Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Tutorial: Stamping vertical lines over a gradient

(Press Sample)

Hello!

I'm back with that nail art I promised you, using Barielles Gentle Breeze collection (click here to see my review if you missed it). I'm thought I'd do something a little different today; I'm going to show you the manicure first, and then explain it in the form of a tutorial this time, since it's a combination of techniques I love and use on the blog together often.

Here's the mani, which I'm calling Starflash:

Starflash
Starflash! (Does anyone else hear the theme song from Flash Gordon?)

Now let's talk about how I did it...

1) Choose two complementary colors to make a gradient. For mine, I chose Heaven Sent, the light blue creme from the collection, and Under The Sea, the teal shimmer:


Barielle Heaven Sent

Barielle Under The Sea

2) Paint your base polish as the lighter color, in this case, Heaven Sent. Some people start off with bare nails for their gradients, but I find when I do that, I get too much random pulling, which results in bald spots.

3) Put each shade together on a non-porous surface next to each other, and swirl the edges together with a dotting tool or orange stick like this:


Layout for your polishes


I learned this technique from The Nailasaurus back in the day. This is certainly not a trick I originated! :)


4) Using a bit of make-up sponge, apply the polish to your nails. Move the sponge up and down in the direction of the gradient; lift your sponge of the nail when you move it, don't try to slide it up and down the nail. In other words, you're going to do this: dab-move up-dab-move down-dab-move up, etc.

Dab on your polish, moving the sponge up and down in between dabs.

(Hey Michelle! What is that purple stuff you have on your cuticles there? Is it Liquid Palisade? No, but it's something very similar. You put it on to mask off your skin when you're doing messy nail art, then just peel it (and the excess polish) off when you're done. I will review it for you next time. In the meantime you can always just clean up with a brush and acetone, or try putting scotch tape around your nails before you do your gradient. :) )


5) Clean up your cuticles, and you'll have a gradient that looks something like this: 



6) Stamp your image on top of your gradient. For my mani, I used the lower-right portion of Pueen 61, and stamped with Barielle Gray Sky:




So here's where things get tricky. the design I've chosen is the kind that, if not stamped perfectly straight, is going to look all crooked and weird. How do you stamp stripes, or stripe-like things like this, so that the lines don't warp? Excellent question! The trick is, rather than stamp across you nail from side-to-side like you normally would, stamp down your nail, from cuticle to tip, like this:


Stamping vertical lines/stripes

I place the stamper at the base of my cuticles, and look to make sure the lines are running the direction I want them to run. Then, I roll the stamp down my nail to the tip. Now, you may have to practice it a time or two, but it will come to you quickly.

Here again is the finished mani, for your viewing pleasure:


Starflash, the sequel

Starflash claw



And here is a pin-able tutorial graphic, should you want one. :)





Hope you're having a great week!

M.




58 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Aren't they awesome? The minute I took the collection out of the box, I was all 'Gradient!!!'

      Delete
  2. Great tip on rolling from cuticles to free end! I've always stamped this way but never actually thought about it. I saw the picture and had an aah-haa moment lol!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL!! So do you have problems with horizontal lines then?? ;-)

      Delete
  3. Love the step by step tutorials for these nails! I struggle with lining up my stamping so thank you for the tip on stamping from the cuticle and not from the side for those.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad to help! Vertical lines are impossible for me if I do it the side-to-side way.If I stamp directly down into a super squishy stamper that can work too, but sometimes I still get wobble that way. :(

      Delete
  4. Lovely gradient! I've never done a gradient like this, I've just applied the polishes directly to my sponge. Definitely trying it next time!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Her tutorial came out right when I was learning the technique, so I've always done it that way. I think in theory it allows a little bit of a smoother blend between the polishes normally. The shimmer in Under The Sea gave a slightly different sort of look, which I love, but with two cremes I can get a pretty darn smooth look. :)

      Delete
  5. Wow, what a WONDERFUL tip. I seriously am having this problem with quite a few of my images and I never thought to stamp vertically to lessen the warping, thanks so much!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad to help! Trying to get vertical stamping right any other way has driven me to the edge of sanity, lol!

      Delete
  6. This gradient is really beautiful! And your stamping techniques have really helped too!

    ReplyDelete
  7. There are several great tips in this post! I can't wait to try them out!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Beautiful and subtle! I just got some of that type stuff to protect my cuticles and it's so awesome for stamping. Fantastic!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good to hear--I haven't tried it with stamping yet, just with the messier stuff. But I should give that a try too!

      Delete
  9. I love that gradient! And I'll definitely have to use you technique for stamping lines!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Love the gradient and the stamp adds a little something special!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Perfect stamping, erfect gradient, perfect tutorial!

    ReplyDelete
  12. What a beautiful mani! Your gradient is so pretty, and that stamping is spot on! Love it!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thank you for the tutorial. I always have 2 issues - preparing smooth gradient base and right placement with stamper. Your tutorial has given me some tips to improve my issue. Now i can work on solving my problem areas with these tips :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. That's a perfect tutorial!! thank you :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. This is lovely! And that's a great stamping tip, so thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Great gradient and perfect stamping! Sooo love the whole thing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much! Gradients make everything look good, don't they?

      Delete
  17. Great post. Thanks for putting all details. Loved your mani

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! I always try to remember to do more tutorials and then forget to take the right pictures for them...>.<

      Delete
  18. Yay I love tutorials! I've never done my gradients like this, looks easier than what I do

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Which method do you do, paint directly on the sponge?

      Delete
  19. Awesome post, great tips, and beautiful mani :-)

    ReplyDelete
  20. I'm gonna have to try rolling vertically... I never thought that that's what's causing the warping.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I bet it would help. You'll still need to do it once or twice to get the hang of it, but it's soooo much easier!

      Delete
  21. It's so intricate now that I've seen all the steps, I appreciate it more!

    ReplyDelete
  22. This is such a beautiful mani. And what a different way to do gradients!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hats off to The Nailasaurus for that--she's awesome. :)

      Delete
  23. THANK YOU for this!!!! That is such an easier way to do a gradient!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My pleasure, I'm glad it was helpful!! I learned from her the first time I tried a gradient, and never looked back. :)

      Delete
  24. Gorgeous mani! Thanks for the tip on stamping straight lines, that's going to help out a lot.

    ReplyDelete
  25. It's really lovely. great tut up der. I m gonna try this.

    ReplyDelete
  26. When doing "messy" manis, I just use that fancy peel off base coat (glue, basically) to protect my fingers; but I like your purple stuff better, because purple. :D

    Anyway, what a lovely gradient! And that star-like stamping design looks great with it; feels like it should be used for some sci-fi book cover! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Is the one you use more like the liquid latex? I find the glue just a bit more of a pita to peel off, but it definitely works. :) And thank you! That's how I feel about it--like a retro 60's sci-fi thing. :)

      Delete

Make my day--leave me a comment!