How many of you use nail polish?
I love it - there are so many colors!
But, I don't use it on my fingernails. My nails are usually stained with various inks and paints.
I love it for crafting!
And today I'm going to show you how absolutely fun it is to use it to marbleize beads.
This is a super fun mixed media necklace tutorial.
Materials needed:
Other supplies:
wire
bowl for water
For another jewelry tutorial using ribbon and lace, check out my Lacy Cuff project.
The steps:
1. First step - get a container and fill it with tap water, cold is just fine.
2. Add drops of nail polish into the water
I found that shaking the polish before opening made the polish be able to drip better.
3. Add more colors to the water.
I found that 3 is a good number - gives it variety without becoming overwhelming.
A small surface area of dripped polish should be fine. The photo below has enough to marble 2 or more beads.
4. Run a wire through your bead and bend it so that it won't fall off.
5. Dip your bead on the wire into the nail polish water.
6. Scoop up the nail polish color with your bead - but try not to scoop too much.
When you take your bead out, the nail polish should have attached itself to the bead in different spots giving it a marbled look.
7. Wait about 30 seconds and pat down any polish that may have risen off the bead.
The nail polish will stick to your finger if you don't give it a little time to harden up.
8. Place your beads somewhere they can dry.
Sticking the wire into a soft surface worked well. That way you don't have to rest the bead on its side.
9. Decide what kind of trim you want to string your beads on and cut a good size length.
Choices could be ribbon, lace, or sari string.
10. Tie a knot close to the middle of your strand of trim.
11. Using a large-eyed needle, string your bead onto the trim.
12. String it up close to the knot you made.