Guest Post: DIY Shamballa Bracelet from Katrine of Make It and Fake It

Mar 9, 2012 | DIY

Hello lovely readers! Today I have a wonderful talented guest poster here: Katrine from Make It and Fake It. Though her blog is fairly new on the DIY scene, she’s been a posting a number of chic and easy tutorials that can help you get the designer look at a fraction of the cost. And she’s been especially prolific with her bracelet tutorials – giving you a TON of DIY options to make your own pretty, bejeweled, knotted, blingy, stacked wrists full of arm candy. Check out her tutorials for the Orange Stud Bracelet, White & Stud ArmCandy, Hair Elastic/Bracelet, and Gold Clover Bracelets and to get you started!

But she’s here today to share with you guys a never-before-shared tutorial…for a DIY Shamballa bracelet! What’s a “Shamballa bracelet?” you ask. Well, just read on! Katrine, take it away!

Hi everyone,

I am so excited to be a guest here at Chic Steals! Today I’m going to share a special DIY with you all so I hope you love it as much as I do.

Have you seen the Shamballa bracelets everyone from Jay Z to Heidi Klum have been effortlessly rocking?! Well if you don’t have the thousands to spend on a black diamond real one, this is a pretty cool swap.

You will need black (or what ever colour floats your boat) cotton string, different kind of round beads and 30min of patience. Lets get started.

You cut a piece that’s long enough to go around your wrist with a couple extra inches on both sides (for the centre string), and one that’s about 4 times as long for the string you’ll be wrapping around the beads.

Tie the longer string about 4-5″ from one end of the centre string and start with “braiding” (see pic for how to) I love this technique and I use it for several of my bracelets (for different ways to use it you can check it out this tutorial here and my Orange Stud Bracelet [linked above]). How you do it is that you take the right string over the centre string, then you take the left string over the right string, under the centre string and up through the loop made by the right string (see pictures). Then you do the opposite, so the left one over the centre etc., adding your beads as you go.

The clasp is adjustable which is perfection; I hate awkward clasps that are hard to put on by yourself. For this one I just crossed the two sides of the centre string did the same “braiding” technique to lock them together.

I seal all my knots with clear nail polish, and I find that does the trick.

Add beads to each side of the string ends so they won’t slide through…and then you are ready to go!