I watched Rachel Zoe’s Spring 2013 show and loved all the tassel necklaces the models were wearing; their movement and the way the crystals and chain caught the light made it the standout piece of that season for me. At first I thought they were made out of rope, but upon closer inspection I realized they were chain. Initially for this DIY, I planned to make it out of chain but then changed my mind and went with rope to give it my own spin.

This tutorial is pretty straightforward, and with a little bit of time and patience, you can easily create one for yourself!

1) Supplies: 5ft x 10mm black rope, one spool x gold elastic, 10ft x 2mm gold chain, 4 x 12mm crystal rondelles, 2 x 12mm black beads, 2 x jump rings, E-6000, super glue, pliers

2-3) Wrap the gold elastic around the rope and secure with super glue. Pick an area to start and then follow along the ridge to keep the spacing even.

4) Open a jump ring and string on some gold chain. Let the chain hang down about 3″.

5) Keep looping it on until you used 5ft of chain for the one jump ring, then close it. Cut the loops on the bottom with your pliers so it’s all individual strands hanging down. Repeat for the second tassel.

6) Grip the tassel at the top and hold tight. Squeeze some E-6000 onto the top of the chain, let it get tacky, and then press on one rondelle.

7) Let it completely dry. You can now take this time to trim the bottom of the chains with the pliers so that they’re all the same length and hang nice and neat!

8) Squeeze some E-6000 into the top of that rondelle, let it get tacky, and then lightly press a bead on top of it. Make sure you position the bead so that the holes are vertical and will be covered by the rondelles.

9) With E-6000, glue the end of your rope to another rondelle. Let dry.

10) Squeeze some E-6000 onto the rondelle (attached to the rope) and then press the bead (with tassel) into it. Let it dry for a few hours to be safe.

This is one of the favorite dresses I own— and just now showing it on the blog! Shreevo gave it to me for Christmas and it’s just so fun to wear. The full skirt and comfy neoprene material make it a special piece, which can definitely be dressed up or down! Today I styled it with a bleached denim jacket (so happy with that purchase), a cross-body bag and some metallic gold flats. The look is polished casual for fancier-than-usual weekends, running around town or meeting up with friends for lunch.

Also… check out this omega cuff! I’ve seriously been wearing it nonstop. It was an impulse buy that I was having second thoughts about later, but when it arrived, I was in love. The way the light hits the stones gives it a great sparkle.

Photos by Trent Shreeve

I seriously contemplated getting these 3.1 Phillip Lim ‘Nancy’ oxfords a while ago. They have such an interesting pattern, topped off with a cool black patent cap toe. I waited long enough contemplating my decision that I came across these spotted Tildon look-a-likes at Nordstrom and ended up deciding to save some money and DIY. This is an easy project— super simple to get a cap toe, and also very easy to convert into slip-ons.

You can buy the speckled version here (love the mesh version also!)

Materials: shoes, black fabric paint, masking tape, paintbrush, glossy mod podge, two 4″ pieces of 1″ knit elastic, E-6000

Follow along with the photo tutorial (pretty self-explanatory). I gave it two coats of black and one coat of mod podge. When it’s dry, carefully peel off the tape and prepare your elastic. Squeeze some E-6000 glue onto one end of the elastic and let it get tacky. Then press it onto the inner side of the shoe, an inch or so under where the tongue stops. Make it as close to the opening as you can without any elastic peeking out. You’re going to do the same thing on the other side of the shoe, pressing the glued end onto the side so the elastic lays flush with the underside of the tongue. So, the only parts glued to the actual shoe are two points on the sides, with nothing glued onto the tongue. Wait for it to dry for a few hours before wearing!

The Real Deal: 3.1 Phillip Lim ‘Nancy’ $425 / The DIY: Tildon ‘Astoria’ $60

The weather has been gorgeous here in Tampa the past few days, so we decided to take a little trip to the beach for a shoot. Just minutes after we arrived and walked down to the water, I saw a dolphin jump super close to the shore! Definitely a first for me so that was really cool.

I got this great tunic from Albion Fit, who is offering my readers $15 off any purchase of $50 or more until the 14th, so I’d jump on that if you’re looking for some cool swimwear or workout clothes! Just use the code sprinklesinsprings15 during checkout.

Photos by Trent Shreeve

Gatsby inspired nails! I ended up seeing a 10pm showing of the movie last night (which was a very strange opening time; and there were only 6 of us in the theater??). But it was awesome—exactly what I was hoping for. It stayed true to the book while injecting a ton of glamour and crazy visual extravagance that Baz Luhrmann is known for. Everything was so gorgeous, from the photography to the costumes. Really a must-see. 

I was excited for the movie (re-read the book in anticipation), so I created these two nail arts inspired by daytime and nighttime looks you could imagine the characters wearing.

This daytime look is fun and colorful. I used Orly’s ‘Elation Generation’, OPI’s ‘Kyoto Pearl’, scotch tape, and gold striping tape.

Start with a pearl base and then tape off a diagonal tip and paint pink over the top half of the nail. Wait for it to dry and then cut a piece of striping tape and place over the spot where the two colors meet. Finish with a top coat.

The nighttime look is more dramatic, using classic colors and elements in unexpected ways. I used Orly’s ‘Rose Pixel’ and ‘Black Pixel’ (which dry to an interesting textured glitter, but you can use top coat to get a smooth finish too), and mini pearl stickers from this post, found in the scrapbooking section of Michaels.

Start with a rose base and then paint a black moon. While the black is still wet, place a pearl onto the middle of the moon design and let dry. You can leave it like that or finish with a top coat.

You guys seeing this movie? Excited as I am?

Illustration by me :)

I never thought I’d be wearing shark teeth on my ears… but here we are. After Givenchy showed shark tooth necklaces on the Spring 2012 runway, I’ve come to look at them in a different light in terms of fashion. Instead of rocking a lanyard of beads and shark teeth after a school field trip to the aquarium, we now have gilded pieces of art that appeal to  ages beyond the years of 10. These were very simple to make, and I like that I finally found a project that involved gold leaf!

Other cool shark tooth jewelry: a smaller, similar version of Givenchy‘s necklace at a fraction of the cost, a silver tooth pendant, this delicate gemstone one (love!), shark tooth studs similar to this DIY here and here, elegant dangling earrings, and this twist on the ‘field trip’ style necklace, which would make for another excellent DIY (love the tassels)!

Supplies: two shark teeth, earring posts with backs, E-6000, gold leaf and adhesive.

I bought an ugly necklace from amazon and detached the shark teeth to use for this project. Squeeze some E-6000 onto a scrap piece of paper and dip the earring back into it. Wait for a few seconds for it to get a bit tacky and then press onto the back of one shark teeth.

Once the earring backs are dry and secure, paint some adhesive onto the front. (NOTE* Initially for this project, I tried painting the teeth gold, but it didn’t pop as much as I wanted so I switched to the gold leaf method. Yours will just be the plain tooth you’re painting the adhesive onto.) Wait for this adhesive to get tacky also—according to the package directions— and then press the tooth, adhesive side down, onto the gold leaf. Do this on the top corner of the sheet so you can just tear away from that without ruining the entire sheet.

Press the gold leaf onto the tooth and smooth. If you missed an area or if the gold leaf ripped (or if you’re using gold leaf flakes), simply place some more gold leaf on top of whatever area isn’t covered and smooth it down.

Brush off the excess with your fingers or a paintbrush. They’re ready to wear!

These are some items that have been on my mind lately. All of them neutrals— some being good foundation pieces like a comfortable maxi or jumpsuit, or the always classic panama hat— while others work well as statement pieces that can be layered or worn alone. While I own some of these and look forward to wearing them through spring, some others are on my wishlist (Rachel Zoe’s pin clasp bracelet, in particular). What are some things on your must-wear list?

Nail Art Inspiration // Chanel Spring 2013 RTW

Supplies: Zoya ‘Kara’, Sally Hansen ‘White On’, scotch tape, scissors

Start with a pink base coat. Paint two coats of white on a few 1″ long pieces of tape and let dry.

Cut small strips from the painted white tape.

On the thumb, place three vertical strips of tape on the nail and trim. Place two horizontal pieces on after and trim to size. Do the same thing for the rest of the nails, but only use two vertical and two horizontal pieces (because they’re smaller than the thumbnail.)

Finish with a top coat!

Runway image via Style.com

This week’s DIY project was inspired by the CC Skye Lucky Horn Rosary Bracelet. I saw it on Shopbop and contemplated buying it but then thought, why don’t I just make it? I couldn’t find a gold horn that I liked so I went with a pretty pendant. And I’m not sure what kind of string they used, but I went with an elastic so it would have more movement (and also so I wouldn’t have to worry about doing the clasp every time I wanted to wear it— it just easily slips on and off, with the clasp just being a decoration).

Inspiration: Black Version & Gold Version $60

Supplies: black beads, pendant (I used a piece from a pair of earrings), 4 jump rings, lobster clasp, 0.5mm clear elastic

Attach your pendant to a jump ring. Tie the elastic onto the jump ring and seal with a drop of superglue (to keep the knot from coming undone).

String about 3″ worth of beads onto the elastic and then string on a jump ring (don’t tie it on). This 3″ will be what’s hanging down, so you may adjust to suit your needs.

Add more beads until the bracelet is the size you want. Not counting the first 3″ that dangle down, the bracelet should fit close around your wrist. Attach the lobster clasp to a jump ring then tie the jump ring onto the end of the bracelet, pulling a bit tight. Put a drop of super glue on the knot and let dry.

I’d love to see your DIY projects! If you make this, take a picture and tag it with #SISDIY to share!

Photos by Trent Shreeve