DIY: Rhinestone Clutch

I partnered up with my girl Kirsten Nunez over at Studs and Pearls to come up with a quick DIY for her "In A New York Minute" series! Basically in a nutshell I got to create a DIY with a metallic theme that had to be five steps or less. New Dress A Day - vintage dress- DIY Rhinestone Clutch - Supplies

That golden pouch was a complete score - I found it at the Dollar Tree over the holidays in NC!  Holla, y'all!!  The South knows where it's at re: metallic pouches!  I also grabbed some rhinestones from my collection as well as some of my dream serum, E6000, to make this puppy...

New Dress A Day - vintage dress- DIY Rhinestone Clutch - Supplies

Check out the entire post over on Kirsten's blog here!!

New Dress A Day - vintage dress- DIY Rhinestone Clutch

The wrist strap was upcycled...perhaps you guys have one of them hanging out at home too?

Such a quick, easy, and cheap project - the perfect trifecta for a fun DIY!!

DIY: Swarovski Disco Ball Necklace

Today's Oscar finale is American Hustle-inspired!!  I found a fabulous 70s dress covered in gems and thought I'd DIY some accessories to accompany. Disco balls on my ears and 'round my neck?  Check!!  New Dress A Day - vintage 70s dress-- American Hustle Costumes - DIY Swarovski Disco Ball Necklace

Check out how to get this fun necklace using these supplies...

New Dress A Day - vintage 70s dress-- American Hustle Costumes - DIY Swarovski Disco Ball Necklace

For these disco-themed accessories, I used:

1. Assorted Swarovski crystals (different shades of blacks, greys, silvers, and opals)

2. Jump rings  (I used three!)

3. Hat eye pins  (I used three!)

4. A pair of jewelry wire side cutters

5. Fimo modeling clay

Once I had my supplies laid out, I started with some of the Fimo clay and began to mold it into a sphere.

New Dress A Day - vintage 70s dress-- American Hustle Costumes - DIY Swarovski Disco Ball Necklace

I rolled it between my palms...

New Dress A Day - vintage 70s dress-- American Hustle Costumes - DIY Swarovski Disco Ball Necklace

...until I had a lovely round ball of clay!

New Dress A Day - vintage 70s dress-- American Hustle Costumes - DIY Swarovski Disco Ball Necklace

Next, I took the assorted Swarovski crystals and turned them face down onto a plate.  Let the flat backs face up for the easiest gem to clay application...

New Dress A Day - vintage 70s dress-- American Hustle Costumes - DIY Swarovski Disco Ball Necklace

...and roll the clay on top of the stones.  Using a little bit of pressure, the stones will stick onto the clay.  I used this method until most of the stones covered the clay and then put crystals on individually to cover the holes.

New Dress A Day - vintage 70s dress-- American Hustle Costumes - DIY Swarovski Disco Ball Necklace

With the assorted gems on the ball of clay, I inserted a trimmed hat eye pin into the center of the ball.

New Dress A Day - vintage 70s dress-- American Hustle Costumes - DIY Swarovski Disco Ball Necklace

Since I had enough crystals, I made matching disco ball earrings with two smaller balls of clay.  I repeated the above steps...

New Dress A Day - vintage 70s dress-- American Hustle Costumes - DIY Swarovski Disco Ball Necklace

...laid all three pieces on top of a wax paper/foil combo...

New Dress A Day - vintage 70s dress-- American Hustle Costumes - DIY Swarovski Disco Ball Necklace

...and baked them in the oven per the instructions on the packets of Fimo.  (275F for at least 15 minutes - test pieces to see that they're cooked through. The earrings were in for 30 mins and the necklace one hour because of its thickness. I tested every 15 minutes to check)

New Dress A Day - vintage 70s dress-- American Hustle Costumes - DIY Swarovski Disco Ball Necklace

Once they were done and attached to a chain and earring posts, it was time to rock 'em!!

New Dress A Day - vintage 70s dress-- American Hustle Costumes - DIY Swarovski Disco Ball Necklace

Hello new sparkles!!

New Dress A Day - vintage 70s dress-- American Hustle Costumes - DIY Swarovski Disco Ball Necklace

I loved the subtleness of the earrings!  I don't ever wear hanging earrings but had to take these for a spin!

New Dress A Day - vintage 70s dress-- American Hustle Costumes - DIY Swarovski Disco Ball Necklace

And, I matched my crystal-swathed neck and ears with those DIY Swarovski encrusted heels I made a few months back...

New Dress A Day - vintage 70s dress-- American Hustle Costumes - DIY Swarovski Disco Ball Necklace

...I mean in this instance, you just can't get too much sparkle!

New Dress A Day - vintage 70s dress-- American Hustle Costumes - DIY Swarovski Disco Ball Necklace

I tossed on my black and white faux fur Dorothy Perkins jacket for a few super 70s shots.

New Dress A Day - vintage 70s dress-- American Hustle Costumes - DIY Swarovski Disco Ball Necklace

This is going to be the perfect piece to pair with my non-themed ensembles too!

New Dress A Day - vintage 70s dress-- American Hustle Costumes - DIY Swarovski Disco Ball Necklace

I really don't think there could have been more crystals and rhinestones covering my body.

New Dress A Day - vintage 70s dress-- American Hustle Costumes - DIY Swarovski Disco Ball Necklace

Kind of fun dancing in the streets, though!

New Dress A Day - vintage 70s dress-- American Hustle Costumes - DIY Swarovski Disco Ball NecklaceNew Dress A Day - vintage 70s dress-- American Hustle Costumes - DIY Swarovski Disco Ball Necklace

The mix of stones make it look super cool from afar!

New Dress A Day - vintage 70s dress-- American Hustle Costumes - DIY Swarovski Disco Ball Necklace

I think I might have found my new favorite statement necklace!!

New Dress A Day - vintage 70s dress-- American Hustle Costumes - DIY Swarovski Disco Ball Necklace

Easy to make, and chic?  Total score!!

PS, who were your faves from the Oscars??  Full chat later today!

Rachel's NDAD Creation: Oscar Edition

Rachel's remake is totally tied into Oscar Week!  Check out the fab Gatsby remake she created for her son's theater performance.  I would have LOVED to be in The Great Gatsby.  Oh Daisy Buchanan...  I'll have another remake up before the Oscars air later today!

This past November, my son performed the role of Tom Buchanan in his high school theatre group's performance of The Great Gatsby.  It was a fantastic show!  I scored a suit for him at my favorite charity thrift store for $2 and made some adjustments. I volunteered to help with other costumes, mostly taking things in and adjusting hems, but my big remake was a dress for Myrtle, played by the lovely ML.  I went back to my favorite thrift store and scored a $3 twinset (a matching shirt and open jacket) made of a dark red and shimmery heavy jersey.

New Dress A Day - DIY -  Great Gatsby Costume - Vintage Dress - Upcycled

Time to get Gatsby-ized!!

I started off by closing up the front of the jacket and adding some sequin ribbon.

New Dress A Day - DIY -  Great Gatsby Costume - Vintage Dress - Upcycled

I cut off the sleeves and the top portion of the shirt right at the arms, making the lower part of the shirt, the new skirt.  With the top that I cut off, I pieced it together to fold lengthwise for a sash.  I sewed the skirt to the closed up top with the sash in between.  I started the sash near the side seam because I knew it wasn't going to go all the way around.  Now, to fill in the gap....I cut the sleeves open lengthwise and pleated them to make kind of a ruffle.  I also made a flower from the sequin ribbon.

New Dress A Day - DIY -  Great Gatsby Costume - Vintage Dress - Upcycled

I did a little 'pinch and cinch' action on the sash in several places to give it a better look.

New Dress A Day - DIY -  Great Gatsby Costume - Vintage Dress - UpcycledNew Dress A Day - DIY -  Great Gatsby Costume - Vintage Dress - Upcycled

What a great mama you are to craft this for your son's theater production!!  The pinch and cinch move is always the best!  ML looks gorgeous and I would have loved to wear one of your costumes when I did Leader of the Pack that one summer in theater camp!  I hope you have a slew of other projects on the horizon.  Fingers crossed your son performs in Les Mis next!!