Tutorial: Snowflake


Hello everybody, welcome to my snowflake tutorial! Snowflakes have such beautiful and delicate shapes that instantly make a cute winter mani. In this tutorial I'll show you how to make a detailed but fairly simple snowflake. All you need is a small nail art brush and two matching polishes. Let's start!

Begin with your base color (if necessary with a basecoat underneath) and let it dry. Because the snowflake will be quite detailed, I'd recommend using a plain base color like a creme or subtle shimmer polish, to keep the focus on your design.
Use your nail art brush and a contrasting polish/acrylic paint to draw three lines that cross each other in the middle.
Then add two small, slanted lines to each end of the lines you just drew. It's already starting to look like a snowflake now...
...but a little more detail will complete the design. So now add two bigger, slanted lines to just three of the six 'legs', alternating between each. The reason I'm suggesting to decorate only three of the six further, is because the nail simply isn't a very big canvas: if you'd add more of the slanted lines to every leg, the whole design would look a bit cluttered.
Finally seal everything with a topcoat, clean up if necessary and you're done!

Use this design as a pattern on all nails or as an accent nail if you want to keep your mani simple.
Tip: Clean your nail art brush in between if you're using it for a long painting session. After a while polish will build up on it which can result in thick, goopy lines. Clean the brush by pouring a little bit of nail polish remover in a small dish (or the cap of the remover bottle), let your brush soak in it for a few seconds and dab it on a cotton pad a few times. Repeat this until your brush is clean.

Check out the tutorial page for more 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 First Mate and Essence Romeo (shimmer version).

29 comments

  1. great tutorial! will be trying this today:}

    ReplyDelete
  2. this IS amazing!!! omg!!! im definitely gonna need to try this around xmas time. too bad it doesnt snow here :( would have been so cute on a snowy day

    ReplyDelete
  3. It's really cute :) I made a attempt yesterday, but it's not nearly as good as yours ;)

    Marianne L

    ReplyDelete
  4. It's amazing how simple it looks when looking at the tutorial, compared to how cool it actually looks on the nail. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Amazing tutorial, the way your polish your nails is incredible. :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks so much for the tutorial!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wow!!! You are a great blogger and artist. Nice tutorial!!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. always great designs and helpful tutorials!
    keep up the good work!!!
    xxx
    Miss Starshiny

    ReplyDelete
  9. You always wow us with your designs.

    ReplyDelete
  10. This is so pretty! I totally forgot how to do a snowflake design on my nails and I crossed the lines wrong lol :P

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thank you for the clear instructions! Shall try soon!

    ReplyDelete
  12. So awesome, and perfect for the winter months! :) This one looks relatively simple, so I would definitely give this a try some time. Thanks for the tutorial! ^^

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thank you for sharing! Pretty tutorial!

    ReplyDelete
  14. This is so lovely!! ^-^

    ReplyDelete
  15. I'm definitely going to try this! :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Beautiful! I'm gonna make loads of snowflakes this month, and maybe I'll try this too!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Great idea! I'm definitely going to try this! :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Thanks everyone and it's my pleasure! ^^ I'm glad you enjoy it, because I love making my tutorials :)

    ReplyDelete
  19. As soon as I saw this picture I knew I had to give it a try! The design is so cute and thank you so much for posting a tutorial! Here's my attempt:

    http://starcrossedsmile.com/2011/12/on-nnennas-nails-2-snowflakes-on-my-fingers/

    ReplyDelete
  20. Thanks for the amazing tutorial! I used it too for my 31 day challenge mani:
    http://polishthis.blogspot.com/2011/12/day-30-inspired-by-tutorial.html

    ReplyDelete
  21. Hi there - I've only found your blog recently but have been making up for lost time poring through the archives - yay!

    & I loved your snowflake design! Here's my version: http://nailhouserock.blogspot.com/2011/12/snowfall-for-audrey-snowflake-accent.html

    thanks for taking the time to make these lovely tutorials, very much appreciated.

    ReplyDelete
  22. heyy, I metioned this tutorial in my blog. It isnpired me for my new desing.
    http://tsukiko-chan.blogspot.com/2011/12/helloo-there.html

    ReplyDelete
  23. awesome!! definitely going to try it!!

    ReplyDelete
  24. I LOVE your tutorials! Here's my attempt at snowflake nails with some glitter on top:

    http://twitpic.com/7s8abu

    ReplyDelete
  25. I love this! Thanks for the tutorial. I will try this soon. Been doing Christmas nails on myself all week hehe

    ReplyDelete