DIY: madewell inspired necklace.

I have to admit that ever since I purchased about 1456546 different types of glitter to complete my DIY glitter boots I've definitely been searching for other places to use it. I was thrilled when one of my supervisors came to work wearing Madewell's shimmer sphere necklace. I knew I had to try to make it. I modified the necklace slightly because, not to be redundant, but I am impatient. Glitter was a much quicker alternative to placing on countless rhinestones.

The items required for this project were a cheap $4 necklace from Forever21 (ditched the pendant and used the chain. Surprisingly, this turned out to be a cheaper alternative than buying a ridiculously long length of chain at the craft store), gold or bronze spray paint, mod-podge, and of course -- glitter!

This was a slightly more difficult craft project. I have a background involving power tools which enabled me to make my own beads when I couldn't find the perfect one at the crafts store. I purchased round 1" wooden balls and drilled out the holes myself. This was the only thing that was a challenge, after the holes were drilled it was easy sailing. I spray-painted the beads gold, allowed them to dry, then dipped half the bead into Mod-podge, then into glitter. Once the Mod-podge and glitter had dried I sprayed them with a light layer of clear gloss acrylic sealer just to make sure the glitter wouldn't rub off on my shirts. Then it was a matter of threading the beads onto the chain and wearing it.

This project ended up pretty far away from where it started. I used much larger spheres, less of them and subbed in glitter for rhinestones. I still really like the outcome though. I just took a good idea and modified it. Thanks, Madewell.

DIY: glitter boots

I've been on a search for ankle boots for what feels like forever. At first, I wanted a simple but stylish pair of black leather ankle boots. No matter where I went on my search I came home empty handed. I thought I found a pair online, but after receiving them it turned out that they were not leather like the website said. And they were awful quality. After about 2 weeks they looked like I'd had them for about ten years. Brokenheartedly, I sent them back to where they came from and found myself bootless. Sad day.

I was hesitant to start looking online again, but none of my local stores (and there are tons) had anything I was even a little bit interested in. My search led to something I was able to fall in love with, and it was these Giuseppe Zanotti glitter ankle boots.

They were a simple shape but totally gorgeous. And...the price tag was quite stunning too. There was no way I could even consider spending close to $500 on a single pair of boots so I decided to try to make them for less.

This transformation was easy. The most difficult part was finding a cheap pair of boots with the right shape. I cut off the straps to get to my simple yet stylish shape. I made a mixture of one part mod-podge, one part glitter. I painted on about three coats with 15 minutes in between to allow for proper drying time. So my combined time spent on the boots was about an hour. Then I just had to let them dry for about three days ... I changed my mind, the most difficult part was definitely waiting for them to be wearable.

The boots came to $26 and the glitter & mod-podge came to $12. That's a grand total of $38 vs. $500 for the real thing. They're not exactly the same or as nice, but they'll do. Not too bad if I do say so myself.