London Calling: Nail Design

Ok, here it is. In honor of London Fashion week, I have made an original nail design tutorial that's easy enough for any budding artist. This tutorial doesn't use any materials you don't already have in your house.
 Cool enough for pretty fashion icons, rock 'n rollers, or even plain Janes; the Union Jack pattern is totally eye-catching on your nails! 
Let's get started...

Step 1: Gather materials. Needed are red, blue and white nail polish, clear coat, masking tape and scissors. You will also need a thin paint brush.

Step 2: Paint your nails with the white. You may need two coats to fully cover. LET DRY COMPLETELY. If you don't let 'em dry, your nails will be ruined in the next steps.
Now, take your masking tape and cut two strips; place them in a cross pattern on your nail, right in the center. Then, cut two thinner strips and crisscross them over the thicker cross, mimicking the Union Jack pattern. Refer to picture for placement! Make sure your tape is fully pressed down, all the way to the edges of the nails. This will make for crisper lines.

Step 3: Paint! Paint right over all that tape with your blue, filling all the white space. As soon as you can, carefully rip the tape off. If you wait 'till the paint dries, you will ruin your design. When this blue is dried, take a thin paintbrush, and use it to carefully paint a red cross in that center white cross to finish the Union Jack. If you have any polish on your skin, clean it off with a q-tip as soon as you can; it's easier to clean when still wet. 

Step 4: Continue with each nail. My tape crosses stuck together like a decal, so I could reuse it. You might have to cut new tapes for each nail if yours does not stick as well. 
When you have completed each nail, you might need to re-touch some of the lines if they didn't come out perfect. You can use that paintbrush to touch up lines, just clean it off with nail polish remover in between colors.
Paint with clear gloss once EVERYTHING IS FULLY DRY. 
You are ready to rock!

If you share/use/post this tutorial, please link back to me. It is much appreciated!

Lightning Bolt Necklace

From Diane Kordas

This super-chic necklace from Diane Kordas, found on fashion site Net-A-Porter, is the topic of my latest tutorial. It combines 18k Rose Gold with black diamonds, with a blackened gold setting, with a pretty hefty price tag of  $755. That's ok, don't fret; you can indeed make your own look-alike for pennies, thanks to some clay, glitter, and glue.

My Version

For my version, I chose to add both black and gold glitter to my pendant for a "gold-dusted" look. If you want yours to be totally black, stick with just black glitter. You can even do different color glitters for different colored looks!

Let's get started.

Step 1: Gather materials. Needed are clay, a chain and small jumping or head pin, tissue blades or Xacto knives, lacquer, and fine glitter.

Step 2: Make the bolt. I rolled my clay out to setting 3 on a pasta machine. If you don't have one, roll till about 1/8" thin or so. Then, use your blade to cut a small lightning bolt shape like this out.

Step 3: Add the glitter. Place your cutout in the bottom of a small bowl (to contain the glitter!). Take your black glitter with a paintbrush, and "paint" a small amount on top of the clay. Use your finger to push into the clay to adhere. Don't push too much or you'll disfigure your lightning bolt. I then added a bit of gold sparkle glitter on top, pressed in, for a more gold-dusted look. If you don't even want black or gold, feel free to mix other glitters for a custom look! You could even apply this technique to different cutout shapes!

Step 4: Go bake your bolt for about 15 min. (I bake at about 120 degrees in a toaster oven). When done and cooled, paint your bolt with a bit of lacquer to finish. Then, I superglued a small headpin I looped at the end at the back of the bolt. You could do my hot-glue then superglue technique as well for more security. Add your chain!

Finished! Sparkly and cool.

If you share/use/post this tutorial, please link back to me. It is much appreciated!

ASOS Fabric Flower Studs

From ASOS

I can't believe how easy this tutorial is. And how these earrings once sold for about $15 from British fashion site ASOS.

My version is seen below. These, for less than $1. Take your pick.

My version

The only thing you have to do in this tutorial is wait for hot glue to dry. Literally. Leaves a lot of time in your day to do other things, like drink coffee, paint, bake some vegan goods, go for a run..........the possibilities are endless!

Enough talk: time for the tutorial!

Step 1: Gather materials. Needed are two fake flower heads, two crystals (I used glass cabochons), two earring posts and hot glue.

Step 2: Make the earring. Cut the plastic center from your flower. Take a dab of hot glue on the back of the stone, and place the stone in the center of the flower. Once that's dry, dab your earring post with hot glue and press it on the back. DONE!

Didn't I say that was pathetically easy?......

If you share/use/post this tutorial, please link back to me. It is much appreciated!

Easy Bangle Bracelets

This is just a quick post. After my Rainbowlicious Hoops post, I thought about what else I could cover with embroidery floss (I have a huge bag of it in my room!). Using the same technique, I made a bright bangle set, which turned out great!

If you want to make your own, just head over to my Rainbowlicious Earrings post. The technique is just the same, however there are some slight changes:

*For your wire core, use really thick wire (I got this at the hardware store). *Obviously, make your hoop large enough to fit over your wrist comfortably.

If you want to add beads, just string them on your floss BEFORE wrapping, hold tight next to your wire, wrap tightly around, and they should hold tight! 

Make one, or make a ton! Use tie-dye floss for a nice ombre look, or stripe the threads like in the Rainbowlicious hoops!

If you share/use/post this tutorial, please link back to me. It is much appreciated!

Mimco Fabric Flower Barette

Have an old scarf? Don't know what to do with it? Make a Mimco Fabric Flower Barette! This barrette is a perfect accessory for the upcoming spring. Plus, it's a cinch to make. You can even make them in different sizes, depending on what size scarves you have. I used a pretty large one, so it made a really large flower. But it looks great on top of a ponytail!

This post was requested by a blog guest. Thanks, Linda!

Let's get started.

Step 1: Gather materials. Needed is a silk or silk-type scarf (any size will work, just make sure it's a long rectangle, not a square), a hair clip, embroidery floss and hot or tacky glue. I find that hot glue is easier to work with. It dries a lot faster!

Step 2: Find the center of the scarf. Tie a cinch with the embroidery floss (use a couple of feet of floss), nice and tight. Then, tie on your clip and hot glue this knot to hold it in the center of your clip.

Step 3: Start the flower. Flip your scarf over, and bring the floss up once again and tie another knot at the top. Then, with one side of your scarf, make a fold a couple inches long (the size will depend on how big your scarf is) and fold it over towards you. Then, bring your floss on either side under the fold, and tie a tight knot to permanently seal the fold/ruffle. You want to end up with about 3 folds/ruffles on this side, each being a little smaller than the first.

Step 4: Finish ruffles on one side. Make another fold, bring the ends underneath and again tie tight to seal the fold. Repeat once more (leaving about an inch or so of the raw ends) for 3 ruffles. Cut the floss right after the knot. 

Step 5: Cut another length of floss and tie on to the center, coming from underneath and knot at the top right at the knot you made in step 2. Just repeat steps 3-4 for this other side of your scarf. You should end up with something like the picture at the top. As for the raw ends, this is where your hot glue comes in. Roll them in towards the center (with your clip upside down), gluing with small spots of glue as you roll under. Keep rolling until your ends are neatly tucked in and you have a nice flower shape like this. Let your glue fully dry. That's all there is to it!

These look especially good at tops of ponytails, or next to topknots (if they are made with smaller scarves!).

A fashion statement!

If you share/use/post this tutorial, please link back to me. It is much appreciated :)

All the Rage's Rainbowlicious Hoops

This newest tutorial is full of color! Rainbowlicious, in fact. Inspired by All the Rage's Day Bright Rainbowlicious Hoops, these simple earrings come together quickly. All you need is some wire and thread!  I used tie-dye embroidery floss from Michael's to create the tie-dye look. If you don't have any, you can use just plain colors.  

This accessory is on trend, as many designers are incorporating bright neon color into their designs and outfits for spring. 

the DIY!

Make them in all different colors for all different outfits!

Let's get started.

Step 1: Gather materials. Needed are pliers, some superglue and hot glue, craft wire (a somewhat thicker gauge, maybe like 16 or so), embroidery floss, ear wires and jump rings.

I used a strand of tie-dye embroidery floss and a strand of plain yellow to create the striped look.

Step 2: Make your frames. Bend your wire around something round to create two identical hoops. My hoops were 2" in diameter. Then, put a dab of hot glue where the ends meet to hold them in place.

Step 3: Begin wrapping. Cut about 2.5" of one strand of bright yellow and one strand of tie-dye embroidery floss. Tie them in a knot onto your hoop, right next to the glue glob. Begin wrapping, making sure that the strands stay right next to each other to make even stripes.

Step 4: Continue wrapping. Keep the tension even and tight onto the hoop. Wrap all the way to your beginning knot. When I got to this point, I cut the excess string from the knot at the beginning and superglued the knot to hold close. Then, I wrapped my string over this knot to sort of hide it, then superglued the strands at the back, waited till dry, then cut these as well. 

Step 5: Finishing. It should look somewhat like this when done. With your jump ring, carefully hook it under two strands at the top and close. Add your ear wires to this jump ring to finish! Repeat for the other earring!

Finished Product

How they look on

Very Rainbowlicious

If you share/use/post this tutorial, please link back to me. It is much appreciated!

Aurélie Bidermann's Fabric and Chain Bracelets

A cool boho-esque bracelet, super quick and easy to make. From Aurélie Bidermann, these bracelets sell for a whopping $170 a pair. The fabric is just cotton (you can use fabric scraps for this) and the chain isn't gold or anything, it's silver-plated, the same you can buy at Michaels for a couple of bucks! And for the kicker, the bracelets are just tie-ons. 

So...what are you actually paying for?!

Obviously I needed to turn these into a tutorial.

From Aurelie Bidermann

You can use any kind of fabric you want, just make sure it's thin cotton. Fabric scraps work really good!

Recycle with style! 

My Version

Let's get started!

Step 1: Gather materials. Needed are scissors, a fabric scrap (mine was .5" wide by about 2' long), cable chain, a clasp and a large-eyed sewing needle.

Step 2: Thread the end of your fabric onto your needle. Leave about 3" free, behind the needle. Now, just weave the fabric in and out of the chain, starting at the end.

Step 3: Continue to weave. Bring the needle through one link to the back, then from the back to the front in the next link.

Step 4: When you've reached the ends of the chain, tie a knot with the fabric to hold it onto the chain. Then, just attach your clasps to either ends, and cut the fabric so there is a little more than 1" free. Finished!

Very pretty!

The bracelets on!