Lately double-ended spike bangles are trending all over Pinterest and street-style photos: stacked with DIY friendship bracelets, pretty watches, stretchy beaded bracelets, and other metal bangles. You could spend hundreds of dollars on even just one at Sarah Chloe or CC Skye
Lately neon’s been the IT color of the season…and I’m particularly drawn to bright yellow. DIY tassel earrings have been making the rounds for some time on the blogosphere (see …love, Maegan’s version or Studs n Pearls’ version), so I decided to spice up my version with a bit of elegant rhinestone chain around the tops of the tassels. The great thing about using neon embroidery thread for this project? For some reason the quality of the thread is such that it unravels in a heartbeat…particularly annoying for friendship bracelet projects…but perfect for DIY tassels!! Here’s how to make them:
Materials: (more…)
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So sorry no post yesterday…I actually took Saturday off! Like, completely off from the blogosphere. I haven’t done that in a long time. (Felt a little guilty, though!;-)
But I let it go and had a great day, taking Lil Tot to a birthday party at a really cool community center I’ve never been to before (with a swirly 2-story water slide and multiple fun-showers in the toddler pool!! And free fitness classes!) and then the Oregon Fiber Arts festival, where I bought a huge skein of mohair since I think I’m going to attempt knitting this sweater…and maybe one of these sweaters or dresses too…someday…and Lil Tot petted the many goats, bunnies, and alpacas there.
Now that he knows alpacas are neither caramels nor tax forms nor fish but are indeed animals…they are his favorite animal recently!
They are so adorable, and make this tiny hiiiiiin, hiiiiiiin sound. I’ve never heard an alpaca cry before. Lil Tot has even renamed his fave game “Duck, duck, goose!” to “Alpaca, alpaca, capybara!” (and the inclusion of the capybara is an even longer story;-)
But I digress. Even though I didn’t post on my blog yesterday, I still DIY’ed!
Following up on my $4 Easter Wreath that I made for…um, Easter…earlier this year, I decided to hit up my local Dollar Tree once again in order to create a beautiful leafy Fall wreath bursting with color. It’s soooo cheap, and it will take you 30 minutes, tops!!
Project Difficulty:
(easy/beginner)
You Need:
*medium-sized wreath base ($1)
*3 leafy garlands ($1 apiece – I chose a variety that had tiny pumpkins, acorns, berries, and wheat sheaves attached)
*floral wire (I had on hand, but I saw it at the dollar store as well)
*wire-cutting pliers
*hot glue gun + gluesticks
How To: (the photos are not of the step-by-step since it’s pretty self-explanatory)
1. Cut a small piece of wire and thread it through the end of one of the leafy garlands. Twist it around the wreath base and twist the ends together, hiding the sharp ends inside the wreath.
2. Cut more pieces of wire and tie around the leafy garland in various places as you place it in a circle on top of your wreath base.
3. Continue in the same manner until you’ve layered all 3 leaf garlands atop one another, going round and round the wreath circle.
4. Use hot glue to glue down the leaves to hide any of the wire or stems that may show.
Hang up on your front door and enjoy! The wonderful thing about this wreath is that the color is so vibrant…and it will last FOREVER. (And that it’s about $15 less than similar decorations you might find at Target…or $30 less than those you might find at Pottery Barn…;-)
Happy DIY’ing and Happy Fall!
xoxox
Carly
P.S. I’m not doing a Style it Chic! post today since I’ve got a huge post with ONE WEEK of styling options coming up…hopefully will post tomorrow…
I meant to post this yesterday so you’d have time to try this before Easter, but I fell asleep early and slacked a little bit. If you decide to make this, I hope it’s still in time! (Sorry about that.)
I saw this lovely Easter wreath at Target, but since it was $19.99 (and similar ones were equally-priced at Jo-Ann’s)…you can guess what went through my mind.
DIY it for less!
So a quick trip to the Dollar Tree later, about 10 minutes assembling it at home with Lil Tot, and now I have an Easter decoration I’m really proud of.
You Need:
*1 pack of Dollar Tree plastic Easter Eggs (I found some pretty pastel speckled ones)
*2 Dollar Tree leafy garlands
*1 Dollar Tree wreath base (I chose a medium size)
*floral wire (or any thin, bendable wire – you may be able to get at the Dollar store, though I didn’t look)
*wire-cutters
*hot glue and glue gun
How-To:
1. Hea t up your glue gun.
2. Using lengths of wire, attach one leafy garland around the perimeter or your wreath base. (I circled the wire around the garland + wreath, and tied the ends like a twist-tie, twisting multiple times until it was secure. Then I folded the cut ends of the wire in-between the wreath wicker pieces so there were no sharp edges sticking out.)
3. Add the second leafy garland around the wreath, paying attention to any bare spots left by the first.
4. Close all the plastic eggs. Squeeze hot glue onto an egg; press egg onto wreath in order to camouflage a wire tie.
5. Continue with all the eggs, paying attention to color, placement, and angle.
You’re done! Hang somewhere and admire.:-)
Since I got the eggs, 2 garlands, and the wreath at the Dollar store (and already had hot glue, wire, and wire cutters on hand), the project cost me a total of 4 DOLLARS.
You could also, if you were particularly enterprising, paint a layer of clear or pastel glitter on your eggs to make them even more like the $19.99 Target/Jo-Ann version.
Bwahahahaha!
Happy DIY’ing!
xoxox
Carly
~If you liked this post, please share it with other crafty people looking for a cheap n easy project for Easter!~
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Few things add edge to a look like bits of metal leering out from an unexpected angle; in combination with swingy fringe, the trend has continued to stomp down many a runway. 
Carly J. Cais I am a DIY’er, designer, sewist, maker, and marketer. Chic Creative Life is where I share what I do, and help others bring their unique style into their own lives.
