How to Paint Flowers on Your Nails

By Doug Hewitt on January 4, 2011

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Painting flowers on your nails is not as hard as you might think.

You might be surprised at how quickly you can paint your nails with flowers. While some women hesitate to polish their nails due to hectic schedules and daily demands, painting your nails can be a quick and easy process -- and you don't have to have a college degree in design or art in order to paint attractive flower designs. With a few spare minutes and by following a few simple steps, you can show off your nails and the painted flowers the moment your polish dries.

Step 1

Wash your hands, or feet if you're painting your toenails, and allow them to dry. Make sure to thoroughly clean your nails. You don't want to apply your nail polish with a flower pattern only to have some come off due to dirt particles on your nails.

Step 2

Apply a base coat of polish to your nails and allow it to dry. Consider the color of the base coat and how the colors of your flowers will stand out on the base color. Softer colors for the base coat will help bring to life the brighter colors of the flower petals. If you want your flower to be more subdued, use a brighter base coat and softer flower colors.

Step 3

Dip your fine nail brush into the petal color polish and lightly draw a short line on your nail so that the line starts at the center of your nail and then extends lightly toward one edge of your nail, ending before the edge of the nail is reached. The line should be slightly curved, like the edge of your nail. This is one of the petals and you will be drawing additional lines for the rest of the petals to create a daisy-like flower. You can vary the length of these lines as you get accustomed to flower art, but consider starting with lines about a quarter of the width of your nail.

Step 4

Draw four additional lines that all start at the same point as the first line, but radiate out in different directions. They should all have a slight curve to them and curve in the same direction. These are the petals of your flower. You can draw additional flowers with the centers at different points on your nails as you grow more accustomed to painting flowers.

Step 5

Apply a small dot, using a different color, to the center of your lines. This is the middle of the flower. Let the nail polish dry to complete your daisy nail flower design.

Step 6

Add glitter to your next flower if you wish to enhance your design. You may also paint small oblong ovals instead of lines if you want your flower to resemble a rose instead of a daisy. You can also enhance your flower design by adding small dabs of green polish near the base of your nail to portray leaves.

About the Author

Doug Hewitt has been writing for 20 years and has a Master of Arts from UNC-Greensboro. He authored the book The Practical Guide to Weekend Parenting, which includes health and fitness hints for parents. He and his wife, Robin, are co-authors of the Free College Resource Book.