Día de Muertos is a Mexican holiday where loved ones gather to pray and celebrate the lives of those passed. At these gatherings they leave food and goodies to help their loved ones transitioning to the afterlife. I chose to use the sugar skull as my main focal point, they are usually on the alter and have the name of the passed loved on them, those are not for eating. They were originally made from sugar because that was the least expensive way for even poor people could make them to honor their dead. The skeletons represent people in the afterlife enjoying themselves, so I have a gentleman playing the guitar for a young lady that he is courting. He gave her the rose and wrote her a special song. I layered in Swarovski stones to accent the sugar skulls and the details on the clothing and the picados. I added in some watercolor effects to make the design pop with color and to reflect the happiness these two have in the afterlife.
Step-by-Step Nail Art Tutorial
1
I began with 5 white large tips that I staggered in size. I painted them all with white gel. After the 2 coats of white gel was cured I added a matte top coat and cured. Once all of the nail tips where cured I used builder gel to stick them all together so that I could sketch out my design. The matte top coat made it easier to draw on the nail tips.
2
I began to fill my sketched in design with a thin liner brush and gel paints. I added a few stones to my sugar skull in the center to get a better judge of my proportions, I also painted in my alter for the tribute.
3
After looking at the proportions I decided that my original skull was a little to big and the alter way to small. So I deconstructed the design saving only my guitar man and his lady. After that adjustment I added details to the alter and the sugar skull. I researched to find out what items would be left for a loved one and added those to my alter as well as finished the details of the two skeletons.
4
Top coat with a Non-cleanse top coat on the designs only. I wanted to add a bit more brightness to the design and decided to use alcohol inks to create a watercolor effect. Because we used a matte top coat it was easier to apply the inks and create the perfect melt of the colors.
5
Picados are flags made of tissue paper for the Día de Muertos, so they where a definite must have. Using a piece of form paper i painted little squares of gel polish on the paper and cured, remove the stick layer and size the picador against your tips.
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After cutting and shaping them into my desired look I added Swarovski stones and oval shaped glitter to give it the look of being a tissue paper picador.
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Using a little builder gel as glue I placed the decorated picado's at the top of the tips and cured. Then add a few more Swarovski stones to embellish the look cure and enjoy.
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