WHAT CAN I DO WITH PLAID FABRIC?

This plaid fabric shown, is a newly purchased material for my new mitten designs on my Etsy.com shop. I've been so obsessed with plaid patterns since early this fall and I've been wearing it a lot (see my posts here and here). Other than my clothes, I've recently been more interested in accessories and small items that have a plaid pattern like: cups, notebooks, scarfs, and gloves. I designed a pair of mittens for myself with this fabric yesterday and I love them so much. They will be in the shop soon! I would like to do something else with it too, so after a little research online here is what I discovered:

SIMPLE GIFT WRAP

The gift wrapping above is for my first order on Etsy. I have posted an article about gift wrapping in brown craft paper: 8 SIMPLE GIFT WRAPS USING CRAFT PAPER. I got a lot of inspiration from these amazing examples of wrapping paper. I used craft paper to wrap soft goods which helps to ship in a bubble envelop. I made an open wrapping for these mittens. It is really simple and came out nice. If you don't want the open wrapping, I'll suggest wrapping your item with a white tissue paper, then do the same type of wrapping around it. Here is how I did it:

LOOKING BACK AT THE YEAR: DIY

Good morning everyone! If this is your first time visiting my site, I want to introduce you to a section on my blog called "Try It", you will see it above on my pages tab.

HOLIDAY RED

OPI red color (similar here) and top coat

Red nail polish colors have always been my favorite to wear, especially during the holiday season.

GLITTER TRANSITION NAILS

As I said in the post 21 days of layers prize, this was the first time I used my nail polish prize from Forever 21!

SILVER BLUE GLITTER NAIL ART

The nail art shown was inspired by my last nail art design. I used similar steps but with different colors and patterns for a holiday nail theme.

Products I used: Tape, Sephora by OPI color and top coat, L'Oreal nail color

Steps:

1. Apply a thin coat of light blue on your nails and wait for it to dry completely.
2. Apply a strip of tape in the middle of your nail. Leave the ring finger alone without applying tape.
3. Paint one layer of dark blue on the nail surfaces that are not covered by tape.
4. Carefully remove the tape from your nails and apply the glitter nail polish to the light blue areas.
5. Apply a second or third topcoat on the light blue area until the nails have enough glitter on them.

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DIY STUDDED BOOTS

I purchased these boots from Nine West two years ago. They are really comfortable and have always been my go-to boots in the fall or winter. Since they are getting old, I decided to re-establish them with metal studs. Here's how I did it:

Material and tools I used:

Glue (I used the one in the middle: Jewel It), metal studs (purchased from Michael's ) and tape.

Steps:

1. Use the tape to make equally spaced marks.
2. Apply enough glue on the surface of the boots along the marks and wait for 10 mins. for the glue to set up.
3. Place the metal studs on the boots and wait 24 hours before wearing them.

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FOREVER 21 INSTAGRAM FEATURED NAIL ART TUTORIAL

The picture above is the photo I took and submitted to the Forever 21 nail art Instagram challenge. Two days ago, Forever 21's Instagram featured my photo on their account and ever since I've been getting requests on how I did my nails and where my sunglasses came from. The sunglasses are from Bianco, I got this pair a year ago while studying in Denmark. Bianco is an amazing shoe store and they also sell all sorts of cute jewelry and accessories. Ok, so let's move onto my nail art. I'm so happy that so many people took interest in this and hope this tutorial will help you!

Products I used: Tape, Sephora by OPI color and top coat

Steps:

1. Apply a thin coat of light pink on your nails and wait for it to dry completely.
2. Apply tape at a 45 degree angle along the left or right half of your nail. (On my Instagram picture I left my ring finger alone without applying another color)
3. Paint one layer of hot pink on the nail surfaces that are not covered by tape.
4. Carefully remove the tape from your nails.
5. Apply a topcoat on the other half of your nail.

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TRY IT: STUDDED PLAID SHIRT

I used these left over square studs from a previous blog posting, on my boyfriends plaid shirt. I really love the size and color of this shirt, and get my boyfriend's approval to have this shirt for own! I definitely needed to do something with it to add some feminine touches to it. I used the same tool as in this post about my coach bag, and sewed on all the studs in the places I wanted them to be. Then I got my very own studded plaid shirt! Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

 Make a chain before you sew the studs on, which will help to save you a lot of time.

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TRY IT: ESTABLISHED BAG

I purchased this bag from the Coach Men's Store about a year ago. I really liked the boxy feeling and the simplicity of it. Later on I discovered that this bag just wasn't fit for most of my outfits, and I almost didn't use it or look at it. The strap of this bag was a little bit too masculine for me (well, it is a men's bag after all), so I decided to put a feminine touch to it, by adding square studs to the strap (they are my favorite decretive addition).

Materials and tools I used: Studs, tape, scissors, thread, needle, ruler, and a pencil.

Instead of glue, I used a sewing method to put the studs on the strap. First I put two studs on, then used tape to make marks, helping me to keep the studs straight.

I measured 1 inch marks between each row and sewed the row along that mark for the entire length of the strap.

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TRY IT: WALTER WHITE PUMPKIN

Are you also a fun of Breaking Bad? Since my boyfriend loved the show so much, I became a fun too. So my idea for carving this year's pumpkin is Walter White! Here are some process photos, this is my very first time to carve a pumpkin, It was fun!!

Draw the Walter White face on paper as the carving templet

Cut the templet

Tape it on the pumpkin

Trace over the templet

Remove the templet

Empty out the inside of the pumpkin

Use a small knife to cut off the "sunglasses"

Sculpt the goatee

Put the top back on the pumpkin

Done! I gave him my hat to wear, but I think he needs a black Walter White hat!

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TRY IT THURSDAY: DIY JEWELED SWEATER

I love redesigning my old clothes from my wardrobe and making them into new pieces without spending any money. Instead of reconstructing them, I decided to restyle my pieces by adding some embellished details with beading.So when you get tired with this style, you can always get the old form back! I used the items I already had and made this brand new jeweled sweater.

All you'll need: A sweater, glass beads (purchased from Walmart), thread, needle, ruler, chalk or tape, and scissors.

Make marks on your sweater. Chalk or tape are all good, but in this case, tape worked better on the material of my sweater.

I sewed the diamond shape pattern on the sweater by following my mark. I think the diamond shape is a good choice if you don't want to cost a ton of time on embellishing it. It also remains me the argyle pattern.

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TRY IT THURSDAY: JEWELRY HACKING

I took a long necklace and broke it down into five different jewelry pieces: necklace, ring, bracelet, anklet and earrings. All you need are the clasps and jewelry pliers from the art store. I used a flat nose pliers, divided the flower part and the chain by opening the loop between them, then combined them with different clasps for new functions.

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