Tom Binns Inspired Earrings Tutorial

I've had a ' Creative Crush ' on Tom Binns for quite a while now and often look to him for inspiration. His designs go quite well with my style sensibility of a classic base with a crazy twist. I'm still not spending $ 500 to buy his very DIY friendly collection.

The earrings I made aren't as crazy colourful as his are, keeping in my mind the festive season and my mood, but you can go as bold as you want! Ah! The wonders of DIY! 

You will need :

• 2 large crystals
• Rhinestone chain
• Flat back earrings
• Nail Paint
• Extra Strong Glue ( I used FeviBond)

First get a rough idea of your design and save it in you head. You can draw/write it down if you're a technical person. I usually just go with it. Measure your rhinestone trim according to your design and cut it. You can also break it off by just twisting the chain.

Now paint the rhinestones the desired colour. Its really easy to apply, but just to be safe do it on a newspaper. I still can't paint my nails without the paint ending up every where else. Leave it to dry for a few minutes.

Try different colours and pairs (this is where you can go crazy). I chose this scheme mainly because these were the only shades I had. I'm pretty punk with my nails and just realized that I need more pop colours in my life (mainly hands)!

Once its dry you can check if you like the colour scheme. You can add another coat of nail paint for a more intense colour. Or a top coat for durability.

Now glue the trim to the crystal. I used FeviBond. The instructions said to put glue on both surfaces and leave for 15 mins. Then attach both surfaces and dry for a couple of hours. You really need to use a strong adhesive because we're dealing with metal. Be very careful with the glue and your skin. I glued my hands shut a couple of time (and lived to tell the tale). If you get it on your skin just get of as soon as possible and you'll be fine!

Use the same gluing process to add the second line of trim. You may go on and add more or make it longer if you're comfortable. I'm gonna stop right here.

Now flip them around and stick the earrings to the back. Let it rest in this position for atleast an hour before wearing.

And your gorgeous Tom Binns Inspired earrings are ready at a fraction of the price and VERY custom made! I'm going to make a few more in a variety of colours and design! I'll post more on Facebook and Instagram so have a look!

Blingy Knuckle Rings Tutorial

After the popularity of the Multi Finger Rings and the Claw rings, the new accesory to adorn your digits is the (wrongly named) Knuckle Ring. It's placement is far from the knuckle, sitting just below the nail. These babies can be delicate lines of silver and gold or chunky creations with stones, bling and even fake metal nails. My favourite Indian accesory designer Valliyan by Nitya Arora makes them unapologetically chunky. They're perfect for a touch of 'badass' to your delicately manicured hands. I don't care, I love it.

Here's how we make them :

• Rings (from a supply store)
• Embellishments (Gems, studs, etc)
• Glue

You can either buy rings in a smaller size (try them in the store) or buy adjustable rings and squeeze them to the perfect size. Trial and error baby!

Use fingers/hammers/boyfriends/dads depending on availability and pain threshold to flatten the prongs as much as possible so they stay the desired size.

Apply a large glob of glue on the flat surface and stick on the desired embellishment. 

Leave them alone in this position till the glue dries. The glob of glue was huge, so it will take a while to dry. Use a hair dryer to speed things up if you have zero patience.

Stick 'em on, sit back, admire them, instagram them.

Share your DIY creations with #supershinystuff or @supershinystuff! 

Music Mondays

BORN TO DIE by LANA DEL REY

I'm in a strictly Lana Del Ray phase. This is one of my favourites. Every frame in the video could be a magazine editorial. A beautifully styled and shot video.