live très chic: May 2012

hi guys!

i recently made another diy bracelet inspired by chan luu, just like the one i posted about here. this time, i tried it with a different material. it's a faux suede cord i picked up at a fabric store. i'm pretty sure i've also seen it at michael's so i'm sure you can pick some up at your local craft store. i like how it turned out and i think it'll be no time before i'm making another with a different cord again. i wanted to make the bracelet with different material to get some different shapes and this one sits really comfortable and effortlessly on the wrist. i definitely like this color combination because it's so versatile with anything really. this takes some time (about an hour) so set aside some time for your 1st trial. it gets faster when you get the hang of it.

here are photos of the how to. if you'd like to read step-by-step instructions, click here to return to the previous tutorial :]

thanks for stopping by!

jen

hi guys!

i'm really excited to share this diy with you all. i love studs and all things related to studs. as seen in my previous post here. i have been wanting to make one for quite some time now and i'm so glad i did. here is how my diy turned out (below). i am really happy with the results!

here is what inspired me (photo credits to polyvore.com) rebecca minkoff pointy stud bracelet $68.00 purchase here (below)

here's another that you can purchase here by nicolina royale - summer stud bracelet $50.00 (below)

materials needed:

scissors
leather strips (i had scraps so my project was free but can be purchased from scrap fabric at fabric store for under $5 a bag. you can probably make about 20 from a small ziploc sandwich sized depending on the scraps)
gripper snap fasteners (about $1 for 8 at target, walmart, any fabric store or craft store should carry these - i had some from my bf's grandmother :])
studs ordered here $2.75 + $3.29 S&H = $6.04 total 100 studs total and i still have a bunch left from my previous project. i used 9 for once bracelet.
ruler (optional or use your own bracelet for measuring)
needle nose pliers
hammer (to apply gripper snap fasteners)
time: about 30 minutes total from cutting to studding.
cost: about 90 cents per bracelet and you can make about 8-11 bracelets for friends/gifts for around $13 total! not bad especially if you have some material lying around.
if you're interested in a kit for the raw materials for this project and only want to make one, i can sell you a kit too. that's in case you might only want to make one or two and not 11 :] just send me an email at livetreschic@gmail.com.

directions:

gather your materials (not all materials photographed - whoops)

if you don't have a ruler, you can wrap the leather around your wrist to see where you'd like it to sit and then cut off the excess material

i used my rotary cutter and board and cut a thin strip about 1/2 inch wide and 6 3/4 long

then i placed some studs to see where i might potentially insert them. i ended up using 9 studs on my bracelet. you can use less if you'd like to space them out more.

i folded my leather strip in half to find the center and then started there.

then you take the stud and press hard onto the leather strip (right side) so you leave two indentation marks. these will mark where you cut tiny holes to poke the studs through.

you can use a pair of scissors or an x-acto knife. i used a pair of scissors (bc i coudn't find my x-acto knife). just be careful and cut small holes so that the prong doesn't just slide through. you can cut a small hole and just poke and twist the stud a bit so it'll pass through the leather.

then you take you needle nose pliers and fold the prongs inward.

continue adding studs and repeating the same steps.

until you're happy with the number of studs you have on your bracelet.

i used gripper snaps as my closure but you can use any closure method of your choice. each gripper snap has 2 parts. first you take the pokey prong part pictured below.

... and you place it with the prongs facing up on the inside of the braclet.

then you press on the top part of the bracelet to get all the prongs to poke through.

i used the opposite side of a new pencil (even though the instructions on the gripper snaps says to use the eraser side. i felt like it didn't work well with the eraser side at all!).

then take the gripper snap with the open hole in the middle and press it on top of the pokey prong one you just applied.

i flipped mine over and hammered it on a hard surface (on top of a bunch of magazines, over the floor). there is a small tool that you can use to place over gripper snaps but i didn't have one handy and this method worked fine.

then one side of your gripper snap is done!

then take another pokey prong and place it under the right side of fabric on the opposite side of your bracelet and repeat the same steps from the other side.