Style Bytes

I bet most of you have tons of dresses in the closet that are rarely worn. In stead of buying a new dress for the New Years Eve party why not go for some new accessories in stead? A dress you can wear on special occations, but nice accessories can dress up any outfit at any time. The little black dress is a perfect example of a dress you can pump up with some new accessories. My suggestion is to put a little extra money in new accessories rather than a new dress, and here are some ideas, all from Anthropologie.

I don’t know what it is, but every time I make jewelry I end up with someting really romantic and cute. It’s the same thing with the one I made the other day.

I made it the same way I made this necklace, only I used wooden beads and sewed a bunch of little flowes on the ends. The biggest flower is not sewed on, but I use a safety pin to attach it and to close the necklace for it to sit right. I will have to do something about the ribbon ends. Shorten them or tie them up.

Once again reposting (sorry), but the last time I posted this necklace I didn’t make a tutorial, so here it is. The way I have made it it’s best suited for spring, but there’s no harm in getting ready early. It’s kind of like my favorite necklace by Anna Sui. It can also make a nice Christmas gift as it doesn’t cost too much to make, but people seem to like it. You can of course choose darker colors to make it more suitable for winter. Red or purple flowers will then be a good match.

What you’ll need:

A bunch of beads

Fabric flowers (I bought a cheap one in a pot at picked the flowers off.)

Waxed thread in a color that matches the beads (Avaliable in hobby stores. You can also use some other kind of thick thread that doesn’t get tangled up too easily.)

How to do it:

I started at one end tying a bead to hang from the thread. Then I tied on more beads with a little less than an inch space between. To make the knots look good I used a needle to pull them tight into the pearls. Once in a while I put on a fabric flower. How to do this depends on what kind of flower you use, but mine had a hole in the middle, and I’ll try to explain how I did it: First I tied a knot just about where I wanted the flower. Then I put the thread through the flower from the back, put a bead on, and then I pulled the thread back through the hole and tied another knot. This way the bead had it stay put. The necklace has to be quite long. It’s supposed to be wrapped around the neck and both ends are hanging down the front. I chose to not make it even on both sides except for the ends.

No matter how fun it is to spend little money on tons of cheap jewelry, it’s sometimes nice to spend some extra money for the real thing. Gold, pearls and diamonds will last you forever and never go out of style. I came across this webstore that offers glamourous jewelry for a very affordable price. At Gemologica you will find things like this:

Amethyst and 14 k gold earrings are $35. Freshwater pearl earrings in 10 k gold are $16. (Actually for kids, but I can’t see why they wouldn’t fit all ages.)

Amethyst pendant with a diamond and 14 k gold is $30. The rings cost a bit more and this Garnet ring in gold is $55.

I realize I just picked the square cut stones, I guess that is my favorite then…

Upon request I have put together a tutorial for the previously posted bead bracelet. (Sorry for the delay!) It must be said that I’m not too experienced with making jewelry, so you might find much better ways to do this than I have.

You’ll need:

A lock

Beads (I’ve used 32 champagne colored pearls and 4 glass beads in a matching color)

A small fabric flower

A few inches of very narrow ribbon

Waxed thread (preferably in as similar colors to the pearls as possible)

How to:

I used waxed thread instead of metal strings cause I find it easier to work with, and metal has a tendancy to brake. I started off by cutting two pieces of thread and tying them to one of the lock hoops. Then I put on beads on both threads until I had reached the middle. Now I put a needle on the threads and sewed them through the fabric flower. Sew them in so that the left thread now becomes the right thread and the other way around. Continue putting beads on the threads until you have the length you want. End by tying the ends to the other lock hoop. The ribbon I just tied to the flower.

Some picks from ASOS:

Sequin shrug is $19. Aviator jacket is $66.50

Wing pendant is $15.20. Golden shoes are $66.50

Russian doll skirt is $28.50. Raccoon cape is $38.

Ethnic shoulder bag is $38. Baby waistcoat is $19.

PS: All of you Norwegian readers will find that this site has a button to convert all prices into NOK (among several other currencies).

Seeing that charm bracelets are all over right now, I decided to repost a bracelet I made this summer.

For this I chose more of a summery style, using only beads looking like flowers, leaves and so on. You can use the same method and hang charms and anything you find lying around on it. I bet if you have a look through your drawers and boxes you’ll find all sorts of small items that means something to you, but that you don’t have any use of. These you can put on your charm bracelet.

How to do it:

You’ll need a bracelet like the one on the picture. If you’re lucky you already have something like that lying around, but if not, any store with a good selection of jewelry supplies will have them. You’ll also need wire in the same color as the bracelet. And at last a handful of charms and beads. Now cut a small piece of wire and put a charm on it. Twist it until it’s tight. Then you find a nice place on the bracelet to put it, and you just twist the wire around until it stays put. Cut of any extra wire. Remember to hang the charms a little loose on the bracelet so that it moves when you wear it.

Keep on doing the same thing for a while until you have the amount of charms you like. Now you have a cheap charm bracelet with charms that are speacial to you.

As I have no good name for this, you just have to look at the pictures to see what I mean. This is the first item I made with the pearls I bought I couple of weeks ago:

I figured I’d make a more feminine version of the typical chain wallet. If you’d like to try making the same you can of course use less feminine pearls and go for a completely different look. But for the basics…

You’ll need:

A bunch of beads

Something that works as a hook

The metal ring from a key chain

Durable thread, like waxed thread

A ribbon

How to:

Start by tying the thread to the hook. Then put the beads on in wanted order until the length is about right. Then tie the end of the thread tighly to the metal ring. If you like to, tie a ribbon at the end like a bow. You can put your wallet on the metal ring, or just hang it from your pants as an accessory.

I broke this plastic bead necklace that I bought at a flea market for a dollar, and I figured I’d make it a little nicer when putting it back together. So I bought some ribbon, and ended up with this:

I simply put the beads on the ribbon and tied a know between each. I always try to turn broken things into something new.

Owls are hot.

H&M has the classic owl necklace, but I saw tons of them on Ebay as well.