Acrylic Nail Art

doesn't nail art just look lovely sometimes? okay maybe ALL THE TIME. wait i take that back, over doing the nail art looks a bit tacky; but tasteful nail art is great. lately i ran into the problem that i had so many ideas for nail art but not enough colors to chose from when it came to those nail art polishes with the little thin wands. i thought long and hard; and since i am a graphic design...i have TONS of acrylic paint around my house from school and such. so i took one of my painting brushes and started doing something funky on my nail(i looked up on the Internet if this was safe for my nails first; and it is!! and always wear a base coat because it helps protect your nail from the pigment in polishes/paint!!) and i left it on for a couple days to see if it would last. couple days later...it still looked FAB. so this is my new trick for you guys!! polishes are sometimes hard to manipulate and you end up making a mess; acrylic paint comes right off with a wet napkin and wont disturb your base nail polish; and when your done seal it with some clear polish so it lasts longer. as far as brushes go; you can buy acrylic brushes; or they have nail art brushes at beauty supplies. you can get acrylic paint at pretty much any arts and craft store, or walmart. here are so colors i have lying around:

these four are "shiny" which means exactly as it sounds; they have a little more shine to them; this is more important for big details; but in the end a top shine coat of nail polish does the trick even if you dont get the shiny ones.
black; white; silver; and gold. have to have the metallics; and white and black are essential.
these are more varied colors; different shades; and just colors i thought were very pretty. the back ones are more fall/winter colors. and the front ones are spring/summer. i also have the primary colors so i can mix my own colors instead of having to buy every single color paint. again, you can get these at arts and craft store; walmart; i dont think i've seen any at target, but if im wrong then please correct me. go wild with these!! they pretty much have every shade and color you could possibly want and desire.
and last but not least; the neon colors which are greattttt on black nails...and pretty much on everything. these paints are super fun, they dry fast, dont smudge, and easier to manipulate with a brush than nail polish is. and not to mention you can try over and over again; all you need is a wet napkin; you CANT BEAT THAT!!