Rustic Reindeer

Good news: I'm finally finished exams! Yay!! I finally have time to do things that are not studying! As soon as I finished my last exam I hopped on a bus and headed to the mall to get started on my Christmas shopping and when I got home from doing that I finally had time to redo my nails. 

More holiday designs for you today, this time featuring a deer instead of a polar bear.

I was inspired by some cute graphics I found on Pinterest which you can see here and here. I thought the chalkboard drawing were so pretty, they pretty much had to be a nail design. But try as I might, I just could not get that deer to work as just an outline so after like an hour of frustration I caved and made it into a silhouette. Still looks pretty cute though!

I'm not sure if I like the final, chalkboard version of this deigns better or the middle stage where it was still shiny:

I feel like the chalkboard texture makes it look more rustic and the shiny, pure black and white looks more sophisticated. I guess which is better just depends on what look you're going for!

To get the chalkboard effect I really watered-down some white acrylic paint and used a makeup sponge to dab it on. When it was dry I sealed it in with a matte top coat! Super simple but pretty effective.

I have this feeling that I'm going to end up doing a lot of designs with animals this winter just like how I did a lot of fruit designs in the summer. Not sure how I end up fixating on certain things in different seasons, but I'll roll with it!

Products Used:

Essie - Grow Stronger Base Coat

Essie - Licorice

Seche Vite - Quick Dry Top Coat

Sephora - Matte Top Coat

Reeves Acrylic Paints

xo,

Becca.