Behind the Cover: Acrylic Flowers

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I had to have flowers for spring!

The only question I had to ask myself was: what kind of flowers? Should they be hand drawn, real, gel, acrylic, one colour or many? There were so many options! But, being that this was a very special design as it was going on the cover, I thought I would opt for a dramatic look and so I chose one of my all time favourite flowers: roses. I chose yellow for the roses because it’s a colour that symbolizes friendship. Friendship is how I got here today. I am able to be here, creating a design for my very own nail magazine (which has been a long time dream of mine) because of the friendships I have made online. The support I have received has made all of this a reality. So, to my YouTube and Instagram friends, here is a bouquet of roses, just for you!

The shade and tone of the yellow I chose for this design was very important to get right.

Luckily, Ugly Duckling has never let me down. They have an extraordinary selection of coloured acrylics in absolutely top notch quality. I wanted an intense pigment for the yellow and when I saw theirs, I knew that it was perfect! I used #004 from their acrylic collection.

Ugly Duckling is a special company to me. I actually go back thirty years with the owner! She helped me begin my nail journey. Again, so fitting with the friendship theme of this nail design! Now, with her own product line, I am thrilled to use it- and even more thrilled with the results! Ugly Duckling tools and products are always excellent quality. They are one of my must-haves to keep near when I’m creating.

Visit the online store at uglyducklingnails.com

Use the promo code SUZIEPRO to receive a little gift with your purchase. The more you purchase, the larger the gift!

I created a collection of flowers, so I can decide which flower looks best on which nail, like a florist would when arranging a bouquet.

I love building nails! I chose to do an almond shape nail for this set, as it showcases the diamonds and the flowers particularly well.

I wanted to make a flower in every colour because Ugly Duckling’s acrylic colour choices are so beautiful!

The acrylic colour combinations are endless! But I had to commit. So, I chose a pastel blue to go with my yellow. I was drawn to the soft yellow- just look at it! Combining it with the blue, the contrast turned out beautifully. Love how the warm and cool tones turned out together.

I love filing. It’s when you sculpt the sleek shape of the nail. Which for this design, was the canvas for my flower bouquets!

The reason why I chose Ugly Duckling products for this design was because of their gel polish! It glides on and self-levels without running! It makes gel application a breeze. And again, look at that colour!

Making the flower petals!

The petals are very delicate! After I have rolled the acrylic, my starting point to form the flower, is to stand the center up.

Before I make a decision on placement, I will pick up my flower and hold it against the nail, thinking about how it looks while keeping in mind what it will look like with the other embellishments added.

One of my favourite accessories to add when going for a lavish look are DIAMONDS.

Diamonds are fantastic, but they can be tricky to apply if you don’t have the right tool. Using a blinger tool is a must!

Before the blinger tool was created, applying diamonds and gems was such a chore! With Ugly Duckling’s blinger tool, picking up diamonds and gems is now a breeze!

To capture all the hard work put into a design into onephoto is tricky. I couldn’t be happier with how this one turned out.