Pins & Pearls Necklace DIY

There's nothing better than wearing something amazing that you created yourself, don't you think?  Why not create this Grand Slam Glam accessory with things you can find at your local dollar or thrift store?  I love making show stopping accessories with every day items.  For this project I used gray crystal beads, but why not change up the colors to match your favorite outfit?  Gather a ton of supplies and make a night of it with friends!    

Grand Slam Glam (I love saying it)

It's a little punk and a little princess all at the same time.

Here's the how-to video

 YOU'LL NEED

Chain choker

Small chain

Pearls

Crystal beads

Safety pins in different sizes

Jump rings

 Add a few beads to a safety pin and attach it to the chain

 Keep adding beaded pins to the links of the chain

 Next add beaded pins to the hanging pins

You can either pin these from the hanging pins OR use jump rings to hang several pins from the hanging pins

 Cut small lengths of chain (about 3" long) and hand them from the pins to fill out the necklace and add some interest

Keep going until you're happy with how it looks 

Corset Back Blazer DIY Made with Safety Pins!

When I was a fashion designer, I put at least one lace up corset in every collection I showed.  They were always my best sellers!  Though not the easiest garments to make, because of the boning and structure, I enjoyed creating them for my collections and boutique.  This corset back blazer is a very simple way to get the same effect with just a few supplies I'll be you already have.  Use this technique to fit a loose blazer or create the look of a smaller waist on a fitted blazer. It's up to you.

Watch the how-to video

 If forget which collections these photos are from, but as you can see the corset played a very big part in my work.

 YOU'LL NEED

2 yards 1/2"wide ribbon

20 large safety pins

Ruler or tape measure

Pencil

Blazer that needs some sprucing up

 1.  Find your princess seams.  They are the seams between the side seam and the center back seam.  If you don't have princess seams in your jacket, just mark a line 1/2 way between the center back and side seam of your jacket.

2.  Mark up 6" on each princess seam of your jacket. 

3. Make line10 dots starting at the 6" line straight up the princess seam.  Mark another 10 dots 1" away from the first line of dots.

4.  Repeat this on the other side

5.  Using your two sets of dots, pin in the safety pins with the end of the pin facing toward the center of the jacket

6. Make sure they are evenly spaced

7.  Do this on both sides 

8.  Starting from the top two safety pins, lace your jacket like you would lace a shoe

9.  Have someone help you tie your jacket while you're wearing it so that you don't tie it too tight.

Enjoy!