DIY Edgy Safety Pin Bracelet & Tutorial !! .. *Pic Heavy*

I saw a bracelet like this online and as soon as I saw it, I knew I had to recreate it myself. It was surprisingly simple but it does require some patience. It took a couple of hours for me to make it while taking breaks in between. I LOVE the way it turned out & this won't be the last bracelet I make like this.

If you want to make this bracelet too, here are the materials you will need.

Materials

These were a little bigger than an inch and came with 70 safety pins in a pack. I used all 70 and I could have used a couple more, so I would recommend  buying 2 packs just to be on the safe side.

Each of these vial of beads cost $2.99 & I have enough beads leftover to make at least 4 more bracelets.

(I am thinking of making a very similar bracelet but with smaller safety pins with my left over beads)

I bought this a while ago so I don't remember how much it was, but it's just a thin stretchy elastic. I'm going to guess it is about 1mm thick.

Of course, you will need some scissors as well and then you will have everything you need to get started ..

 Step 1

 Pour some of the beads in a dish.

Step 2

Next you just want to line the pointy end of the safety pins with beads. I alternated colors and patterns to give the bracelet some more visual interest.

Step 3

Bead a bunchhhh of safety pins. =P

Step 4

Start threading the elastic through the holes on the bottom and top of the safety pins. Alternate threading them from top to bottom. 

*TIP* Cut a piece of elastic a few inches longer than your wrists. It will make it easier to tie it together when you are done.

Step 5 

Thread another piece of elastic through the other ends of the safety pins.

Here is a better picture to show how you how to alternate the safety pins.

Continue threading the safety pins till the bracelet is long enough to fit around your wrists. It helps if you measure your wrist with a piece of paper then cut it out and use it as a template to know when your bracelet is long enough.

Step 5

Once your bracelet is long enough to fit around your wrist tie the ends together, then tie those ends together to make the bracelet more secure. If you want extra security you can glue the knots and also the two safety pins next to the knot together.

& your done!

What do you think? Easy enough? I have a few more DIY projects I'll be doing so if you like this sort of thing, let me know in the comments and I will keep the tutorials coming. =D

HOW TO perm your eyelashes at home *DIY*

So today I have a beauty tutorial for something some of you may or may not have heard of.. EYELASH PERMING. Eyelash perming can cost $60+ at a salon or spa, but you can curl your eyelashes at home (multiple times) for only $14.22. Eyelash perming is a way to permanently curl your eyelashes for up to 3 months. After perming your eyelashes, there is no need to use a eyelash curler. Your eyelashes will also curl more upwards as soon as you apply a coat of mascara. The before and after picture above is WITHOUT mascara, but I will add a picture with mascara at the end of this post. Also, please read the disclaimer at the end of the post. My beautiful Mom was nice enough lend me her eyelashes so I could post this tutorial. lol I permed my eyelashes before this tutorial, so it is something you can do at home by yourself. I thought I would have to do one eye at a time doing it myself, but I was able to do both at the same time. I was even able to open my eyes enough to watch TV during the process. But anyways.. back to the tutorial. The first thing you will need are the supplies...

Here is the eyelash perming kit that I bought from the Born Pretty Store for $14.22. The shipping takes a few weeks to get to the US so keep that in mind when ordering. This kit also does not come with English instructions, so that is another reason I am doing this tutorial. The kit comes with ...

photo credit

Eyelash curling rods, eyelash glue, perming solution (pink), perming relaxer (white), the yellow one is used to help release the eyelashes from the rod, and I haven't quite figured out what the clear one is yet- but I was able to get the results without using it. In addition to the supplies in the kit, you will also need a few toothpicks, some cotton pads, and a glass of water. So now that you have the supplies you can get started.

Step 1

Take the curling rod out of the package and fit it to the eye. If the rod is too long, take some scissors and snip the extra off. Bend the eyelash rod back and forth to make it more flexible. Place the curling rod back onto the eye lid and press into place. Try to get the rod as close to the lash line as possible. *Tip* If eyelash rod does not stick to the eyelid on some parts, apply some of the eyelash glue provided in the kit to the rod and press the rod to the eyelid again for a few seconds.

Step 2

Using a toothpick, sweep the eyelashes up onto the rod and gently press them against the rod to get them to stick. Try to keep the eyelashes in order, but if they are perfect, don't worry about it. *Tip* If the eyelashes do not stick to the rod, brush a thin strip of eyelash glue across the rod, wait a few seconds, then try again. I had to apply glue a few times to get my Mom's eyelashes to stick to one of the rods.

Step 3

Taking the same toothpick, apply a generous amount of perming solution (pink bottle) to the eyelashes. I apply the cream on the entire length of the lashes. Once the solution is on both eyelashes, wait 10-15 minutes. I tweezed my Mom's eyebrows while waiting, so you will see that transformation as well as the pictures continue. =P

Step 4

After the solution has worked it's magic for 10-15 minutes, take a cotton pad and dip it in water and squeeze some of the excess water out. You don't want the cotton pad to be soaked, but you need it a little more than damp. Take the cotton pad and gently brush it upwards (to avoid getting it in the eye) on the curling rod and lashes. Do this a few times until a majority of the perming solution is washed off. Do not try to scrub the solution off, or else the eyelashes will un-stick to the rod. Some eyelashes will eventually un-stick to the rod, but at this point the perming solution has already set in and it shouldn't be too much of a problem. *TIP* If your doing your eyelashes by yourself, use a Q-tip instead of a cotton pad to avoid getting any of the water or solution in your eyes.

Step 5

Using a new toothpick, apply the perming relaxer (white bottle) to the entire length of the eyelashes. Wait another 10-15 minutes.

Step 6

When your ready to remove the relaxer, take another cotton pad dipped in water and using upwards motions, clean the excess cream off the eyelashes. At this point, it is okay if the eyelashes start to come off the rod. Apply some of the contents of the yellow bottle onto a cotton pad and gently rub it on the eyelashes to help release them from the rod. Take another cotton pad dipped in water, and continue to gently rub the eyelashes until you can remove the rod & your done!

Before & After (without mascara)

After with mascara

I LOVE the results! With $15 and 30 minutes you too can have curly lashes for up to 3 months. If you get lost along the way doing this, check out some videos on YouTube.

So what do you think? Would you perm your eyelashes? Does the concept interest you or does it freak you out? Was the tutorial helpful? I hoped you liked it and if so, I will try to make more tutorials. Until next time ...

*DISCLAIMER*

This tutorial is for educational purposes only. There is always the risk of pontential damage when using any chemicals near your eye area. Please be extremely careful and know the possible dangers before performing this at your own risk.

Make Your Own Nail Polish Display *DIY*

**this is mine pictured above, it holds about 100 nail polishes**

I'm really exicted about this post. The other day I was online looking for nail polish display racks so I can organize my growing nail polish collection. I was looking on Ebay and they are around $29.99 but shipping is a whopping $34.99!! Which would be a total of $64.98 for just one nail polish display that holds 50 polishes. I have just a little over 100 polishes so I would have to buy two of these displays, but I'd rather spend that $120+ on nail polishes!! lol

That is when I went over to YouTube to see how other girls were organizing their polish stashes. I stumbled onto this video where a girl had the genius idea on how to make her very own nail polish rack! She made it with only that foam poster board they have in drugstores and a hot glue gun. I made one that was slightly bigger than hers so I had to buy 4 poster boards which was about $16. At first I wasn't so sure how sturdy it would be with only a hot glue gun but I was very suprised to see how strong the hot glue was with this material. It took about 2 hours to make which is not too long considering I spent most of that time just staring at the poster board trying to think of what sizes to cut. After all your pieces are cut it takes maybe 10 minutes to glue it all together. It is SUPER easy to make and I would definately suggest making one in your free time. I couldn't even begin to try to explain how to create your own so I made sure to include the original video I saw below ...

It would be so cool if a company just sold the pieces pre-cut and you could just glue it together yourself. The shipping would also be a lot cheaper than buying a traditional plastic nail polish display. Well anyway, I hope you enjoyed this post. If you make one yourself or come up with any ideas on how to make this design better be sure to leave a comment! Also, I am also going to post my thanksgiving nails either on Monday or Tuesday so keep an eye out for that too. =)

LuxAddiction Inspired Cell Phone Case *DIY*

I fell in love with the LuxAddiction cases since I first saw them, so I decided to make one myself. When I first started this project, I had so much trouble finding the gems I wanted to use such as the flowers, hello kitty, crown, etc. I searched the internet for a while and found that the gems with the flat back are called "cabochons" so I started doing searches for that. I found 2 sellers on etsy that have a great selection. The first seller I bought from was Misssapporo and I purchased the big flowers, little flowers, heart gemstone, and a few others. I would HIGHLY suggest this seller. The customer service was great and even though they were shipping from Japan, I got my package within a week! =) I am always happy about fast shipping because I am the most impatient person when it comes to waiting for stuff to come in the mail. I also purchased from Mayan who has sooooo many cute cabochons to choose from. In the time I spent looking for cabochons, this seller had the best variety. However, shipping was a painfully long wait, a little over a month. I didn't receive one of my items, but they agreed to reimburse me and it wasn't too much of a big deal to me. Even though I would have liked to receive them sooner, I think it was definately worth the wait. I have a few tips if you want to make your own 3d blinged out cell phone case...

*I used E-6000 glue for this along with a random strong adhesive I found at the house. Any strong clear glue you have should work just fine.

*Pick a cell phone case that has a similar color to your cabochons. I used a hot pink case with light pink cabochons.

*Have a plate with all your gems facing up so they are ready to go as soon as the glue is applied to your cell phone case. The reason is because the glue will dry FAST, like really fast. Sometimes the glue would dry before I got done laying down rhinestones on top of it.

*Take a QTip and cut the cotton part off one end and use this to pick up and place the rhinestones. I would wet the tip of the QTip (the side I cut off) on a damp paper towel to pick up the rhinestones which made placing them on the phone very easy.

*Before you glue anything, lay down your big cabochons on your cell phone case and move them around to get an idea of how you want the final product to look. Take a picture so you can remember the pattern.

*To acheive the 3d effect you will have to layer the cabochons on top of eachother. This was the most difficult part I think of designing the cell phone case. You want to start one cabochon at a time, glue it down, then place rhinestones around it. Take you next cabochon and figure out where you want to layer it, mark the spot with a marker, eye liner brush, or anything you can find to mark the cell phone case with. After that, place rhinestones around (or under which is what I had to do with the crown cabochon since you could see through it) the area. Between placing the rhinestones down, put the big cabochon back on to make sure everything is fitting properly. Once you have the rhinestones down, put some glue on the big cabochon on the spots that will be touching the cell phone case.

This is the design I came up with. It's very cute and pink, and best of all I think it looks just like a LuxAddiction case.

If you are contemplating making your own cell phone case like this, there are a few things you should consider first. If you have a craft store in your area that has the type of decorations you would like to use, I would suggest buying them there. Since I ordered mine from Hong Kong and Japan, it was a little more expensive than I would have liked since I paid for shipping and all that good stuff. Also, when ordering online, you will have to buy some of the pieces in bulk. For example, the flowers and hello kitties came in a pack of 4. So all in all, if you plan on decorating more than just your phone, this is a good deal. I am using my leftover cabochons for my ipod case and will use whatever I have left over for little things. The cost to make just the cell phone case I would say is about $50, but keep in mind you will need to buy more than what you need for just the cell phone case. If you just want the cell phone case and nothing but, I would suggest just buying one from LuxAddiction or Etsy, which will be around $50-$100. I hope this gave you some inspiration for your designs, if you had any questions feel free to comment.