Get it in the neck - an extra easy choker tutorial

With chokers taking centre stage as a trend - starting last year and it appears it's meant to go on for next season - you can't go far wrong with anything from metal masterpieces to 90s retro. I plumped for an easy tutorial to tackle the latter, remembering vividly how I used to love the new age look of an adjustable choker fashioned from black cord and a single charm (ideally a mood stone or an ethnic-style bead). Take it from someone who's been there, adjustable single-bead chokers are every bit as much of an authentic '90s staple as their velvet and stretch wire contemporaries.

Top carats - two quick DIY gold jewellery tutorials

Know your way around wire and solder and you're golden.

For various personal, uninteresting and probably inexcusable reasons I have had a lazy weekend, so I chose two tutorials to match my schedule, involving gold wire, solder and substantially more in the way of creative problem solving than effort and patience. It was one of those weekends, so perversely I thought of two tutorials to match, for the following items I happened to be coveting:

C. Wonder Tied Bow Ring 

By Philippe 14 Karat Gold Fill Love In Heart Necklace 

You will need

NB: You will also need at least one pair of long-nosed pliers or, ideally, two, as you'd be working with thick, stubborn wire.

Difficulty

Quite easy

Unfortunately, these projects weren't as easy as I thought they would be. Solder and aluminium can be extremely temperamental to work with and although the aluminium wire I worked with was soft, it does help to be a competent modeller.

Time

Hard to say. I'd say the ring and necklace each took me about 20 minutes to complete, excluding the soldering, which can take a while to get right.

To make the necklace...

Using pliers, bend and cut the wire into your intended design.

Attach the chain by opening the jump rings, linking them to the shape and closing them with the pliers. Then, close the top with a thick, generous blob of solder.

Finally, attach the clasp to the chain with jump rings.

To make the ring...

Wrap the wire around your finger and twist it to secure it at the top, making sure it's loose enough to slip off easily. Give it an extra 2-3 twists to stop it from unravelling.

Twist 1-2 loops on either side and cut off the excess wire at the edges.

Fix the 'knot' where your twists and loops are with solder at the back, in order to make it look more like a smooth bow and less like a nest of tangled wires.

Binns there done that - how to DIY Tom Binns Au Fait earrings

Tom Binns' Au Fait earrings make a splash in brilliant neons!

Inspiration

Image: Modaoperandi.com

You will need...

Difficulty

Quite easy

Fiddly in places but otherwise a no-sew, no-fuss way to recycle picture hooks and add some painterly pops of colour in the winter gloom!

Time

Hard to tell as I had other distractions but I'd say 30-45 minutes, excluding glue and paint drying times.

Bargain Binns!

Take four of your six picture hooks and separate out the lower sections on them (these bits are for hanging so they should be flat and sort-of oblong when you cut them out); then, cut away the top sections (these are the bits with the holes where you should cut them with your pliers, so they should end up with jagged edges).

With the two remaining hooks, straighten out the lower bends and the curls of the top sections but keep the upper bends intact so they're at a right angle.

Mix your araldite and put the pieces in place like they are on the original - with the longer oblong bits at the top and the jagged-edged bits at the bottom. Mix and use your araldite piece by piece as it hardens extremely quickly (especially the one I used).

Glue your earring studs at the tops of the hooks. I threaded mine through the lower of the two holes and stuck them in place. After the glue has set, curl your top bits over the studs so that those parts of the hooks look like they did before.

When your glue is completely dry (which  may take several hours) paint on your design; after that has dried, coat it with 1-2 layers of clear lacquer or nail polish.

 

Marc and Mirror - how to DIY a Marc by Marc Jacobs geometric necklace

Continuing the curb chain craze with a mirrored masterpiece from Marc.

Marc by Marc Jacobs Giant Gems printed silk and crystal necklace (see more MARC BY MARC JACOBS)

You will need

N.B: Contrary to what the picture suggests, you will need a large slab of polymer clay in order to make your mirrored sections, or three normal-sized blocks in the same colour - I chose black.

Buy your jump rings in bulk - you can't have too many for this one. I got a pack of 100.

Difficulty

Moderate

I have no reason to lie here, this DIY did have its fiddly moments, although I wouldn't call it difficult.

Time

A full day - 6 or so hours, I think - but I wasn't really keeping track too closely, as one does when one's as pleasurably lost in a project as I was.

Total Cost

I don't usually go into detail in this particular category but this project was definitely more of an indulgence-motivated outing than a recycling or economical one. The total came to about £23 but, as those who know me will agree, I couldn't help myself. It's also a lot less than £202, which the original cost!

Get it in the necklace!

Fold your ribbons and chains in half, securing the latter in place by attaching your fastening at the tips, using your jump rings.

Tie each of your ribbons - at the centre - to the bases of your chains (the opposite ends to the clasps). Knot them twice.

Plait your ribbons and chains. The three sections should comprise two separate strands of ribbon and two chains together. Tie the ends of the ribbon as close to the end as you possibly can, cut away the excess ribbon and secure the edges with your glue gun to prevent fraying.

Cut 5 large pieces of clay about 0.5cm in thickness, wedge a pattern of mosaic tiles across the top and embed 4 jump rings at each side, apart for the two clap pieces that link to the chain - embed two jump rings for each of their corresponding sides. Ensure that your jump rings are well embedded with a loop sticking out, so that they don't get pulled out by the weight of the tiles.

Use your glue gun to secure the gems and diamantés in place.

Using pliers - or tweezers if your jump rings are especially small - link all your sections together via the extraneous jump ring loops.

Finally, secure your chain and ribbon sides in place, using the pliers and jump rings, as before.

Of Gems and Geometry: How to DIY a 3D geometric necklace

Still inspired by the geometric 3D jewellery trend? Got an hour to kill? Need inspiration? Chic Cheat can help...

Topshop
Geo Triangle Collar Necklace
Source: Lyst.com

You will need...

Gold picture hanging wire (about £1.50 from Wilkinson)

About 5 black drinking straws (free at all participating restaurants)

Scissors

The string of an old necklace or pendant

Long nosed pliers

Ruler

For the method I used...

Polymer clay

Fimo gold powder (about £3 if you shop around)

Difficulty

Pretty easy

A little fiddly in places and picture hanging wire splits really easily, which can be a headache when you're trying to join pieces together.

Time

I'm going to say an hour each but, thanks to nearby distractions, I think I made heavier weather of it than I needed to. Also, I'd recommend a quicker, simpler method than the one I did (and learnt from) as I'll explain later on.

Wire it up...

I constructed each pyramid by making 3 flat wire triangles, joining the ends together by bending them back on themselves, hooking them together and locking them in place with a twist of the pliers; I inserted them into pieces of straw as I went along (not pictured).  Each side was 3cm long.

Here's a picture showing how I constructed the pyramids by adding extra sides, only I also inserted them into pieces of straw (again, not pictured).I also threaded the wire through a jump ring at the top.

After I made each pyramid, I threaded the cord through the jump rings at the top and alternated them with a 3cm straw "stoppers" so that they stayed spread out.

Beads of a Bird: How to DIY a Shourouk Phoenix Necklace

The Pick Your DIY challenge order was of a phoenix!

You will need

2 box chain necklaces

1 A4 sheet of fine sculpting mesh

Car body filler (If you're nervous about using it, strong, carpentry-standard contact adhesive will do but it requires much more patience)

All-purpose scissors

Palette knife

Long-nosed pliers

Thin silver wire



84 diamantés or crystal beads (if you're using the latter, you'll also need some silver foil)

Nail polish in the following colours:

Difficulty

Quite easy

Believe it or not there are only 2 parts of the process that prevent this tutorial from earning an "easy" or even "very easy" certificate (or whatever means by which you classify tutorial difficulty). Those were using the wire to join some of the chains and applying the body filler and gems near the end in a neat, non-messy way. Confused? Fear not, all will be revealed.

Time

About 2 and a half hours.

No, seriously, I was pleasantly surprised at how little time it took to construct the necklace. Embellishing it was a slightly slower process but it's all still comfortably doable within an evening's time frame.

Fly on the wings of DIY...

This video shows how (yes, figuratively smart-arse!):

That masterpiece again...

Chic Shout Out - all the fun of Fashion Love Affairs

This week I was going about my usual DIY blogging business of solving the world's fashion problems the crafty way when I happened upon Erickson Beamon's fabulous neon-charmed cuff and necklace.

Erickson Beamon Colour Me Crazy silver-plated Swarovski crystal necklace (see more Erickson Beamon)

Erickson Beamon Colour Me Crazy silver-plated Swarovski crystal cuff (see more erickson beamon bracelets)

As charming as these items were, with asking prices of £650 and £715 respectively, I - justifiably - couldn't be asked with the real McCoy. Imagine, then, my excitement when I fortuitously happened upon a DIY fashion solution, courtesy of  the Fashion Love Affairs blog. It's great to see DIY fashion growing as a fashion followers' shared interest and as a blogging genre. Turning fashion's audience from consumerist to creative is a way of life I'm proud to be part of, and it's heartening to see other bloggers share that vision. It also proved that a lot can happen in the space of just one week - even when you're working for 45 hours of it - how I love the wonder of modern technology!

Gigi Danielle of Fashion Love Affairs made the prestigious cut for International Fashion Bloggers' "Links à la mode" list with her DIY jewellery entry "In all my glittery goodness" (Envious much - wardrobe envy, that is. Whatever did you think I meant?) She gave a diamante and ribbon necklace some fashion resuscitation with a slick of neon acrylic paint and a sprinkle of glitter with gold stars to add a bit of sparkle and texture.



To find out how and what to get, here's the link again - you know what to do!

It's so easy to get the Erickson Beamon look with this method and a diamante necklace. Mix your neon painted stones with glitter-covered ones. Throw some silver chains into the mix. Give your accessory a right royal finish by adding some diamantés. Have fun, experiment and, of course, save yourself a fortune. Your wardrobe will thank you for it - you know it makes sense!