Friday, June 21, 2013

DIY: Tatty divine inspired Sculpey necklace

Hi everyone!
So here's my Tatty Devine inspired necklace. At first I thought of using some sort of plastic, but in the end I chose to use oven-bake clay because it's much easier to find and it's also very easy to work with. My biggest fear, when I started working on this project, was that it could look childish. And I do recognize it didn't came out as I expected on my first attempt. I struggled a little bit with the split leaves... But after trying some different techniques, I can give you some advice.

1. Try to use your fingertips as little as possible: It will be easier to achieve an even and flawless surface if you use modelling tools. You can buy some specific tools for clay, or you can use whatever you already have at home instead. I used a plastic cup, a cuticle remover, a wood stick and some pins and needles.

2. This colored clay might stain your working surface. You'd better work on metal or crystal surfaces.

3. Baking: Every brand has its own baking instructions. You'll usually have to bake your clay for 20-35 minutes, depending on how thick your pieces are. The oven must be preheated to 130ºC / 275ºF. Do not use the microwave!


THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
Hope you guys enjoyed and had a great time watching! Don't forget to send me pictures of your recreations, you can e-mail me (info@daretodiy.com), tag me on Twitter (@Daretodiy) or on Instagram (@sylvia_Daretodiy).

xxx

DIY Inspiration: Tatty Devine's pesrpex jewels

LEE ESTO EN ESPAÑOL
Laser cut is playing a big part in fashion during the last few seasons. Its great for making awesome drillings on leather and textiles (you guys can see examples here y here), but it also works well on thicker materials.

Some time ago I came across the british accessory Brand Tatty Devine, whose main identity symbol is, by the way, laser cut perspex. I absolutely love their eye-catching and out-of-the-box designs. I thought it would be worth it to share with you guys these surreal and lovely pieces... And of course, making a DIY inspired by them!
And now, you might be wondering... Where's the DIY in this?
Obviously, nobody has perspex and a laser cut machine at home. But there are some good alternatives that can provide really cool results. This DIY is going to be something new for me, I'm still not sure of what will come out of this idea... Hope it's not a DIY disaster!!

What would you do with this inspiration? How would you do it?

xxx

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Mini DIY: Tom Binns safety pin jewelry

This is not the first time I see safety pins on jewelry but I think the way the designer Tom Binns uses them is quite cool. I love the pop of color and the casual effect they provide to pearls and Swarovski crystals. Despite Binn's pieces are far from low cost, this inspiration is so easy to recreate. It's a mini DIY that requires no instructions.
Imágenes vía Net a Porter
A few safety pins, a little bit of spray paint and a boring necklace, that's all you'll need for this mini-DIY!

Seize the weekend!! 
xxx

Sylvia

Friday, June 14, 2013

How to make a maxi dress out of a long skirt

Hi everyone!!
In addition to a new DIY, this week we're having a very special guest. His name is White Boy, and he is one of the pets a friend has on his yard, in the middle of the dessert of California. I though that llamas weren't so friendly, but this one made me change my mind. He stole my heart with his fluffy hair and his buckteeth.

My maxidress is made of a basic skirt from Forever 21, and the top is made with the same technique I used for my braided skirt. I used recycled t-shirt strips. I recommend using high waist skirts (it's better if they have an elastic waistband), however you can use any skirt you already have, as long as it's not too tight. Now the skirt goes a little bit over my ankle, but it's a quite comfortable lenght. It's perfect to wear it with flat sandals.

And it didn't take much time! I did it in just one morning. Don't miss out all the details of the DIY process in the video. I still haven't learnt how to (easily) add subtitles, so if there's anything you guys don't understand, you can just ask ;)

Hope you guys liked my new DIY maxi dress and my new friend :) Would you guys dare to turn your maxi skirt into a maxi dress?

xxx

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

DIY Inspiration: summer maxi dresses

LEE ESTO EN ESPAÑOL
It might sound weird, but although I wouldn't wear a long skirt (at least, not now) I absolutely love maxi dresses. And it seems this season they're more creative than ever. With such a huge amount of inspiration, I simply had to make my own DIY version of a maxi dress. I'll show you guys the result very very soon!

Meanwhile... What do you guys think? Do you love maxi dresses or definitely hate them? Which one is your favorite one from these?

xxx
Sylvia

Saturday, June 1, 2013

DIY Project: Isabel Marant Inspired Necklace

Hi Everyone!
Here we go with a new DIY tutorial. This time I'm going for a perfect summer accessory inspired by this ethnic necklace by Isabel Marant that you guys can see above these lines. The fact that attracted my attention was the way leather cords are used to buid a structure with pins. Despite being a designer piece, it's not so difficult to make a very similar one at home. Here's how
  
As the video is in Spanish, here are the directions to make your own Isabel Marant inspired DIY necklace, just in case you guys missed something in the video.
Supplies:
* Jewelry pins
* Crystal beads (2 colors): I like this kind of beads better because they are kind of irregular and that provides a nice handcrafted effect. I got them at Michael's.
* Long beads: The ones I used are form Create for less
*Leather cord (Different colors and thicknesses)
* A chain and a jewelry closure
* Round nose pliers

1. Introduce a small yellow bead and a long ornament into a pin. Use the round nose pliers to turn around the other side. You must leave some space on the pin. Repeat this with the half of your pins.
2. Repeat step one with the other half of your pins but use the small crystal beads instead of the long ones.
3. Introduce a leather cord into the hole we've just created on the pins. Alternate the pins with the crystal beads and the ones with the long beads.
4. Introduce a leather cord underneath alternate pins. 
5. Introduce another leather cord and repeat step 4 backwards
6. Twist two thinner leather cords around the other side of the pins
7. Take the the spare cords to the back and tie them with a knot. Seal it with a little bit of contact glue.

And that's pretty much everything :) Hope you guys enjoyed the tutorial and I hope to see your recreations very soon.

Have a nice weekend!