Apr 9, 2015 | DIY
Hi friends! It’s been awhile since I’ve shared a DIY here, for many reasons.
Life took over for awhile.
But I’m back – with a fun and easy DIY for you all to try out!
Big, bejeweled pendant chandelier earrings have been on-trend for awhile now…but unless you’re planning on whipping out that soldering torch and applying to your rhinestones…they’re a little hard to make. 
Enter translucent vinyl PVC as a backing – plus some strong glue – and you don’t ever need to pick up that pesky torch. Here’s how to make your own designer-style illusion jeweled chandelier-style dangle earrings:
You Need:
PandaHall Acrylic Beads (I used the Mixed Color Transparent Acrylic Faceted Drop Pendants in light pink / PandaHall Mixed Acrylic Rhinestone Montee Beads in light pink, hot pink, and champagne / earring pads with backs / large jumprings (I actually used 2 per earring so 4 total) / transparent PVC vinyl / pliers and jumpring tool / glue for plastics and metals (I recommend Loctite but had run out when I made this project!) / awl or needle / scissors (smaller scissors are better I found, like nail scissors)
How To: 
1. Lay out the beads on a flat surface to determine placement of the rhinestones.
2. Use a generous dab of glue on the back of each rhinestone to glue it onto the transparent PVC vinyl. Space your rhinestones apart to allow for cutting them into separate pieces if you desire.
3. Once dry, use scissors to cut around the rhinestones. (I chose to cut around some clusters of rhinestones separately so I could join them with jumprings for more dangle.) Make sure to round your corners.
4. Glue the earring pad onto the back of the earrings, and allow to dry.
5. Use an awl to pierce the vinyl for each separate rhinestone cluster that you want to connect, and at the middle of the bottommost rhinestone cluster, near the edge.
6. Connect a Drop Pendant to the bottom of the earring with a large jumpring.
7. Connect all the pieces with jumprings to complete your earrings.
And that’s it! They’re surprisingly stable and will withstand some wear (though I wouldn’t recommend running obstacle courses in them).
I also made some alternate-colored ones in the trendy asymmetrical earring style.
I love how they look disconnected – almost floating – above your shoulders – utterly utterly chic with a backswept ‘do and a pretty necklace for Spring.
Happy DIY’ing!
xo
Carly
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Mar 24, 2015 | DIY, Fashion
Welcome to a new series of mine:
Buy or DIY, where I break down an on-trend piece into where you can
Buy It (if you want the original) or how to
DIY it (if you want to put your own original, affordable spin on it).
Loeffler Randall Gem Clutch
The DIY version: Thrift (or make!) a neutral suede-like zip envelope pouch – or try this version
for $18.95. Use Loctite Vinyl, Fabric and Plastic Repair Adhesive
to affix a variety of pastel mint rhinestones to the front, like these Tear-Shaped Rhinestones and/or these Marquise Rhinestones. If you can find or make a clutch in a thinner fabric, you could also sew these rhinestones on instead, using a thin beading needle like these
.
Which version do you prefer: BUY or DIY?
xo
Carly
FTC Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission if you click and buy something through one of the links above. My full Disclosure Policy is here.
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Mar 20, 2015 | DIY
Welcome to the official First Day of Spring!
Yes my friends, Spring has definitely Sprung…and I bet you’re itching to make some fun DIY projects to welcome the new season. Flowers, Easter, May Day, graduations, prom, baby showers, and other Springtime celebrations? Bring on the season bursting with flowers and loveliness with these great crafts:
1. Enamel Bib Necklace
Celebrating all that is flowery and fun this season, this bib necklace works by collaging charms and buttons onto a filigree backing – and painting with Martha Stewart self-hardening enamel. Amazingly easy for such a fun project!
2. Flowered Ballet Flats
Adorn a pair of simple ballet flats with flowers and lace trim to become lovely and elegant footwear.
3. Flowered Snackcessory Clutch
So sweet as a pairing to a simple outfit…or to take along with you to prom.
4. Prada Rose Cabochon Stud Earrings
Surprisingly simple to make – with a huge impact – these studs sparkle with a chic, ladylike quality.
5. Florald Applique Cardigan
Take your favorite flowered fabric, cut out bits of the pattern, affix Heat ‘n’ Bond to it – and iron onto a boring cardigan for a quick pick-me-up.
6. Lace Maxi-Skirt
Repurpose an old lace curtain (and there are always a ton to be found at Goodwill!) into a pretty lace maxi-skirt for over your shorter skirts, dresses, and shorts.
7. Flower Barrette
Silk flowers from the craft store make this barrette look like a flower crown adorning your hair.
8. Gold Foil Easter Egg Nails
Pretty pastels pop when gold foil is applied haphazardly to the top. Do the same for your Easter eggs for a matching holiday craft.
9. Flower Petal Top
Hand-stitch flower petals down the front of a plain tee to make it floral fabulous with only a small amount of effort.
10. Watercolor Scarf
Use dye to paint a scarf in daubs of color, leave on for a short time, and wash out for a faded, Monet-like quality.
What projects are you looking forward to making for Spring?
xo
Carly
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Mar 2, 2015 | DIY
Fashion weeks around the world have drawn to a close, and we’ve seen a ton of DIY-able ideas for this coming Fall. How about that ubiquitous street style for February 2015 – what are all the fashionistas in the know wearing? The answer is fabulous coats and warm weather gear…and there are more than a few great ideas out there that are still totally do-able and make-able before Spring is fully here. See below to get those creative juices flowing…
In London, Tati Cotliar sported a cut pink hooded overcoat – and you can add a similar studded detail to the hood with some flat round brass studs.
This verbose topper spotted on the streets could be easily remade with a thrifted man’s wool overcoat and adding some wordy iron-on appliqués in punky neon colors. (This Etsy shop makes some neat ones!)
Caroline Sieber attended the shows in this pretty blue suit jacket – made beautifully unique with a large-sized iron-on embroidered floral motif appliqué.
Sarah Rutson‘s No 21 top could easily be mimicked by hand-sewing some black ostrich feathers (humanely harvested, ideally) onto the front of a boring black sweater to make it chic.
In Milan, Elisa Nalin‘s punchy ensemble is offset by a bright beaded clutch – which could be made by gluing plastic beaded necklaces from the dollar store or a toy store in a V-pattern onto an existing clutch.
This neat hybrid denim jacket spotted on the streets could be re-created by someone enterprising – just by re-purposing a knitted blanket sewn to the hem of a jacket, cut apart and used as collar-covering, and some of the yarn pulled out and woven into the jacket as detailing. (Look for a really thick, luxurious yarn to make this work!)Appliques again! (Seeing a trend??!) Adding them to a plain sweatshirt-fabric skirt can make gray look fabulous.
And that coat would be a doable Franken-DIY: bleach an indigo denim jacket, remove the arms and replace with arms salvaged from a thrifted black leather jacket. Instant Milan street cred.
From New York, something similar to Anya Ziourova‘s Fendi sweater could be made with hand-sewing some exposed zippers to the front with colored faux fur, rhinestone trim, and colored fleece in patches and shapes to make that fun monster face.
Gigi Hadid‘s Diesel Black Gold jacket take some serious studding skills…but would be an amazing upgrade to a very simple black leather moto jacket.
Any top could be given a glam makeover by hand-sewing beads and rhinestones onto the front in a starburst pattern.
That Thom Browne coat could be easily re-interpreted with just a line of cone spikes ringing the armscye of a nipped-in gray Victorian-style overcoat.
Hope that gives you some ideas for projects to start right now!
xo
Carly
Photos: Phil Oh from Vogue.com, Craig Arend from The New York Times, , Mark Iantosca, POPSUGAR. Composites by me.
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Feb 23, 2015 | DIY, Fashion
Mercedes-Benz New York Fashion Week has wrapped up, folks…London Fashion Week is drawing to a close…next up, Paris and Milan. Already some great DIY ideas are surfacing for Fall 2015 and I’ll bet you want to get right on top of those and start thinking about how to incorporate these trends into your wardrobe for the upcoming season. Here are some emerging looks from the runways:
Though it’s hard to tell from the photo, hand-stitching some delicate silver ball-chain to the edges of your clothing a la Alexander Wang can look edgy and cool. Create a faux quilting effect on a dark pair of shorts using iron-on pearl nailheads and trim like at Alice + Olivia. Hand-sew a swatch of shearling to a jacket collar to make it ultra cozy.
Add white brushstrokes of fabric paint on the hem of a trench to make a bold statement like Band of Outsiders. You can mimic the Kaelen look by chopping off a shoulder from a long shirtdress (and finishing the hem by tucking under and securing with fabric glue or a line of stitching)…and add some ribbons looped into bows at either side of the skirt.
Go leatherette like L.A.M.B. by sewing some leather patches onto a sweater at the front and elbows, creating a patched leather skirt to match. Go full on cray-cray like Libertine and add a variety of appliques to a standard wool coat to make it vibrant and colorful.
Tartan and lace go together like peas and carrots. Do like Marc Jacobs and slit a pleated plaid skirt at the folds, adding lace strips in-between with some hand-sewing or hem tape. Create an embellished sweater like at Markus Lupfer and hand-stitch clusters of beads onto a thrifted turtleneck to downplay all the brown tragedy.
Get out the white fabric paint and go all Jackson Pollack on a black suit like at Norma Kamali. Upgrade a well-fitting vibrant coat with a line of contrasting piping, sewn on higgledy-piggledy with a pipin foot like Peter Pilotto did.
Do double-duty DIY inspired by Preen by Thornton Bregazzi by adding tiny hand-stitched clusters of dark beads to a cropped cream sweater, and bright lacing and iron-on appliques to a standard plaid skirt. Get sexy like Proenza Schouler by cutting slits in a slinky knit dress (just overlock the edges after cutting so they don’t unravel!) and wear a pair of fishnet tights underneath to add the appeal.
Get into dip-dying by dipping a cream turtleneck fisherman’s sweater into indigo dye like at Sea. Add a bit of sweetness to a mini LBD like at Vera Wang by stitching on white flowers (pulled off a silk flower!) and securing with a white pearl in each center.
Make a standard gray turtleneck more fun like at Vivienne Tam by taking an open flame to a piece of polyester or rayon to burn it into a fun and raggedy pattern (which may take a few tries!) Hand-sew your hand-made lacey fabric onto the chest and shoulders of a sweater. Add texture like at Zero + Maria Cornejo by sewing lines of black fringe up and down a charcoal wrap coat.
Any brands or collections that seem to lend themselves to DIY in your opinion? Let me know in the comments: I’m always on the lookout for any new lines of interest!
xo
Carly
All photos from Style.com; photo collages by me.
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Feb 16, 2015 | DIY
So it’s still Winter and I wanted a (p)leather skirt – midi length, so demure, yet made of a material that’s a little reminiscent of biker gangs. That’s just how I roll.
Midi-length leather and pleather skirts have been a Winter staple for awhile – and I love that the quilting pushes it into Chanel-esque territory without being anywhere near that price-point. Plus quilting can hide fabric (or pleather) that is actually quite cheap and force it to look more expensive. And no hemming required! Here’s how:
You Need:
(more…)
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