Sick Day DIY! Leather Braid Accessories

  So, I'm home sick from work today, generally just wallowing in my own snotty misery, and occasionally arguing with my cat over what time is dinner time.  My mom always said I was a "bad at being sick," also known as "world's worst patient."  It's just better for everyone that I stay inside.

  Luckily for me, the Lovely Les came by with a special pho delivery, and I could not be more ecstatic or grateful!  I will live to blog another day. 

  AAAAANYWAY, let's get down to crafting.

  I had to crack open my beading box to fix an old necklace, and much like Pandora's, shit just keeps coming out of this box, begging me to do something with it already!

  I decided to make a copy of this awesome brown leather braided wrap bracelet that my Dear Roommate owns.  She wears it all the time and I've secretly been plotting how to make my own.  Happily for us all, it's super, super simple!  In fact, my source for leather was a package of rawhide shoelaces that I bought at the drug store for about five dollars! (I used Kiwi brand, but I'm certain any old rawhide shoelace would do.  The Kiwi ones are nice and long - I made my bracelet AND ring out of just one!  I have a whole 'nother shoelace's worth of crafting ahead of me!!

The finished products!

  Pretty simple start up, I measured and cut my leather strip into three equal lengths, and glued the three ends together, side to side, and about 1cm down the length of the strip.  (I love Beadalon brand "Bead Fix," which you can almost always find at a craft or bead store.  Unlike most super glues, this one dries completely clear, making it a god among super glues.)
  Next I used some flexible gold jewelry wire to reinforce the glued-together end and attach a lobster clasp.  Then you simply braid the leather until it's at desired length.  I braided long enough for a double-wrap bracelet, with enough leather left over (from just one shoelace, mind!) to make a ring, too!  In fact, the wrap-bracelet is long enough to double as a leather choker!  Bonus!! I did the same gluing and wrapping on the terminal end of the bracelet, to attach a clasp hoop.  I used needle-nose pliers to make sure the wire wrapping was good 'n tight, as well as the end secured so it doesn't get pokey.

Topside, and backside with lobster clasp.  Wondering if perhaps a closure like the ring would be better?

The ring got a little more complicated, as I wanted a complete band of leather without any gaps for a clasp.  In this case, instead of gluing the three ends together, I pierced each one width-wise approximately 1/3 cm from the edge of the strip, and ran a head pin all the way through each strand, which I then wrapped around the leather ends until there was no pin left, effectively creating a double-strand of wire on the topside of each end of the ring, which I attached using one of the fab gold studs I just got in the mail!  This one was a really last minute improvisation, but the two-pronged cone was the perfect size and shape to connect the sides of this ring!  It's a bit chunky, probably relegated to a thumb ring for the time being, but I'm thinking with some wear, this will flatten out into a nice, soft, any-finger ring!

Top and underside of the braided leather ring, which features a brass cone stud from my recent haul!

A more flattering view, of the ring on an actual finger!

A Hairy Affair

  What started out as an innocent attempt to create vegan "feathers" for a friend has mutated into a full-blown obsession with wearing hair extensions.  And when I say wearing, I really mean wearing.

Hair extensions make for a really fabulous clothing and jewelry material - they are vegan and cruelty free, they have amazing movement, and super soft, chemically treated and straightened human hair feels amazing! Truly, you haven't lived until you've worn a hair skirt...

My Parasitic Twin costume!

My theme for this little number was "Parasitic Twin," or simply "Teeth and Hair" if you prefer.  (You can barely see my tiny tooth necklace.  We'll get to teeth in the future.)

This was a super simple project, I used three layers of hair extensions (10inch) on the skirt, sewing each onto a fat black elastic band, making it basically a hair tutu.  The necklace is a single length of black hair extensions sewed along the neckline to a bit of bias tape.  The bias tape is totally invisible and has the added bonus of covering up the weave seams, which can get a bit itchy against the throat.  One of my few costumes that needs the occasional shampooing!

Hair collar - detail

 






  As you can see, the necklace alone makes quite the majestic statement piece, and doesn't even look too terribly outlandish when worn sans matching skirt.  I feel like a girl could wear this to the club.

  RE: "Vegan Feathers" - because I haven't forgotten mentioning this.  I made a series of earrings using small, one- to two-inch sections of weave, which were originally intended to mimic a feathered earring look for my dear amiga, Friend of the Animals.  They didn't turn out looking too feathery, but to my delight, they came out looking like badass chandeliers!  The Stevies (left) are classy, but I am really partial to the duo-tone look!

On the left, "Stevie Nicks," on the right, "Miley Cyrus"

  In order to achieve a more feather-like effect, I reduced the width of the extensions considerably - down to only one or two centimetres.  With this look it was easier to combine multiple hair feathers without getting too weighed down - visually or literally!  (The chandelier type can be pretty heavy once they're all bedazzled with bead and chain accents!) This look really reads better as feathers than the larger style, but the visual effects of each are so different, you can't even really compare them!  Which do you prefer?

A pair of the slimmer variety, this is the same pair on my head, and hanging from the wall. 

  Eventually I'd like to offer these for sale.  Would you wear human hair jewelry?