Polymer Clay Slices

Another recent purchase I just received in the mail yesterday were a couple polymer clay slices.  They are totally the rage in nail art right now, and of course I had to get into the action!

I bought two from Japan, and about 50 from Hong Kong (it was like $7 including shipping...couldn't resist!).  The ones from Japan arrived...the ones from HK will probably arrive...around Thanksgiving.  Damn that ship time for HK/China!

So here are the two canes I got:  a pink rose and a grey cat.  I used the rose ones on my mom.  They are really thick and uneven because I had a hard time slicing them.  But I've been practicing on some canes I made myself (silly cheesy stuff), and I think I'm getting the hang of it.

I put the cat slices on myself.  My brother had cut them for me, so they are a lot thinner.  They look almost like stickers.  When apply thin slices, they bend easily and are simple to mold to the shape of your nail.

I'm not sure what the point of having clay slices over stickers would be, but I have to say I'll be using these for awhile.  They are pretty sturdy, and probably don't fall apart as easily as a sticker would.

I've also ordered some pre-cut ones, and I know those will be thicker than I've been slicing right now.  I'll try them out and if I think they're too thick, I'll probably use them to decorate stuff instead.  I guess I'll have to wait and see!

What I Used:

NailTek (Basecoat)

essie: Watermelon

Seche Vite (Topcoat)

1.5mm Rhinestones

Cat Clay Cane

Rose Clay Cane

What I Did:

1.  Cut the cane into thin slices.  For my personal preference, the thinner the better!

2.  Basecoat

3.  Watermelon - I put two coats on my mom, but I only used one coat on myself.

4.  While Watermelon was still wet, I put the slices of the polymer on.

5.  I put a drop of Seche Vite wherever I wanted the rhinestone, and added a rhinestone.

6.  Top coat over everything.

7.  I tested out the essie Quick-e drops, and was very impressed.  Since I was going out, I didn't want to stress test them, but I think I will in the future.  I want to know how fast it really dries (it says seconds on the box, but I gave it closer to the minute mark), and if it really dries all layers like it says it does.  I've seen some drops that only dry the top layer, and stuff still smudges really easily.

But yeah, as you can see, one coat of essie gave really great coverage.  The 2nd coat was just to make it more solid.  I definitely want to go back and buy more essie polishes.  Unfortunately, Beauty HQ doesn't have that big of a selection, but I think I know a few colors I want to buy.  In general. most of the stuff there are older colors, which is why they could sell them at such a discount (probably!).  I'll probably look online/YouTube for some ideas for colors. =)