DIY POM POM ANKLET WEDGES

I recently made a pair of multi-colored pom pom anklets and paired them with these amazing Tony Bianco electric blue suede wedges - talk about festive footwear! The anklets are removable and can be worn with any shoes you like, and can lend a harajuku/mexican fiesta air to an otherwise classic outfit. Although for these pics I decided to pair them with my cobalt J Brand skinny jeans - because sometimes more is more, right?

Click here to see the tutorial over at Harper's BAZAAR 

Click here to see the tutorial over at Harper's BAZAAR

DIY NEON YELLOW CAP TOE HEELS

Neon cap toe heels have been on my mind for a while, ever since I posted this.  I decided to have a go at making a pair as the second project in my ongoing collaboration with Tony Bianco.

You need:

A pair of rounded or pointed pumps (these are Tony Bianco 'Karr', which are a great everyday heel)

Masking tape

A paintbrush

White and neon yellow acrylic paints

How to: 
1. Tape off a cap toe at the front of the heels with masking tape.

2. Make sure to press hard on the edges of masking tape.

3. First do a coat of white paint. Let dry for a few hours.

4. Then do a couple of coats of yellow paint.

To remove the brush strokes which were quite pronounced on my suede heels, wait until the paint is semi dry, and then wet your fingers with water and smooth any lines. I found this made a huge different to the look of the cap toe.

5. To reduce the chances of the paint cracking when you take off the masking tape (this can happen when doing multiple layers of paint) and giving you a shaky line (nothing worse), rather than waiting until the paint is completely dry, I removed the tape when the paint was still a little moist and then put aside to dry overnight.

Et Voila! Such a simple update and bang on (neon) trend. Outfit pics to come - the weather has been horrendous in HK but as soon as the sun is shining I'll be getting a few pics in these babies.

Thanks Geri + Sophie for inspiring me to have a crack at the cap toe! Simple as can be.

Btw - do you follow me on bloglovin? Google friend connect is undergoing changes so it's a great time to sign up to another feed and start discovering more blogs! xx

DIY SPIKED HEELS

As soon as I saw the spiked heels in the recent MSGM AW12 collection (mentioned in my round up here) I knew I would have to have a go at making a version myself. I used a pair of blood red heels courtesy of Tony Bianco and spikes from Studs and Spikes - I love the way the colour accentuates the spikes.

You need
- 6 cone spikes 
- A pair of leather/ suede heels (these are Tony Bianco 'Karr')
- Dart Awl hole making tool (makes life way easier!)
- A screwdriver

How to
1. Look at the seam at the back of your heels and mark with pencil where you want the spikes to sit. You want the spikes to sit apart so that there isn't too much strain on the seam.
2. Using your hole making tool, push through the seam and wiggle to create a hole.
3. Push the screw through the hole, using a screwdriver to twist if it is difficult to get through.
4. Attach your spikes to the screw by twisting.
5. Use the screwdriver to tightly screw the studs on. Make sure the screws are flush with the leather so your the back of your heels don't get irritated.

Voila, all done! Simple right?

I think these dangerous looking heels look great paired with a more ladylike outfit like a lace skirt. Hope you like!

Keep your eyes peeled for more studding projects coming soon - let's just say I'm completely addicted. 

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DIY INSPIRATION - HEEL HARNESSES

I've been busy scouting for shoe inspiration for a few projects I'm doing at the moment, and these heel harnesses that I spied on Pip Edwards (accessories designer at Sass & Bide) over at Harper's BAZAAR Australia had my jaw to the floor. 'Love at first sight' doesn't cut it. Update: I'm told via instagram that these harnesses are indeed Sass & bide.

Image: Here

DIY INSPIRATION - COLOUR BLOCKED TROUSERS

Trend for summer - pointed pumps that match the (DIYed) colour blocking of your silk trousers. Done and done.

Images: Pip Edwards via Harper's BAZAAR Australia, Jenna Lyons via Tommy Ton

DIY FRINGED SUEDE ANKLETS

Never one to wear something without changing it at least slightly, I recently embellished a pair of Tony Bianco heels by putting DIY suede anklets over the top. I think these embellished heels would look killer worn a la Isabel Marant A/W11 with a khaki jacket and ripped up denim shorts. What's even better is that the tutorial for these anklets is so incredibly simple, it's a project that even the most novice of DIYer could make a go of. Hope you like and are having a lovely weekend!

CLICK HERE FOR THE TUTORIAL OVER AT HARPER'S BAZAAR

DIY INSPIRATION - NEON SHOES

Ok so neon seriously won't quit for me - and I think it's going to be pretty big this coming summer too, if the neon shoes I see everywhere are anything to go by. I've got my eye out for some neon leather paint as we speak...

Apologies for my ongoing addiction to anything neon, I swear this will fade some time soon...

Kurt Geiger, Opening Ceremony , Sass & Bide

Senso Agnes, Sass & Bide, Kurt Geiger

Diane Von Furstenberg, Lanvin, Stella McCartney

DIY INSPIRATION - S/S12 SHOES

Shoes glorious shoes, right? The footwear that came down the S/S12 runway was killer and has inspired in me more DIYs than is probably healthy... This summer I won't be able to resist making myself some runway inspired foot action. Here are some ideas for you.

- Altuzarra - Cover pointed toe heels in bright floral fabric
- Balmain - Bedazzle boots with beads and gold thread
- Roksanda Ilincic - Spray paint the heels of your shoes neon colors - here's how
- Celine - Add wide leather belt style ankle straps to plain heels
- Prada - Attach flamelike wings to your sandals.
- Burberry - Deck out your wedges/heels with beads - here's how

(Altuzarra, Balmain, Roksanda Ilincic, Celine, Prada, Burberry)

Images: The Telegraph

DIY ROKSANDA ILINCIC NEON BLOCK HEELS

You may remember a while ago I posted here about a pair of amazing neon block colour heels I spotted at a collection preview eveing, which turned out to be Nicholas Kirkwood for Roksanda Ilincic S/S12. How fricking cool are they? I knew that they were a prime candidate for a little bit of DIY action, and was so happy when a reader Katie let me know she had made a pair herself. How good!

You need:
A pair of block heels - Katie used a white faux leather pair that had a wooden block heel.
White and neon yellow spraypaint
Painted tape or masking tape

How to:
1. Tape the edges of the heel of the shoe so that none of the spray paint gets on the rest of the shoe.
2. Do a light coat of white spraypaint as the base and then follow with the neon yellow.
3. Leave to dry.
4. Remove the tape.

Done and done.

Thanks Katie!

Blush

Do you want to hear a good story? Or do you want a little perverse delight? If your answer to one of these questions is yes, than you absolutely have to read further. It's all about the incredible blue sturdy boots pictured below. I saw them a few weeks ago, and it was like love at first sight. I couldn't think about anything else and I had to buy them. So I did. I loaned the creditcard of a helpful colleague of my brother and I bought them. Well that ends well, you're probably thinking. But this was not the case. For some reason, the system crashed when I ordered the boots, and I received more than one order confirmation. I was freaked out, because the creditcard didn't belong to me. They took lots of money from the card and all I could do was ... freaking out, haha. Happily I found a very sweet girl when I called the customer service (Thank god they picked up the phone, because I was afraid it would be night in the USA because of the time lag between Holland and The States), who promised me to refund the amount I paid in excess and to send me just one pair. I still felt guilty because I caused the colleague of my brother so much trouble and I had sleepless nights untill we got the money back after just over one week (haha, it probably sounds like I'm a huuuuge dramaqueen. Actually, I guess I am).

To complete the story, I got a letter regarding the order last Friday. It stated the shoes were being held at a postoffice untill they received a letter with among others the invoice of the order from me. The wrote literally: If we won't receive your invoice quickly, the package will be destroyed. I was like O myyy gooosh DON'T DESTROY MY BLUE BABIES and I wrote a letter and I called the post office and so I saved their lives (haha). Finally, I received them today and after paying VAT and import duties to the postman (there was an incorrect invoice in the package so I had to pay much more than the amount should be..), I could embrace my JC blush boots.

And we'll live happily ever after.

Golden delight

Can't describe the feeling I had when I put my hands on these amazing loafers a few hours ago. In my opinion, they are incredible. And they came exactly on time, because we also decorated the Christmas tree today (and let it be we've got gold baubles so my day was marked by gold, gold and another gold).

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DIY ANKLE CUFFS

Put your wrist cuffs on your ankles. Simple! You may remember I posted a while ago (here) about ankle cuffs and how much I wanted to make myself a pair. Wellll, although I didn't get a chance to, I saw that a friend and fellow blogger Jess of Tuula Vintage had made her own by - get this - opening up her wrist cuffs and putting them on her ankles. Genius! These cuffs she got from asos.com for a steal, and I know H&M also has some thinner cuffs you could put on your ankles. I am SO going to do this!

Wrist cuffs worn on ankles via Tuula Vintage.

DIY DETAILS - MISSONI S/S12

I must admit that I only recently stumbled upon the Missoni S/S12 collection, even though it was shown a few months ago now. Fashion month is such a blur of collections and details that sometimes some of the best collections for DIY inspiration slip by me. Whilst doing a bit of webslacking last night I was completely blown away by the attention to detail in this collection - the iconic Missoni fabrics intermixed with fringed necklaces, tiered skirts, coloured flowers, tassels, painted seashell necklaces, bright gold chain, shoes with coloured clear heels (I die!) and bags with coloured fans attached. For me this collection brings to mind salsa dancers and mexico - and does it get any more fun than that? Some parts of the show were a little too much in my books but overall is scores a zillion points in the DIY inspiration stakes. You can look forward to seeing some projects inspired by this collection.

For all of you deep into winter, apologies for all the summer inspiration that I have been posting. But there's no reason why accessories and projects like the ones above can't be integrated in your winter wardrobe. In fact my favourite outfit at the moment is a soft grey marl sweatshirt, neon necklace, skinny khaki jeans and black ankle boots. The best of both worlds right?

Images: Vogue.com

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DIY CARVEN INSPIRED BOW EMBELLISHED PUMPS

Please forgive me for posting about two Carven inspired DIYs in the last couple of weeks - ok so I've clearly got the amazing French brand on the brain. But how fun are these bow embellished pumps?  The lovely (and did I mention super cute?) Ren of SEMI sent me this project a little while ago and I just knew you guys would simply love it. What better time for a little Guest DIY than on a Monday morning? The best news, it's such an easy DIY, and that's what this blog's about right?

Ren said  'I loved the heels with bows in the Carven resort collection this season and thought they were too easy not to make. I used the straps from a hideous bunny-chewed pleather bag that needed to go. My old black pumps needed some love anyway.' 

 

You Need:

• a pair of pumps
• scraps of leather or pleather
• scissors
• hot glue

How to: 

1. Cut the leather into rectangles for the bows of around 10 - 12 cm long and 4 cm wide,  and two smaller strips or around 5cm long and 1 cm wide

2. Using scissors, round the ends and then pinch them in the middle to create the bows.

3. Wrap the smaller strips around the pinched in sections and glue the back side to secure.

4. Glue the bows to the back of your heels. You could easily stitch a snap to the bow/your shoe if you didn't want the bows to be permanent, or attach with and hook and eye to be able to put them on and take them off.

Ahhh, so cute!

For me this type of DIY project epitomises everything good about making things yourself. It's a simple, well executed  idea that takes only a little time and uses inexpensive materials - but manages to update the whole look of an item. What more could you want? I hope you have a go!

Make sure to pop over toRen's blog SEMI and snoop around.

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