Teen Nail Art

This past week I hosted a super fun, no-fuss teen nail art program at the library. All I really had to do was purchase some basic supplies, set out some books/photos of nail designs, and let the teens have at it!

Here's what I provided:

• Nail Art books and pictures of nail designs from my Pinterest board
• Nail polish - I purchased super cheap nail polish from our local drug store in a variety of colors
• Cotton balls/Q-tips/Nail polish remover - To fix any polish mistakes
• Cheap emery boards
• Nail art pens
• Nail stickers - These were pretty cheap at my local drug store so I purchased a couple of packs
• Nail brushes - For intricate painting/designs
• Dotting tools - For polka dots
• Aluminum foil - Teens poured a small amount of polish onto foil to use for dotting/drawing/etc.
• Nail tape - For decoration
• Newspaper/Rubbing alcohol/Small plastic cups - For newsprint nails
• Scissors - For cutting up the newspaper and nail tape

After the teens arrived, I briefly went over what each of the supplies was used for and then let them go! I also periodically walked around to check in and answer any questions. I actually ended up painting a lot of left-hand nails for the teens!

How It Went:

I would definitely call it a success. However, there are a few things I would do differently:

1. I would make sure to tell the teens to paint thin coats of nail polish. A lot of them really glopped it on and then their nails wouldn't dry.

2. I only really allotted an hour for the program when really we could have used an hour and a half between nail drying time, design time, and extra time for those teens who had to start their manicures over.

3. I briefly thought about providing cosmetic wedge sponges so that the teens could do ombre'd nails and then decided against it. Well, guess what some of the teens wanted to do?...you guessed it! So I would definitely have a pack of those on hand.

Here are some of the finished manicures: