inspiration: Rope
DIY TASSEL GARLAND
4th April 2012
I’ve been crushing on tassel garlands recently – the confetti system ones in Lane Crawford are lush! I recently had a go at making a little set of my own. This was one of my project’s you’ll find in Cosmo Australia this month – along with a bunch of others.
You Need:
- 10 sheets of assorted coloured tissue paper.
- A rotary cutter
- 2 m of twine or rope
- Clear sticky tape
- A cutting board
How to:
- Take a sheet of tissue paper and fold twice to form a smaller rectangle.
- Orientate the long fold of the rectangle away from you on the cutting board.
- Using the rotary cutter and leaving a centimeter at the top, cut the tissue paper into 1 cm strips.
- Unfold the rectangle and orientate the spine or uncut part of the tissue paper toward you.
- Carefully roll the spine up to form a roll of tassel with fringe on either side.
- Use stickytape to secure the roll.
- Fold the tassel in half to create a single tassel.
- Twist the tassel at the top to create a hole in the top.
- Thread the twine through this hole to attach the tassel to the twine.
- Repeat the steps with the other sheets of tissue paper.
- Arrange the tassels on the twine, using tape to secure.
These are perfect for hanging over the bed or on an inspiration wall, although mine were relegated to the office when my boyfriend saw them and thought I was turning into Zooey Deschanel and was going to start singing my feelings and stuff.
Make sure you grab your copy of Cosmopolitan magazine (if you happen to be in Australia) to check out my other projects in the DIY spread.
Have fun!
In Home & Interior, My DIY Inspiration Fringe, Rope, Tassels
DIY METAL BELT
9th January 2012
Metal belts have been on my mind and at the absolute top of my DIY list for a long time. I finally found the material I needed to make my own version when I was back in Australia on holidays – aluminium flashing which is sheet metal used in roofs, found at the hardware store. Read on for an incredibly simple (and cheap!) tutorial.
You need:
- Approx 1 metre of 0.03mm or 0.05mm thick Aluminium Flashing – used in roofing and available in most hardware stores. It cost me around AUD$2.50 for the metre.
- Scissors
- Hammer
- Towel
- Rope, leather or wire to secure at the back
How to:
1. Using scissors cut a strip of flashing to size – I cut mine about 7cm wide and 75cm long to suit my waist with a little extra at the ends.
2. To effectively ‘hem’ the edge of the metal (so that you don’t cut yourself while wearing it), place your flashing on a table with about 1cm along the length of it hanging over the side of the table. Using your fingers, push the metal down so it is flush with the corner of the table. Turn the metal over and push it down all the way down along the edge. Repeat this on the other long edge of the belt.
5. To finish the edges, cover with a towel and hammer lightly with the hammer along the edge so it is nice and flat. You can also place the belt between two phone books and hammer the edges to make sure it is finished well.
6. Carefully bend the belt around your waist or something round like a bucket, making sure not to fold it – the less it folds or bends the better the belt will look.
7. Roll the two ends of the belt over so that you have two tubes at the ends. I rolled the ends around a pencil to make it easier.
8. Finally, thread the tubes with ribbon, leather or rope and tie in a bow or tuck into the tubes at the back to secure the belt. I used some plastic covered fencing wire but you can use whatever you want.
Here’s the finished product. Given how cheap aluminium flashing is you can make a few different versions – thick, thin, hammered, smooth etc.
And there you go! How easy is that? The belt goes with just about every outfit you can imagine – and suits summer as much as it does winter.
Wearing:
Outfit 1 – Something Else wool jumper, Country Road Singlet, Self Designed Lace Shorts, Zara boots.
Outfit 2 - Country Road Singlet, mini skirt from Korea
In Inspiration, My DIY Inspiration Festival, Rope
DIY ROPE NECKLACE and more…
11th November 2011
Sometimes I see editorials that fill me such DIY inspiration I feel like I should just quit my job and take up crafting full time. Or become a stylist – one with very limited actual styling abilities but plenty of skill with a couple of balls of neon string. The neon/tribal/beach theme in this shoot had me literally drooling, with the DIY inspiration details a giant cherry on top.
I have a majorly creative weekend planned, and this shoot has inspired me to:
- craft some simple rope necklaces
- make that blanket cape I keep banging on about
- make a skirt out of some mexican fabric
- craft a colourful feather collar
Phew. Lots of work ahead clearly. Happy Friday guys! Have you got any projects planned?
Images: Cosmopolitan Australia December 2011 via Oracle Fox (thanks to these ladies for the tip on this editorial. You guys were right, it’s completely up my alley).
In Inspiration Inspiration Feathers, Rope
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