DIY my Valentine - a 20 minute DIY tutorial inspired by Marc By MarcJacobs Open Heart Stud Earrings

A quick DIY you can learn by heart.

Marc By Marc Jacobs Open Heart Stud Earrings - Knockout Pink (see more cut out earrings)

Owing to apathetic moping, this DIY tutorial will fit neatly under the category of Valentine's Day leftovers - time zones permitting - a category which, I appreciate is best associated with discounted chocolate but, given the relative neutrality of the versatile heart motif and the comfort that there's always next year I thought I'd share this 20-minute tutorial with you.

You will need...

Picture hanging wire.

Two earring studs.

Soldering iron and solder.

Long-nosed pliers that can cut wire (or, failing that, long-nosed pliers and all-purpose scissors)

Pink nail polish.

Difficulty

Quite easy

While the project, itself, is pretty straightforward and self-explanatory, it has its fiddly moments and helps to have a touch of manual dexterity.

Time

10-15 minutes per earring, excluding the time it takes for your soldering iron to heat up.

You will heart it

Cut about 10cm of wire and loop it around the stud in the middle. 

Bend the wire into a heart shape and twist the two ends together at the bottom with your pliers.

Cut away the excess wire at the bottom.

Attach the wire to the stud at the top and fix the wires together at the bottom by soldering them.

Cover the wire with pink nail polish.

Quick, simple and perfect for throwing together at the last minute, much like my Valentine's Day plans.

The Burbs -How to DIY a Burberry Prorsum Hand Painted Cropped Jacket

Heritage meets hand-painting for the ultimate luxury winter staple.

Burberry Prorsum Hand Painted Cropped Jacket (see more brown jackets)

You will need

A suede jacket (faux suede might work - I jammily inherited a vintage sheepskin number so I wouldn't know!)

Pebeo opaque fabric paints in:

• Pink.
• Dark green.
• Brown.
• Lime green.

Difficulty

Easy-Moderate

Depending on the design you use and your fabric painting skills (I'd rate the design I did as moderate but if you were to simplify it, the painting itself is very straightforward).

Time

1-2 hours per side.

Paint your swag on

I was going to illustrate the stages in gif form but, since my computer appears to be getting a little bit too much into the holiday spirit - that is to say well into 'can't be arsed' mode - I've decided to illustrate my various painting stages in video mode. Nevertheless, enjoy!

Re-Tweed - Another way to customise trainers in the style of Chanel

So good, I plagiarised them twice!

Sneaker (see more tweed shoes)

'Tis the season for sentimental retrospectives as we pore over the pop cultural profferings that set 2014 apart. In a year that gave tomboyish comfort items wardrobe staple status, there was arguably not one so distinctive as the artistic trainer trend - a must for she who shoots her street style snaps on a bicycle and gets a kick out of colourful customisation. I might have tried it before but I had to go back for one more try.

You will need...

 

Not pictured

Neon yellow and green acrylic paint.

Clear lacquer or a similar fixative.

Difficulty

Very easy

The main reason why I revisited this trend in DIY form was to find a method that was easier (still) than my last attempt and I'd definitely say that this project met that criterion.

Time

1-2 hours.

Get your tweed on

Paint the soles in neon yellow and green and fix with clear lacquer once the paint has dried. 

Use craft mount to attach your tweed fabric. I used mine to cover the cushioned areas. If you find that the edges are a bit loose, you can tidy them up with a glue gun.

Paint the remaining panels in gold and silver.

Simple as

Hippie hippie chic - How to DIY a Creatures of the Wind fringed necklace

The Best Jewelry Trends from Spring 2015 (clipped to polyvore.com)

Next spring is set to take fashion deeper into the 70s from cut and colour palette pastiche to the earthy, bohemian whimsy of hippie paradigms, from fringing to tie-dye and folk-inspired patchwork. It definitely captures the kaleidoscopic haze of the 'me decade' with its characteristic nod to crafty detailing and ethereally chaotic mix-and-match styling, so of course it would have me beavering away at my desk with any trims, fabrics and quirky embellishments I could find - it'd be rude of me not to!

You will need

I used faux leather in red, yellow, two shades of grey (no more needed, thank you), teal, light blue, white and black. I'd recommend sniffing around eBay or your local market for inexpensive samples.

Not pictured

Needle and black thread

Sewing machine with a leather needle - alternatively, if you don't have one or aren't too confident in the company of such an item, you can just as easily use a stapler.

Difficulty

Quite easy

It is fiddly, it does take a bit of care, technique and love but categorically I can't find anything too challenging here.

Time

Now for the bad news. Against my earlier expectations, this one turned out to be a 6-hour project.

You wanna be a hippie?

Cut a piece of black leather that's 8x20cm. Fold it over by 1cm at the top and  either glue it in place with craft mount or sew it along the edge if you're using a machine to fix it in place.

Cut a piece of grey leather measuring 6x20cm and stick it in place across the bottom using craft mount.

Sew or staple the fringing to the back of the faux leather. Don't worry about staples or stitches showing, as we'll soon be covering these up with fringing.

Starting at the bottom cut some coloured faux leather pieces and attach them where you would like them to go. I'd recommend cutting them in a trapezium shape that flares outwards at the bottom.

Cut the pieces into fringing, making the strips as fine as you can - no more than 5mm in width. If you're cutting trapezium shapes like I suggested, cut them so that they flare diagonally outwards. Add more colours as you move up the grey base and try messing some pieces about by tousling them with your fingers.

Once you have made your fringing design, cut two equal lengths of ribbon that fit around your neck and can be easily tied in a bow. Attach them and hand stitch some black gems onto them.

OMG-SM - How to DIY an MGSM fur motif coat

Fur and clothing in the craft room.

MSGM Rabbit Fur Motif Coat (see more MSGM)

With high fashion straddling the areas of having the need for snuggly winter comfort covered and not taking itself too seriously, it has chosen to make both statements with brilliantly coloured fur. While there are plenty of examples to choose from, particularly in the Lolcore category, in my opinion, there's no example so fine as this MSGM rabbit fur motif coat.

You will need...

Not pictured: scalpel and silver marker pen.

Tip: Sniff around your local market for cheap faux fur and the internet for the jacket, as you can get some good deals (mine was only £25, which included the postage).

Difficulty

Very easy

This is one among many projects I've done that would fit under the category of very-easy-to-make-but-impossible-not-to-make-a-mess-in-so-doing if the laws of tagging were to permit it. It's quick, straightforward and - dare I say - almost therapeutic. Sadly, the latter isn't true of cleaning up afterwards.

Time

I wasn't counting but I'm going to say somewhere between an afternoon's work and five hours, if that makes sense.

Get your coat...

Cut shapes into your card to make templates. I decided to use card suits for my design, whilst keeping the lips and hearts (which are, kind of, also a card suit, as I fully appreciate). I'd recommend using a scalpel for clean lines and precision.

Trace shapes onto the back of the faux fur and cut them out.

Pin the stencils to the jacket and cut the faux fur as flat as possible inside the shapes.

One you have cut out all the areas where you intend to put the shapes, attach them with craft mount.

Romance in a stone (necklace)

If I were more organised, I would tell you the designer responsible for the rather wondrous necklace in the picture. While I usually strive to creatively decode and simulate, in an economical, homespun manner, fashion's latest, greatest pieces and on-trend items, I took a trip off piste when I idly screengrabbed  the necklace from Facebook. I vaguely remember the context but in my absent-minded state I left myself with no means of tracing it. Google image search didn't help either.

Dull witterings over, allow me to share with you my guide to getting the look, using a semi-precious stone and an abandoned, unloved curtain tieback.

You will need...

Difficulty

Pretty easy

While straightforward in principle, this project has its fiddly moments and challenges, like not being intimidated at the prospect of using a soldering iron.

Time

About 45 minutes.

 A bit of knot and stone

Cut two 30cm lengths of chain. Fold one of the chain sin half and close the loop by opening one of the rings with pliers and linking it to the other end. Before closing the link, attach it to one of the parts of the clasp. Repeat this process with the other chain and the other half of the clasp.

Cut a 28cm length of rope. Cut away the tassel at the bottom of the curtain tie back and cut the remaining straps so that, together with the knot in the middle, they add up to the same total width as the length of rope you cut. I wish I could be more specific but knot sizes vary!

Use picture hanging wire to link the pieces of rope together. Start by winding the wire around the ropes, leaving some excess wire at the end and a long length of wire at the other end. Wind the short length of wire vertically to bind the wire that's holding the ropes together, leaving the edge pointing into the ropes to avoid scratching. Arch the long length of wire over the top of the ropes and through the bottom of the chain, then wind it back into the wire on the ropes to secure it. Use the soldering iron and solder wire to fix the wire in place so that it dies't unravel. Repeat the process on the other side.

Attach a generous length of wire to the stone. I did this using the cheap, easy, I-can't-be-arsed-because-it's-facing-the-back method. In other words, I beefed up the wire by using solder, so that it would take stick more easily; mixed and slathered on some araldite, taking extra care to follow the instructions and stuck the wire in place. You might well need to press down at the start to make sure your glue sticks. You should also try to tidy up the excess glue by smoothing it down with your fingernails or a scalpel. I wouldn't recommend smoothing it with your fingers, as it's too easy to push the wire and stone apart by mistake. As an alternative, you can attach a stone by using copper tape and flux, as well as a soldering iron.

Wind the other end of the wire between ropes, around the knot of the tieback and fix it in place with a soldering iron.

And with that you might suddenly notice you have a complete necklace in your midst.