Plastic Toy Jewelry :: A DIY

Lately I've been seeing a lot of these really cool necklaces made of Lego bricks, almost all of which were DIY-ed. I've also seen some Barbie shoe-earrings....can you say "Cladia Kishi"?! I've even seen some famous people wearing things like this! So, after some investigation, I learned how to make these cool plastic-toy jewelries myself.

You will need: Plastic toys, a candle (plus something to light it with), a sewing needle, jump rings, and your preferred jewelry findings.

First light your candle. Heat the sewing needle with the flame for around 30 seconds. Don't burn yourself!! (Seriously, this sounds really cheesy, but it feel like being branded like a cow.) (Also now I have a scar.)

Quickly take your super-hot needle and poke a hole in your plastic toy. For the Barbie shoe I made a hold in the back, for the Lego I made a hole in the short end of the brick, and for the dinosaur I made a hole in the spine spikes*.

Let it cool so the plastic has time to harden.

Attach a jump ring (if applicable) and your preferred jewelry findings. Done!

*A few variations of this:

1. I've never tried this because my lighter ran out of lighter fluid, but if your dinosaur/whatever doesn't have spine spikes you could probably use the needle to melt some plastic on the top of its back and attach the jump ring there.

2. I've also never tried this, but supposedly you can heat a blade or knife and chop a dinosaur in half, then attach each half to a flat-back post earring finding and achieve this super awesome result.

Inspiration - Wearing Sneakers

(All photos linked back to original source)

Only a few times in my life have I seen people wearing sneakers (and I mean actual tennis shoes, not like skate-type sneakers) in fashion and actually look good. However, it's been a bit of a trend lately and I love it! I know there's been lots of Nike-wearing (see the second and third pictures). I especially love Susie Bubble's take on it! (She's the third picture). And of course, Sulli, rocking sneakers with bright yellow skirt in the Danger MV.

Here are some more inspiration pictures: Sneakers in Japanese Street Style and F(x) and SNSD in the airport (they do lots of sneaker wearing.)

I'm so into this trend I've actually pulled several sneakers I wouldn't mind owning: This pair from Old Navy, which I saw in store and loved, these Nikes from Asos, and these customizable Nike running shoes.

I've actually worn my sneakers a few times out in public now! And these amazing ladies are convincing me to do it again, and again, and again.

Inspiration - T-ara in Roly Poly

(All photos linked back to original source.)

Watch the music video, this will make vaguely more sense.

Actually, watch the English-subbed MV, because then you can actually understand it.

Long story short, some old-ish lady is cleaning her house and finds some photos of her and her BFFs in their teenaged years. Then she finds a video, so she decides to watch it.

Flashback to the 70's!~ They're supposed to be at some after-school activity or another, but they do a bad job of sneaking away and go clubbing instead - in THE CUTEST OUTFITS I HAVE EVER SEEN.

Seriously. Jiyeon's striped-blazer thing polka-dot shirt combo is to die forrrrrrr.

They keep the vibe retro without looking outdated or stupid, something that can be kinda hard to pull off.

Also their hair is too cute! 

Watch the entire 12-minute video and just sit there drooling over their incredible outfits and super catchy, way-too-easy song and dance!

And Alone in the World Was a Little CatBag

I'm wearing limited-edition Gorillaz Converse, skinny jeans (cuffed!), a grey tee, a studded cardigan (??) from TJMaxx and a scarf I found at the top of my closet. The bag is Tommy Hilfiger NY (also TJMaxx) and the cat is a childhood toy of mine. 

The pins are a VIP employee badge (from my grandpa) and a Ragnarok pin I DIY'ed.

Yupp, there's a cat on my bag, which led to what is probably the most nonsensical thing to ever come out of my mouth: "I wanted to be one of those people who brings a little shoulder bag to every class, so I put a cat on it." ....What!?

Randomness aside, I was heavily inspired by this street snap in Harajuku. (I love Japanese street fashion.) (Also this girl is super adorable!)

My scarf wasn't very long, so I couldn't wrap it more than once or twice. And for whatever crazy reason, I don't own a striped sweater! What the what!?

Grimes for Iris van Herpen

Claire Boucher AKA Grimes is in Iris van Herpen's new ad campaign and it's absolutely STUNNING.

All photo creds go to Grimes, IVH, Ralph Mecke (photographer) and Leila Smara (stylist).

See the Womenswear line here!

Inspiration - Hannah in Hannah Montana the Movie

(All photos linked back to original source)

So I turned on the TV today and Hannah Montana the Movie was playing. There was nothing else on, so I decided to watch it. And holy smokes, in the scene with Tyra Banks, she's wearing the CUTEST DRESS I have ever seen! In case you didn't know, I love fairy kei style and it just screams fairy kei.

I'm not really a fan of any of the other whole outfits apart from a select few. (I am, however, a fan of several of the individual pieces)

On a totally irrelevant side note, Lucas Till (he plays Travis Brody in Hanna Montana the Movie and Havoc in X-Men First Class) is kind of totally attractive.

Tree Legs

Tights from UO, skirt for Old Navy, sweater from H&M. Boots are my burgundy Doc Martens.

I came down the stairs this morning and my mom told me I looked cute...but that's her job.
My dad came downstairs and was like, "What's on your legs?"
And my brother was like, "They look like trees."
Even though I think it's kind of obvious it's a floral print, but whatever.

I got SO MANY judgement stares on the way to the bus stop this morning! A cop drove by, but I missed his reaction. Darn.

The earrings in the last photo are like, SO COOL. I bought them at my church craft fair a few years ago from a lady who ran an independent business which I think was called Urban Viking. It definitely had the word Viking in it. They come in so many colors and shapes, etc. I love them!

Jump Rings :: A DIY

If you know anything about me, you'll know that I'm broke and also cheap, which is a bad/good combination. It mostly just forces me to be creative. So, a while back when I first got into jewelry making, I taught myself how to make jump rings out of straight pins used for sewing.

You will need: Straight pins (one per jump ring), wire cutters, and round-nosed pliers (alternatively you can use needle-nose pliers and something small/round)

Start by cutting the head and the needle part off of your straight pin. It should look like a really short wire.

Now use your round-nose pliers and bend it into a circle. If you don't have round-nose pliers, you can use needle-nose pliers (I guarantee that your dad or other male in your family owns at least one pair) and use them to wrap the wire around something round (like a skewer). This might take some practice but it does work!

You'll end up with a wire circle and some non-bent ends.

Cut off the non-bent ends.

And there you have it! A jump ring that you can use for [almost] all your jewelry-making or other needs!

Shades of Red

I don't remember where I got the red jeans (but those are pretty standard). I think the striped shirt is from Old Navy and the scarf is from Charming Charlies. And you can't tell but I was wearing my burgundy Docs.

Okay, so hear me out when I say that I hate mirror shot and they look tacky, but I was so busy that I had no time to set up all my stuff and take outfit shots that actually looked good. So I made do with a mirror. Sorry.

Anyways, I really loved this outfit. I wore it about a week ago (Whoa, I'm late.) More print mixing with stripes and a safety-pin print scarf! Yaay! 

I think it's fairly obvious that my color palette here was reds/pinks. 

Absolutely in Love~

While browsing the Refinery29 shops I came across these shoes (the Dr Martens Carrigan in White) and I fell head-over-heels in LOVE. I've been looking for an oxford shoe for a really long time because I think they're the classiest thing evarrrr. And, as you all can probably tell, I love Dr Martens. So Oxfords+DM+Cut outs!!! = NO BRAINER.
Aaaaannnddddd they're currently on sale for $90!

As a random thought, I love the way the thick soles on these are vaguely reminiscent of Creepers (one of my other shoe obsessions of which I will probably never own a pair).

Inspiration - Lee Hi

(All photos linked back to original source)

I first heard of Lee Hi when I found out she was collaborating with Epik High for the song It's Cold. Later, when EatYourKimchi did a review of her song 1, 2, 3, 4 I was totally in love.

Her style in this video is A-MAY-ZING. Okay, so technically a stylist is in charge of her outfits, but I'm sure she'd get at least a little say in it. The clothes that she wears in the video are actually super wearable (unlike some other music video styles).
And she can rock cat ears, which in my book is basically as amazing as it gets.

She's also a Korean pop singer, but she's not super skinny. She's actually sized like a normal human being! Yaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyy!! Actually, if you look at her legs, they're really muscular. So props to her!!

Yaay for Lee Hi on being normal sized and just generally amazing!

Granny Shirts

I'm wearing an H&M button up, Old Navy tank, Old Navy jeans (I think), and I was wearing my Doc Martens until I took them off.

Sorry about my lack of posts lately, I was on vacation and then went back to school. But I went shopping on Monday and I saw this shirt at H&M, which I had tried on and loved before, but it was like $30! When I went on Monday, it was sale for like $15, so I bought it! It's kind of a watercolor-y floral if you can't tell. I wore it tied for most of the day.

Also sorry about the pictures, for whatever reason I couldn't get a good one.

Anywhoo, hopefully I'll be more consistent with my posting!!
P.S.-- I got braces!!!