DIY: bobby pin necklace

I recently bought a can of gold spray paint, and ever since then, I've been obsessively coating every possible item I can think of with the Midas touch. 

Some projects went awry - like the metal box that I spray-painted (an overly-thick gold layer + Hong Kong humidity = bubbling effect = FAIL). But one of my projects - a gold bobby pin necklace - turned out pretty swell! 

I was first inspired by this gold statement necklace below. Even though I had already bought this one, I was curious to see if I could make something similar on my own. I'm always collecting random scraps and old odds&ends in the hopes of making something new.

So... I came up with this idea.

This necklace can be made with only THREE simple steps! Here's what you need:

STEP 1: The first step would be to spray-paint the bobby pins gold. (You could just use black bobby pins but I think gold -or silver - looks much better). Remember, it's better to spray-paint a few thin layers, letting each layer dry thoroughly before applying the next one. I was kinda impatient though, so the paint job on my bobby pins wasn't that great. haha.

STEP 2: Take the spray-painted gold bobby pins and simply insert them through the gaps of the rhinestone chain. I put three bobby pins in each gap (51 bobby pins in total).

STEP 3: Once you've created a nice golden "arch" with all the bobby pins, tie some ribbon at each end and trim off any excess rhinestone chain. To prevent the ribbon from fraying, use a lighter to singe the edges.

...and that's it! Here's the final product:

So there you have it - a cheap and simple statement necklace made out of bobby pins. I'm quite happy with the result... although I'm not sure when I'll wear it but I'm sure I can find an excuse of a fancy occasion to bust it out sometime in the future. =P 

gungor concert!

Went to the Gungor concert tonight - best live show ever. It was actually Michael Gungor by himself, without his wife or the rest of his band, but he did an amazing one-man show with loop pedals and some crazy guitar skills. 

Here are some pictures from the event. We were right in the very front row so we got up close and personal... haha (creepy)...

I took some videos that you can see here: ("Heaven" & "Doxology"), but they really don't do his live performance justice. Seriously, God has given this guy so much musical talent and his music inspires me to worship and sing more =) 

DIY: chain & rhinestone bracelet

Awhile back, I visited the random electronic/fabric markets that the Sham Shui Po area is famous for. I found a little stall at the side of the street where a woman was selling old broken jewelry, so I bought a few rusty chains, brought them back home, and spray painted them gold.

I was thinking this gold chain would be great for a do-it-yourself bracelet so that's exactly what I did. This DIY tutorial has been done before by many other online bloggers, but I thought I'd still do a version, since it's such a simple & easy project! If you want to see what inspired me, visit this tutorial from I Spy DIY.

Anyway, hope you like it! The instructions are below...

I remember making a whole bunch of friendship bracelets back in Grade 6/7... Here's a particularly creative friendship-bracelet tutorial using gold chains, embroidery floss, and studs.

image via Honestly WTF

image via JaneandCompanyDesign

my soul cries out for you

I'm going to see GUNGOR tonight @ The Vine. SO EXCITED.

I love this rendition HERE of "The Earth is Yours" where they just sit on a log in the middle of a forest, make music with branches, and randomly have a jam session. haha.

And HERE is a more "acoustic" version of their song "Dry Bones" featuring Kevin Olusula from Pentatonix.

Man. If only I could play the cello and beatbox. amazing.

DIY: bowtie necklace

Oh. man. Today I've been a very productive crafter. Since I've been sick all day, I've been locked up in my room sewing like a tiny little grandma, making crafts out of random odds & ends. The mere thought of doing actual work was making me feel more ill so with that reasoning, I decided to postpone any real work in order to preserve my health. =)

Now with that guiltless explanation out of the way, I present to you a new DIY. I've been meaning to make this for a long time and finally had time during my sick day to do so. If you scroll down, you may also see that I clearly had way too much fun (and time) to put cool effects on all my pictures using Photobucket Editing (aka. the non-iPhone user's Instagram). 

Anyway, I hope you like it!

*side note: you can use any type of fabric... I just had some denim leftover from a shirt that I cut up, and some lace-crochet material from a coat that I cut up. Clearly, destroying my clothes seems to be a habit of mine.

Bowties aren't just for men.

Neither are mustaches for that matter.

=P