~very first diy~

Woah, has this been a crazy week, or what? Monday, the Fourth, was actually the calmest day of the week for me. For the first time (possibly ever), my family did absolutely nothing to celebrate. No going to the town celebration at a huge park, no cookouts with friends (there used to be a time when we would have a cookout almost every Saturday night during the summers, but not so much anymore). Instead, we all just vegged around the house, my brother and father playing World of Warcraft and Call of Duty (dorks, right?), my mom catching up on way-old seasons of Lost, and me hiding away in my room, compulsively reading blogs and trying to think of ways I could make things with my nonexistent budget. On Tuesday I went fabric shopping with my grandmother, spent way too much money, and bought enough fabric to make at least five skirts with leftovers. Wednesday and Thursday, I was stuck babysitting the three-year-old demon child from hell. Upon my return home on Thursday afternoon, I promptly apologized to my parents for putting them through that for years when I was the little one's age. Then today, I had to clean house for friends to come over tomorrow (all-day Lord of the Rings marathon, here we come). And, my dad actually asked me to hem a couple of pairs of work pants of his! He trusted me, after not even a week of knowing how to sew, to hem two (!) pairs of khakis that cost way more than anything I should even be trying to touch with a needle. With shaking hands (I did NOT want to screw this up), I tried my best to hem them, and when he got home, he said they looked good! I can't think of the last time I felt so proud, honestly.

But enough rambling. I've noticed from other blogs that I write WAY more than pretty much every other blogger does. Maybe that's why they have followers....

Anyways, for my very first DIY, I decided to post.... how to make a hex nut bracelet. I've seen pictures of these everywhere, and they seemed right up my alley. I know how to braid (thank goodness), and my dad has tons of hardware doojamahickies. So, while he was at work, I raided his cabinet, found the hex nuts and promptly made my bracelet. But, as I was making it, I was struck with the wonder of what it would look like painted. So, I made both. Oh, and before I get started, I have to give the credit for this to the blog Honestly...WTF here. Mine's my own version, but still. I give credit where it's due.

My version: freeee

Designer version: more money than I make in an entire summer

I realize that the colors on mine make it seem more childlike, but considering I'm still in high school, I'm thinking that it's okay. I do, however, have one in plain silver (with unpainted nuts). Like it? Here's how to do it:

You need: hex nuts (I used twenty), three pieces of evenly cut twine, some paint (I used acrylic stuff I we had lying around from some art project), a paintbrush, water, and a surface you can get paint on (I used newspaper on my bedroom floor, since I started doing this project at some ungodly hour after filching the nuts hours before). Here's the supplies I used. Oh, and fair warning: this is going to mix between a colored one and a non-colored one, so don't get confused.

First things first, I used a safety pin to make sure the braid stayed taut. Take your three pieces of twine, tie them in a not, then braid them regularly.

When you want to start braiding in the nuts, place the first nut on the braid on the side that needs to be folded over. Push it all the way up, and then pull it towards the middle.

Then do the same to the strand on the other side, whose turn it is to be crossed...

Then keep on doing it until all twenty (or however many you're using) nuts are braided into it! Once all of them are braided in, continue braiding without them. When the chain is long enough, tie a knot, and presto! You've got yourself a sweet-looking designer knockoff.

Sorry I don't have more pictures of the colored bracelet, but if you want to do it, just make sure that you paint the each of the nuts entirely before you start to braid. Because of how thin my twine is, I can basically see all of the nut, even when it's braided in, so make sure you get the whole thing, and make sure you give it ample time to dry (I waited all night).

That's all for now folks,

D.