Cartons of Berries

Yesterday I went berry picking with my parents. I picked strawberries, black raspberries, and blueberries. Seeing those bluey-green pressed paper cartons really inspired me to create some nail art! Here are some cartons if you aren't sure what I am talking about:

I got a new white polish that I have been dying to try out, so this seemed like the perfect time to use it! I painted on a coat of Essie Protein Base Coat and then two coats of Sinful Colors Snow Me White on all of my nails. This is a really great white polish! It is actually the best I've used! It wasn't streaky and it was totally opaque in two coats! I highly recommend it! I got mine at Walmart for only $1.98! Anyway, after the white, I applied two coats of Sally Hansen Dries Instantly on all my nails except the ring fingers and thumbs because I was not going to do anything else with those nails. On the other nails I applied a strip of striping tape about half way up my nails so I could achieve a very straight line at the tops of the cartons. I then painted Rimmel Mintilicious on the lower half of the nails with the tape and immediately removed the tape. These were the bases for the cartons of berries.

Once those were dry, I took my detail brush and a darker shade of the same bluey color (L'Oreal Now You Sea Me) and created the details on the cartons. I put a horizontal line near the top of the carton for the rim and I also put three tiny lines at the bottom for the vents. Then it was time to add my fruit in the cartons. I only did this on my left hand. My right hand has two empty cartons. I put black raspberries in the carton on my ring finger. To do this I took Milani Rapid Orchid and a very small dotting tool and created little clusters of dots. I think it came out pretty well!

I put strawberries in the carton on my thumb. These were trickier and didn't come out as well. They look pretty good from a distance, but you will be able to see their imperfections in the close up picture down below. To start them, I took my detail brush and Rimmel Stiletto Red and painted on some strawberry-like shapes. I made some upside down and some right side up. After the red had dried I used some Milani Rapid Orchid again and, with the detail brush, painted on lines to show the separation between strawberries. I then used the detail brush again and, using NYC High Line Green, I painted on leaves for the strawberries facing right side up. I then took a tiny dotting tool and my white polish and made tiny dots for seeds. As you can see, they came out rather big. I went over those white dots with a yellow, Avon Sunshine. I finished off the accent nails with two coats of Dries Instantly.