Nail-Polish Marbling

Reader Contribution by Courtney Denning
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For the past several months, I have been enamored with posts on Pinterest showing coffee mugs, terra cotta pots, and even gorgeous black-and-white photos cheerfully marbled with brightly colored nail polish! Because I rarely paint my fingernails but also don’t want to throw away something I’ve only used once or twice, I usually have several bottles of nail polish on hand. It seems like such a waste to throw them out, even though I only paint my nails about once every two to three years. I decided to try upcycle my nail polish by marbling.

Marbling with nail polish looks simple enough in the tutorials I found online. You simply drizzle a small amount of polish into a container of water, dip your item in and allow it to dry. Voila! You have new DIY marbled coffee cup, decorative container — whatever item you wanted to DIY! Easy, right?

Several tutorials mention working on this project in a well-ventilated area. I cannot overemphasize how important this is! I did a quick indoor marbling session with the windows open and fans blowing and the entire apartment still STUNK like fingernail polish for hours. I really should have done this DIY outside, because I’m sensitive to strong odors and the fumes were overwhelming.

I do like the bright colors and designs I was able to create with my old, cast-off nail polish, though. If you’d like to give it a go, here are some tips and DIY instructions.

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