Gwyneth and I rescued a wooden letter K from the Goodwill box while we were in Raleigh a few weeks ago. The letter hung in my parents’ living room when I was growing up – back when Mom decorated the house so it looked like a spread in Country Living. Her tastes changed (the house now looks like a spread in Traditional Home), and the K got put in a box that’s somehow survived an estimated 15 years of Goodwill drop offs.
Naturally, when the letter was finally on its way out the door, Gwyneth and I scooped it up, brought it home to NYC and gave it a makeover. Here’s the before and after:
To share a tutorial would be to insult your intelligence. You know what happened here. Gluing the multiple shapes of rhinestones onto the letter was the perfect mindless project for an afternoon spent on the couch watching a Kardashian’s marathon.
It took about two hours to complete, but we estimate it would have taken about half of that if I had been able to use both of my hands. Gwyneth was interested in neither the project nor the Kardashian’s, so I glued with my left hand while throwing the tennis ball across the apartment with my right.
This quick project didn’t quite satisfy our need to DIY, and we had plenty of jewels leftover. When I suggested we glue a few onto one of her spare collars, Gwyneth gave me the “Mommy, no – just because you like to dress up like a Christmas tree does not mean I need to” look.
Gwyneth has a point, so I made a few extra ornaments for my wrist.
The bracelet on the far left is simply extra jewels glued onto a cuff that had seen better days. The pink wrapped bracelet is a from pin I’m sure you’ve all seen a few million times (tutorial here), and the silver/gold/rhinestone chain bracelet is another popular pin from I Spy DIY (tutorial here). The pom-pom chain bracelet is one Gwyneth and I DIY’d after falling in love with a $285 Matthew Williamson creation.
Here’s the how-to:
- Gather your supplies:
- Bracelet-length chain
- Two colors of embroidery thread (1 skein of each color)
- 1 foot thin leather cord
- 1 foot gold floral wire
- 1 foot small beads
- Mini pom-pom trim (the same length as your chain)
- Pliers (not pictured)
- Bracelet closure (not pictured)
- Needle (not pictured)
- Tie thread, cord and beads in a knot. Section off so one part is color 1, another part is color 2 and the third part is your cord and beads.
- Braid and secure loose end (we used a small binder clip).
- Weave braid through chain (over, under, over, under, etc) and knot loose end.
- Line up your pom-pom trim along chain.
- Push first pom-pom through chain and secure around knot with floral wire.
- Thread needle with floral wire and loop around pom-pom trim, through each chain.
- Continue until you reach the end of the chain.
- Secure end of floral wire around end knot and attach bracelet closures with floral wire.
And Molly, it’s on its way to you as a service fee payment from the Target dress you scored for us last week!
xoxo,
mk & Gwynnie
Meredith,
Your K turned out cute! And it adds some sparkle and bling to your bookshelves! I love a project that gives me an excuse to watch candy TV.
I followed you over from the DIY showoff linky party. I would love if you stopped by my blog.
Thanks for sharing,
Laura
Thank you, Laura! So glad you stopped by! We would love to to check out your blog! Headed over there now!
xoxo,
mk & Gwynnie
looks perfect, what better way to spend an afternoon … rhinestones and kardashians!
That is too funny! Had not put two and two together like that, but you are spot on!
Thanks so much for stopping by!
xoxo,
mk & Gwynnie
The K looks so much better now! I am stopping by from the Pinterest Party.
Thank you! So glad you stopped by!
xoxo,
mk & Gwynnie
It looks great! Love that watch too. Awesome! Thank you for linking up to A Pinteresting Party
Thank you so much, and thank you so much for hosting!
xoxo,
mk & Gwynnie
It looks great! Love that watch too. Awesome! Thank you for linking up to A Pinteresting Party
We all need a little more bling!
Thanks for linking up this week!
Stacey of Embracing Change