Skip the blossoms and paint buds instead

If you love floral designs but lack the skills to create individual flowers, then try your hand at painting buds instead. This pastel design looks complicated, but it’s actually a sequence of lines and pear-shaped buds.

Start with a soft lavender base, then add a few turquoise lines to represent the flower stems. Rhinestone glue gel dries clear and will give your blossoms a raised effect. Layer dark purple gel over the glue gel, and add turquoise leaves to complete the design. Remember to draw the stems from the nail tip toward the cuticle, so the garden will face outward when you’re done.

Materials
- Lavender nail gel (Leafgel, "Glycine")
- UV or LED lamp (Akzentz Hybrid Pro Lamp, not shown)
- Turquoise nail gel (Angel, "Turquoise Tantrum")
- Long liner brush
- Rhinestone glue gel (GA&EN)
- Medium liner brush
- Dark purple nail gel (Presto, "96 Con Bravura")
- Ring palette (Pizza Perfect Nails)
- No-wipe gel top coat (Kupa)

Instructions
1. Apply two coats of lavender nail gel, and cure it in-between coats with the lamp.

2. Beginning at the nail tip, paint two intersecting wavy lines with the long liner brush and turquoise nail gel. Leave room at the end of each line to create the flowers.

3. Put a small, pear-shaped drop of rhinestone glue gel at the top of each line, and add a third drop off to the side with the medium liner brush. Cure the gel with the lamp.

4. Slip the ring palette onto your thumb, and drop a little dark purple nail gel on it.

5. Dip the medium liner brush into the dark purple gel, then apply it on top of the cured pear-shaped dots. Cure the gel with the lamp.

6. Use the long liner brush to paint a turquoise base and several leaves on each flower stem. Cure the gel with the lamp once more.

7. Protect your budding beauties with a layer of no-wipe top coat, then cure it with the lamp.

Stay pretty!