DIY | Flash Tats

Nail color: Essie's Topless & Barefoot (new obsession)

I've been seeing these babies all over the blogosphere lately and only one thought popped into my head; I NEED THEM. Of course, I quickly went online to purchase a package for myself...and then I saw the price tag. Although $22 may seem somewhat reasonable for 4 sheets of these beautiful tattoos, I knew they wouldn't last long in my house. Since the tattoos only last for 1 week, I wanted to come up with an alternative that would allow me to create whatever I want, whenever I want.

I was walking into my room this morning and noticed a couple of sharpies from an old DIY project laying on my desk; one silver, one gold. A lightbulb switched on inside my head as I found my solution.

I've tried to tattoo myself in the past with metallic sharpies and they never seemed to come out very shiny, or how I pictured they would in my head. These sharpies differ in that they are essentially paint pens, of the "heavy duty" variety (I last used them to write on glass). The markers are oil-based paint pens in the colors metallic gold and metallic silver. You can get them at any local craft store, or you can buy the set of two from amazon for only $9 (the best deal IMO).

Now, I'm not advocating the use of sharpies on skin, as I imagine they can't be that good for you. But, I can recommend this alternative if you don't have sensitive skin and you want a temporary flash tat for a fraction of the cost!