Faux Turquoise

I am in love with big leather cuffs adorned with gem stones. They look so bohemian and the combo leather-stone feels so earthy. Of course, these are hard to find for little money so I needed to come up with a cheaper solution, something like this:

OK, I know it doesn't actually resemble a turquoise stone, but it still looks cool and considering how easy it is to make and quite cheap, I say it's a success.

Here are the secret ingredients:

1. cabochons, or you can use buttons or anything dome shaped; 2. faux leather; 3. nail polish: black, gold and crackle turquoise this one is very important because it's the one that will give the gem effect; 4. snap button; 5. snap pliers; 6. pencil; 7. scissors; 8. paper; 9. glue

I know there are many steps but they are very easy and I just used more photos to make myself clear.


So here we go:
1. create your cuff pattern on paper; be creative, choose any shapes you want as long as your cabochons fit in
2. create only half a pattern, than fold in the middle and cut, this way your bracelet will be symmetric
3. trace the pattern on the back side of your faux leather
4. cut the shape
5. make another one
6. trace the cabochons shapes on one of the leather pieces and then trace circles inside them 1mm smaller
7. cut the smaller circles out
8. apply black nail polish on your cabochons, let dry, than ad dabs of gold nail polish, let dry
9. apply turquoise crackle nail polish and let dry completly
10. seal everything with top coat
11. while the cabochons dry it is time to add other embellishments if you want; I added some studs, of course on the cutouts piece
12. glue the cabochons on the piece of leather that is not cut out
13. apply glue generously on the whole piece of leather
14. press the two sides together and hold a few minutes, until the glue dries
15. using the pliers, add a snap button
16. round the ends of the cuff

You did it! And it looks pretty awesome! Now fill your wrists with these cuffs in many more colors :)

Love,
L.

Minimal Glam

Minimal Glam inseamna luxos fara a fi opulent si incarcat si inseamna minimalist fara a fi banal si simplu. Este deci o combinatie a celor doua stiluri si o caracterista a bratarii pe cae vreau sa v-o arat astazi.
Minimal Glam means luxury without being opulent or heavy and it also means minimal without being flat or boring. It's a mix between the two and it's a characteristic of the cuff bracelet that I want to show you today.

Dar inainte de a trece la treaba vreau sa va spun cate ceva despre materialul din care e facuta. Se numeste Axpet, este produs de Bayer si se aseamana cu plasticul din care sunt facute caserolele. In engleza poate fi confundat cu shrink plasticul, dar diferenta dintre cele doua este ca axpetul nu isi micsoreaza dimensiunile la caldura. Caci da, vom lucra cu caldura deoarece acest plastic se inmoaie si devine maleabil la cald, dar la temperaturi nu foarte inalte. Se gaseste in magazinele de arte plastice la sectiunea arhitectura, fiind folosit si in realizarea machetelor, in coli de diferite dimensiuni si grosimi.
But before we start I would like to tell you a little bit about the material that we will use. It is called Axpet, it's made by Bayer and it's like the food containers plastic. Though it's not the same with shrink plastic because it doesn't shrink under heat. Yes, we will use heat because this plastic becomes flexible and malleable under a heat source, but still we don't need very high temperatures. You can find it in craft stores, in the architecture isle because it is used in modelling, in sheets of different sizes and thickness.
Avem deci nevoie de:
So you'll need:

1. o coala de Axpet de 2mm grosime; 2. cutter; 3. rigla; 4. strasuri; 5. lipici pentru plastic
1. one 2mm thick Axpet sheet; 2. cutter; 3. ruler, 4. rhinestones; 5. plastic glue

1. Masurati-va circumferinta incheieturii, iar din dimensiunea acesteia scadeti 2cm. Masurati apoi si latimea pe care doriti sa o aiba bratara. Folosind rigla si un marker sau creion trasati dimensiunile pe coala de Axpet
2. Taiati Axpetul folosind un cutter foarte bine ascutit
3. Folositi o bucata de smilgher sau o pila pentru a slefui si rotunji marginile
4. Bagati bucata taiata de Axpet in cuptorul incalzit, dar nu incins, pentru 3-5 minute sau pana cand observati ca incepe sa se inmoaie
5. Scoateti Axpetul din cuptor folosind o manusa si infasurati-l repede in jurul unui obiect rotund cam de dimensiunile mainii. Tineti-l infacsurat asa cateva secunde pana se raceste si se intareste
6. Cand s-a racit de tot puteti sa incepeti sa aplicati strasurile asa cum va doriti
1. Measure your wrist and subtract 2cm from that number. Then measure how wide would you like your bracelet to be. using the ruler and a marker or pencil trace those sizes on the Axpet sheet.
2. Cut the plastic using a very sharp cutter
3. Use a piece of sandpaper or a file to smooth the sides
4. Put the Axpet piece in the oven for about 3-5 minutes or until you see that it starts to bend a little
5. Take is out using a mitten and shape it around an object that is the size of your hand. Keep it like this for a few seconds to allow it to cool and harden in this shape  
6. When it cooled off completely start gluing the rhinestones the way you like it.

Aceasta este noua voastra bratara pe care o puteti purta la o rochie neagra de seara sau la o pereche de jeansi albi la birou. Cu siguranta va atrage multe priviri.
And this is your new bracelet which you can wear on a black evening dress or with a pair of white jeans for work. It is definitely very eye catching.   



Spor!
Enjoy!
L.