DIY Project: Magnetic Nail Art Organizer

If you're anything like me, you've probably got tons of tiny ziploc baggies, pots, and wheels of nail art supplies strewn about your workspace. Whether it's loose glitter, studs, charms, or embellishments, there has to be a better way!

Ever since I read about the magnetic nail art wall at Hey Nice Nails, I've wanted one for myself. Now, I don't know where to go about ordering one of these, so I set out to make one instead. This project was relatively inexpensive, and would be even cheaper if you've got some of the materials at home already. Read on to learn how to make one with your own two hands. I can be crafty sometimes, who said that I couldn't?!

First, gather your supplies. I used:
Frame from Goodwill
E6000 adhesive
Sheet metal (NOTE: I would recommend bringing your magnets along to test their attraction to the various sheet metals.)
Multipurpose metal snips, or a friend that can cut sheet metal
White spray paint
Small magnets
Nail art jars

I began by prepping my frame. It started out as a kind of icky beigey-white, and I wanted it to be good old regular white. I didn't get too fancy, and started by putting out a trash bag as my protective workspace. Then, I spray painted two coats of paint onto the thrifted frame, following manufacturer instructions on spray distance and time between coats. I let it dry while I moved on to the next steps.

Next, I got started on the sheet metal. My frame came with this handy piece of backing cardboard that I used to mark the correct dimensions on my sheet metal, but you could also do an old fashioned measurement.

Cut the metal to the proper dimensions using the tin snips. BE CAREFUL! The metal is sharp as hell. I'd recommend wearing gloves for this step, even though I didn't (whoops). If your frame is ready and dry, you can pop the metal into the frame at this point. I also put my cardboard back in there, too.

Now we prepare the jars! Take your nail art jars (empty or filled) and dab a dot of E6000 adhesive onto the lid. The bottoms of my jars are concave, but the lids are flat, so lids it was. Press one of the magnets into the dot of glue.

The hardest part is that now you have to let the adhesive on your newly birthed magnet jars dry for at least 24 hours. Trust me on this! It sucks, I know, but you wanna do this right, don't you?

Once you've given your magnet jars time to set, you can pop them onto your frame in whatever arrangement you'd like!

Ta daaaaaa! Ooooh...Aaahhh...! Now you've got a cute and fun way to store and organize your nail art supplies.

Looking for good places to stock up on nail art charms and studs? Check out some of my favorite shops:
Daily Charme
Hex Nail Designs
Ocean Nail Supply
The Sparkly Shop

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Glittery Skull Cameos

I always take the opportunity to use "glitter" day of the 31 Day Challenge to do some hand placed glitter nail art. I don't have the strength of mind to attempt it most other times. This time, I had some new triangle glitter I wanted to play around with, so I grabbed that and some glitter skull decals and went to town. I ended up with these pretty kickass skull cameo nails!

And you know what? The placement wasn't even that bad or time consuming!

Nail polish and products used:
Nicole by OPI Yoga Then Yogurt (white base)
Orly Glowstick (neon yellow)
Black holographic triangle glitter (use code CHALKBOARD15 for 15% off!)
Joby glittery skull decals
White wax rhinestone picker pencil

I started off by painting my nails with two coats of white, and then two coats of neon yellow. The white base helps the neon pop! I did my topcoating strategy a little differently (read: poorly), but if I had it to do over again, I would have done a layer of quick dry topcoat next.

Then, using a slow drying clear polish as the glue, I stuck on the pieces of triangle glitter one by one. I basically worked in edges, painting a thin stripe of clear along one side of my nail, placing the glitter using the wax pencil, and repeating until the outline was complete. I used tweezers to attach the skull decals. At this point, if you were following my ideal topcoat strategy, you'd apply a final coat of topcoat to seal in the glitter and the decals.

There's no such thing as too much glitter, so be sure to check out my glitter manicures from years past!

• Wet N Wild Correction Tape
• Hand placed glitter party nails
• Midnight Mermaid glitter placement

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