The start of my deco nail adventure

I totally forgot to mention my nails!

A few weeks ago I purchased some Polymer clay. My original intention was to make some earrings from a tutorial I found but instead I have found myself making some deco nails!

As it stands, I have only finished one set of nails (a second set is almost complete). I have made these luna inspired nails for a lolita meet I am attending next Saturday.

As you can see they are a bit on the large side but I still love them! I am hoping that when it comes to taking them off I can try and save them so I can wear them again. I am feeling a little worried about how I am going to go about everyday tasks but since when have deco nails been practical? The outfit I am wearing has a lot of stars on it so I am making a bit of a running theme. It was originally meant to be horse themed but I found out that I don't have enough horsey items.

It is the second set of nails I am making which have caused a lot of problems. Polymer clay is so easy to use compared to acrylics but it can be incredibly tedious. I have not used moulds or anything and I have tried to make sure that the shapes are the same size. So the ones going on the thumbs have to be the same size etc. For this second pair of nails I have made some very plump strawberries. I was working with 3 different clay colours and just for that one set of nails I spent 2 and a half hours sculpting the clay. I could have made it a bit easier by leaving out the yellow seeds but I thought they looked cuter with seeds in. So I was working with these tiny bits of yellow clay so small I couldn't pick them up. I had to use a cocktail stick to push the yellow bits into the holes I had made. When I have finished these nails and post a picture it will probably make more sense why I got so stressed out.

Despite how long I have spent on 2 pairs of nails I will only wear a few times, I am very pleased with the results. Considering this is my first time decorating nails, I am really pleased with the results. The luna nails look a lot better in person and I can't wait to wear them. I am going to continue with the clay but I plan to buy a couple of ready made pieces like mini waffles and cookies to make things that little bit easier. www.etsy.com is the best place to buy deco bits. Eventually I want to move on to acrylics but this probably wont be for a while yet.

However, there is one problem. The harsh Winter weather has totally sapped the moisture out of my hands so they have gone all cracked and sore. England has suffered from a bad cold spell and even my gloves couldn't save my poor hands. I have one week to get my hands in a better state so I can show off my nails worn. Hopefully they will be less red by the meet!