A nail technician created a bespoke set for a dead client and applied them before her funeral.

Kelly Campbell, 47, had been doing her elderly client Carole Jacobs' nails since 2001, and immediately knew she wanted to paint a set for her "final journey". "

She co-ordinated the press-on with the outfit Carole, 72, was buried in - a chrome silver and pink nails to go with her white blouse and blue skirt.

Kelly did the manicure to her natural nails in the funeral home while Carole lay in the casket.

The nail artist even added gems to the manicure - after Carole told her she loved them, but didn't feel they were very practical.

Kelly - who now teaches nail artistry at college level - from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US, said: "Carole was like a godmother to me - so when her cousin told me she needed someone to help with her funeral outfit, I was like 'I got her'. "

"When I did her nails for the very last time, I gave her chrome and rhinestones. "

"She never liked them too much because they used to pop off while she was doing stuff. But these ones wouldn’t be going anywhere - and I wanted to match her outfit. "

"She had these rhinestone heels and silver accessories, too. She looked so beautiful."

Kelly had been doing Carole's nails since she was 24, when she ran her own salon - Kelly’s Exotic Nails.

The first appointment she attended, she didn’t have a specific nail look in mind - but she told Kelly she wanted to "look good". "

She was impressed by the set Kelly did for her - long chrome acrylics - and decided to re-book her.

"This lady came into my salon," Kelly said. "

"And she was just so jazzy and sassy - it was always such a joy to see her for her appointments. "

"The first time she came, she just said ‘I want you to make me look good.’ And I was like, ‘yes ma’am'."

"She told me afterwards she wanted to book me again, and she just kept on and on."

Carole soon trusted Kelly to do her nails every time she needed them - and when Kelly moved 800 miles away to Atlanta in 2002, she asked her brother, Corey Smith, 50, to do them in the meantime.

She said: "I closed my shop in 2002 and moved to Atlanta, so my brother Corey started doing her nails instead. "

"When I moved back a year later, she instantly sent for me, and I started doing her nails regularly again. "

"She followed me everywhere - everywhere I went, she came with me and wanted me to do her nails."

"She was very special to me."

For the first 10 to 15 years, Carole booked appointments once every two weeks - and Kelly saw her style evolve as she became a more experienced nail technician.

While she started off wanting decorated acrylics in silvers, golds and chromes, Kelly eventually encouraged her to go natural - and began painting her nails with pink gels instead.

But as Carole got older, her appointments slowed down and in the last year, she only booked in with Kelly when she had an event to go to.

She said: "Carole stopped seeing me as frequently - she only ever got her nails done when she had somewhere to be. "

"She had such strong, beautiful nails and she didn’t believe me until I took her acrylics off. From then on, she only ever wore pink gel after that. "

"She’d come to me when she was going out of town - she travelled a lot, especially to New Orleans to see family. "

"Mostly, though, it was only for events - like birthdays, reunions and anniversaries."

On November 27, 2023, Kelly received a booking from Carole, as she was due to visit New Orleans at the start of December, but she cancelled due to feeling ill.

In her last phone call, Carole apologised for cancelling on Kelly - and signed off by saying "I love you" - which Kelly thought was concerning. "

On December 11, Carole’s cousin, Teresa Jacobs, 58, rang Kelly to tell her she’d suddenly fallen ill in the night, and died just hours later.

"I just broke down," Kelly said. "

"I knew something wasn’t right, because she’d told me she loved me. But I just couldn’t believe it."

Teresa told Kelly the funeral was scheduled for December 16, and asked her if she’d do Carole’s nails before she was buried.

She said: "I just knew I had to do her nails - we organised it with the funeral home, and I was told what she’d be wearing."

"In fact, I’m glad I got told in advance - because the gold nails I’d originally planned would’ve clashed with her silver accessories. "

"I noticed three of her natural nails were missing - and one thing about Mrs. Jacobs - she’s not going anywhere with missing nails."

"I went back to my salon, prepared a full set of chrome press-ons, went back to the funeral home and applied them. "

"It was weird, because I could almost hear her coaching me as I was doing her nails. It was like she was saying, ‘go on Kelly, I want to look good'. "

"I was so honoured to do her nails, all the way up until the end."