Tips and Tricks

As the years go by, I learn things of my own and from others and would just like to share with everyone how I go about things! If you would like to know how I do something, please email me at linda.khuu@live.com.au

Applying Rhinestones

What method do you use? I used to use a dotting tool dipped in water to stick my rhinestones on, but it became a hassle with the constant dipping of water! I have found another way to stick them on and funnily enough, I saw it on eBay :)

I now use a waxy pencil (I'm using an old lip liner in the pic) to pick and place my rhinestones. Nice and easy!

*Update* You can also use a toothpick with blu-tack on the end!

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Water Marbling

Marbling takes practice and knowing some key techniques is helpful in achieving a successful result. When I tried marbling, I didn't know much and didn't end up getting great results. Here are some tips that have helped me make water marbling much easier!

First, you will need water. Don't just use any regular water. I know from past experiments that you should use room temperature filtered water. I have tried tap water and the polish doesn't disperse (spread) very well. If water is too cold, the polish will harden. If you don't have room temperature filtered water, I would suggest getting some filtered water (from tap or fridge) and leave the cup of water overnight so that it can adjust to the room temperature.

Choose your polishes. Generally most polishes should work - old or slightly thick polish and glitters will not work well. In my experience, glitters dry out very quickly on the water. You have to either work VERY quick or skip it. To know if your polish is good for marbling, drop it in the water and if it disperses (spreads) over a large area, then it's good for marbling. If it only spreads a little, best to skip it. It would also help to have your bottles pre-opened to save time.

When dropping polish on the water surface, dropping it too high up can cause it to sink. Safe dropping distance for me is about 5mm above the water surface.

I use the smallest size dotting tool to drag around the polish. You can use an orange stick, a needle or anything with a sharp end to drag. Keep in mind after every drag, you'll want to clean off the excess with a tissue to help create crisp lines.

I have found that 'anchoring' really helps with creating a clean design. This is what happened when I didn't anchor the polish. The polish started moving around on the surface, distorting the design. The image below is what I mean by anchoring.

When dropping in polish, it might not always go right to the edge of your cup, so what you want to do is use your tool and drag the outer most colour in an upward direction against the cup. Do it all the way around so that the polish stays in place. This image shows how it looks after anchoring. Also, when dragging, drag in a quick motion rather than slow movements - this will help achieve straighter, more crisp lines. You don't want to leave this step for to long, after a short time, the polish will dry and you won't be able to drag it.

This is the final result on paper! When dipping your nail(s) in, you can remove surrounding excess polish quickly by blowing on the surface of the water. This will harden the polish, so that you can just pick it up in one dab rather than swirling it around.

Hope this was helpful!