white nail polish, paint a rectangle about 1.5x larger than your nail on the ziplock bag.
    - Apply a second coat if needed to reach full opacity.
    - Allow to dry completely (I usually let this dry overnight)
  2. Peel the sheet of nail polish off the ziplock bag. Sometimes it helps to use tweezers to get it started, but it should peel off easily once a corner is lifted.
  3. Using scissors, cut out the decals as shown above
  4. The cutout decals should look approximately as shown in Step 4.
  5. Apply desired number of base color coats.
  6. When the polish is still slightly tacky, but not wet, apply the decals to the nail as shown above.
    - If you are starting out with an existing manicure that is already dry, apply a coat of clear polish and allow it to get tacky for decal application...
    (Please excuse the extra large decals I created... they certainly don't have to be this big :) )
  7. Using cuticle nippers, clip the decals as close to the cuticles as possible
  8. Clean up the edges as needed. If you didn't clip as perfectly as you wanted, take a look at the cleanup tutorial on how to get a clean line near the cuticle. Since the decals are made of nail polish, they should easily dissolve and clean up with acetone/nail polish remover...
  9. Apply a top coat and enjoy :)

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! I would love to know what you think of it...

As always, if you try this or any of my other tutorials/manicures, I would love to see your creations :)

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)
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36 comments:

  1. BriannaApril 17, 2012 at 8:18 AM

    I love it! I've wanted to try this, and this makes it a lot easier for me to try!

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  2. KarenApril 17, 2012 at 8:46 AM

    I saw this on a fashion blog once and the used craft store cut out cutters to make shapes. I must try this! Add it to the list :)

    You are very good at making tutorials & I love reading them. Thanks

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  3. Carly @ Lacquered LoverApril 17, 2012 at 8:52 AM

    Wow what an awesome idea! I'm definitely going to try this!

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  4. AnonymousApril 17, 2012 at 8:57 AM

    Fantastic tutorial!! :D

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  5. SarahApril 17, 2012 at 9:03 AM

    AWESOME!!!!!!!!!! So going to try this in a couple weeks when i'm allowed to wear polish again!

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  6. LadyLuckApril 17, 2012 at 9:29 AM

    I been doing my own decals and im all addicted now with this u enlighten me!

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  7. GaffoRamaApril 17, 2012 at 9:44 AM

    This is genius! And here I thought you had done a tape mani!

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  8. BarillaApril 17, 2012 at 9:58 AM

    That mani was GORGEOUS, and I, like GaffoRama was thinking that was one of helluva scotch tape job! Super clever...thanks for the insight.

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  9. MariaApril 17, 2012 at 10:11 AM

    But ... doesn't the polish crumble if you try to cut it?

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  10. aimeeusApril 17, 2012 at 10:16 AM

    Wow!!! I thought you'd done a tape mani too. this is amazing. What a genius idea. I'm definitely going to try this. x

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  11. NatalieApril 17, 2012 at 10:32 AM

    WOW That's amazing! I had no idea you made it like that! Simply awesome! :D

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  12. AnonymousApril 17, 2012 at 11:13 AM

    Thank you for this tutorial. Definitely need to try it out

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  13. IsaBellaApril 17, 2012 at 12:01 PM

    Nice tutorial! Thank you! :)

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  14. Glitterd1April 17, 2012 at 12:53 PM

    How smart! I suck at scotch taping, so maybe I can do this! LOL!
    Have you tried other plastic things like wax paper or saran wrap? Just curious.

    If I ever buy any of those cool scrapbooking scissors, with scalloped edges....or tiny paper punch-out doohickies...I bet they might work too! FUN!!
    TY for the tute!

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  15. Inky WhiskersApril 17, 2012 at 1:28 PM

    Brilliant!

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  16. Pink TattooApril 17, 2012 at 1:37 PM

    Awesome! love this mani!!

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  17. KimsKie's NailsApril 17, 2012 at 2:09 PM

    OMG... This is SO cool!! :D

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  18. euzefelus_27April 17, 2012 at 2:24 PM

    so easy,, i have to try this

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  19. ShannonApril 17, 2012 at 4:13 PM

    That is just awesome! thanks so much for the tutorial!

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  20. Refined and PolishedApril 17, 2012 at 7:33 PM

    Great tutorial! This is not at all how I imagined you did it.

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  21. Manases AndreaApril 18, 2012 at 4:51 AM

    Interesting idea, I have to try it!

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  22. aylinApril 18, 2012 at 11:07 AM

    Great tutorial... Definetely gonna try... Thank you... :)

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  23. AnutkaApril 18, 2012 at 11:12 AM

    I'm so glad that you like the tutorial! Sorry to disappoint those of you that thought this was a tape mani :D

    I just love this technique... as some of you mentioned, there are so many things you can do with it including using craft scissors and different punches.

    @Maria, it does not crumble, it is actually quite pliable and can even stretch a tiny bit which is helpful if you nails that curve...

    @Christie, I have not tried it on wax paper or saran wrap, but I bet it would work as well. I will have to investigate :)

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  24. Ashley @ Passion for PolishApril 18, 2012 at 6:47 PM

    OMG, this is so awesome! I've never heard of this technique, but I'm so excited to try it! Your mani looks amazing.

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  25. Natural BlendsApril 21, 2012 at 11:22 PM

    Very Creative :-)

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  26. Naty TApril 23, 2012 at 5:31 AM

    this is fantastic!...i'm gonna try it soon.

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  27. AnutkaApril 23, 2012 at 9:09 AM

    Thank you so much! I hope you try it :)

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  28. ChaosophiaApril 26, 2012 at 11:53 PM

    Thanks a lot for sharing the technique! I'm lazy though, so I still want you to come do my nails this way. ;D

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  29. AnutkaMay 6, 2012 at 12:45 PM

    @Chaosophia, LOL! You crack me up! Glad you like the technique :)

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  30. AnonymousAugust 17, 2012 at 10:20 AM

    definitely trying this!

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  31. JessieJanuary 15, 2013 at 4:31 PM

    Hey, just dropping by to say that your tutorial has been stolen and the watermark cropped out by a facebook page with over a million likes. They've done it to mine and many more as well, so feel free to report them! You can find it here: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=412846545459347&set=pb.279265195484150.-2207520000.1358295326&type=3&src=http%3A%2F%2Fsphotos-a.ak.fbcdn.net%2Fhphotos-ak-ash3%2F542152_412846545459347_581602631_n.jpg&size=500%2C500

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  32. AnutkaJanuary 16, 2013 at 12:40 PM

    @Jessie, thank you so much for letting me know. This makes me so sad :(

    ReplyDelete
  33. AnonymousJune 3, 2013 at 9:49 AM

    Fabulous tutorial...sharing on my FB page at https://facebook.com/JacquelinesGems Hope you'll stop by and say Hi!

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  34. julieOctober 28, 2013 at 2:57 AM

    I love this tutorial. I tried it tonight for the first time and I definitely need to practice, but I like it so far. Thanks!

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  35. AnutkaOctober 30, 2013 at 1:00 PM

    @Julie, I'm so glad you decided to give it a try! The possibilities are endless :)

    ReplyDelete
  36. UnknownMay 30, 2014 at 9:55 AM

    This is so cute! I love the colors you used, too. I never try anything new with my nails, but this seems so doable I'll try it out! Thanks for sharing :)

    Jenn | http://customcornhole.com/custom-cornhole-decals/

    ReplyDelete

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