Continuing with trying out the plates from my latest Maniology hall and in celebration of my partner’s birthday, I decided to use the book-themed plate that featured some cute owl images and create Owl Nail art. Going back to basics I kept this one simple and in this post, I will go over some tips and tricks for nail stamping.
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OPI – Funny Bunny the base to Owl Nail Art
For this design, I decided to go with a classic black and white theme. I applied three coats of OPI, Funny Bunny. The polish itself is quite milky in colour and not very opaque. Really I should have done a fourth coat but by the end of the third coat, I just wanted to start stamping.
The polish itself wore really well. I didn’t get around to applying a top coat for a few days and other then my thumbnail which always chips no matter what I do, you would have never known there was no topcoat.
OPI, Alpine snow is definitely still my favourite white polish as evident by being on my second bottle of it!
Owl Nail Art
Now onto the fun part!! For this, you will need a stamping plate, stamping polish. a plastic scraper, a stamper, some nail polish remover and a lint roller. That last item will make more sense soon I promise!
If your stamping plate is new, take off the protective film. I mention this step because I heard a lot of people don’t realise that this needs to be removed which if your new to stamping is easy to do.
For this design, I used stamping plate Maniology X POLISHEDJESS M057 (use my code THENAILCHRONICLE for 10% off Maniology).
To make it easier to pick up my plate without damaging my newly painted nails I place two make up cotton pads under the plate. This tip especially comes in handy when you’re using a silicone stamping mat.
Apply the stamping polish to one end of the image you wish to collect. Depending on how thin you apply the polish you may need to paint down as far as three-quarters of the image. Personally I find halfway works. This will take some experimenting. Quickly grab your plastic scraper and drag it down to spread the polish across the image with the scraper on a 45-degree angle. Then quickly grab your stamper and either push down on the image or roll across the image. The technique used with the stamper will depend on the stamper itself.
Use a makeup pad soaked in nail polish remover to clean your plate. To clean your stamper run the lint roller over it. See I told you it would make sense eventually! It does sound odd, but it works. Whatever you do, don’t use nail polish remover on the stamper especially the clear ones. It will ruin it!
For the topcoat products like the Maniology Smudge-free top coat work really well (don’t forget you can use my code THENAILCHRONICLE for 10% off). I also find OPI start to finish works really well. The best technique to use to avoid smudging is the beading technique. Apply a bead of topcoat at the top of your nail and drag down trying your best to not touch the brush on your nail as much as you can.
Nail Stamping Tips
The key to the above steps is speed. So I recommend having everything lined up and close by. It will take a bit of practice and different polishes, stampers and plates will need slightly different approaches.
If your struggling, try using more or less polish, different angles for the scraper or different amounts of pressure for the stamper. If your stamper is brand new sometimes they have too much oil so its recommended to wash and rinse them with regular dish soap and then leave the stamper on some paper towel overnight.
Another common question is do I have to use stamping polish. The short answer is no but it does make stamping a lot easier. If you have a regular polish that’s very opaque and a little on the thick side then it could work. The only way to know is to try it out.
The other variable to consider is the stamper. I started out with a solid stamper from Konad before moving onto clear ones. With clear stampers, its easier to line up the image but the solid stamper sometimes works better with certain plates/images. If I’m struggling to pick up an image with the clear stamper sometimes I find it better to switch to the solid stamper. You can read more about the pros and cons of stampers here: Clear vs solid nail stampers
Overall
I hope you find this guide helpful on your nail stamping journey. Let me know if you have any questions about any of the steps or tips.
Don’t forget to use my code THENAILCHRONICLE for 10% off Maniology!
