Hi everybody!

I have decided to enter a competition that is held by Money Supermarket. In this post I'd like to kind of sum up tips & tricks in nail art and nail art tools without the need of a big investment. There are several ways how to save your pennies and still have beautifully decorated nails. I'm sure many of you already know these tips and use it regularly but hopefully this article will help some of you who don't.

1. Home made dotting tools - if you don't want to buy set of dotting tools there's a way to make some of them at home. You can use old pen, pencil, bobby pin, differently sized pins, back of a nail art brush...:

You can also create simple patterns with them...

2. Create stunning designs with tape! - You don't need anything more than scissors and a tape you already have got at home. The paper masking tape you would use while painting your house is the best but you can also use a bank tape or regular scotch tape. Scotch tape is very sticky so it is always best to stick it to your arm first to make is less sticky.

With tape you can create stripy and colour-block manicures very easily:

If you own craft scissors you can cut waves or zig-zag patterns and create stunning designs:

3. Use PVA glue as a peel-off base coat - Glitter nail polish is always a pain to remove but with this simple tip it won't be anymore! Apply a thin layer of PVA glue on your bare nails, let it dry and paint your nails as usual. When you want to remove the nail polish use orange stick to scrape the polish off. No hassle!

If you don't already own PVA glue you can buy it at just £1 in Poundland :)

4. Use makeup sponge to create gradient effect - a plain triangle makeup sponge lying in your dresser can be used to create two or multi-tone gradients or even Galaxy nails effect. Simply paint nail polish stripes next to each other on the sponge and stamp it on the nails. Repeat until you're happy with the result. Another method is to paint nails with one colour, dip the makeup sponge into a different nail polish and dab the colour on the nail.

See? You don't need expensive tools to have trendy nails! Let me know what you think and share your super saving money tips in the comments!