Creating your own nail charms is a fun way to add a personal touch to your manicure. It’s surprisingly easy to make beautiful 3D designs with only a few supplies. Let’s learn how to make nail charms at home.
Before we begin, here’s a quick and easy shortcut:
Box Multi Design 3D Nail Decoration
We applaud your desire for DIY nail charms! And we offer this gorgeous selection of charms that are ready to use right out of the box. Let them inspire your new nail art and help you decide which charms you want to make.
Supplies Needed for DIY Nail Charms
The easiest way to create nail charms is to use silicone molds to shape them. You can find molds for Hello Kitty, Mickey, sea shells, cats, and many more designs.
The other tools you’ll need for making charms include:
- Colored gel polish.
- Clear top coat gel polish.
- A metal cuticle pusher with a spatula tip (optional).
- A nail dotting tool or toothpick.
- A nail lamp to cure the polish.
The more powerful of a lamp you have, the faster you can make charms.
Lavis UV/LED Nail Lamp
This portable nail lamp cures polish quickly with 42 ultraviolet LEDs. It has 4 timer settings and a touchscreen with a countdown display. Although it has a long-lasting battery, it also comes with an AC adapter for recharges.
How to Make Charms with Gel Polish
Once you’ve rounded up all your supplies, pick a mold and a color of polish to start with. For example, we’re in love with this glitter gel:
LDS 04 Hot Topic Gel Polish Diamond Reflective Glitter
This gorgeous gel looks one way under natural light and another way at night. It flashes under disco light! (Check out the other colors in the collection, too!).
Like all polishes from this brand, it can last up to 21 days without chipping or fading. Plus, the super-pigmented formula is extra shiny.
3D Nail Art Jewelry Charms
Speaking of shiny, it’s hard to get this level of sparkle when you make nail charms at home. These inexpensive stones will spice up any manicure. After all, they say a diamond is a girl’s best friend!
Step 1: Place Colored Polish in the Mold
Don't worry, you don't need to use very much colored polish to make charms. Use the nail dotting tool to dab a drop or two in the mold.
Step 2: Add Clear Top Coat
Next, top up the mold with a clear top coat. Don’t add it with the brush because you might get colored polish on the brush. Instead, pour it from the bottle. It only takes a drop or two.
Then, be sure to wipe off the neck of the bottle so that the lid doesn’t get stuck.
Lavis Gel Diamond Top
We like glossy nail charms, so this is our favorite top coat to use for them. But feel free to use a matte finish top coat instead. This one sets to a flexible finish that lasts up to 21 days. It doesn’t need to be wiped after it’s cured.
Step 3: Combine the Polishes in the Mold
Stir everything together with the colored polish.
We found this tool helpful:
Rhinestone Dual-ended Wax Dotting Pen
This is an essential tool for doing nail art. One end has a wax tip to pick up rhinestones. The other end has a stainless steel tip to press down the stones. Use the metal tip to blend the polishes in the silicone mold when you’re making charms.
3D Nail Art Jewelry Charms
These gorgeous gems are ready to be glued onto your nails. The beautiful assortment of colors will match any outfit you can dream up.
Step 4: Cure the Polish
It takes a while to cure gel polish when it’s thick in the mold. We recommend 5 minutes under the lamp. But results depend on how powerful the lamp is, too. Test one charm only by curing it for 5 minutes and see how it turns out. It should click if it’s cured when you tap it with your nail. Then you can remove it from the mold.
Use the scoop tip of the cuticle pusher to help you eject it from the mold if necessary--just be gentle.
Mix Jelly Gummy Bears - 3D Nail Decoration
These adorable bears are much more detailed than what most silicone molds can turn out at home. If you love intricate charms, give these cuties a try!
Is It Really This Easy to Make Nail Charms?
Yes, it’s really this straightforward to make nail charms. And with the wide range of colored gels available, you can have an endless supply of charms for nail art. Check out these stunning colors:
Kiara Sky Gel Polish 443 - Yellow Neon New Yolk City
How about sun-shaped charms in neon yellow? Or maybe cute little ducks? This brilliant gel polish is perfect for nail art.
LDS 10 Sea Foam - Gel Polish Glow in the Dark
LDS makes a dozen glow-in-the-dark shades of gel polish. The richly-pigmented texture is smooth and easy to work with for beginners yet sets to a professional finish. Choose from green, yellow, pink, orange, and more high-gloss colors.
Is There a Faster Way to Make Nail Charms?
If this seems like a time-consuming process, it kind of is. Each mold takes time to fill, blend, and cure. And if you don’t have a 5-minute timer, that means sitting by the nail lamp and pressing the button every 60 seconds.
Instead of making nail charms, you can purchase pretty pre-made ones like these:
Starfish Flatback Cabochon Ornament
Here are sweet glitter starfish just waiting for you to use them to dress up your manicure. Unlike homemade nail charms, these can be used again if removed carefully from the nails.
Can You Reuse DIY Nail Charms?
If you make charms with gel polish, you may not be able to reuse them. They aren’t as durable as plastic or metal charms so they are difficult to remove with tools and will dissolve when exposed to acetone. On the bright side, the fact that you can remove them easily with acetone makes it easier to dress up your nails with a new design.
Not to worry, we often have sales on gel polishes so it may be more economical to make your own charms anyway.
Lavis Holiday Collection
One of the cheapest ways to stock up on polish is to purchase a collection like this one. It includes seven gel colors plus a base coat and top coat. The cheerful shades are perfect for experimenting with DIY charms.
Conclusion
Creating your own nail charms with gel polish is affordable and the process is straightforward. With a few basic tools, you can make beautiful 3D nail charms that will turn heads. Not only is this activity fun and creative, but it also saves you money in the long run as you don’t have to buy ready-made charms. Show off your creativity and have fun experimenting with new designs!