Okay okay, I'll admit that this month's topic threw me a little. I mean to me, fairytales evoke thoughts of childhood; of dressing up, of bedtime stories, of having an unlimited imagination. But now, well...now things are different; we grow up, we experience the big bad world and I suppose fairytales just don't have much of a place anymore. Well that's where I was wrong. Okay, so we might not be willing to don a pair of fairy wings anymore, but what better way to pay homage to your inner child than to recreate fairytales on your nails?! Now I'm not pretending to be a nail artist, or even remotely good at this sort of thing; my lack of patience or unsteady hands tend to get the better of me, but this time I managed to design some cute nails based on some of my favourite fairytales :D

You don't need any fancy nail art pens, in fact the stuff I used is almost definitely lying in a drawer somewhere at home: all you need is a safety pin, a kirby grip and LOTS of nail varnishes!

First I painted on the base colours; it's good to go for something that'll contrast with your design. If you're planning to do the same thing as I did then you'll need [from little finger to thumb] a pale blue [this one was a DIY job], a pale yellow [17; sherbet lemon], a peachy pink [17; pink lemonade], a mint green [Barry M; Mint Green], and a navy blue [Barry M; Navy].

Make sure these are completely before you paint on the designs as they can often smudge/stick if you paint the designs on while they're tacky.

NAIL 1: ALICE IN WONDERLAND

There's a cheats way to draw hearts which I found out about recently; for this you'll need the kirby grip which should be bent out of shape as in the picture waaay above. Brush some red paint on the tip and you're ready to go! Now, the cheat's method is to dot two blobs of varnish juuust separate from each other; these will form the top of your heart. Then, simply use the same kirby grip to drag each blob down to the same point. Simples.

NAIL 2: GINGERBREAD MAN!

Well...actually this isn't really a favourite of mine but I couldn't resist having such a cute character on my nails...PLUS he's much easier to draw [and a liiittle bit cuter] than Beauty's Beast which would have to be my favourite story!

Again, just use the kirby grip to dot on a blob of brown [technical language here, of course] for his head, then from the base just drag out two arms and two legs. Easy Peasy. Let him dry properly before dotting on any features.

NAIL 3: MAGIC WAND

A common feature in many fairytales, I couldn't let this one slip by!

This time I used the safety pin for a finer point; simply dip into a dark colour for the stick and roll across your nail from base to tip. Then wipe the point clean, dip in some yellow [or any other wand-worthy shade!] and create a star by simply touching the point of the pin to your nail five times; each creating a point of the star.

NAIL 4: THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG

I used the kirby grip for this one again, and used a similar technique as with the heart. Only this time you drag each dot out to form an 'M' shape and then join them at the bottom with a smile to form a kiss. Mwah!

NAIL 5: WHEN YOU WISH UPON A STAR

Again, not strictly a fairytale, but certainly a song that's become an institution in itself...literally! [It's the one Disney use on their DVD intro].

To create this starry night, use the same technique as for the wand [i.e. with the safety pin] and, once dry go over it with some glitter. A perfect fairytale ending!

Here are the designs on paper in case you want a closer look [yes, I drew them on an envelope - there was no proper paper around, sorryy!!]

Now, to find my fairytale prince...hmmm. Something tells me it's the Fairy Godmother's day off.