DIY // Chandelier Connector Earrings

By now, I'm sure you know I don't buy earrings just to wear them as they are. NOPE - I buy earrings to take apart and turn into pieces that reflect my personal style. I've always preferred wearing dainty or elegant pieces to the statement jewellery they have in stores, but I'm also a sucker for large, intricate (and shiny) pieces that really grab your attention... yeah, you can see where this leads to. Simply put, I buy a lot of crap I never wear.

But the good thing about this is I have an endless supply of material to play around with (a good side to shopping addiction! Yay!). These connectors were leftovers from my statement necklace DIY, and I loved how they looked so edgy even when they were meant to be hidden. I can see lots of other projects centred around these in the future, so stay tuned! 

Right, let's get on to the tutorial.

TUTORIAL // Long Chain Earrings

So I've been out of action for a little while... what was the reason behind it all? A mounting stack of assignments and exams to deal with, as well as a lack of sleep due to my abominably early math classes. Fortunately, last month was the worst of it (I hope) and now I'm back to diy-ing. Yay!

Today's DIY is extremely simple - with a few materials, you can make 3 completely new earrings. How awesome is that?

DIY // Bead Tassel Earrings

Ok, I'll admit it - I've been a little slow to join the tassel fanclub. I guess I wasn't a big fan of wearing things that (to me) belonged on curtains and cushions. But then I discovered bead tassels - and that changed everything! I love the sleek look of a long tassel dangling from your ear, which really does wonders to frame your face and draw attention to your lips. So I've come up with a way to diy your very own set of tassel earrings!

DIY // Summer-inspired Ombre Friendship Bracelet

Oh, summer... what's not to love about it? It's the season for beach trips and barbecues - pretty much anything that doesn't involve being inside (though as a science student, that can be rather unrealistic!). While it's winter in Australia right now, summer is never too far away for us. Sometimes you'll see people in t-shirts on a nice day because the midday sun gets that hot. It's kinda awesome living here!

One thing I'll always associate with summer is friendship bracelets. Some of my best memories were of my friends and I spending our lunchtimes in a nice shady corner and making these things, then swapping them so we could show our friendship. How simple life was back then!

Today, I'll show you how to make a bracelet you can wear all summer (and winter) long!

DIY // Chunky Beaded Necklace

Over the years, I've accumulated quite a collection of beads. Some of them were from bracelets, necklaces and broken jewellery I had as a kid. Other beads came from swapping with my friends. And as you can imagine, most of them were horrendously ugly and mismatched.

I'm sure I'm not the only crafter who hoards beads. Coming up with ways to use your beads in pleasing combinations can be a very hard task, especially when most of them are the cheap plastic ones painted in tacky colours from the dollar store. How, then, do you turn them into something wearable?

Well, I've got the perfect solution!

DIY // Statement Necklace from Earrings

I came across these gorgeous gold filigree leaf earrings while shopping at the QVB in Sydney (you can buy them here). I never intended to wear them, of course - they were the perfect piece to take apart. Look how pretty it is! And the best part about this is that I only used one earring - another project for the future!

Shows up very well on black, doesn't it?