Crystal Touch Acrylic Nails Instructions Designed by Cheri Carlson
These fun acrylic nail tips show the amazing variety that you can achieve with a few Swarovski crystals and some nail polish. Choose a dressy design to match your outfit for a fancy event or go wacky and have fun displaying your nails at a themed party. The photographs in this idea show what one full hand would look like. If you're making your own, you'll want to create 10 nails for a full set.
The following steps apply to all of the nail designs. You'll also find specific notes under the names of each design.
Step one: File the acrylic nails so that they lay nicely over your actual nails. Once you're satisfied with the fit, determine which crystals will work best with your nail size. Then, lay the crystals next to their corresponding nails.
Step two: Paint all of the nails with two coats of nail polish, letting the nails dry completely between coats. Once the nails are dry, choose one nail and paint it with a third layer of polish. Apply the crystals to the nail in the pattern that you desire while the nail is still wet. Do the same to the rest of the nails. Let dry.
Note: If you are concerned about making a mistake when applying the crystals, let the third coat dry and then apply the crystals to the nails using Gem-Tac.
Step three: Apply a clear coat of nail polish over the entire nail, making sure to brush the polish along the edges of the crystals. This will help to give them a firmer hold.
Fancy Red Nails For this design, we used various sizes of the Swarovski 2028 XILION rose flatback in Crystal. You'll want approximately nine crystals for each nail. The crystals start small near the edges of the design and gradually increase in size near the center.
Crystal-Studded Pink Nails For these nails, we used Swarovski 2028 XILION rose flatbacks in White Opal. We used size SS7 for the ends and size SS16 for the centers of all the nails except for the pinky. For centers of the pinky, we used size SS12.
Black Heart Nails For these nails, step two is slightly different. After applying two coats of regular nail polish, decorate the nail with small hearts using black nail polish. It might help to use a nail pen or fine-tipped brush. Place three Swarovski 2028 SS7 XILION rose flatbacks in Jet at the center of each heart while the nail polish is still wet. Once the nails have dried, scatter a few extra flatbacks artistically over each nail using Gem-Tac.
Dramatic Chain Nails We used Swarovski 2028 SS7 XILION rose flatbacks in Crystal Moonlight for these nails. For the pinky, we used .5mm gunmetal-plated beading chain. For the rest of the nails, we used gunmetal-plated curb chain. Cut the chain to fit each nail. It's better to cut a little too much than to cut too little. To ensure that the chain remains attached firmly to the nail, we recommend gluing it with Gem-Tac.
Estimated time: Less than 30 minutes (plus drying time) Difficulty level: Beginner
