3D Acrylic Valentine’s Day Flower
This is the Valentine’s Day flower I’m going to show you how to make out of acrylic powder. We won’t be using any acrylic paint today, rather the sort of powder and liquid that fake acrylic nails are made of at nail salons. The difference here is we won’t be roughing up the nail prior to applying our acrylic powder, and we’re putting a barrier of nail polish between the acrylic chemicals and the nail. As long as you remove your 3D acrylic designs safely, (more on that later) these sorts of embellishments won’t damage your natural nails like fake acrylics can.
I started with two coats of “Awakening” by China Glaze.
I then applied one coat of OPI’s “Up Front & Personal” to tone down the color and add a bit of shimmer.
These are the supplies you’ll need to make 3D acrylic nail art. A round paintbrush, acrylic powder and acrylic liquid. You’ll also need some paper towel for dabbing off excess liquid, so have that ready as well.
I’ll be using colored acrylic powder for this design. For some 3D acrylic basics, see this post.
Dip your paintbrush into your acrylic liquid. I’m using a size 6 rounded paintbrush.
Dab off any excess liquid onto your paper towel and dip your brush into your acrylic powder to pick up a 3D acrylic “ball.” You can slightly wiggle the very tip of your brush around in the acrylic powder to build up the amount you’re lifting.
Touch the 3D acrylic powder ball onto your nail to drop it off. If your ball looks mushy and really shiny, your brush was too wet. If it looks really dry and powdery, your brush was too dry before you touched into your acrylic powder.
Rinse your brush off in your acrylic liquid and give the 3D acrylic ball a second to rest. Touch your brush against your paper towel, then poke and smoosh your 3D acrylic ball into whatever shape you want. We’re going for a flower petal sort of shape today.
Repeat the last several steps.
Again, forming a trio of petals. As you can see, our first two petals are already dry.
Make another 3D acrylic powder “ball” and place it between two petals.
Repeat.
Again, filling in the remaining blank spot.
Make two more petals on top of the ones you’ve already created.
One more, filling the last gap.
Make a small acrylic powder “ball” and smoosh it flat. Before it dries stick a gemstone onto it using tweezers. Once dry, your acrylic powder will hold onto that gemstone very securely so there’s no need for a clear topcoat. (However, if you’d like your Valentine’s Day flower to be shiny, you can apply a clear topcoat. I like my 3D acrylic nail art matte so I won’t be doing so.)
That’s the end! If I were wearing this look, I’d only make a flower on two or three of my fingers as it’s a very time-consuming process. A tip, make sure you clean your paintbrush very well. Acrylic liquid, when combined with acrylic powder, will set to a rock-hard substance very quickly. After creating a design swirl your brush into your acrylic liquid to make sure all the powder has come off. Never set a brush with liquid and powder on it aside while you finish painting the rest of your nails.
When you are finished with your manicure, swirl your brush in clean acrylic liquid again, then wash your brush out with hand-soap and water.
3D acrylic nail art is difficult, and takes a bit of practice to work successfully. I recommend a little trial-and-error on some fake nails or a disposable plastic surface before you apply acrylic powder onto your natural nails. Do not mix the paintbrushes you use for acrylic paint and the paintbrush you will use for 3D acrylic nail art. Once your paintbrush has touched the chemicals in acrylic liquid, it will never be quite the same. Keep that as your 3D acrylic powder paintbrush only. A size 6 or something similar will work for large and small designs, so you don’t need more than one paintbrush.
To remove 3D acrylic nail art:
1. Soak a cotton ball in nail polish remover containing acetone.
2. Place the cotton ball onto your 3D acrylic nail art.
3. Wrap that finger in tin foil.
4. Leave the tin foil on your nail for a couple of minutes.
5. Remove the tin foil and cotton ball and your 3D acrylic nail art embellishment should lift off easily, or be mushy enough to scrape off.
Do not ever “pick” 3D acrylic nail art off your dry, natural nails. You will lift layers off your nail plate in doing so. If this does happen because your 3D acrylic nail art got caught on something, it’s okay. That’s happened to me too and it isn’t so bad. Just use a 3-way nail buffer, (see this post) to smooth out the peeled area. No problem! :)
Tags: 3D Acrylic, Flowers, Gems, Holidays, Paintbrush
February 2nd, 2009 at 7:27 am
I have always wanted to try this out! I don’t have any of the acrylic stuff though. Maybe I should check into getting a little practise set or something. Great tutorial once again.
February 2nd, 2009 at 8:21 am
Brookiebaby,
Thanks! It’s tricky to work with and the acrylic liquid smells like a nail salon, but I usually get a lot of compliments when I wear 3D acrylic nail art so I use it anyway. :)
February 2nd, 2009 at 8:36 am
I love it! You do the prettiest designs :)
February 2nd, 2009 at 10:26 am
is it just my computer or is there no pictures? o_o
February 2nd, 2009 at 10:35 am
Yes it is just my computer! :x sorry for the confusion! This is so beautiful! I can’t wait to try it! You’re such a nail GENIUS :D I’m so glad I found this website! This is perfect for Valentine’s Day! =)
Also, I was wondering whether you could possibly do a tutorial on checkered nails? It’s become a fad at my school but I just can’t seem to do it. Knowing you and your work, i’m sure you could do it! So if you need some ideas for your next tutorial ;)
February 2nd, 2009 at 11:04 am
Jinnzor, Thanks! I appreciate your comments. :)
Annalyn, I dig it. Checkered nails sounds like something I’d wear myself, actually. I’ve seen a couple of tutorials that suggest using a white pen and black sharpie marker, but I’ll experiment and see if there’s a way to do checkers with something that’s more opaque and doesn’t peel as easily. Thanks for a great recommendation, Girlie. Just give me a couple of days to work on it.
February 2nd, 2009 at 11:42 am
Asami….Thanks so much on this design…I love it!! I will def. practice on some fake nails first. This is a design that I can wear on my short nails too!!! Maybe I’ll do a flower my tall fingers on each hand. !!! Thanks I will have to go online to get some colored acrylic powder…any specific brand you like best? or does it matter…actually I’m going to check ebay! woo hoo!!
February 2nd, 2009 at 12:47 pm
Larissa,
Hey, hey! I’m thrilled that you like it. That makes me happy.
Send me links of the colored acrylic powders you find on ebay, and I’ll tell you if I’ve used the brand or if I think it’s a good price.
Circles are the easiest shape to make, (You just push down the acrylic powder “ball” and that’s it!) so this flower is a good design to start with. I’ve seen crazy things like ice cream cones and Hello Kitty! I’m so not there yet, haha. :)
February 2nd, 2009 at 8:13 pm
Looks great for Valentine Day, I am not sure I can do this time - my nail still not be long as I want yet ( I start 1000mg since Sunday).
By the way, I picked up what you like today - will give to you soon.
Love you & your work.
OXOXOX MOM
February 2nd, 2009 at 8:57 pm
http://cgi.ebay.com/12-BOX-COLOURED-ACRYLIC-POWDER-FOR-NAILS-TIPS_W0QQitemZ300290318100QQcmdZViewItemQQptZNail_Color_Care_Tools?hash=item300290318100&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A1%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318
February 2nd, 2009 at 8:59 pm
sorry the link is so long…lol..I wasn’t sure if I did it right!! any way i Didn’t see the brand name, so maybe it’s not so great!
February 3rd, 2009 at 12:51 am
Mom, Thanks! I hope the Biotin starts working for you soon. Love you. :)
Larissa,
Okay, so maybe there isn’t a brand name but wow! That is a freaking awesome price! I have some “good” acrylic powders and some cheaper ones, and I don’t really notice a difference, honestly. Those look really bright and colorful and the price… awesome. I’d get them for sure.
And just so you know, you can mix the dry powders to make new colors! The powder itself doesn’t smell, it’s the liquid that does, so before you bring out your liquid you can mix up a blue and yellow acrylic powder to make green, etc. Or add a little blue to your red to make a pretty burgundy. :)
February 3rd, 2009 at 4:28 am
oh,,, ok..that’s so great to know. Thanks again for your insight! I’m on it!
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:17 pm
Oh my gosh, that is too cute! You are so talented! Thank you for sharing your ideas with us! I’ll definitely be forwarding your page to some of my friends!
I have a request if you don’t mind. It’s looks fairly simple. I’ve been loving Lady Gaga’s nails lately (she’s always got some fierce nails, as well as style!) I found this photo and looked at her nails and just fell in love! How can I make my nails like this? And what tools would I need?
http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/6167/40399412wq7.jpg
I’d greatly appreciate any help! Thanks so much! <3 xx
February 4th, 2009 at 10:26 am
Looking forward to whatever you come up with, Asami! I am thoroughly and deeply exited! Checkers are just so modern/retro and awesome :) And it’s definitely not limited to black/white! I was thinking of using tape to make strips and cross strips to make it…well anyways, looking forward to your tutorial! :D
Aaah so excited! =)
February 4th, 2009 at 11:35 am
Hi, Asami. Nice tutorial. I like how you addressed removing the acrylics. I remove them by picking at them, horrible I know. I use a beer glass bottle to practice.
When I first wanted to try acrylic nail art I went on a search online for tutorials but barely found anything. I like that you used acrylic in this tutorial but I think what would be helpful for readers would be a small tutorial/video on how to use the acrylic powder showing the consistency of how much liquid on brush and powder you should use. For me the hardest is trying to get the right consistency (not too much powder, not too much liquid) and same size ball each time. I’ve seen flowers like yours in Japanese nail art books but I’ve never bothered trying because laying is just too difficult. I would also have to agree the acrylic liquid smalls like the salon. I get headaches using it so I stopped practicing. Do you have any recommendations on liquids that don’t small awful?
February 4th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
Larissa, Glad to help! Thanks for commenting. :)
Angela,
Wow, that is adorable, I love that manicure! It’s definitely something I’d wear myself. I’ll break down how I would imitate this look myself, but let me know if I’m not being clear enough. I don’t want you leaving confused, especially if you’ve never worked with 3D acrylic nail art before.
Step 1: Apply French manicure guideline stickers to clean, bare nails. This is my favorite company:
http://asami.choseit.com/nailene-perfect-tip-guides/
but Orly also makes good ones too. You can find these at Longs Drugs, Sally’s Beauty Supply or Rite Aid.
Step 2: Apply white nail polish past the guideline sticker and allow polish to dry.
Step 3: Peel off the guideline sticker and coat entire nail in a nude-tinted or pink-tinted clear nail polish. The sort intended for French manicures. Sally Hansen has a few sets that include a nude-tinted clear, plus a white polish and some guideline stickers all together. You can also apply a clear topcoat at this point to protect your work so far and extend the life of your French manicure.
Step 4: Using a pink acrylic powder and acrylic liquid, on the side of one of your nails place a 3D acrylic powder “ball” and smoosh out a corner to create the shape of a ribbon half. Repeat the same step on the other side of your nail, leaving a bit of space in the center. Place another 3D acrylic powder “ball” in the center, completing your 3D pink ribbon, or alternatively you could use a gemstone as your center circle.
Here is a tutorial on 3D acrylic basics:
http://asami.choseit.com/the-basics-of-3d-acrylic/
And a tutorial on making 3D acrylic ribbons:
http://asami.choseit.com/6/
Lady Gaga’s ribbon is a little bigger and rounder than the one I posted, but that’s easy to change. Just put a larger 3D acrylic powder “ball” onto your nail and it will be more 3D/rounded in the corners.
Let me know if you have any questions. I’m serious! 3D acrylic is a tricky business so if you’d rather not gather up the supplies an alternative might be to do all the French manicure steps, and place a pink ribbon nail sticker or paint one on with acrylic paint. Acrylic paint is much easier to work with than 3D acrylic powder. It’s also cheaper and easier to find. I’m not sure how in love you are with the fact that Lady Gaga’s ribbon is 3D, but here’s a post on painting ribbons with regular craft paint:
http://asami.choseit.com/wrapped-present-manicure/
Let me know how you’d like to proceed, and if you need advice on either 3D acrylic or if you’re going the acrylic craft paint route, okay? I’d love to help.
February 4th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
Annalyn,
I’m super excited to do a checkered nail tutorial. I’ll be posting it after the Ninja Turtle tutorial I’ve already promised another reader. I tried out your recommendation on my own nails, (something I occasionally do before trying a new design,) and I think you’ll like it! Here’s a little sneak peak:
http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm179/asamiramirez/CheckeredTips.jpg
I’ll try to get your request up as soon as I can, but it might take up to a week and I hope that’s alright. I’ve got some math to work on. Bleh.
Bell,
I’ve heard that gel doesn’t have the same smell, but you need a UV lamp to cure it and it’s just as hard to work with. The smell is one of the reasons why I prefer acrylic paint for nearly all of my nail art designs. I might make a video for 3D acrylic in the future, but youtube has so many already and at this point I’m just not sure how many readers have the supplies. Acrylic craft paint is much easier to get than colored acrylic powders.
By the way, the glass bottle is a great idea! I practice on fake nails, just like I use for my tutorials. We’ll see how much 3D acrylic nail art shows up here in the future, but for now I think I’ll be going back to the acrylic paint for a while. The “nail salon smell” gives my SO headaches so 3D acrylic is something I only play around with when he’s out of town.
As for recommendations, I’d suggest acrylic paint but it doesn’t have the 3D factor. If you’re in love with that then gel might work, but like I previously mentioned it requires a UV lamp and I don’t use gel, so I can’t post tutorials of it for you. That’s about it as far as options go… except for nail stickers, polish and beads/gemstones.
February 4th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
Wow this is lovely! You’re nail designs are always amazing! I have always been curious about this type of nail art but I’m about 99% positive I’m not talented enough to do it lol. Either way great tutorial!
February 4th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
Thank you, Meg. :)
February 4th, 2009 at 11:24 pm
Hello Asami -
I have a question. Do you wear acrylics yourself - or are your perfect nails natural? I’m personally get sick of my natural nails get a snag (usually when I was my heair), and typically one of my thumbs, and then I have to chop them all off at once. I know you recommend biotin, which I do take, but is there anything to prevent a snag (and for me, it’s below the smile line)? It feels like whatever I put on my nails, it NEVER prevents these stupid snags. Thanks!
February 5th, 2009 at 5:29 am
Aly,
Ooh, I will NEVER put acrylic fakes back on my nails. I had them back in high school, and the damage they left was awful. I’m all about working with my natural nails now. :)
Are your nails snagging on the nail bed top or is there a rough part at the free-edge? (Below the smile line on which side?) If the tops aren’t smooth, that could cause a snag, and for that I’d recommend a 3-way buffer:
http://asami.choseit.com/using-a-buffing-block/
If your nails are snagging and tearing at the tip it could be the type of nail file you’re using or the way you file your nails. I use a glass nail file to take off length, and follow up with a really light grit file to smooth out any sharp corners.
Also, wrapping my tips in polish, ( http://asami.choseit.com/anti-chip-tips/ ) somewhat covers any scratchy edges at the tip.
Get back to me about your snags, I really want to make sure I understand your problem so we can figure out how to solve it. :)
February 5th, 2009 at 2:16 pm
Wow, lots of information! lol. Thank you. :)
I think it may be a little difficult for me to try using acrylic powder… but I’d like to atleast try it sometime! Do you think you can make a tutorial of that nail for me? If it isn’t too much trouble? I’d like to see your outcome!
February 5th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
Hello Asami!
Your rose is fantastic!! so precise!!
And I love your pretty colour french nails too! Your skill is amazingly perfect!!
February 8th, 2009 at 11:00 am
Angela,
Uh…here’s the thing: normally when I get a request I try to post it as soon as I can, but that’s with acrylic paint. 3D acrylic nail art is something I hardly ever use because it gives my SO headaches and there’s more cleanup involved. The very few times I’ve posted it, he was out of town for work. So, if you’re willing to wait and aren’t expecting it right away, I can try my best. But if it’s important for you to see it right away because you’d like to wear it for a special occasion or something, it’s not something I can get to just now.
Mitsue,
Thank you so much! That’s very sweet of you to say. :)
February 8th, 2009 at 9:02 pm
Oh, I see. You can do it if you feel like it, but if not that’s totally fine! :)
I’m in no hurry. :D
February 8th, 2009 at 11:40 pm
Angela,
Thanks so much for understanding. In hindsight I came off sounding pretty negative earlier, what I meant to say is that the very next time I do 3D acrylic it’ll be your pink ribbon design. Thank you for being patient. If you come up with anything non-3D I’ll be happy to post with much more punctuality. :)
February 9th, 2009 at 10:42 am
WOW! That’s amazing! Looking forward to it! No need to rush, absolutely take your time~! :D It’s awesome!
February 9th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
Asami, have you ever done you’re own airbrush nails? I went to my local craft store yesterday and saw a whole section of nails(mainly airbrush) and they were selling airbrush compressors! I was wondering if you’ve used an airbrush compressor before and if you recommend it for making designs?
February 9th, 2009 at 7:21 pm
Annalyn, I’m so glad you like it! It’s wearing very well on my own nails so at this point I’m ready to take the tutorial pictures and then resize them. It’s always good to try things out before I tell other people to. :)
Mandy, I’ve seen awesome airbrushed designs online that I just love, but I’ve never tried it myself. I’d love to though! I wonder if they’re easy to learn how to use. Were the ones you saw very expensive?
February 10th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
At AC Moore, the craft store I went to, they had compressors for about $150 and stencils(with about 6 -8 designs) for $6. But my dad told me he knows where to buy a compressor for $20, which would be a BIG bargain! I don’t know what type of fluid, or color or paint, you would put in either!
February 10th, 2009 at 6:43 pm
Oh no, it’s alright! You didn’t sound negative to me. I’m sure you’re a very busy woman. :)
Whenever you’d like to do it is fine! I’d just love to see what you can come up with!
February 11th, 2009 at 8:38 pm
I just want to know what type of brush is used to make 3D designs on nails?
February 15th, 2009 at 11:11 pm
Mandy, wow! That’s a big sale! I’d have to consider nail art more than a casual hobby to get into something as serious as an air brush compressor, but definitely let me know your experiences with it if you decide to get one. If you do a Google search there’s a lot of information out there about what sorts of paints are recommended, etc. When taxes come back I’m going to buy a big Konad nail stamper set and I’m so excited about it!
Angela, thanks for being so understanding! I have no idea when it happened, but this little site got a lot busier all of a sudden and I have a lot of requests to catch up to. :)
Now that I think of it your pink ribbon look would have been so adorable for Valentine’s Day. I was just reading your blog and I’m wondering how the Bare Minerals are working out for you? I love absolutely everything that company comes out with! I just got their Rare Minerals facial mist spray and it’s heaven.
Nena, I use a size 6 rounded paintbrush. Just a regular paintbrush from a craft store like Michaels. A brush intended for either acrylic paint or watercolor paints will work just fine, but avoid paintbrushes intended for oil paints as they’re much stiffer.
February 17th, 2009 at 6:00 pm
ok thank you for the information it helped me alot!
February 20th, 2009 at 5:43 am
Hey Asami I was wondering where do you buy your acrylic powders? I’ve always wanted to get into 3D art but the powder is so difficult to get. I want to buy online as a last resort because ebay prices seem too good to be true, so do you know where I could find this in a shop or something?
February 24th, 2009 at 6:28 pm
Nena, Glad to help! :)
Anne, My mom bought me nearly all of my acrylic powders on her last trip to Japan, but you can get pink, white or clear acrylic powder from any beauty supply store. Firstly check Sally’s Beauty Supply. If you can’t find colored acrylic powders there, online is really your only other option. But that doesn’t mean you have to resort to ebay. I can help you find some other sellers if you like; I myself have ordered a blue acrylic powder off of Amazon.
If you’re just starting out though a simple white acrylic powder would be fine to practice with. You’ll have no problem finding the basic three! If there are any nail shops around your area they might sell pink, white and clear as well as Sally’s. Let me know if you have trouble.
February 24th, 2009 at 9:46 pm
Lol thank you Anne, it’s just, I live in a tiny town in Australia and we don’t even have beauty supply stores that sell to the general public! I suspected they were the only places i’d be able to find these. I did order off an Australian nail supplies website, hopefully they’ll be good!
And I miss Japan and their nail art products so much! I just went back and bought a whole stash of nail art items but didn’t think to buy coloured powders. I used to think it didn’t look good (you know the Japanese nails where they have millions of flowers on one nail and it kind of looks like some sort of mould is growing on the nail!) but after seeing one flower on the nail i’ve decided it’s something i’d like to try!
Anyway thank you very much Asami for your advice!
February 28th, 2009 at 8:00 am
That’s a wonderful nail.
I’m living in Thailand but my sister will go to japan next week. Can you tell me where can I buy 3d acrylic equipment in japan? I’d love to have a small kit than a big set.
Thanks :)
March 3rd, 2009 at 9:27 pm
Anne, have you gotten your order in from that Australian website yet? I hope it all works out for you. :)
I miss the Daiso in San Diego where I’d get all my gemstones and nail stickers from, Japanese shops have lots of great deco stuff. And yes, I totally agree about the overkill of some designs! I’m pretty picky about what I’ll wear myself and honestly, many of the designs I’ve posted on this site from requests are things I’d never wear myself. Ninja Turtles for example, hehe. :)
Tam, thanks! Unfortunately, I live in California and I haven’t visited Japan since I was 6, so I really have no idea about where your sister could buy nail art stuff. You never know though, it’s pretty popular in Japan so she might run into some shops during her travels. I think you got the wrong idea about where I’m blogging from; I’m originally from Wisconsin! ;)
March 6th, 2009 at 1:27 am
I knew that you live in USA but I thought you may know some shop in Japan.
Although, thanks for your reply:)
I will tell my sister to search for me.
March 6th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
I was wondering what polish you were wearing on the tip of your nails in this tutorial? It’s very pretty and I’d like to buy it! Thanks!
March 7th, 2009 at 11:49 pm
Tam, I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more help. I hope your sister finds some good stuff though! :)
Amanda, it’s OPI’s “Gargantuan Green Grape.” It’s a great polish! Perfect for spring. I think you’ll love it. I got mine at ULTA.
March 20th, 2009 at 8:16 pm
hi asami i just wanted to know what type of brush is used to make roses?
March 21st, 2009 at 12:27 am
Nena,
I believe you asked me this much earlier on this post, right? I know it’s a bit hard to see, but often when I answer many questions at once I divide my responses up into paragraphs. Yours is directly under the comment you left on Feb. 11th. It gets crowded here sometimes, so this is it exactly the same, just pasted:
I use a size 6 rounded paintbrush. Just a regular paintbrush from a craft store like Michaels. A brush intended for either acrylic paint or watercolor paints will work just fine, but avoid paintbrushes intended for oil paints as they’re much stiffer.
—
I hope that helps and I’ll try to be clearer when answering multiple questions within a single response. :)
April 9th, 2009 at 11:47 pm
i was blog hopping and found your nail art to be REALLY amazing and inspiring. Acrylic looks so much fun and i never knew how to use it before. thank u so much for the tips and tutorials. :)
May 5th, 2009 at 5:14 pm
prettybeautiful, thank you! :)