DIY Collar Necklace

Hello again! Time for another DIY!

The Peter Pan collar trend is still going strong, although I must admit I wasn't always on the bandwagon! I'm still not 100% convinced that I could rock one of these collars on a blouse, so I made a more subtle one in necklace form. Also, if I had a cameo she would be right smack dab in the centre. But alas I do not. Maybe you do??

What You Need:
Beads (I used 66 for this project), eye pins, jump rings (3), clasp, round-nosed pliers, pliers, wire cutters.

String your first bead onto your eye pin. Using your pliers, bend the wire at a 90 degree angle.

Using your wire cutters, clip the wire so you are left with just under 1cm.

Using your round-nosed pliers, bend the wire to form a loop. Leave the loop slightly open. Set aside.

Repeat with your next bead. These beads are going to be linked together to form the "chain." Slip your second bead's eye pin loop through your incomplete loop to connect them. Using your round-nosed pliers, close this loop. See photo for illustration:

Continue these steps until you have two lengths of 19 beads each, and two lengths of 14 each.

Note: the numbers of beads listed is simply what I used for this project. Feel free to make it longer or shorter dependent on the size of beads you use! It's up to you!

The two longest chains are connected with one jump ring. Two more jump rings are used to connect the beads to the clasp. Use your pliers to open and close your jump rings.

Here is where the jump rings should be attached:

The final step of this necklace DIY is attaching the shorter bead lengths that will serve as the loops of the collar. One end of each also connects to the jump ring in the middle (as shown in the photo below) but the other two are to be connected in the middle of the longer chain. I have connected mine after the 9th bead from the front jump ring.

Note: changing this position will change the shape of your collar so feel free to experiment to find what style you like.

Using your round-nosed pliers, open the loop just enough to slip it through the loop from the bead's eye pin that you're connecting it to, then close securely. That was a bit of a mouthful, so here's a close-up of what this connection should look like.

Do the same for the other side. And you're done!

Not the greatest photo, but here's what it looks like on!

Sewing Day

Happy Saturday! Today is a serious sewing day. I've got the lovely Bat for Lashes on shuffle, a cup of Vanilla Oolong (from the perfection that is DAVIDsTEA) and some gorgeous new spring fabrics to work with! Let's go!

New pretties...

Ready to rock!

Designer Crush: Biko

I thought about doing another Wednesday Wishlist but then I realized that this girl's entire website would be on it! My friend and I discovered Biko at the One of a Kind Show last week in Toronto. We kept going back to Corrine's booth but in the end came away only with her business card. I just couldn't make a choice! Here are some of my favs:

All images from www.ilovebiko.com

Happy Wednesday!

DIY Painted Leather Bookmark

Hello, all! While I could do totally do necklace DIYs forever, I felt it was time for something new. :) So as I was staring at my pile of leather scraps leftover from past clutches, I had a fun idea for what to do with them—make bookmarks!

Supplies:

Ruler, scrap of leather (2 x 10 inches)*, bristol board/cardboard (also 2 x 10), paper scissors, fabric scissors, sharpie/pencil, exacto knife, gold craft paint, paint brushes, palette, cutting board, binder clips.

*Leather scraps are fairly easy to find on the cheap. Any fabric store that sells leather will have a bin full of bits and pieces of every size and texture.

I cut my stencil the same size as the bookmark to make sure it didn't shift around. And now it also serves as a pattern for future bookmarks!

Inspiration, as they say, is quite literally everywhere. I swiped this chevron pattern from the vents inside my ancient elevator. I'm glad I took a picture when I did because my elevator is being renovated starting this week!

Mark your pattern. I left 2.5 inches for the fringe and centred my design on the remainder of the stencil.

Carefully cut out your stencil with your exacto knife over a cutting board.

Mark your fringe on the back of your leather 2.5 inches from the bottom. Cut the fringe with fabric scissors (or you can use your exacto knife if you don't have fabric scissors).

Place your stencil on your bookmark. Since I used a thin material for the stencil I found binder clips necessary to keep it in place.

Paint two coats.

Remove the stencil. Touchups with a small brush were needed at this point.

Finished!

OWU Spotlight: Envelope Clutch

Is it the weekend yet? Almost? Thank goodness! I have been so excited for this coming long weekend. It means tons of free time for friends, sewing and, of course, more DIYs ;) I have a few on my mind so keep your eyes peeled over the next few days!

For now, I wanted to feature my envelope clutches. I had a mild crisis with this one, but it all came together in the end. What I really like about this style is that it can easily be dressed up or down, and the shape really shows off the beautiful tapestry patterns. :)

1. Blue and Gold
2. Pale Gold and Green
3. Black and Gold
4. Blue and Brown Leaf

Have an amazing chocolate-filled weekend!

New Things!

Hello! It's shop update time!

Just a few things this round, but I have obtained some lovely spring fabrics that are just itching to be made into new goodies so watch out for those coming SOON! I have a feeling I'm going to a lot more productive as evenings are getting brighter and I no longer want to curl up in a ball of sadness.

Click here to see what's new!

Black and Gold Tapestry Box Clutch

Blue and Gold Tapestry Box Clutch

Pale Yellow Tapestry Large Clutch

DIY J.Crew-Inspired Necklace

This past summer, J.Crew had an explosion of exciting necklaces. The colours vibrant, the prices intimidating for a poor publishing professional like myself. I took this challenge to the streets of Toronto.

I hit pay dirt at Chaton Beads at Queen and Bathurst. They had the exact beads from the J.Crew necklace. Same size, shape, detailing… Would have preferred them in blue but I can't complain :D

Edit: I recently learned Chaton Beads has closed. Thus taking my heart with them.

Finding appropriate beads is by far the most challenging part of this DIY. As long as they are a similar tubular shape and length, you're golden. Otherwise the design might not form the way it should. Just be aware you're using lightweight beads because this necklace is heavy. I wore it to work once and whenever I bent over and then straightened up, I got smacked in the chest and temporarily winded. All in the name of fashion!

The original necklace. (Photo from J.Crew's website.)

What You Need:

BEADS (55 total), thick chain (like I said, this necklace is heavy!), eye pins, 1 head pin, larger jump rings (small ones just won't support all of your beads), clasp, pliers, round-nosed pliers and wire cutters.

String your first bead onto an eye pin. Using your pliers, bend the wire at a 90 degree angle.

Using your wire cutters, clip the wire so you are left with just under 1 cm.

Using your round-nosed pliers, carefully bend the wire into a loop.

Do this for all of your beads. (One bead goes onto the headpin instead. More about that later!) Using the image of the finished necklace as your guide, start placing the beads in the pattern.

To connect them with jump rings, use your pliers to open and close the ring.

I found it easiest to connect them as I went to avoid the beads going all over the place. I also found it useful to use the pliers to hold and guide the jump rings through each of the loops. Keeping your fingers out of the way allows the beads to remain unjumbled. Take your time. :)

Keep going until you have formed the pattern, connecting the beads with the jump rings.

The very bottom bead is the one you are going to string onto the headpin instead of an eye pin as it does not need to be connected to the rest.

You're almost done! Now cut the length of chain you want. I cut two pieces of chain at 11 cm (4.5 inches) long each. Use more jump rings to connect both your clasp and your beads to your chain.

Wear it!

The best part? This necklace retailed for $100 CDN. My supplies cost under $10. WOO!