Newspaper (or book) Nail Art

I'm not a big fan of painting my own nails, however I think I've had maybe 3 professional manicures in my life. When I saw this idea on Pinterest for newspaper art, I thought it was simple and easy enough for an amateur like me. I made a few mistakes here and there that I wouldn't want you to make, but for $2, this project is worth a try!

You'll need:

1. White nail polish 

2. Clear nail polish

3. Rubbing alcohol

4. Newspapers, phone book pages, etc. I don't recommend using book pages because I found the actual paper sticks to your nail instead of just the ink from the text (see below)

First, and this is optional and I didn't do it, put on a base layer of polish. If you want to skip this like I did, paint on your layer of white (mine was actually for french manicure tips, according to the bottle, but it worked perfectly). Wait for it to dry before applying another coat if needed.

Once it's dry, dip your finger into rubbing alcohol for 15-20 seconds.

 

Then immediately apply your newspaper/phone book pages/maps/whatever you want. I tried using old pages from a Harry Potter book that I had saved from my hollow book post. I waited for about 20 seconds before removing it.

As you can see, the book page didn't work so well...

So I tried again with pages from a phone book.

And voila! It worked!

Make sure to apply a clear top coat to all your nails so the ink doesn't come off.

And you're done! You could do crosswords, maps, receipts, whatever you like (so long as the paper isn't thick)! Be creative and enjoy this cheap and easy DIY!

TOTAL COSTS: About $2

$.99 for rubbing alcohol from Vons

$.99 for clear polish and white polish from Rite Aid (2 for 1)

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: 1 hour

Keep in mind, I spent 20 minutes trying to make the book pages when I just should have given up!

EASY-PEASY SCALE (1 super easy - 5 very difficult): 2 out of 5

It's not hard, it just takes a couple of nails to get the process down pat.