Homemade or Store Bought?

2:55:00 PM mandy 14 Comments

It's been a few years since I last did any DIY project quite as intensely as I did recently. Bestie C came over last week with some DIY bracelet materials and taught me how to make these particular bracelets. If I remember correctly, she said these are called square knots bracelets?




Right when I saw the example she did, I thought it looked exactly like the cobra lanyard pattern I learned as a kid. (Those were fun times! I still have tons of those lanyard boxes, cobras, butterflies patterns!) The steps are a little different but the overall look is similar.

I got a lot of Hemp rope from her to make these bracelets with the intention of doing these throughout the upcoming HOT NYC weekend. But I was so into the routine that I made all 8 of them all in one night. No doubt my fingers felt very raw and tender afterward but a good night rest healed them right up! Maybe you could tell from the photo but the first few (green, pink, and grey) bracelets were the first three that I made and they didn't turn out perfect. As I did more, it ended up looking better and better! What an accomplishment [at least I like to think so]!

After the whole DIY session, I suddenly had such an urge to start wearing accessories again [particularly bracelets]. I was able to go to the city the other day to walk around and made a stop to an H&M and Forever 21. Then I saw these beauties! For whatever reason, I usually don't pay much attention to the accessories sections of the retail stores but I'm glad I didn't pass them this time around. Individually each wasn't too pricey...probably around USD$6-7 a piece/set. However, I had such a big impulse to buy bracelets and bangles in particular that my haulage ended up adding to be a lot. Hopefully, I won't be paying for what their price is worth because I'd love if these lasted for a while!




Set of gold and turquoise bangles from H&M
These aren't anything special individually but I recently bought a couple of tops with some turquoise/blue color that'll match these very well. I shall post the outfit & accessories together soon! I think it'll look great together. The problem is...maybe it would look a little tacky with so many things being matchy-matchy?


From H&M
These two were not a set! I was so drawn to both when I saw them. I have no idea when I could wear the white bangle just by itself but it looks a bit more wearable with the gold bangle, don't you agree? The only strange thing was I thought there might be some kind of functionality to the lobster clasp on the gold bangle but it is really just for show. I tried to open the clasp and it wouldn't even snap back into its former closed state like a working lobster clasp should. The only way to reclose it was to force it shut. Originally, I thought I broke the clasp but soon realized it probably supposed to be that way because it wasn't designed to be opened and closed! It felt kind of pointless in my opinion but aesthetically I do have to say it is a nice touch.


From Forever21
I love going to the Forever21 in Times Square. It has one of the biggest in-store selection, of course since it is a flagship. In particular, their accessories section at this location is massive! Usually, it only is a little corner or wall of a Forever21, but in Times Square almost half of a level is full of accessories! Bracelets, rings, earrings, necklaces, hairbands...all the works! To be honest all the choices available make it a little overwhelming. I was almost going to leave the store empty-handed until I spotted these two gems sitting in a plastic bowl. I was so torn between which one to get that I just decided to make my life easier and just got both. I could probably wear either or both very often anyways. In fact, I've worn the pink one two days in a row already! I love how subtle the spikes are yet still can make a great statement piece.


From Forever21
This doesn't fit the overall bracelet theme of this post but I felt I couldn't leave it out of my accessories post. I've been into bow items for a while now but always couldn't find a nice one that had a good chain length in any store. I've been wearing this for a few days and could hardly even tell that I had it on. Not too long that it's dangling around the cleavage area but not too short that I feel like it'll choke me if I'm not constantly bringing it back to its original position. When I had these kinds of bling-ed items in the past, the major minus was the rhinestones would fall out after a while. But for the price (~USD$3), I won't feel as upset [unless I get attached to it for whatever reason...].

It is quite impossible [at least I think so] for me to DIY bangles such as these. So I can justify getting a few here and there. Plus, it'll be a nice variant when I do make more bracelets in the future. Only bangles arm candy can get heavy, clanky, and boring! I did a small google search and found a handful of DIY tutorials that I really want to do. Hopefully, the beads supply stores will have what I need or else I'll have to enlist the help of Bestie C once again to help me order the materials! Here are a few of the tutorials I currently have my eye on (I am not in any way affiliated with them!): Gold Tube Bracelets, Macrame Bracelets, Braided Bead Bracelets, and Wrap Bracelet. Some of the techniques needed are similar to what I learned from Bestie but they incorporated a few different and smaller details which make all the difference!

Is anyone else also interested in DIYing? If so which tutorials have you tried or bookmarked for future experimenting? I'd love to know!