You will need:-

Red tips
Bronze Acrylic
Blue Acrylic
Green Acrylic
Black Acrylic
White Acrylic
Clear Acrylic
Yellow Acrylic
Turquoise Glitter Acrylic
Magenta Glitter Acrylic
Opalescent Glitter Acrylic
Resin
28 Gauge Copper Wire
Copper Coloured Bullion
UV Finishing Gel

STEP 1
Remove non living tissue from nail plate and prepare for acrylic by removing shine with a 240 grit abrasive.

STEP 2
Modify red coloured tips with a file to get a deep smile line. At the end of the tip use the file to shape a curve going in the opposite direction.

STEP 3
Fit the tips.

STEP 4
Apply a thin band of bronze coloured acrylic following the smile line.

STEP 5
Cover the rest of the nail bed with deep blue acrylic fading into magenta glitter acrylic at the cuticle edge.

STEP 6
Apply a very light coat of clear opalescent glitter acrylic to add shimmer to the entire nail.

STEP 7
Using round nose pliers, form 28 gauge copper wire into an `s` shape with spiraled ends.

STEP 8
Apply the wire shapes to the nails with resin.

STEP 9
Overlay the entire nail with clear acrylic to form structure and embed wire.

STEP 10
File smooth and apply gel finish coat.

STEP 11
With a fine brush, build the oriental pattern onto the nail starting with the blue overlapping circles. Embellish these with tiny white acrylic dots.

STEP 12
Add the flowers next using white acrylic for the petals and deep yellow for the centres.

STEP 13
The dragonflies come next, first form, the bodies with a series of small dots. To give them a more dimensional quality double dip your brush first in green acrylic then into turquoise glitter acrylic. The wings are in a clear opalescent acrylic mixed with a gentle white. Add tiny black acrylic dots for eyes.

STEP14
Apply copper coloured bullion with resin to accent the design.

STEP 15
Use a finishing gel for the final gloss

STEP 16 (The Chopsticks)
Using a plain pair of black lacquered chopsticks as a base I made finials for the ends with copper wire and added some beaded tassels that I made from trimmings and wire. I continued the theme of the nails with matching blue and white 3D acrylic decorations, copper bullion and fine copper wire.

Photographs by Steve Lloyd Loasby Model Chloe Loasby. (click to view a close up)

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