DIY Lace Choker with Fringe

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Do you know what’s better than sweater weather? Choker season! Oh wait, you can wear a choker in any weather, but this one definitely has a fallish even at times slightly sinister feel. Get ready to make a fabulous DIY Lace Choker with Fringe!

This is a redo of one of my favorite jewelry DIYs (you can see it here). It’s a super fun and quick DIY project that always looks amazing!

Supply List:

Lace – long enough to go around your neck
Ribbon
Brooch
Scissors
Needle and thread

I love the patterns in lace. Feel free to cut away parts to create the shape you want.

DIY lace choker with fringe cutting lace

I think the main reason I chose this lace was the fringe. I love it so much!

Cut two lengths of ribbon make sure they are long enough to tie in the back once they are sewn to your lace.

DIY lace choker with fringe cutting ribbons

Sew your ribbon to the ends of your lace.

DIY lace choker with fringe sewing ribbons

You can see in this detail that I folded the end of my ribbon over to give it a cleaner finish.

DIY lace choker with fringe sewing ribbons detail

All done! So simple!

With the first lace choker I made I added a brooch to the front of it. I was thinking about doing the same thing on this one, but ultimately I decided that it looked better without.

DIY lace choker with fringe considering adding brooches

History of chokers

I love the history of chokers. We’ve seen them come back over and over throughout fashion history. A choker can be as simple as a ribbon tied around your neck. Or you can add beads, rhinestones, or anything you like to it.

Throughout history, women and some men have worn chokers for fashion and often for political statements. In the 18th century, women in England wore red ribbons around their necks to thumb their noses at the French. This was when the French were struggling through the French Revolution and using the guillotine for beheadings. (Which by the way was still in use until 1977, that still blows my mind!)

Victorian

During the Victorian era, women were very much into adorning themselves. This included a lot of jewelry and yes, chokers! After Queen Victoria was Alexandra of Denmark and the wife of King Edward VII. Empress consort of India from 1901 to 1910, she was influenced and inspired by the Indian style and their jewelry. The chokers that she favored came to be known as “dog collars” because of their wide band.

In the late 1800’s it was very common for women to DIY their chokers. The style was a velvet ribbon with a brooch or pendant or whatever heirloom they may have had.

Art Deco

In the 1920s, chokers were not as popular as they had once been. Now they had an Art Deco style to them. They were often full of jewels and sparkles. It makes sense that they would want jewelry to bring attention to the neck. Hairstyles had just gone shorter with the bob exposing the neck.

Grunge

Of course, most of us remember the 1990’s grunge chokers. Velvet ribbons with some sort of charm or pendant on them. Fast forward to recent times and my daughter’s obsession with all things VSCO. Last year she had to have a cowrie shell choker.

They say ‘those who fail to study history are doomed to repeat it.’ But I think it’s a little different with fashion. When we look at the history of fashion we get excited, or inspired by something from the past and revamp it with a modern twist. And I for one just love that!

My inspiration

After I made the first DIY lace choker, it definitely sent up my radar and anytime I saw some lace that caught my eye, I would wonder if it would make a great choker. Looking back at my own history I’m inspired to remake this lace choker with some cool new lace I just found.

In fact, I wasn’t even planning to make this (or remake this), but when I saw this lace I knew I had to.

Have you made any chokers? I’d love to hear your inspiration and what you’ve made. Leave a comment and let me know!

Looking for more jewelry DIYs and chokers? Be sure to check out these!

Also check out my YouTube channel for more videos!

Dia de los Muertos Mask

By

Cathy

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Looking to celebrate Dia de los Muertos, but not wanting to wear the make-up? This Dia de los Muertos Mask is a fun alternative when you can’t paint your face. The veil also covers up your face mask if you need to wear one where you’ll be celebrating.

How to make a Sugar Skull inspired mask DIY

Check out the video to see the full tutorial.

Supply List:

White mask
Silk flowers
Tulle
Hot glue gun
Scissors
Acrylic paint
Brushes
Needle and thread
Ribbons

Painting Your Mask

Starting with a white mask is the perfect base for this style. The first step is to take your black paint and paint some black ovals around the eye holes.

Next paint your nose shape along the nose bump of your mask.

Now you can really have some fun. Add some color, think flowers and pattern radiating out from the eyes. You can draw this with pencil to get everything where you want it.

Dia de los Muertos Mask painting pink petals

Dia de los Muertos Mask painted pink petals finished

You can also add some details along the cheeks with swirls or spiderwebs, it’s up to you. My mask wasn’t big enough to really do too much detail, so I just stuck with the eyes.

Once you’ve finished painting your mask let your paint fully dry. I found the paint dried very quickly.

Adding Flowers to Your Mask

I’ve chosen some brightly colored silk flowers, you could also use black or red and black flowers or whatever colors you choose.

Cut the flowers off of their stems just below the base of the flower. Leave enough so your flower doesn’t fall apart..

Using your hot glue, start adding your flowers to the top of your mask.

Adding a Small Veil

Cut your tulle many times the length of your mask (the longer it is, the more dense your veil will be) and the length you want.

I’ve cut mine about 16 inches long.

Gathering your tulle

I did this quickly by using a needle and thread and a running stitch.

Once your tulle is gathered, tie off your ends so that it doesn’t unravel.

Use your hot glue to add your tulle to the bottom of your mask.

The last thing you can do for your mask it to add some ribbons on the sides. I used black velvet (mostly because that’s what I had), but you could use a mix of bright colors or whatever you like.

If you’re looking for a fun mask and a great way to cover up your face mask this year, this is the perfect mask for it.

Instead of wearing this mask you could also use it for decoration, I think it would be really cute hanging on a door instead of a wreath, or on the wall above the ofrendas.

If you’re interested in doing make-up for Dia de los Muertos check out this post on a sugar skull make-up tutorial.

If you’re looking for more DIY videos be sure to check out my YouTube channel and subscribe to get updates every time I post!

DIY Pumpkin Pail Jack-O-Bling

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Cathy

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Halloween and fall are by far my favorite time of year! I’m really excited to get in the Halloween spirit with this fun DIY Pumpkin Pail or as I like to call it Jack-o-Bling. Why not add glitter and rhinestones to everything every time you can? Whether or not you can go trick-or-treating this year it’s still fun to dress up, and most likely if you’re like me you’ve already bought your Halloween candy (you know just in case, wink, wink). So for sure, your candy needs a fancy bucket!

I’m so thrilled with the way it turned out! You know when you imagine something and then it turns out exactly the way you imagined? Yeah, that’s how this was. I love it!

DIY Pumpkin Pail Video Tutorial

So if you don’t want to have the same pumpkin pail as everyone else, give yours a bling-over with this super fun and easy tutorial. Check out the video to see all the details in the full tutorial.

Supply List:

Plastic pumpkin pail
Black acrylic paint
Black glitter
Matte Mod Podge
Red rhinestones
Red velvet for lining
Satin ribbon
Black pipe cleaners
Black tulle
Scissors
Paintbrushes
Hot glue

Basic supplies you need to make your DIY Pumpkin Pail

While I was making this project I started thinking about different versions, colors, and fun ways to mix this up. Instead of black glitter, you could use orange or purple. Also if you’re not into the rhinestones for the eyes you could use glitter in your color of choice. There are always fun alternatives and options to make it your own! Have fun with it!

Covering your DIY Pumpkin Pail with Mod Podge and glitter

If you’re looking for more Halloween DIY inspiration be sure to check out this page for some fun projects and spooky inspiration.

What are your plans for Halloween this year? Will you be able to trick-or-treat where you live? I think we’re pretty much safer at home in my neck of the woods, so most likely we’ll be dressed up, eating candy, and watching scary movies.

Please be responsible and stay safe!

To see more DIY video tutorials be sure to check out my YouTube channel and subscribe to stay updated when I post new videos! Thanks!

DIY 7 Rings Headband

By

Cathy

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DIY 7 Rings Headband inspired by Ariana Grande

Today’s DIY 7 Rings Headband project was a request from my daughter who fell in love with Ariana Grande’s hair in her 7 Rings video. So of course, the first thing I thought of when I saw it was, ‘that should be a headband!’ Because around our house, there never seem to be enough headbands! (They’re kinda like scrunchies, evidently, you can never have enough of them.)

DIY 7 Rings Headband video

This is a super simple and fun DIY project to make. Check out the video to make your own!

This could also be a fun part of a costume for Halloween and it’s super quick to make too!

Supply List:

Headband
½ inch satin ribbon
Hot glue
Aleene’s Jewel-it (for attaching rhinestones)
3 yards of tulle (approx)
Rhinestone Chain
Wire cutters
28 gauge wire for wrapping
Scissors

The hair in the 7 Rings video that we’re replicating is made with hair or hairpieces, but we had a really hard time finding a wig or hairpieces that were the exact pink color that we wanted. This is why we went with tulle, it’s inexpensive, you can get almost any color (we found the exact pink we wanted), and it’s pretty easy to work with.

Using some pink tulle and wrapping it tightly I was able to create the poufs to attach the rhinestones. You can make these as big or small as you like.

To make the rhinestone bling on the poufs I used rhinestone chain and wrapped them together with a very thin wire to make the shape that I wanted. You can see this in detail in the video.

I also recommend using Aleene’s Jewel-it to attach the rhinestones to your tulle. This is not sponsored by Aleene’s, but this is a product I really recommend. I’ve been using it for years and it always works really well to attach rhinestones, metal, beads, etc to fabric. Just two tips when working with Jewel-it:

If attaching metal to fabric – let the Jewel-it sit for 5 mins before pressing the metal into it. (And let it dry overnight.)
Depending on what kind of stones or beads you use – it can be machine washed, but never put in the dryer!

I think it turned out super cute and it was a lot of fun to make. With Halloween right around the corner, it could also be a fun part of a costume.

DIY Patched Denim Round-Up

By

Cathy

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Now that we’re officially in fall it’s time to start thinking about that fall wardrobe and transitioning into cooler weather. Today I want to share a Patched Denim Round-Up showing some of my favorite DIY denim projects from the blog. Patched denim is one style that I truly love and it’s also a popular trend this year. This is definitely one trend I can really get behind. Over the years I have created several patched DIYs and of course a bunch of patched denim DIYs!

One thing I love so much about patching is that you can use up your old scraps of fabric, and repurpose old clothes that may be too worn out even for Good Will. Over the years I’ve been saving all of our old denim and any other old clothes that have cool fabrics or buttons or anything else that I think I may want to re-use one day. Some of these fabrics have also been great for making masks, which is something else we could all use more of right now.

The best part of patching denim with other pieces of denim is that there are so many different shades, colors, textures, and also varying degrees of wear to work with. This can give you a really cool color mosaic, or sometimes super interesting textures. My favorites are light denim, dark rinse, indigo (which has a slight yellowish tint), black, and colored denim just to name a few. Most denim is a twill fabric, but sometimes you get some that are a different weave. This can also have an effect on the color and texture of your patching.

Some of my favorite patched denim DIYs are; my most recent Patched Jean Shorts DIY, DIY Patched Skinny Jeans, and of course my first patched denim DIY this Recycled Denim Maxi Skirt.

The Denim Maxi Skirt

Maxi jean skirt made from two pairs of jeans

This denim maxi skirt has definitely been one of my most favorite DIYs. You can wear this with just about anything and in almost any season. You can make it long like this one or shorter just below the knee or even go for a more mini look. This look is definitely the best when the denim you are mixing has different shades of blue. Don’t worry if there are a few rips or some fraying, that adds to the cool factor.

Maxi jean skirt made from two pairs of jeans BTS image with my daughter

DIY Patched Boyfriend Jeans

These DIY Patched Jeans have become a great staple of my wardrobe. Here I added a satiny striped twill fabric for some of the patches, which gives it a more haphazard look. This fabric came from the underside of a shirt collar, the fabric is similar to a men’s necktie (which are another great source of cool fabrics for patches). Another thing I did differently, is that some patches are sewn behind the holes and some are sewn on top. This technique makes them look as if they were patched over time.

DIY Patched Skinny Jeans with Zippers

I have to admit that these DIY Patched Skinny Jeans ended up being my go-to pants for quite a while. I love the contrast of the blue on top of the black denim and the sharp lines of the rectangles on the knees. They also have a fun twist of added zippers on the sides at the ankles. These zippers are super easy to add in right on the outer seam of the jeans. Yeah, I really love this pair!

DIY Patched Skinny Jeans with Zippers Close Up

Fringed Denim Jeans DIY

Distressed Fringed Jeans DIY by Trinkets in Bloom

Ok, so these Fringed Denim Jeans aren’t really patched. (Ok, no patches at all.) But they have rips and maybe the best part is the fringe at the bottom! You could definitely mix these up with patches and fringe if you wanted, or no rips and fringe, it’s up to you!

DIY distressed jeans with fringe added to the cuffs

DIY Patched Mini Skirt

As I looked through this list I realized there really aren’t enough skirts here. But then I remembered this simple DIY Patched Skirt. In this post, I show you a simple way to make a short skirt and then add some patches on top. For this skirt, I used a denim fabric for the base and then added colorful patches with printed fabrics on top. So cute!

DIY Patched Jean Shorts

finished patched jean shorts DIY front view

My most recent DIY project involving patched denim is this pair of Patched Jean Shorts. This project totally saved these shorts from the garbage, I have to admit. They were definitely way past the point of being able to wear them out in public with any sort of dignity. One of my favorite parts of making these shorts was patching them with a mix of fabrics, denim, velvet, corduroy, and even an embroidered patch I made.

I really think we don’t patch things enough anymore. Landfills are overflowing with old clothes and really cheap clothes that are only worn a handful of times. I think we should repurpose our old clothes more, or at the very least the fabric from them more often. I think it’s awesome to learn a few new skills and be able to upcycle some old jeans into a cute and fashionable new skirt for a fraction of the cost. You can create unique styles so that you won’t see everyone else wearing the exact same thing everywhere you go.

I’m committed to finding new ways to reuse my old clothes and repurpose the fabrics into fun new DIY projects. I don’t know about you, but while retail therapy can be fun and all, I have a whole lot more fun making something unique myself. And unless something goes seriously wrong there’s generally no guilt involved when you make something yourself, unlike with buyer’s remorse. Just make sure if you’re using jeans from someone else in your house that you get their permission before you start cutting. My husband frequently wonders where all his old jeans went. LOL

What are your favorite ways to recycle or repurpose old clothes or fabrics, or do you? What other kinds of upcycling projects would you like to see? Have you made any of these patched denim DIYs? I would love to hear from you. Please leave a comment and let me know. Until next time. Stay well!