Strawberry Nails

I wore my Holly Golightly nails for as long as I possibly could. Yesterday, they chipped. I was so sad, as I loved them soooo much! So last night I had to remove the polish and begin again with a fresh design. And what could be fresher than strawberries!!! I've seen quite a few different takes on the idea, so as usual I took the best ideas from each one here is the result:

I started with a base coat and 2 coats of China Glaze Flirty Tankini. It's still a little sheer, so do a third if you like. You may notice this is a bright pink, and not a red. The manicures I saw that used red ended up looking kind of dull, and I wanted something a little more vibrant. The contrast with the green and yellow toned down the "pinkness" a little bit, so it still looks very berry-like.

Once the pink dried, I used a striping brush to paint white leaves in a soft triangle pattern. The white you use doesn't matter. It just needs to cover the pink so the green doesn't look brown when you paint it on top. I didn't have a bright green, so I mixed a little China Glaze For Audrey and Finger Paints Art Nouv-Yellow. I made sure it was slightly more bluey than yellowy for a softer contrast with the pink. Then, I painted it over the white. It may start to look a little chunky, but the topcoat will take care of that.

Finally, I used a dotting tool with the yellow for the seeds. I started with 4 dots on the top row (3 on pinky). Then, I placed dots between them on the second row for at least 3, but if the space allowed it 4 or 5 is fine. I followed the same for the last row. I did see some manicures that used a toothpick to make the seeds with tiny lines. It was a very cute effect, but I had no toothpicks. After it dries, finish it off with a topcoat or 2 and there you have it!

Now, who else has a sudden craving for a fruit plate?