Linked up! (a Skitch-I-Y Jumbo Clasp Bracelet)

Instagram: LilaLane

I hope you all had a fantastic mother's day weekend! I'm back at my apartment and ready for another Skitch-I-Y. This one actually is about the jumbo sized clasp bracelet I made for my mother. I swear, I've never given such a fantastic gift (well, I probably have but I'm just way too thrilled with this one). Why am I so excited about this one? This DIY can be broken down into 1, 2, 3: One really amazing bracelet for only two dollars in three easy steps. Yes, $2.00. 

I went for a flakie nail polish to my local Sally Beauty Supply last week and stopped by one of the adjacent fabric shops I like to regularly visit. This shop in particular is including supplies for jewelry making lately so I always get really cool thingamajigs. So, in a huge basket of findings and metal work I found these amazing jumbo clasps in black, gold and silver. Each little baggie had right about 5-6 jumbo clasps for just $1.00 each. So I got back home and unloaded my loot on my bed thinking of what to do with this really awesome arsenal of craft goodness. As I started playing around with them it hit me! Of course! Just the clasps alone looked amazing so there was no need to break my head thinking of other ways to show them off! I'm definitely going back later this week to get more supplies to make myself a bunch. 

Each clasp is about 3/4 of an inch and lately I've been obsessed with my vintage jumbo chain necklace so I've been wanting to play around with other jumbo accessories as well. The cool thing about this project is that you can add more clasps and turn it into a necklace. Maybe add chains or even make yourself a pair of  earrings. I know that my mom wants me to make her a whole set!

You'll need:

About 10-11 Jumbo Clasps

Jewelry linking hoops

Jewelry pliers

Step 1: Hook together pairs of the jumbo clasps. You can play around with any combination you like or just keep it simple with one tone clasps. I went for black and gold (of course I did!). About five pairs should be enough for a bracelet. 

Step 2: Start liking pairs with the jewelry hoops with your jewelry pliers and make a long chain of them. I recycled mine from old necklaces I had lying around! 

Step 3: Close off the clasp chain. You don't have to worry about closures because well, the whole bracelet is closures! It's really the quickest and easiest DIY I've ever done.  

And you're done!

See? 1,2, 3... fool proof.

Check out my very awkward hand modeling. Ooooh!

Erm.. somewhat of a mini arm party. (Arm party term adopted from The Man Repeller herself)

Last awkward cut-off arm picture, I promise! But doesn't this bracelet look so adorable?

Try it out and let me see the result! Post it on Instagram and tag me. I'm LilaLane. Don't forget to subscribe to The Fashion Skitch, follow on Tumblr and Like on Facebook! 

Skitch-I-Y: Gilded Nails!

Instagram: LilaLane

It's kind of sad to see my turquoise leopard print mani go, but as fantastic as that nail varnish formula turned out (day 5 and STILL NO CHIPPING) the top coat was cracking and I've got a job interview tomorrow so I'm opting for something a little more formal. Well, formal but still me. If you know me well enough, you know about my love affair with gold leaf. I use it on just about everything. Makeup, art work, crafts... you name it! I'm covering it with gold! And this obsession with gold started just a little over six months ago. I used to be an all silver type of girl. So, I got a hold of my gold leaf once more and got nifty with my nails again which is kind of strange because I'm usually the type of girl that avoids getting her nails done because I neglect them after I get over the mani and just let them crumble away. While I'm on a roll, I'm going to take advantage of it.

You'll need:

A base coat of any color of your preference

A glossy top coat

Gold Leaf

A nail file and a cuticle stick

Let's get started!

Step 1: Prep your nails. Apply two coats of your base coat color. I chose Sephora's "Reglisse" because honestly, what better combo than black and gold? It looks utterly classy and elegant. You could really try with any color you wish. I recommend you could also try it with any turquoise, red, white, dark purple or brown colors.

Step 2: Once you apply your second coat of base color, wait until the varnish gets a bit tacky. Tear little pieces of Gold leaf and apply them carefully to the tacky nail color. I like them to look like little gold nuggets. It doesn't have to be perfect. The more irregular, the better! I applied mine only to the tips of my nails. Watch out not to press too hard or you might get your finger prints all over! Make sure you only press over the gold leaf so you don't ruin your base coat. You can get a packet of gold leaf at your local art supply store for about $8-9. 

Step 3: Once you've pressed on the gold leaf, take your nail file and file off the excess leaf off the edge of your nails ever so gently. 

Step 4: You might need to use your cuticle stick to push in any gold leaf that might have creeped onto your cuticles. Clean the area up. 

Step 5: Cover with a good swipe of clear top coat and... 

 You're done!

Sorry for the messy cuticles! I took the picture before I cleaned them up!

Instantly chic nails that will have everyone wondering how you did it! I am loving this very, very easy mani. I'm hoping this will help my outfit for tomorrow's interview rock! Try it out for yourselves! Remember to subscribe to the blog with Google Friend Connect to get updates and to follow me on Instagram! I'm LilaLane.