Tutorial: Abstract Christmas tree design


Hello everyone! Recently I posted my second Holiday tutorial, which shows you how to make a traditional Christmas tree shape. But for this tutorial I have an abstract take on the Christmas tree, for the more modern nail art fans who are looking for something different. All you need is two polishes, tape and something to act like your tree topper. I used a rhinestone, but you could also use one larger (star shaped) glitter, a sticker, a stamping design and so on. Be creative ;-)

First apply your base color (with a basecoat underneath) and let it dry completely. If needed use a fastdrying topcoat to quicken the drying.
I used a fine glitter as my base color to make it more festive, but you can also use a regular cream, a subtle shimmer or a polish with a foil finish etc. Just make sure it's not too dominating, because you want to keep the Christmas tree the center of attention.
Cut off two big tape strips which you'll use in step 3, and a few small ones to make the garland in step 4. The best way for me to cut (fine) tape strips, is by cutting a little piece of tape off the roll first which I then stick on the scissorblade, like shown in the picture. I let it stick out on one side (right in de picture), depending on how big I want the strip to be. This allows me to make very thin but also straight strips with relatively little effort.

Tip: to keep multiple small strips the same size, use the thickness of the scissorblade as reference.

Please note that I only use the colored tape you see for the pictures of this tutorial. Normally I use regular stationery tape. The translucency can be a great advantage in some cases, but it makes the tape difficult to capture in photos.
When the base color is entirely dry, place the two big tape strips on your nail, forming a chevron shape.
Then place the small strips randomly accross the chevron to form the garland. Important is to remember the order in which you've placed them, so you'll know which strips to remove first later on.
When all strips are in the right position, press them down firmly and apply your layering color.
Then right away, carefully peel off all the pieces of tape. Try to remove them individually if you can, because this will create crisper lines. When you're done, give your design a little time to dry.
At last, finish your design with a sparkly tree topper and seal your work with a layer of topcoat. Tada!
Check out the tutorial page for some useful tips. Also I would love to see your attempt on my design, so feel free to leave a link to your creation in the comment section!

Polishes I used in this post are China Glaze Mistletoe Kisses and 2030.

56 comments

  1. You are such an amazing inspiration, i love all your creations! I've got inspired by you before, here's one manicure: http://www.lucysstash.com/search/label/Nail%20Art and here is another one http://www.lucysstash.com/2011/12/stripy-manicure-with-essence-and-colour.html not as good as yours but I'm trying hard :D :D

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lovely! Wanna try a to make a christmas tree-tape-mani for christmas! Sooo nice! =D

    -Daisy

    ReplyDelete
  3. I just recently discovered your blog. I love your nail tutorials. I am always looking for something new to try, and you have provided me with so many different ideas. I can't wait to try the Christmas tree tutorial.

    ReplyDelete
  4. This is so cool! Also, thank you for your tips! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  5. amazing, as always :) i would love to spend a day inside your head as you come up with these amazing designs xx

    ReplyDelete
  6. This is sooo adorable! wish I had a patience to do this. x)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Great idea! I might try this for christmas eve :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. This is brilliant!! You come up with the best ideas!

    ReplyDelete
  9. this is incredible!! Too bad my tape mani's don't come out with perfectly crisp lines like yours or id have to try them a lot more. Can I ask what type of camera you are using? I love how it picks up the colors so well and the ultra fine glitter & I am in the market for a new camera =)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Wauw, that is so spectacular, amazing..

    ReplyDelete
  11. That's really unique! I'd make a giant mess, lol, but yours is super clean and lovely:)

    ReplyDelete
  12. So cool! I wish I had a green sparkly polish so I could do this exactly since it looks so good!

    -Mar

    http://girlinawholenewworld.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  13. So beautiful!! thanks for sharing with us.
    (Portugal)

    ReplyDelete
  14. This is brilliant! So pretty! :-D

    ReplyDelete
  15. Love it. I think I want to try this tonight

    ReplyDelete
  16. This is even prettier than your last christmas tree tutorial! So amazing! (: I have to try this asap

    ReplyDelete
  17. Love this! I'm amazed at all the designs you come up with :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Another amazing tutorial! Thanks Jane! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  19. How do you come up with all these great designs??? They always look so awesome.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Thank you so, SO much everybody! I hadn't expect so much positive feedback! ^^ I hope you all will make beautiful Christmas manis with the tutorials! And don't forget to share it here with everyone :-D

    @Prettyfulz: I sent you a message with more info :)

    ReplyDelete
  21. I looove your blog! I saw a picture of your christmas mani (pink, orange, christmas tree)on tumblr. I clicked the link and I'm so glad that it brought me here!
    Thanks for sharing this manicure! It's adorable & I hope that it's easy enough for a tape newbie like me (:

    ReplyDelete
  22. I love this design, thanks for share your awesome tutorial!! ^.^

    ReplyDelete
  23. Made my own version, with use of crackle polish instead of the tape over the tree.
    Image: http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lwlzlplM8D1r19uh7o1_500.jpg
    and
    http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lwlzlplM8D1r19uh7o2_500.jpg

    ReplyDelete
  24. That is just beautiful! I'm so impressed...one of the best holiday nail art i've seen lately. I wish I had the patience for nail art. I'm envious!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Love it! Thanks for the tutorial :-)

    ReplyDelete
  26. I fell in love with your design, so I had to try it. Go check it out, the text is unfortunately in Finnish, but I do have the Google Translate gadget on my site. Plus the pictures are the most important thing. :)

    http://janinastar.blogspot.com/2011/12/viimeiset-joulukynnet.html

    ReplyDelete
  27. OH! I gotta attempt this one, especially after my tree art FAIL from the previous one! Thanks for the inspiration and may you enjoy your Christmas!!

    ReplyDelete
  28. This is so cool! I'm gonna try this tomorrow!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Don't know if you're on AOL, but tonight there's a link to your blog with a story about this nail look. It was on Stylelist and linked back to this post.

    How cool is that??? :)

    ReplyDelete
  30. I love all nails you have done! And tutorials are very big plus!:)

    ReplyDelete
  31. holy crap that is cool - great job!

    ReplyDelete
  32. This design is awesome, you are so creative.

    ReplyDelete
  33. can you post a tutorial for the flame manicure you did

    ReplyDelete
  34. just did it today and sucessfuly for once ^_^
    love it
    thank you so much
    I put your link on my review

    ReplyDelete
  35. just in case ^_^

    http://confessionsdunebeauteholic.blogspot.com/2012/01/manucure-de-noel.html

    ReplyDelete
  36. bonne idée avec le strass sur le sommet

    ReplyDelete
  37. OMG! so nice! I am from Czech Republic and love your nails inspirations, literally awesome! :) So keep going with all this :).

    ReplyDelete
  38. Hello! This is an awesome blog, you are so talented! And this christmas treedesign is so clever! I just wanted to let you know that I totaly copied this design on my blog, (http://fastnaglad.blogg.se/2012/december/andra-advent-med-julgran.html) I hope thats OK, I linked back to your blog, but let me know if you have any preferences on how you would like to be refered to or anything like that... And also I write in swedish, so if you want me to write in english when I refer to your blog or anything, just let me know!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Sussie, thanks for your sweet comment! ^_^ And what a cute version you've made! I love seeing how other people have made this design in their own way. You already credited me and linked back to my blog, so that's fine. :)

      Delete
  39. Did it, too (http://glam-madam.blogspot.co.nz/2012/12/china-glaze-winter-berry-xmas-tree.html). And mentioned you! Cheers and thanks for the inspiration!!!

    ReplyDelete
  40. Beautiful! Today I'm going to do the same!

    ReplyDelete
  41. Did you know Born Pretty is using this manicure to sell one of their products? http://www.bornprettystore.com/fancy-white-stripe-tape-roll-nail-edge-guide-tips-stickers-12cm-width-p-6617.html = It seems you used regular scotch tape where they used whatever tape theyre trying to sell....

    ReplyDelete
  42. OMG! I am in love with these! Could you use dental floss for the garland strips instead of tape? Also do you think that I could do a red background with a green tree and still have it look as good as yours? I love all the ideas that you come up with!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! :D I think a green tree on a red background would look great actually! However, I wouldn't use dental floss instead of tape, because you really want it to stay put on the nails when you paint over it. Good luck and feel free to share the result here!

      Delete