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Creating the designs for the nails looks like it will be difficult but with a little bit of practice and patience it will become easier. When choosing a design to be cut on the vinyl cutter you want to look for something that is fairly simple with bold lines and little detail. Silhouettes are always a great option for this type of work. They are easy to cut and weed and simple to transfer to their final destination. I find a lot of my pictures on google images, making sure that I look for pictures in black and white so it will be easier to use in the vinyl cutter software. If I have trouble finding something I like I find something close then edit it when it is traced into the software.

Importing the image into the software (Sure Cuts Alot) I always make sure that I run an image trace on the picture to get the lines that the cutter will follow. If I need to edit my picture further I make it large enough to see what I am doing then adjust it as needed using the software tools provided. The vinyl brand that I use the most is ‘Oracal’ which can be found at various hobby stores in the scrap booking section. I sometimes use other brands to practice on but I found if I want long lasting designs ‘Oracal’ is the way to go.


I always run the cutter at the slowest speed setting for small designs unless they are really simple and then I adjust the force of the cutting blade depending on the vinyl that I am using and by the complexity of the design attempting to be cut.

For transferring the design again it depends on the complex nature of the design. Simple designs are transferable with tweezers and the more complex are transferred with the aid of transfer tape or painters tape that has a delicate adhesive. Once on the nail I cover it with a clear coat of polish to ensure longer wear then enjoy.

 

About Author
Sonja Ostler, Guest Blogger

ABOUT SONJA OSTLER
Sonja works as an Architectural Detailer at e.Construct. She is also a volunteer and mentor at DoSpace specializing in the 3D Lab. When Sonja is not at work, or at DoSpace, she teaches ballroom dancing and outdoor survival skills, works on robots, 3D prints stuff, or chills at home with her two cats Blackberry and Cosette.