Jan 25, 2014 | DIY
My eye fell upon this pair of gorgeous, over-the-top, beaded rhinestone cat-eye sunglasses in a recent issue of Marie Claire. Of course they were by A-Morir: a sunglasses company that’s been making waves on the music and fashion fronts with their opulent designer specs. 
With a pair of cat-eye sunnies that Sunglass Warehouse so graciously sent me, I was able to craft up an embellished dupe of the Mitchel Neon Yellow Sunglasses ($350) for a fraction of the original’s cost. Here’s how: (more…)
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Nov 5, 2013 | DIY
Hello everyone! Today I am over on WeHeartThis.com sharing my DIY tutorial for some sweet Washi Tape Barrettes. They’re so easy to make with your favorite washi tape – and they look like you could have bought them from a store! Click on over to check out the full step-by-step tutorial on We Heart This!
xo
Carly
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Oct 16, 2013 | DIY
What could be better as the crowning detail for a spooky Halloween costume than a glowing gothic eyeball brooch? With Martha Stewart Decoupage it’s super-easy to make your own with just a few supplies! (more…)
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Oct 13, 2013 | By Carly J. Cais, DIY
I’ve been loving all of the pouches made by Samudra: these beautiful, printed zip-cases that work so well for your most basic essentials – or that can dress up any outfit for a night on the town. I decided to create my own version of the zippered pouch – and to give it more structure, I designed it with a flat bottom (similar to the Samudra style). And to go the extra mile, I also designed my own photo-print fabric from a photo of palm trees that I took on a long-ago trip to Guam, and then edited to make perfectly seamless and repeating. (You can purchase this exact same fabric here – and it was just featured on Spoonflower’s Latest Favorites list on Friday!) Ready for the tutorial? Let’s go!
You Need: (more…)
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Sep 19, 2013 | DIY
It’s that time of year again: September is upon us, there’s a slight chill in the air, and the kids area heading back to school with brand-new notebooks, pencils, and Justin Bieber folders. Okay, maybe scratch that Justin Bieber part – but September always feels like a time of renewal, reinvention, and a brand-new routine. One always needs a ton of pouches and satchels and bags to navigate the beginning of the year – so why not DIY something totally trendy and useful at the same time?
Wander & Hunt is a new DIY supply shop, featuring on-trend DIY kits to create awesome projects for a fraction of the cost. (You may have noticed they feature kits designed by Geneva from the popular DIY blog A Pair & Spare – which is doubly fantastic! If anyone has their finger on the pulse of DIY trends, that would be Geneva. 🙂 I was sent the DIY Transparent Satchel Project Kit to play with – and had a blast making my own!
I’ve tried to create a clear pouch made from vinyl acetate AKA PVC before – and found that it’s actually a lot harder than it looks. With every cut of your scissors, you leave an obvious ragged edge. Punching holes puckers the surface, and you need to have a fairly thick sheet of PVC to hold up to being made into a usable bag.
I was happily surprised when I opened the Wander & Hunt kit and found that the edges of the acetate were pristine (laser-cut would be my guess) so instead of a raggedy-looking homemade craft, you can make a very polished off-the-rack imposter. Plus, since the holes are pre-punched (and a bonus screwdriver is included in the kit – yay!), attaching the studs to form the shape of the bag is a breeze.
In all, it took me 11 minutes to actually make the bag from start to finish – which is record time for a project that looks so complicated yet yields such a satisfying result!
The satchel can actually fit a couple notebooks, a phone, a pencil case, and some makeup – a great size for toting everywhere!
The DIY Transparent Satchel Kit is available from Wander & Hunt for $69 – and all orders over $100 from Wander & Hunt ship FREE worldwide. You can customize your bag with either gold or silver hardware…or pick up some extra supplies (like some glue-on gemstones in settings!) to customize the front flap further. It’s a great project for a fashion-forward handbag perfect for school, work, or play…and no complicated measuring, cutting, or punching necessary.
Happy DIY’ing – and Happy Back-to-School!
xo
Carly
FTC Disclosure: I was sent a DIY Transparent Satchel Project Kit from Wander & Hunt for review purposes, as well as some other DIY supplies for future projects. I was not compensated in any other way for this post, and the above opinions are my own. My full Disclosure Policy is here.
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