DIY Aztec Rings

I've seen a lot of tutorials recently that use nail varnish instead of paint. I think this is a great idea for small projects, mainly because I've already got lots of nail varnish colours I love!

The other day during a clear out I came across these rings that I had been hoarding. Now I don't think they are actual rings, well , they are rings of some kind but just not meant for fingers. Actually I don't really know what they are. They came as part of a haul I brought home from the dump, it was a massive box of brand new buttons, and these rings were hidden at the bottom.  I was about to throw them away in my clear out frenzy, when I realised that some of them fitted my thumbs and middle fingers. 'Perfect opportunity for a DIY' I thought.

Here's what you will need-

• Your choice of nail varnish colours
• Some sort of rings. Can be wood/metal/plastic old or new
• Nail art pen

I set about finding a selection of nail varnish colours that I liked. I painted the thicker rings the colours I had chosen, then used a black models own nail art pen to draw the designs. I also painted the thinner ones in plain black and white. (The colours I used were all either Rimmel, Barry M or Models Own colours. You might notice my nails are painted the same colours!)

I'm not going to lie, it did test my patience trying to paint these things. I kept trying to paint them or put them down when they weren't quite dry, and they would either get messed up or end up stuck to the paper I had put them on. Lesson learned, be patient!

In the end I found the best method of painting them was to use a piece of double sided sticky tape folded over on itself several times. I  stuck one end of this to the ring then left a  bit sticking out the end, so that when I was finished painting I could stick it to a piece of paper and it would hold the whole ring upright. Otherwise you can just hold it till it dries,  but that takes a while!

I'm really happy with the end result though, and if you just wanted to make one or two they would take no time at all! They look cute just piled up on my dressing table too. Now what else can I find to paint using my nail varnish collection...

Laura xXx