DIY Bridesmaids Gift: Bridal nail polish earrings

 

DIY bridesmaids gift: earrings in bridal nail polish colour. (Click through for tutorial)DIY bridesmaids gift: earrings in bridal nail polish colour. (Click through for tutorial)This is a super simple but also super cute and personal DIY project for all brides-to-be!

I spend my hen do with my sisters and BFF at a spa hotel and wanted to give them a little something to say thanks. I also wanted the gift to be a little personal, something that would remind them of the fun weekend we had just before the big day.

Jewellery is always a good choice, and to add a personal and wedding-related touch, I chose to make the earrings in the colour of my bridal nail polish.

I wore “Worth The Wait” from Essie’s bridal nail polish collection, which matched my blush pink dress perfectly. DIY bridesmaids gift: earrings in bridal nail polish colour. (Click through for tutorial)The project is super quick and easy. You’ll need earring settings (which you can order online on Etsy or Dawanda) and glas cabochons. I got mine from Average Pony and they’re really cheap.

I painted the back of my glas cabochons with two coats of nail polish and left them to dry. Once the colour was set, I used E-6000 glue to glue the glas stones into the settings. You really only need a tiny drop of glue. The glue dries within a few seconds. It’s very strong, so make sure you’re careful with the positioning.

Eh, voila! Done! It’s that simple.

DIY bridesmaids gift: earrings in bridal nail polish colour. (Click through for tutorial)

I used some wine corks and satin ribbon to have something to attach the jewellery to and it looked super cute! The ladies loved their gifts, and lucky me, all had matching dresses to wear that night.

DIY bridesmaids gift: earrings in bridal nail polish colour.

So if you’re looking to make something personal for your bridesmaids or friends, this is the perfect project to try!

I’ve made other jewellery using glas cabochons before. For more ideas check out this post about how to use paper and prints to back the glas stones.

xx Charlie

 


Happy jewellery making!

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Make Your Own Soap!

Make your own soap by thisblogisnotforyou.comAhhh, our flat smells heavenly! One of the many benefits of making your own soap. I love making soap because you can create the perfect soap bar with your favourite fragrances and ingredients. And, believe me, picking up the finished soap bar for the first time and smelling it is such a bliss!

You can make soap-making as easy or hard as you want. I decided to go the easy way, inspired by the ladies over at A Beautiful Mess and bought a goat’s milk soap base. If you want to make soap the hardcore way you can create your own base; there are some fab recipes out there. But it’s much more complicated and you will need a lot more ingredients. If you are trying to make soap for the first time, I would recommend starting with a melt-and-pour soap base. Make your own soap by thisblogisnotforyou.comMake your own soap by thisblogisnotforyou.comMake your own soap by thisblogisnotforyou.com

How To Make Your Own Soap

First of all, some basic supplies and ingrediences you will need for making your own soap:

– bowl for melting the soap base (microwave/double boiling)
– grater (for orange/grapefruit zest)
silicone mould (brownie/cupcake molds are often cheaper than soap molds, but are the same thing)
– wooden spoon/cocktail stick for stirring
melt-and-pour soap base (You can buy containers in different sizes. I bought 1kg and used about 500g so far from which I got about 12 bars) I bought goat’s milk soap base and really loved it. I’m sure there are also some vegan alternatives out there.

Ingredients you can use:

– orange/grapefruit zest
– various essential oils (lavender, orange, grapefruit, mint, rosemary etc.)
– poppy seeds
– coffee powder or beans
dried lavender (also great for keeping your closet moth-free)/rosemary

You can basically use whatever fragrances you like. Using essential oils works best, as you only need a few drops to get a long-lasting scent. Dried herbs or blossoms are also nice. Using zest is fine, as the soap base preserves and keeps it from going moldy, but don’t go to crazy with adding fresh ingredients and don’t use more than a couple of teaspoons.

Make your own soap by thisblogisnotforyou.com

Make your own soap by thisblogisnotforyou.com1. Make sure your silicone mould is clean and dry. I placed it on a wooden board, so I could move it while the soap wasn’t completely hardened yet.Make your own soap by thisblogisnotforyou.com2. Cut your soap base into smaller cubes with a knife and place them in a clean bowl.Make your own soap by thisblogisnotforyou.com3. Before you melt the soap base, make sure you have all ingredients handy. The soap hardens quite quickly, so it’s better to zest the orange/grapefruit and open any plastic bags before you start melting the base.

If you want to make different soaps, prepare a few clean bowls you can use for the different soap mixes. I did not melt the whole amount of soap base at once but only melted enough to make 3-4 bars at a time, so I could try different recipes without having to hurry too much.Make your own soap by thisblogisnotforyou.com

4. Melt the soap base by double boiling or in the microwave. For some reason double boiling did not work with my soap base, so I heated it in the microwave. It melts pretty quickly, so be careful. Mircowave for no longer than 30 seconds at a time. With either method, make sure you don’t burn the soap (or have it explode in the microwave – ask me how I know this!).

5. Once the soap base is melted completely, add your ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon before pouring it into your silicone mould. Stir the soap slowly, otherwise it might form bubbles.Make your own soap by thisblogisnotforyou.com6. Let the soap harden. It only takes a couple of hours, but if you want to be on the safe side you can leave it in there over night. I put a piece of paper over the silicone mold to keep the soap dust-free.

7. Once the soap was hardened I put it in the fridge for a couple of minutes before popping the bars out of the mold.

Make your own soap by thisblogisnotforyou.comGrapefruit / mint / poppy seed: zest of half a grapefruit, 10 drops of grapefruit oil, 3 drops of mint oil, 1tbsp poppy seeds.
Orange / mintzest of half an orange, 10 drops of orange oil, 4 drops of mint oil.
Lavender / orange: 1 tbsp dried lavender buds, 10 drops of lavender oil, 5 drops of orange oil.
Rosemary / olive oil: 1 tbsp dried rosemary, 1tsp olive oil, 5 drops of rosemary oil.
Coffee: 1 tbsp of coffee powder.

Make your own soap by thisblogisnotforyou.comMake your own soap by thisblogisnotforyou.com

Grapefruit/Poppyseed/Mint (above) and Orange/Mint (below) are my favourites! I created the narrow white layer on the orange/mint bars below by pouring some clear melted soap base on top of the first layer after it was hardened.Make your own soap by thisblogisnotforyou.comI wrapped the soap bars in recycled paper (I cut strips out of a shopping bag), which I taped together on the bottom.Make your own soap by thisblogisnotforyou.comBefore I gave some of the soap bars away to friends and family, I wrapped them in music paper (which I had printed out) and attached small labels with twine.Make your own soap by thisblogisnotforyou.comMake your own soap by thisblogisnotforyou.com


Happy soap making!

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Valentine’s DIY

Valentines DIY gift by thisblogisnotforyou.comAs you may have noticed, I am not the biggest fan of Valentine’s Day. Well, at least not the commercialised holiday it has become.
Anyway, I love DIY.
I love handmade gifts.
And this one is so much better than just buying a box of chocolates!

What’s even better: It’s simple and quick to make and it’s totally up to you what’s on the “lottery ticket”.

What’s on mine? Truth or dare! Many, many fun, tricky or sometimes embarrassing pretty personal questions for couples and a few pretty fun dares (the pink tickets), if someone doesn’t want to answer a question he/she picked!

The boyfriend got one for his birthday and it’s so much fun picking and answering the questions together. Although I know what questions are in the jar, it’s always a surprise which one comes up next. (Yes, I put some in there, I’d rather not answer !) And you can add new one whenever you think of something fun.

Questions could be like:

– If you were a fruit, what fruit would you be?
– What is an item of clothing your other half has that you wish they would throw away?
– What is the nicest thing you ever did for a friend?
– When a movie would be made about your life, who would you want to play you? (We came up with Zach Braff and Natalie Portman. hehe. Well, just watch Garden State – they go really well together!)

jar of dates -  valentines gift by thisblogisnotforyou

But there are many other sweet ideas, if you don’t like the question thing or are afraid of dares.

You could for example fill the jar with dates! Just think of many different ideas of how one can spend a date night and write them on the lottery tickets. Whenever you don’t know what to do on date night  – pick a surprise!

Or how about sweet little vouchers for your loved one?
What other ideas can you think of?

jar of dates -  valentines gift by thisblogisnotforyou 2

How to fill up the jar

All you need:

– paper & pencil (or printer)
– yarn or tape
– an empty jar
– ribbon/ gift tags & glue
You can use the grid below, click on it, download it and us it as a template. This way all your tickets will have the same size and you can easily add the text in a pretty font in Word or Photoshop and print it out. – Done!If you’re still looking for a Valentine’s Card to go with your jar of dates – have a look at my free Valentine’s printables!

jar of dates -  valentines gift by thisblogisnotforyou 1

free downloadable grid -  valentines gift by thisblogisnotforyou 1

a blogger’s Christmas gifts!

I know, Christmas is now already four weeks ago! (Wow, time is going by so fast!) But I really want to share these lovely gifts I got – gifts that warm the heart of any crafter!

a blogger's xmas gifts3

I just started knitting  – and got a huge bunch of knitting and crocheting supplies.
And buttons. I love buttons!

a blogger's xmas gifts

I love my new cutting board! It’s also perfect for tracing patterns. I started reading the pattern fitting book and have to say, it’s really good. I totally recommend it. In the next weeks I’ll write a few reviews of the sewing and pattern making books I use!

a blogger's xmas gifts1

a blogger's xmas gifts2 marilyn monroe vinyl

 One of my favorites! I collect vinyls and I am a big Marilyn fan. The record is second hand and soo pretty. A collection of best of songs from Marilyn Monroe. Aww.

What hobby and craft items did you get for Christmas? What was your favorite?

10 things i love: handmade gifts

The 10 things i love this week is all about DIY/handmade gifts! For all crafters out there that are still looking for christmas gift ideas!
I personally love giving people handmade gifts. Personal, individual and unique gifts are the best, don’t you think? At least from what I experienced, my friends/family love beautifully made DIY much more than things you simply buy. And as the following gift ideas/tutorials show you, it can be so easy and inexpensive!

#1 cute ear warmers 

very easy tutorial by deliacreates

#2 teacup lights

tutorial by marthastewart

#3 upcycled DIY hair comb

tutorial by lemonjitters

#4 sweet spoons

tutorial by deliciousdelicousdelicous

#5 gingerbread playdough

tutorial by sweetsugarbelle

#6 rosmary flavoured olive oil

tutorial by thisblogisnotforyou (yeah that’s me!)

#7 handmade magnets

tutorial by papervinenz 

#8 toiletry travel bag

tutorial by sew4home

#9 macrame bracelet

tutorial by honestlywtf

 #10 bird nest necklaces

tutorial by sarahhortega