Back-to-school nails make the first day of class way more fun. Set the stage for a great year by heading back to the classroom with colorful nail art that reflects your personal style (and, rejoice that you actually have time to perfect your nail art over break before school takes over your life). Check out these nine DIY ideas for back to school nail designs that will impress your whole school.
Chalkboard Math
For this back-to-school nail art, recreate the look of math problems on the chalkboard. First, coat your nails with black polish. Then, add numbers and symbols with a
Sally Hansen I Heart Nail Art Pen, $5.99. Let it dry, then cover your nails with a top coat to set your look.
Image via PiggieLuv
Pencil Ends
With three simple stripes, you can create the look of a pencil and eraser. Apply a sparkly gold stripe near your cuticles for the color of the pencil, a metallic silver swatch above that to represent the metal band, and a rosy pink at the top for the eraser.
Image via Pinterest
Notebook Paper
Create the look of notebook paper on your fingers with a coat of glossy white polish. Use a fine brush to add horizontal blue stripes and a vertical red stripe.
Image via Pinterest
A Measure of Fun
With a bright yellow background, these back-to-school nails will turn heads. After painting your nails a canary yellow, add black details. Unless you have extremely steady, precise hands, dots are easier to dab on than tiny number markings.
Image via Pinterest
Football Fans
If you're more into the return of high school football than the return of tests, then these are the back-to-school nails for you. First, apply a coat of metallic brown polish to a couple of your nails. When dry, paint on white stripes to look like football laces. Finish the look off by applying a sparkly polish in your school's colors to the remaining nails.
Image via Pinterest
Crayon Art
Make this fun, back-to-school nail design with a different bright shade of polish on each nail. Use a
Sally Hansen I Heart Nail Art Pen, $5.99, to add a wavy accent stripe near the tip of each nail, using a piece of tape to create a superstraight edge.
Image via Copy Cat Claws
Mathematical Genius
A colorful backdrop on each nail provides a good work surface for your favorite math symbols. It's also a good way to brush up on your symbols for A.P. statistics. Paint these symbols on with black polish and a fine-tipped brush.
Image via Nail Deesignz
An Apple a Day
After smoothing on a background of light nail polish, use a glossy red polish to paint an apple shape on the tips of your nails. A toothpick will help you shape dots of polish into the rounded apple. Touches of white, brown and green polish added with a nail brush bring this back-to-school nail design to life.
Image via @thelittlecanvas
Paper Airplane
If you're a class daydreamer, you'll relate to this whimsical design. Start with a light blue background, then add a white paper airplane to the thumbnail, shaping the triangular shape with a toothpick. Outline it in black with a fine-tipped nail pen, then trace a dotted-line path for the plane across the other nails.
Image via Pinterest
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