Now that I have fallen in love with Jamberry nail wraps - I really have no further need for nail polish.
No big deal for me, but my sister and her four girls have shelves and drawers and bins full of all sorts of nail polish - and I wondered what she could do with it all when I convince her of the wonders of wearing Jams on her nails instead!
So I made her a list - now that she won't be needing all that nail polish anymore!!
What do you do with all that leftover nail polish? Well, here are 60 uses you may not have thought of!
1. Smudge Proof Labels
-- Brush clear nail polish over any label to make it instantly waterproofed! Use it on your garden plants sticks, or the labels on your shampoo bottles, etc. This also comes in handy when labeling expiration dates on your cosmetics.
2. Fill small nicks on floors and glass
-- Fill those little nicks on your hardwood floors with some clear nail polish. When it dries, sand gently with 600-grit sandpaper.
3. Stop Nylon Runs
-- Use clear polish to stop runs/holes in your panty hose. Brush the rip area with some clear polish. Saves the hole or run from getting any bigger.
4. Reset loose jewelry stones
-- If your jewelry has a loose stone, you can re-glue it with a drop of clear nail polish. Quick drying, with an invisible repair.
5. Seal an Envelope
-- Got an envelope that just won't stick - or hate licking envelopes? Seal it with clear nail polish at each corner for an extra strong seal.
6. Repair lacquered items
-- Do you have a chip in your favorite lacquered vase or other lacquered item? Brush over the chipped area with a matching nail polish colour to make it less obvious.
7. Re-Draw Lines
-- Use black nail polish to re-mark the fine lines on a metal ruler or other tools; seal with clear nail polish.
8. Plug a hole in your cooler
-- Got a small hole inside your cooler? Seal it up with a couple of coats of nail polish!
9. Threading a Needle
-- Having trouble threading a needle? Dip the end of your thread into a small amount of nail polish - now it's easy!
10. Smooth wooden hangers
-- Splinters or nicks in your wooden hangers? Coat the rough edges with nail polish to keep your coat linings from snagging.
11. Coat Pet Tags!
-- Use clear to cover the tags on your pets collar to avoid the color coming off and making the tag hard to read.
12. Mend holes in window screens
-- Do you have a small in your window or door screen? Keep out the bugs and stop the hole from getting bigger with clear nail polish.
13. Prevent Your Costume Jewelry from Tarnishing
-- Does your finger turn green from wearing a costume ring? Simply paint a thin coat of clear nail polish on your costume jewelry to prevent tarnishing.
14. Fix torn window shades
-- Window shade tear? Seal it with a dab of clear nail polish.
15. Metal Allergy
-- Coat any metal that touches your skin with nail polish, to prevent a reaction. Reapply every so often. i.e. rings, jean buttons and belt buckles, etc.
16. Waterproof Matches
-- Clear nail polish on the tips of your wooden matches will protect them from rain or when you are camping.
17. Keep Laces and Rope from Unraveling
-- Coat the ends of your shoe laces or rope with nail polish to prevent it from fraying.
18. Smooth Splintered Furniture
-- Splinters in your wooden furniture ripping or snagging your clothing? Brush some clear nail polish over the problem area so you won’t damage your clothing any further.
19. Tighten Loose Screws
-- Coat your screws in nail polish before using. This will give your screws a tighter fit and longer durability.
20. Add a Little Glitter
-- Add a little glitter over top your Jamberry wraps for add glamor. Try adding glitter to a base coat for dimension and texture to your nails.
21. Color-Code Objects
-- Paint each of your keys with a different colour of nail polish so you can quickly figure out which key is which!
22. Make your own Designer shoes
-- Want an easy/cheap way to model your shoes after the highly coveted designer brand, and give your shoes a fresh new look? Coat the soles of your high-heels with a bright nail polish colour.
23. Mark Levels in a Bucket
-- Make a permanent mark in your measuring cups or buckets. You could mark how much soap you need and another level for how much water you need. I am going to use this to mark how much laundry soap to use in the cap.
24. Cover Up Your Scuffs
-- Scratched or scuffed shoes or boots? Brush on black, brown or red nail polish to match your shoes/boots!
25. Label poison containers
-- Use dark red nail polish to label the poisons in your cupboard. Draw a big X on the product label.
26. Mark Your Thermostat and Shower Settings
-- Mark your ideal thermostat or shower heat settings. You will never take a shower that’s too hot or too cold again.
27. Waterproof address labels
Mailing out a parcel on a rainy day? Brush clear polish brushed over the address information to make sure it doesn't smear, and your package goes to the right place.
28. Never Lose a Button
-- Put a dab of nail polish on the center of your buttons. This will prevent the thread from unraveling and losing the button.
29. Prevent rusty toilet seat screws
-- Keep those new toilet seat screws from rusting. Brush with a coat or two of clear nail polish; it also helps to prevent seat wobble by keeping the screws tight.
30. Personalize your favorite bag -- Use stencils and masking tape to make your initials or artwork look perfect.
31. Protect your belt buckle’s shine
-- Brush a coat of clear nail polish on your belt buckles to prevent oxidation and keep it gleaming.
32. Change the look of your jewellery
-- Glamour up your necklace, ring, or earrings by covering parts of it with a pop of color, such as neon green, orange, or pink! Match your outfit!
33. Wart Cure
-- Get rid of a wart (including planters warts) by covering it with nail polish. Your wart will be gone in about a week's time. You should throw away the polish you have used though, to prevent the virus from spreading.
34. Protect pearl buttons
-- Coat your delicate pearl buttons with a protective coat of clear nail polish to help keep their brand-new sparkle. Keeps costume pearl buttons from peeling as well.
35. Feeling artsy? Paint with nail polish!
-- I've painted picture frames, bookmarks, bobby pins, paper, rocks, shells, etc.
36. Prevent frayed fabric from unraveling
-- Tame those fraying strays from the bottom of your skirt, cuffs of your jacket, or edges of your purse by brushing them with some clear nail polish.
37. Stop Insect Bite Pain
-- If you get bug bites, dab some clear nail polish on the bite to stop it from burning and itching. This remedy isn't exactly scientific, but it does work. Don't use if you have any open scratches.
38. Keep ribbons from fraying
-- Brush the cut ends of gift or hair ribbons with clear nail polish to stop them from unraveling.
39. Bling Your Phone
-- You can paint your phone with sparkly nail polish. Work on a simple phone case too!
40. Rustproof Metal
-- Apply nail polish to anything at risk of rusting, in the bathroom, or outdoors. i.e. a metal can creating rust rings on your bath tub? Apply a thin layer of nail polish to the bottom. Keep chipped car paint from rusting by coating the damaged areas with nail polish.
41. Mend a Fingernail
-- If you split a nail, grab an unused tea bag. Cut the tea bag open, dump out the tea leaves, cut a piece of the bag into the shape of your nail. Cover with clear nail polish. Press it onto your nail, then apply your favourite Jamberry nail over top. Perfect!
42. Prevent Broken Glasses
-- Use this trick to extend the life of your glasses. Do the screws on your glasses, or your kids' glasses kept working loose? After you have tightened them up, apply clear nail polish over the screws. You can use acetone to remove the nail polish, if they need adjusting.
43. Stop a windshield crack from spreading
-- Got a small crack in your windshield? Stop it from spreading with some clear polish. Start out in the shade. Brush the windshield crack on both sides of the glass with polish. Fill the crack well. Move into the sun till the windshield is dry. You will still need to repair your windshield, but this will give you time without further damage.
44. Soften Sharp Edges
-- Have a mirror or glass pane with nicked edges? Brush a thick coat of clear nail polish to soften the sharp edge.
Photo Credit: A coleção de esmaltes, by Patricia Oliveira on Flickr
45. Glow-In-The-Dark Remote Control Buttons-- Brush some glow-in-the-dark nail polish on the buttons of your TV remote. You’ll never press the wrong button again!
46. Keep Old Credit Cards in Shape
-- Do you find store clerks have trouble swiping your credit and debit cards? Brush clear nail polish to the magnetic stripe - it should work again.
47. Label Your Golf Balls
-- To avoid confusion, place a dot of bright polish on your golf balls. Use this for all your other sports gear that you can’t write your name on. Now you will always know which one is yours.
48. Personalize Their Drinking Cups
-- Use nail polish to mark your cups/mugs on the bottom, so your kids won't fight over them! Use nail polish to mark your family toothbrushes so they don't get mixed up.
49. Salt Shaker Hole Seal
-- Want to cut back on salt? If your salt shaker dispenses too much salt, simply paint over a few holes on the lid with nail polish.
50. When Someone Faints
-- Someone faints or loses consciousness, and you don’t have any ammonia near you to wake them up? Put a bottle of nail polish under their nose. The strong chemical fumes should be enough to wake him or her up.
51. Toy Fights
-- If your kids get matching toys, put a different colour of nail polish on each toy, so you know whose is whose. No more fights!
52. Preserve Medicine Labels
-- Protect the important information on your prescription medicine bottles and other important medicine labels with a coat of clear polish. Now it won't get smudged when your hands are wet or sweaty.
53. Swimmer's Itch
-- Brush clear nail polish on the itchy red bumps of swimmer's itch to kill the organism and stop the itch.
54. Easy Plugins
-- Brush red nail polish on the 'top' side of the charge plug to your cell phone and/or iPod. Makes it easier to plug it in, in low light conditions.
55. Mark the Garbage Disposal
-- Brush bright red nail polish to mark the switch to the garbage disposal.
56. Easy Connections
-- Use bright nail polish on your computer connections. Brush the top side of a computer hole and the top side of a plug, both with the same colored polish. Now you will know what belongs where and where's up and down when you go to plug in.
57. Easy Flash
-- Paint the flash button on your telephone so you can find it quickly - without reaching for your reading glasses.
58. Bead Making
-- Made beads from Fimo clay and decorate them with nail varnish after baking. So much cheaper than buying the proper stuff, with more colour choice!
59. Ringworm Cure
-- This one sounds yucky, but apparently it works. Apply nail polish to the affected area every day. It will takes about eight days to resolve the problem. Be sure to use a new cotton swab to apply it each time, so you don't contaminate the polish jar and re-share it.
60. Decoupage Substitute
-- Run out of Modge Podge? Brush clear nail polish to the back of the image you want to decoupage. Apply the image to the surface, smooth down just like you would with Modge Podge. Then brush clear nail polish over top of your image. Let dry.
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