1 Cut 4 pieces of ribbon, each 7 inches long.
2 Join the 2 ends of 1 of your ribbon pieces, and with the ends slightly overlapping, stitch a line through the ribbon loop where the ends overlap, so your ribbon is now sewn into 2 equal loops. Repeat for the remaining 3 pieces of ribbon.
3 Crisscross the 4 ribbon loops so they form a bow, and stitch them together in the center.
4 Cut out 2 circles of netting, each about 6 inches in diameter.
5 Fold a ⅜-inch pleat in the center of each circle of netting, pin the pleats, and stitch them in place.
6 Stitch the netting poofs on top of the ribbon bow.
7 Cut out a 2½-inch-diameter circle from the netting. Using a toothpick and E-6000, carefully arrange your rhinestones on the netting circle. You can form a heart, fleur-de-lis, a starburst (like I made), or even your initials. Let the glue dry.
8 Glue your embellished circle on top of the netting poof with E-6000 and let the glue set.
9 Affix a couple of feathers to the bow with E-6000.
10 Hot-glue your creation onto a headband, let the glue dry, then put on that cute sweater set.
DON’T WORRY
1 Crisscross the fat ends of the neckties, as shown in the photo, and pin them together. This will be the center of your belt.
2 Trace the center of the belt on a stiff piece of fabric and cut out the fabric shape, but shave about ¼ inch off each side.
3 Pin the fabric on the back of the neckties.
4 Lay the center of your belt fabric side down on your sewing machine, and stitch around the outer edges of your crisscrossed ties.
5 Keep stitching in a spiral, working your way toward the center of the neckties and leaving about ¼ inch between the rows of stitches.
6 To get the look seen in the photo, position the center of your belt at the front, cross the loose ends behind your back, and then tie the loose ends in a funky bow in front.
1 Cut some magazine pages into 5 strips, each 6 inches wide and 12 inches long.
2 Roll the strips into 6-inch-long straws and glue down the loose end with a thin line of Elmer’s glue.
3 When the glue is dry, cut the straws into tubes ⅜ inch to ¼-inch-long, making sure to have one ¼-inch-long tube per earring. (The ends are going to be pinched, but don’t worry, that’s what you want.) These will be your petals.
4 To make the spirals, cut 2 strips from a magazine page, 1½ inches wide and 11 inches long. Roll them into long, skinny tubes, and glue the ends with a tiny dot of Elmer’s so they stay in place. Then grab the end of the tube with the tip of your needle-nose pliers and twist the tube around it to create a spiral. Dab a dot of Elmer’s on the end of your tube to keep the spiral intact.
5 Glue the petals to the outside of your spirals, making sure to include at least one ¼-inch-long petal on each spiral.
6 Cover your flowers with clear coat to make them sturdy.
7 Loop a jump ring through a ¼-inch-long petal on each flower, add an earring hook, and feel the flower power.
HINT
1 Using your heavy-duty scissors or tin shears, cut out a tin disk 2 inches in diameter from your flashing.
2 With the Dremel, sand off the shank on the back of the button so it lies flat on your tin circle. (The shank is the loop that you sew thread through to attach a button to fabric.)
3 Glue the button in the center of the tin disk with E-6000.
4 Using wire cutters, cut combs into ½-inch-long pieces.
5 Using a good amount of E-6000, glue a ring of combs all around the edge of the disk.
6 Glue another ring of comb pieces just inside the first ring.
7 Glue a final ring of comb pieces right at the edge of the button. If you notice any holes between the rings, add more comb pieces.
8 Once you’re satisfied with the placement and the glue is completely dry, turn the disk over and glue on the pin back.
1 Bend 30 zip ties into tiny loops by pulling the tails of the ties nearly all the way through the heads.
2 String 15 loops on another zip tie, alternating the directions of the loops, as shown in the photo.
3 Close up the zip tie that’s holding the 15 ties, making the loop about ¾-inch long, then cut off the end.
4 Thread a zip tie through the big loop, bend it into a ½-inch loop, and cut off the end.
5 Add a jump ring and earring wire to the loop you just added. Repeat steps 1 through 5 to make your second earring.
1 Cut 2 rectangles from your fabric, each 8 inches wide and 54 inches long.
2 Place one piece of fabric on top of the other. On 1 side, make a 3-inch fold at the end.
3 Stitch down the fold to create a loop at the end of the fabric pieces.
4 Working your way from the loose ends of the fabric pieces up toward the sewn loop, cut the fabric into 1-inch strips.
5 Tie knots in each strip at random until you’ve reached the desired knotted effect.
6 Wrap the belt around your waist and slip the knotted strips through the loop to secure it.
1 Stitch 24 zippers together, side by side, overlapping them just a tiny bit. You can use a zigzag or a straight stitch.
2 Cut 10 pieces of ¼-inch ribbon, each 3 inches long.
3 Fold 1 ribbon piece in half and pin it 2 inches from the top on the outer edge of 1 of the end zippers, with the loop pointing toward the middle of the corset, as in the photo.
4 Pin 4 more loops on, spacing them about an inch apart.
5 Repeat steps 3 and 4 on the other end zipper.
6 Stitch the remaining 2 zippers to those you just pinned your ribbons to, sandwiching the ends of the ribbon between layers of zippers. Make sure to backtack over the ribbon ends so they can withstand lacing.
7 Take your 2-yard-long piece of 1-inch ribbon and lace up the loops as you would a shoe (or an awesome corset).
HINT
