4th of July nails


Hello everyone! For today's post I made 4th of July nails for my American readers. Holidays are always a fun theme for manis, so I was very excited to do some nail art for Independence Day, eventhough I do not celebrate it myself. The look is clearly inspired by the American flag, albeit with subtle changes, and tape was my #1 tool. I really couldn't have made the designs without it.
In total I used four different polishes: a red from Etos (Dutch drugstore), China Glaze's 2030 as my gold, First Mate as the blue base color and for the white stripes I used China Glaze Millenium, which is a silver. I picked a silver instead of a white because I thought it would pop more. But also because I didn't want the stripes to look too much like a candy cane or a Christmas elf ;) As mentioned earlier, tape was my magic helper in this little project. I used it to create both the stripes and big star shapes, which are supposed to be stylized fireworks, can you tell? ;)


To make the firework shapes I basically used the same technique as the one for the zigzag pattern, only I started at one corner of the tip, working my way back to the beginning of the nail (at the cuticles). So I started with the blue, then the gold on top and finally I applied the red. If you don't know what I'm talking about, just visit the tutorial for the zigzag pattern and hopefully it will all make sense then :)

Of course our flag wouldn't be complete without stars, so I added those afterwards with a (nameless) stamping plate from Essence.


I hope you guys like my first 4th of July nails and that they may have even inspired you to make a cute mani for monday :) Thanks for reading!

69 comments

  1. These are absolutely stunning! And I am not just saying that because I am an American. Usually the 4th of July isn't a big deal for me. But those nails!!!!

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    1. Independence Day isn't a big deal to you? Why? Do you know why we celebrate it? It should be a huge deal to all Americans!

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    2. It's not a big deal to me either. It's just another excuse to party!

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    3. you should be ashamed of yourselves. those are great nails by the way

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  2. love it! I'm doing my 4th mani tonight!

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  3. STUNNING. looks too good to be real.

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  4. LOOOVE! These are the best 4th of July nails I have seen!

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  5. That is so AWESOME! Probably the best 4th mani i've seen so far - i'm really liking how you replaced the white with silver- It's so much more fun that way!

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  6. Amazing! You're truly an artist and a master with tape. :D

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  7. Clean and crisp as always . Love it :D

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  8. This is awesome. Your ring and thumb remind me of Wonder Woman too.

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  9. Wow this is beautiful! Just perfect! :)

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  10. Hello, nice designs!
    I follow you, can you follow back?
    http://misstarshiny.blogspot.com/

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  11. Wow! You really out did yourself its such a fun looking mani, definitely more festive than my 4th of July mani!

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  12. Ooh, so elegant! I love the way you replaced the white with silver, looks stunning and still the theme (flag) is obvious!

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  13. I was planning on doing something similar to this but now I dunno because yours is sooo beautiful! wow

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  14. you're amazing! This mani is so so so great!
    I love how it pops! the metallic colors are gorgeous for the bright effect!

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  15. WOW, this looks amazing! Sooo perfectly done!

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  16. Jane, you're killin' me here!!! These are so amazing

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  17. Wow!!! Perfect July 4th nails!

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  18. Wow, they are fantastic! I wish I could do nails like that! x

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  19. Wow, this is awesome !
    I love the fact you used metallic shades, it give the design a more festive and deep look.
    Great job :)

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  20. I'd have to say this is my favorite 4th of July mani I've seen!! So cute, I LOVE the ring and thumb. I also like how you used metallic colors for the stripes and the outline of the fireworks, that subtle difference makes your mani stand out from all the other ones!

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  21. Wow, It looks great! It was a good idea to use silver, it really pops more! :D

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  22. amazing! great idea to do this nail art for that day, I'm impressed :)

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  23. wow! this is sooo fabulous!
    I LOVE THE METALLIC OF THIS MANI, DIFFERRENT(:

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  24. this is for sure the most well executed 4th manicure i have seen so far this year! beautiful :)

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  25. That is just fantastic and unique for a change. Not just the regular old stars and stripes!

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  26. This is gorgeous! I don't usually dig American flag related anything (and boy are they a lot of bad American flag manis out there!), but this is something even I would wear. Great job!

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  27. wow, you did an amazing job!!! i love it! i wish i could do that too. ;)

    p.s. i am a new follower. :)

    <3, Mimi
    http://whatmimiwrites.blogspot.com/

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  28. Wow! These are so perfect looking! I think you must be part robot ;)

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  29. so awesome just added u to my blog roll

    http://karlasnaildesign19.blogspot.com/

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  30. You nails are so cute! You did a great job!

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  31. wow this looks amazing! Ive used tape before but my lines never turn out this nice.. which brand tape you recommend?

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  32. This looks great! I am inspired to do a tape mani now! All of yours look awesome!

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  33. This is awesome!! It looks like Minx or nail decals instead of polish.

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  34. this is great!!! awesome awesome!! :)

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  35. OMG!!!! these are soooo cute!!! how did you get such straight lines?!

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  36. that is AMAZING...wow and I thought my 4th of july mani was awesome...until I saw this! droooll. hahah :D

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  37. WOW you did such a great job! This is such a classy 4th of July mani. Plus your nails/cuticles are gorgeous ;)

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  38. That's amazing! I love it!
    Now following!
    http://www.fashuhneestah.com/

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  39. I'm so in love with the metallics!

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  40. I WANT THE SAME THING AND NEVER WANT TO REMOVE IT EVER!!!!

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  41. You guys! SO MANY COMMENTS!! Overwhelming really! Thank you so much! I truly appreciate all of your comments and though I don't always answer all of them, I've read every single one and they mean a lot to me :)

    @Amanda N: I just use regular stationary tape. But you might prefer something else, so just experiment with different sorts of tape to figure out what works best for you. Also, have a look at the tutorials ffor more tips and tricks :)

    @Poetic Realist: What a compliment, thank you!

    @Amber: Thank you, that's such a huge compliment!

    @LizIsPink: I use tape to create the crisp lines ;-) Just check out my tutorials if you'd like to see how I use for my manis.

    @La Dinette: *Like* :-D

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  42. Wow - This is the best fourth of July mani that I have ever seen. One of your best ever manis!!

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  43. um WHAT
    you are mind blowing
    stop being so good!!!!!!!! LOL
    so... crisp...
    ...im so bad...
    hahaha

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  44. Ooo la la the stripes are delicious LOL remind me of candy canes ;)

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  45. Hey there! Just wanted to let you know I featured this nail art design on my Top Patriotic Ideas & Inspiration list on my blog “Sparkly Sharp and Fabulous” with my followers! I hope you check it out! I am putting together a Summer Nail Art Idea’s list as well, so if you create any designs you would like featured on that post, or more on this Patriotic list, make sure to send me the links! Have a fantastic day! <3 The Sparkle Queen

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  46. Wow this is a beautiful mani!! I saw this on Pinterest and I honestly thought it was those nail stickers LOL. Imagine my surprise. You did a fantastic job!!

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  47. OMFG its amaziiinnggg!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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