Have Old Bottles of Nail Polish? Here’s a Fun Craft Idea!

I was cleaning out my bathroom vanity and found a box of old fingernail polish. I’m sure some of the bottles had been in there for a decade or more. It felt wasteful to throw them away, so I did some research and found an easy craft project to do with my daughter and granddaughter.

On a recent sunny day, we headed outside with a tarp, a container of water and my polish collection.

Here’s what we did:

SWIRL PAINTING

Supplies:

A tub (buy a cheap one at the dollar store)
Nail polish
Wooden skewers
Plastic gloves
Things to dip (The dollar store is great for this too)

Directions:

Fill your container half full of water. Gently drip and swirl different colors of nail polish over the water.

Dip your items into the water and let them dry on the grass (seriously, do this outside!).

Once you have dipped an item or two (or when you’re tired of the colors you used) simply swirl a wooden skewer in the water and the polish will cling to it. You can then start over with new colors.

Notes:

Ideas for dipping: mugs, candle holders, vases, wooden beads, garden rocks, boxes, note cards and even glasses (pop the lenses out first).
Make sure your child is wearing art clothes (nail polish stains).
Sometimes the polish will develop a “skin” and when you dip, the skin will adhere to your item. We weren’t fussy and just pulled the excess off or made it part of the design. You can also mask off areas you don’t want painted with painter’s tape.
Dip barrettes and give them to friends. Dip the tops of keys for easy recognition. Swirl washers (I stole from my hubby’s stash) and tie cord around them for an easy necklace.

The variety of things you can dip is only limited by your imagination. While my girls tried dipping all kinds of things, I was obsessed with painting garden rocks that I can sneak into the neighbors’ yards.