Shourouk inspired rhinestone necklace

Remember when I said that rhinestones are the next craze? I meant it. From trench coats to clutches, from necklaces to ear cuffs, they are everywhere making our world sparkling with every step. Of course I couldn't let the season pass by without a rhinestone jewelry and inspired by Shourouk and the pantone spring 2014 color, dazzling blue, I created this gorgeous necklace.

And because I'm a nice gal, I did a DIY for you guys. So get your tools and supplies:

1. pvc foil; 2. rhinestones; 3. medium thick cord; 4. two large jump rings; 5. two grommets; 6. two end caps for the cord; 7. one large lobster clasp; 8. wire; 9. pliers; 10. grommets pliers; 11. puncher; 12. scissors; 13. glue

And let's get started. Don't be afraid of the many steps illustrated, it's actually much easier than it seems:

1. take the rhinestones and lay them out as you wish your final piece to look, on a flat surface
2. put a generous amount of glue on a sheet of paper and using a toothpick, start applying glue on the back of a rhinestone
3. than place it on the PVC foil in the same place
4. repeat that for every rhinestone, recreating the same layout on the PVC foil, than let dry over night
5. take the scissor and cut the PVC around your rhinestones leaving a 3-5mm edge; at both ends leave an extra 1-2 cm
6. punch a hole in the PVC on both extra ends
7. add a grommet in each hole
8. add the jump rings
* if your end caps already have a hoop you can skip steps 9-10
9. wrap some wire around one end of the cord, leaving a 2 cm tail
10. put some glue in the end cap and insert the cord wrapped in wire in the cap
11. with the extra wire, create a hoop and attach the cord to the jump ring
12. repeat the steps for the other end of the cord, but this time attach the lobster clasp to the hoop to make the closure

Isn't it fabulous? I just love it and I want to wear it with everything. So if you want to look glamorous and trendy without spending a few hundreds dollars, than go get your supplies and make it for yourself.

Love,
L.

3 Rhinestones Bracelet

Thank God for rhinestones! Rhinestones are the new spikes so I must warn you, there are going to be a lot of sparkly DIY's this winter. And if you can afford it, I suggest using Swarovski as much as possible. Their colors and sparkles are to die for.  We are going to start slow and easy with a little delicate bracelet:

You'll need:

1. three 8mm round rhinestones; 2. 1mm nylon cord; 3. a lighter

1. you need to cut the nylon cord in two pieces of 30cm long and another two of 1 meter long; take the small cords and tie them at one end with a simple knot
2. string the three rhinestones on the two cords and place them in the middle; tie the other ends of the small cords together and place your work on a flat surface; you can fix everything in place with some tape
3. take one long nylon cord and tie it around the two central cords, as close to the rhinestones as possible; using the macrame square knot technique (beadaholique has a great tutorial for it here) make the first half of your bracelet
4. when you knotted about 7cm, cut the loose ends leaving about 1mm of cord
5. using your lighter as carefully as possible, melt the 1mm end
6. with the side of the lighter press the melted end on the last knot; this way you will seal it; repeat this step for the other loose end
7. repeat steps 3-6 for the other half of the bracelet
8. for the sliding closure you will use the same square knot; overlap the two ends of the bracelet and start knotting around them, about 1cm or as much as you need to make the bracelet fit your wrist

Trust me, it's much easier then it looks. It takes less than half an hour to make a bracelet like this and you can do them in every color you like, using different shapes for rhinestones. Than you just stack them and let them shine!
Love,
L.

Woven Chain Necklace

I know this trend started more a year ago when Aurelie Bidermann introduced them and I know everybody did a DIY about it, but I still see it around so I had to make my DIY version as well. These woven chunky chain necklaces/bracelets are very versatile and they fit a casual look as much as a more elegant, evening one. But my version has some punk accents because...well, it's made by me :) So here it is:

You are going to need:

1. chunky chain 45cm/18in; 2. six strands of t-shirt yarn 85cm/35in; 3. a lobster claps; 4. large jump ring
*some extra embellishments(spikes, charms, chain)

1. attach the lobster clasp to the chain using the jump ring, than tie the six strands of t-shirt yarn with a simple knot, separate them in three sections and place them next to the chain on a flat surface
2. start braiding the t-shirt yarn, always passing the left section through each chain link; use a bobby pin to pass the yarn through the link
3. continue braiding along the whole chain
4. tie another knot at the end of the chain and you're done

This is the simple version.
You can keep it like this or you can go further and attach more stuff:

This was pretty easy, right? I like to wear it with a t-shirt and a blazer, but I bet it looks great with an evening dress too. Give it a try and let my know how it turned out and how would you style it!
Love,
L.

Local TV feature

This spring I received a call from a local television that has a 5 minutes show with different DIY projects and ideas on how to spend your free time. I had three appearances with three DIYs, one about bracelets, one about applying studs to your clothes and basically anything(obviously) and the last one on how to recycle an empty bottle into a colorful vase. Unfortunately, I only found the last one online but I thought I should share it with you. It's in Romanian but the visual is self explanatory and you can watch it here or just click the picture. Enjoy!

Love,
L.

DIY Celine Berlingot Clutch

When I saw this clutch hitting all the fashion blogs around the world I had three thoughts:
1. I need to have this
2. this clutch is so smart
3. I can make this!

This is the original:

And it's so easy that everyone can do it. I had some fake fur around the house so I decided to go for the mink version, but if you don't have much experience with sewing maybe try with some lighter fabric or even a soft leather/pleather.
Here's what you need:

1. a piece of fabric 43x30cm, 2. two 20 cm zippers; 3. pins; sewing machine or thread & needle
Here are the steps:

1. sew the shorts sides of the fabric together, right sides facing
2. pin one zipper on one of the edges
3. sew the zipper and turn the bag on the right side to make sure everything is in place
4. turn your work wrong side out again and pin the other zipper on the other side, but make sure it's perpendicular on the first zipper; and leave the first zipper open so you can turn out the bag; sew the zipper and you're done!

You've just made your own Celine Berlingot Clutch in less than half an hour! How crazy is that?
And I love this bag so much because as I said it's so clever. You know how every time you're looking for your keys they are at the very bottom of your bag? Well now you just turn your bag upside down and open the other zipper and voila!

Don't forget to post your own version of the Berlingot clutch in the comments below or on the facebook page.
Love'
L.

Cat Ears

It's the end of October so Halloween is just around the corner, but you still have time for a little DIY costume if you don't have one ready yet. And this year is all about cat ears. As a proud owner of two cats I feel these suit me quite well. So let's get started.

Tools:
Black fur, white felt, wide black headband, glue gun, thread & needle/sewing machine, paper pattern of the ears, scissors, pins

Before we starts I want to tell you a little about the ear pattern. The cat ear is this shape:

You will need two patterns in this shape, one smaller than the other. Now, you can make them any size you want, mine are 15 cm wide and 10 cm tall, just make sure you have a second shape 1 cm smaller. This way the ears will look more natural, with the white inside smaller, and the fur covering the edge.

Steps:
1. trace the bigger shape on the black fur and cut 2 pieces
2. do the same thing with the smaller piece and white felt, again 2 pieces
3. pin the felt and the fur together right side facing (the fur edge will curl, being larger, but if you add more pins it won't be a problem)
4. sew the two sides together and turn the ears right side out
5. a cat's ears are not flat, they are a little curved, so take the bigger pattern and fold the right side from the tip of the ear; don't fold it in half, but about 1/3; place the headband on the base of the folded ear and trace it's contour on the paper; this way your ear base will have the curved shape of the headband and it will be easier to glue it
6. place the new pattern on the ears and cut the base in the new shape; make sure you turn the pattern over for teh second ear. you want to make them symmetrical not identcal
7. put your headband on and mark on it the place where you want your ears to be
8. using a glue gun, add glue to the base edge of the ear and attach them to the headband

That's it. I guarantee you'll get a lot of treats and compliments looking this cute :D
Happy Haloween!
Love,
L.

Rainy Boots

I ran away for a few weeks in a warmer country in hopes to make the summer last longer. And while my journey was not only sunny but extraordinaire, I still had to return at some point and I did it right in the middle of autumn, in full rain season. So I had to prepare a few pieces to keep me dry: a plastic raincoat and a pair of rubber boots. By now you should be really familiar with my "stud everything" motto, so these boots didn't escape the puncher either. I know it's not much, but I transformed these lame black worker boots in a cute pair of rock'n'roll rain boots.

Tools: rubber boots, puncher and studs, a ruler and a marker

Steps:

1. take a ruler and marker and mark down where you want to place your studs
2. punch a hole over every mark you did
3. insert the studs in the holes

I didn't have enough studs so I left a few holes open, I think it still looks pretty cool.

So let the rain fall, I'm not scared of it anymore! Are you?

White Tee Mini Series: Skulls and Roses

Ladies and gentlemen, episode 3. As I said before, this series is more about techniques than design and today is time for transfer paper. You can probably find this kind of paper at any stationer's shop. You just pick your design, print it on any regular printer on the transfer paper and apply it to your t-shirt.


Before we start, here's what you need:

1. white t-shirt; 2. transfer paper with your design; 3. scissors; 4.  iron

1. I wanted to give a more feminine cut to this simple t-shirt, so I overlapped the sides and traces the lines where I was going to cut
2. cut the t-shirt :)
3. keep the bottom seam and cut it in half
4. saw it on the shoulders to make straps that will hold your sleeves
5. add some spikes/buttons to fasten the straps
6. cut the printed transfer paper and follow the instructions on the package to apply it to your t-shirt

You just turned a plain white t-shirt into a sexy boho t-shirt that looks pretty awesome!
Love,
L.

Sunday Smoothie: avocado&grapes

There is one reason I love fall: grapes. And, though summer is still around, yesterday I found some giant sweet white grapes. And to continue last's week green smoothie, I combined them with some avocado. Can I just say DELICIOS?!

Ingredients: 1 cup sweet yogurt, 1 medium avocado, 2 cups grapes, 1 spoon honey

Enjoy your Sunday!
Love,
L.

White Tee Mini Series: Invaders Love

Time for episode two from our white t-shirt mini series. This time I let my darling husband to create tutorial for you guys. It's not necessarily a men t-shirt, it can be done for ladies too. In this series I don't want to emphasize the design, but rather the techniques you can use to transform a basic t-shirt into a funky one.

Today we're going to use

1. white t-shirt; 2. cardboard stencil; 3. fabric paint; 4. paint brush

1. put a cardboard inside your t-shirt to prevent paint bleeding on the back side of it
2. cut out your stencil; create one for every color you are going to use
3. pin the first stencil onto your stencil and fill it with your first color; let it dry and remove it
4. place the second stencil in the same place as the first one and fill it with the second color
5. let it dry completely, than carefully remove the stencil
6. use the iron to set the paint, without steam

Episode two: DONE! Do you like it? Than show me your painted white t-shirts in comments, below.

Love,
L.

Sunday Smoothie: Kiwi&Pistachio

I was looking through my smoothie collection and saw that I have so many pink/red/orange one, but just a few green. So I looked for some green fruits and nuts to make this Sunday's smoothie and came up with kiwi, pistachio and a hint of mint.

Ingredients: 1 cup sweet yogurt, 1/2 banana, 2 kiwis, 1/2 cup pistachio with their shells removed, 1 spoon honey, 1 handful fresh mint leaves

This is it, green-ish smoothie :)
Enjoy your Sunday.
Love,
L.

White Tee Mini Series: Cutout Heart

The white T-Shirt is a key element in any wardrobe. It is very versatile and it can be worn with jeans, chiffon skirts, even black suit jackets. So it's a must that you have one in your closet. 

It happens that I have a few of them. And while it'a a key piece, one basic white t-shirt is enough. So I decided to give the others a little twist and create a mini DIY series with white t-shirts.

First one: a heart cutout back. This is really easy to make and it's it looks very very cool.

Here's what you need:

1. white t-shirt; 2. half a heart shape; 3. fabric chalk; 4. scissors

1. layout your t-shirt and draw the half heart on the back

2. draw the other half leaving a 1-2 cm space between the two shapes

3. with a ruler or freehand draw horizontal parallel lines inside the two shapes

4. cut along the parallel lines

5. pull each stripe to make the fabric edges roll inside

There you have it, the first episode of our white t-shirts series. This looks amazing over a black tank or an animal print bralette or even on bare skin.

Love,

L.

Sunday Smoothie: Seasonal fruits

This Sunday took me by surprise, meaning I did't go shopping for new interesting nuts, berries or other interesting fruits to mix. But this became such a tradition in our home, that I couldn't start my Sunday without a smoothie. So I went to the fridge and grabbed everything I had in there that looked like a fruit and blend them together. Guess what? It was yummy as always :)

Ingredients: 1 cup sweet yogurt, 1 cup melon, 1/2 cup sour cherries, 1/2 blueberries

Enjoy your Sunday!
Love,
L.