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.

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.