Sunday DIY: Dip-Dyed Tassel Earrings

  Tassel accessories, particularly earrings, are something I've seen popping up recently on the high street and from designer brands online. As soon as I saw that tassels were becoming a trend I knew I had to base a DIY around them as with a few basic supplies they're super simple to make. I chose to switch things up a little and add a DIY dip-dye effect to the cord too...here's how I did it!
To create your own pair of dip-dyed tassel earrings you will need: thin nylon cord, earring hooks, pliers, wire, cord ends, jump rings, scissors & strong glue (optional) For the dip-dye you will also need: fabric paint (acrylic may work too), water, a pot to mix in & tissues
     If you want to create the dip-dyed look then the first step is to dye the cord ready to use later.  Cut a piece of cord according to how long you want the tassels to be and fold it as shown in the above photograph. Then mix a little of your paint with some water and dip one end of the cord into it to add the colour.    If you want it to have more of a ombre look, so the colours fade into each other a little rather than just having two tones, take a little fabric paint on your finger or a small brush and add it onto the very ends on top of the watered down dye.
For a harsh line between the colours use a spray paint - mask off the area you don't want to colour using tape and spray the rest  

  

   Before you can begin to actually make the earrings you'll need to leave the cord on a piece of tissue/kitchen roll to dry thoroughly.    If you want to speed up the process you can use a hairdryer but be careful the cord doesn't fly away as its very lightweight!
 
Once your cord is dry take a piece of wire and wrap it around one end of the cord using pliers as shown above (left). You'll need to leave a longer piece of wire to use later so make sure you don't cut it!
Then slide a jump ring over this wire and onto the outside of the bunch of cord and use pliers to clamp it down to keep the cords together as shown above (right).   If your cord ends already have their own hook you can skip the wire step, add on a jump ring so you don't have any gaps in the tassel and just glue the cord into the end.         Slide a cord end onto the wire so it sits above where you just clamped the cords together and using pliers create a hoop to hang the earring with, as shown above (left). You can add a little glue into the cord end beforehand if you want to make sure its secure and if necessary use your pliers to tighten the cord end around the cords so there's no gaps in the tassel.
Add on a matching earring hook (above right).    

The final step is to cut the ends of the cord so that your loop of cords becomes a tassel.
Repeat all of the above steps for your second earring and you're done!

Happy DIY-ing!

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As always I'd love to hear from you if you try out this or any other project from my DIY Archives. I'm constantly looking for new ideas and inspiration so if you have any DIY requests or challenges for me to try please leave them in the comments below! :)

If you don't fancy a DIY project take a look at the jewellery range over at my shop Sawyer & Scout!

Great Gatsby Nails (using matte tape!)

Inspired by The Great Gatsby movie posters

This post is one of those classic cases where I had a clear idea in my mind of how I wanted the finished design to look but pretty much everything went wrong along the way. The step-by-step photos for this post are a bit of a mess but hopefully the finished image and written instructions will still give you an idea of what I was aiming for!

Polishes used - NYX Antique, Topshop Winterfrost

1. Paint on a coat or two of your base colour, gold is perfect for that luxurious feel of the Great Gatsby movie poster

2. If you want to add another colour, like a silver, for a gradient effect use a damp sponge to apply more colour - check out my ombre tutorial for more information on this technique

3. Once that's dry it's time to start on the tape - Cut strips of the matte tape and remove some of the stickiness by tapping them onto your palm before applying them to the nails - this way they'll be easier to remove and are less likely to peel off your basecoat!

4. Carefully place the strips of tape onto the nail to create the design - use tweezers if necessary

5. Paint over the whole nail with black polish and peel off the tape whilst the black polish is still tacky

6. Finish off with a clear topcoat to seal the design

*If you want to you can also add on a few gemstones for a little extra sparkle as shown above!

If the tape method isn't for you (it's pretty fiddly!) try using metallic sharpies to draw your designs onto plain black nails and seal with a clear topcoat

Will you be taking any style inspiration from The Great Gatsby?

A Post Of Cuteness.

I had planned to post a nail art tutorial inspired by a certain new film release today but I haven't quite managed to finish it yet (look out for it on Saturday). Instead I thought I would share some Sawyer & Squidge cuteness with you because they're just too adorable to keep all to myself...

Happy Thursday!

Midweek DIY: Ribbon Bracelets

Recently I've had lots of really simple bracelet ideas for DIY posts but not wanting to fill up every Sunday DIY slot for the next few months with bracelets I've decided instead to try introducing an additional DIY feature here during the week. Each post will show a simple picture or video tutorial just like the Sunday posts and today I'm starting off this new Midweek DIY series with this cute ribbon bracelet design, I hope you like it!

To make these bracelets you will need: ribbons, scissors, toggle clasps, flat-nosed pliers, small jump rings & ribbon crimp ends

Start by cutting your ribbon to size - it's best to measure around your wrist and then add on half an inch or so to allow for the ends to be folded over later

If you want to make sure that the ends of your ribbon don't fray paint on a little clear nail polish before moving on to the next step!

  

Next you will need to add a crimp onto each end of the ribbon - to do this fold over the end of your ribbon and slide it into the crimp then close the crimp down tightly using your pliers

If you want to you can add a little glue inside the crimp before clamping it together but this isn't essential

  

Now that you have the base of your bracelet its time to add a fastening - I like to use toggle clasps as they are easy to use but also look stylish and come in lots of different designs

Open up a jump ring, add one part of the toggle clasp, hook both onto one of the crimps and use pliers to close up the ring. Repeat these steps for the other end of the bracelet/clasp...

 

  

& you're done!

 If you have any questions about this project please leave them in the comments and I will get back to you very soon :)

 

As always I'd love to hear from you if you try out this or any other project from my DIY Archives. I'm constantly looking for new ideas and inspiration so if you have any DIY requests or challenges for me to try please leave them in the comments below.

Or, if you don't fancy a DIY project take a look at the jewellery range over at my shop Sawyer & Scout which now includes similar ribbon bracelets!

High Street vs. High End - Cut Out Shoes

 

One spring trend that has caught my eye this year is cut out shoes, in particular cut out brogues and flats. Today I've picked out a selection showing what's available from both designers and high street stores - which pair are your favourite?