Tutorial: Holly Leaf


Hello, creative person! Welcome to my holly leaf tutorial. Like the design it is inspired by, the freehand cloud, it's quick and simple to make, even with the small additions. What I like about this design (apart from being very Christmassy ^_^), is that it combines the use of different tools. It's a great way to practice both freehand and dotting skills. But once again, it's pretty simple so I hope you'll give it a try!

Start with a green basecolor for the holly and let it dry. Use a basecoat underneath if your polish tends to stain.
Then use a contrasting color to paint a few vertical strokes next to each other, making each one shorter as you near the other side of the nail (like shown more detailed over here). Start each stroke by placing the tip of the brush on the surface and wait till enough polish has dripped off, forming a round starting point. Try to leave enough polish on the brush to do this, but make sure it's not too much either to prevent having a thick, lumpy layer that will take forever to dry.

Tip: If your polish comes with a (big) flat brush, just twist it 90° and use the side. It's easier to make those round edges this way. :-)
Now we're going to give the leaf some veins, using a dark colored striper polish. Start with one main vein across the length of the holly, to which you then add a few smaller veins.
It's likely to use a green polish for this task, as the leaf is green. But if you don't own any, a black, brown or blue will work too, as long as it's a darker color than the green.
A true Christmas holly isn't complete without its berries! So finish the design by adding a couple of red dots with a dotting tool. Or place a few big glitters or rhinestones instead, for that extra bit of oomph! At last a layer of topcoat, et voilà.
Check out the tutorial page for some useful tips. Also I would love to see your attempt on my design, so feel free to leave a link to your creation in the comment section!

The polishes I used in this post are OPI Jade Is The New Black, Color Club Artsy Crafty, Janet striper polish #119 and P2 Fever.

36 comments

  1. I'd never have thought of using the cloud mani to do this! Genius!

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  2. Geweldig dat je er een tutorial van gemaakt hebt!Bedankt! Ik liep er al mee in mijn hoofd om het uit te proberen.

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    1. Graag gedaan! En zou super zijn om jouw versie te zien als je zo ver bent. :)

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  3. What nail colour is the gold on your other nails?

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  4. i love that u used the cloud technique to make these! genius!

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  5. This is a really cool tutorial and perfect for the christmas season. Thank you for sharing this!

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  6. Thank you for the comments! Glad to hear you like it. :-)

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  7. I love your nail designs and already tryed to do cloud nails... But i can't find the correct amount of varnish to use in the brush :(

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    1. Keep practising Lady, I'm sure you'll find out what the right amount is then. :-)

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  8. This is a simple yet cute Christmas manicure!

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  9. really cute xmas design here, simple but effective! cant wait to try it x

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  10. Love it, would like to follow you can you tell me how to to do?

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    1. Hi Mireya, if you have a Google account, you can "join this site" by hitting the button in the left upper corner. You can also follow by email but submitting your emailaddress, also left in the sidebar.

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  11. super cute and it looks gorgeous :D

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  12. I did it! it was a little tougher to do the clouds than I thought it would be, I think it's because the brush on the OPI is a bit thick & flat, took me a couple tries but it came out well! http://gelanails.blogspot.com/2012/12/christmas-holly-inspired-by-nailside.html#

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    1. Thanks GelaNails. It turned out amazing! Practice definitely makes perfect. ;-) I left you a comment on your blog. :-)

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  13. Hi, Jane! I'm always amazed at how you're able to create so beautiful designs that are, in the same time, so simple!

    There's a tag for you on my blog!

    Here's the link: http://ideias-de-caroline.blogspot.com.br/2012/11/tag.html

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    1. Thanks Caroline! I left you a comment on your post. ^_^

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  14. This was so easy and it looks so pretty. I used a black striper and it worked out fine. My dots sort of ran together, but no matter, it is still cute. Thanks for the great Christmas mani! it was fast too since i only had to do art on 1 nail per hand. much easier for the non dominant hand.

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    1. Super cool to hear! :-) I do spend a lot more time on nails than an average person, but I still like nail art to be simple and not too time-consuming if possible. ;-) Merry Christmas!

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  15. Holy cow! I'd never really paid attention to the negative space above your clouds. That makes the perfect holly leaf! This might be the Christmas day mani I was looking for!

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    1. Heehee ^_^ Glad to hear this, have a merry Christmas.

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  16. Hello Jane! Thank you, this is such a great tutorial! Here's my attempt:
    instagr.am/p/TozUl1sTde/

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    1. Hi Glitter Ink, thanks for your comment. I LOVE your mani! The glitter you added makes it so festive, very nice. :-D

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  17. hi, dear...
    this is the easiest holy leaf nail art i've ever seen... thank you...

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