DIY Embroidered Leather Wrist Watch

 First of all I just want to say a thanks for the kind comments on yesterday's post. I was a bit nervous to publish it, because, well, doing your money laundry in public is kind of scary, but I really feel it's a topic that should be discussed more. I truly appreciate your support!

Today is a new day and I have an epic DIY to share. It's one of those projects where I made something as gift, and it came out so awesome I knew I needed to turn it into a tutorial. But then it took me like a year to get it done. It's ok, though, because there's never too late share a DIY. 

I made the first version of this watch for my friend Petra. I was in love with that watch! I'm going to share pictures of it tomorrow, so you can all admire it in all it's glory (so, please don't break my heart if you don't think it's as awesome as I do). 

Making handmade wrist watches is actually not as hard as I thought at first, and it's even easier, if you make it out of an old watch that comes with all the metal parts, which are the hardest to source. Which is why I chose to make this one from a pre-made wrist watch. This way you have all the necessary parts, and a quick template for the wrist-band as well. 

This tutorial has about a million steps, but don't feel discouraged. It's actually not that hard. I could show you in 5 minutes in person, but since I can't do that, I have to rely on pictures to make it easy for you. So, I've laid out all the steps to make the process as clear as possible.

 You will need:

• Thick (about 2mm) (faux) leather scraps (some fabric stores sell industry left-over leather scraps, which is where I got mine)
• Wrist watch (c/o Pandahall)
• Embroidery thread
• Embroidery needle
• Crop-a-dile/ hole punch/ awl
• Rotary cutter/ carpentry knife (optional)
• Scissors
• Paper
• Ruler and pencil
• Colored pencils
• E6000 glue

1. Lay the watch down on paper and trace it with a pencil. 

2. Draw a rectangle around the watch according to the markings on the picture above. make sure that the watch template line is in the center of the rectangle both vertically and horizontally. Also, mark a line 1cm from the sides of the rectangle. That's where the cutting line for the wrist band will be.

3. Cut out the rectangle, and round the corners with a coin.

4. Dot the template with dots that are 1cm apart on the long side, and 0.5cm apart on the short side. Add additional dots to the center (one dot on each side of the watch head), and four dots at the end on each side (2 on each side of the wrist band).

5. Punch holes through all the dots with the smallest end of the hole punch/crop-a-dile, or an awl.

6. & 7. Use coloring pencils to draw your design to the template. This will make embroidery so much easier later on, and let's you get a clearer vision of what it's going to look like.

8. Use the template to cut out a corresponding piece of leather. Set that aside for now.

If you like the wrist band of your watch as it is, not need to make a new one, just skip this part.

9. Take the old watch and cut off the wrist band as close to the head as possible. Also, cut off the buckle.

10. Use the long side of the old wrist band to cut out a new one. Make sure to add extra length for the fold.

11. Mark the holes onto the new wrist band through the old one, and use the hole punch to punch new holes.

12. Cut the end you're going to attach to the watch head slightly narrower, and feed it through the slit of the watch head.

13. Add a tab of glue to the end and glue the fold shut.

14. Cut the other side of the wrist band, making sure to add length to both ends for folding.

15. Make a hole in the center of the band about 2cm from one end of the new band. Cut the tip a bitt narrower. 

16. Feed it through the buckle, and put the needle through the hole. Glue the end to the backside of the band. Attach this side of the wrist band to the watch head the same way you did with the other side.

Now you have yourself a new watch base. Looks much better already, right?

17. Take the piece of leather you cut earlier and place the template on top of it.

18. Cut lines the width of the wrist band right beside the watch head, and at the 1cm line you drew on the sides. (those are the straight pencil lines that go across the wrist band in the first picture). 

Punch through all the template holes. Once you've got the markings in, you can take off the template, and finish the job. It took me quite a while of stabbing to get through all the holes.

19. Start embroidering! Finally, right? I suggest going by color. So take one color thread, and do all the embroidery in that color. then switch. 

to secure the start of the thread, make a not to the backside after the first stitch. End with another not around the last stitch.

20. -23. Add layer after layer of thread. if you like the result at any point, you can also stop. No shame in changing your design half way through. Or, you could go with just one color. That would look awesome, too.

24. Finally, feed the wrist band of the watch through the slits. Tadaa! Almost done.... 

To keep the long end of the wrist band tangling, cut a narrow strip of leather, wrap it around the buckle side of the wrist band, cut to size (leaving room to feed the other end of the wrist band through), and close up with a bit of thread. Now your done.

Whew! That was a lot of steps, right. Honestly, it took me about three times as long to write this tutorial, as it took me to make the watch. I don't think I've ever had a tutorial with sooooo many pictures. But, I hope it was worth it.

 

Do you like it? I love it!

As my next B-school payment is coming up, I'm putting this beauty up for adoption. So, If you'd like to get yourself this watch, you can participate in the auction I'm having right here. Click and make your bid.The bidding starts at 25$ (not including shipping). The auction ends on Thursday, 5th of March, at 9pm Central European Time.

That's a wrap for today!

xo. Hanna

The watch used for this tutorila was provided to me by PandaHall. All ideas and awesomeness are my own.

Refashionista // 3 Ways to embellish a beret

January is usually the month where I start getting tired of winter. I mean, when the winter starts it's fun to get out my hats and scarves and gloves, because I haven't seen them in months. I'm always waiting for the first snow, or some cooler weather to wear my winter wardrobe. But then, after the first (and second, and third) snow and the holidays, it feels like I've been wearing that same hat for months. And I get the winter fashion fatigue. Anyone else feel like this during January? Just me?

Well, either way, I thought this was the perfect time to show you 3 ways to embellish your beret and get excited about your winter accessories again. These are really easy and quick. In fact, I bet you could pull any of these off in just 20 minutes.

First, the classic bow with lots of beads. I love my pink beret - it's fluffy, and soft and pretty. So I wanted the embellishment to be sweet, feminine, and simple. I mean that's basically the definition of the bow, right? I'm so happy with the way it looks now.

 What you need:

• ribbon
• small pearls
• thread and needle

 1. Make a bow out of the ribbon and sew it onto the side of the beret.

 2. Take your beads and sew them on the of the bow spacing them out as you wish.

For my second beret, I chose feathers for a more sophisticated look. I think I'd look so fashionable walking the streets of Paris wearing this beret.

 What you need:

• Feathers
• Big sew-on rhinestone
• needle and thread

 1. Sew the feathers to the edge of the beret one at a time creating a nice feather fan.

 2. Cover the roots of the feathers with a rhinestone and sew it onto the beret.

Last but not least, you knew I had to add lace at some point, right? You know me too well. Lace is a classic and it looks good on almost anything, so I knew this was one embellishment I just had to use. It was the perfect fit for my red beret.

 What you need:

• venice lace
• seed beads
• scissors
• needle and thread

 1. Cut out the lace motifs and lay them on the beret. Find the pattern you like. I found I just needed 2 motifs.

2. Sew your motifs onto the beret. With every stitch, add a couple of seed beads to embellish the lace edge.

Hope you like the ideas and get inspired to restyle some of your own hats this weekend. We're having some pretty mild weather here in Germany, so I'm actually missing wearing my winter gear a little. But not enough to wish for cooler temperatures. If it's still the dead of winter where you live, I hope this will rekindle your love for winter fashion and bring some excitement back to your everyday wear.

xo. Hanna

Introducing // Pearls & Scissors' Limited Collection (and a Giveaway!)

Drumroll, please! Pearls & Scissors' limited edition accessories collection is finally ready to hit the shop, and I couldn't be more excited! It's something I've been daydreaming about for months now, and to see it come to life is such a gratifying feeling. But, I'm getting a bit carried away with my feeling here. Let me introduce you to the heart-made creations that this collection consists of.

My main aim when creating this collection was to make items that would be sustainable, versatile and timeless, and at the same time beautiful, elegant, and unique.

I made 10 unique flower brooches/hair clips. Each and every flower was hand cut and sewn together by yours truly. Each flower is a one of a kind item. There was never and will never be a duplicate. Each and every one of you is a one of a kind individual, and I really wanted to create a collection of completely unique accessories that would compliment you in a very special way. Like I made that flower specially for you. Because I did.

The flowers were cut out of old t-shirts, making this a very eco-friendly accessory. Giving new life to discarded items is a passion I've had for years now. It's my way to give back to Mother Earth. Now, you can also be a part of this.

Five of the 10 flowers are dip-dyed to create a unique color palette. I love how the new color mixes with the base of the fabric to create a beautiful pattern of subtle color variations.

In addition to them being the perfect addition to any cardigan, jacket, sweater, or hat, all of the brooches also double as hair clips - so, they have a needle pin and a hair clip attached to the back. I love to re-invent my wardrobe, and this inspired me to add a second function to this brooch. I think it looks so pretty in the hair, and the hair clip also makes it really easy to attach the brooch to a thicker jacket collar.

I hope you love these colorful brooches/hair clips just as much as I do. It was such a joy to create these for you.

The 4-bead necklace was inspired by my statement necklace DIY I shared a couple of weeks ago, and is a simple yet versatile piece. I was really drawn to different shades of neutrals and metallics - I wanted this to be equal parts fun and elegance. This is the type of necklace I'd wear every day - it goes with most everything.

To balance the color and romance of the brooches, I created a collection of elegant and practical bags with a modern geometric design. Each bag was handmade by me using reclaimed leather and vintage fabrics. There will only be 2 of each design available.

The small sling bags come with a metal chain strap, which gives them just a bit of extra flare. The small bag is perfect for a date night or party, fitting just the necessities. I made 2 designs - one from orange velvet, which gives it a more luxurious feel, and the other from a vintage floral cotton fabric, which gives it a more toned-down, elegant look.

These fold-over clutches are the perfect everyday bag - you can fit all the things you need on the go comfortably inside one of these. And since versatility is a virtue in my eyes, these also have the option of attaching a chain strap.

They come in 3 different designs. The first is made of a vintage floral cotton with blue and black leather details. The second one is made out of a vintage forest green synthetic blend fabric mixed with bright blue and black reclaimed leather. And, the third (pictured below) is made of a fun subtle green vintage polka dot cotton mixed with brown and black reclaimed leather. All of designs are lined with vintage cotton. I'm in love with all of them!

I truly hope you love this collection as much as I loved creating it! The whole collection will be up in the shop tomorrow at 8pm Central European Time. If something caught your eye, be sure to act fast, because once it's gone, it's really gone. 

As a thank you for being such awesome, honest and supportive readers, I'm giving away one extra polka dot fold-over clutch. Just leave a comment below with your e-mail address, and you'll be entered to win. The giveaway is open until Sunday 12pm CET, and I'll announce the winner on Monday. Good luck!

xo. Hanna

DIY Felt butterfly brooch

I know some people think that butterflies are kind of cheesy. Things that pink-loving little girls have in their room, but I really can't help but love them. Maybe there's still a pink-loving little girl somewhere inside me. Anyways, when I was dreaming up a new DIY project for MOOD magazine, this butterlfy brooch flew in to my mind.

Now I'm finally able to share this sweet little project with you. These pictures where actually taken back in March which is why they have sort of a wintery feel. But, hey, it's almost winter again, so it doesn't really matter.

 Here's what you need:

• 10 cm of thick felt in your color of choice
• Embellishments for the wings (rhinestones, embroidery thread, etc.)
• Craft wire and two 3mm beads
• 2 rhinestones: one 3cm-long oval and one 2cm-wide round stone
• Brooch pin
• Paper and pencil
• Scissors
• Strong adhesive or a glue gun

 Step 1
You can see all the important measurements in the photo above.
First, draft a template for the wings onto paper using the measurements given. Cut the template out and use it to cut out 4 wings.
Second, cut out 1 oval piece of felt with the measurements given. I know the photo shows 2, but I later discovered you only need one.

 Step 2
Time to embellish those wings. As you can see, I used embroidery thread to sew some colorful lines to the outer edge of the wings, and then added some iron-on rhinestones. You can let your imagination run wild and create the butterfly of your dreams here, so get creative!

 Step 3
Cut two 10cm-long strips of craft wire. Put the wire through the small 3mm bead and fold the wire in half. Holding the wire ends in one hand start twisting the bead until you get an evenly and strongly twisted antler/antennae for the butterfly. Repeat with the other strip of wire and bead.

 Step 4
Now you can put it all together. First, glue the antlers to one end of the oval felt piece. Then, start glueing the wings to the backing. Glue the upper wings first, and then add the lower ones so that they overlap the upper wings by about 1-1.5cm.

 Step 5
Once the wings are glued, glue the big rhinestones on top. Let dry before moving on to the next step.

 Step 6
Glue the brooch pin to the back of the butterfly. If you want a completely flat brooch, then you're done. If you'd like a more 3D wings effect, check out the last step.

 Step 7
To add a 3D effect to the wings, bend them and then steam from the backside of the wings with an iron. The wings are easily molded with steam, so you can determine how much you want the wings to stay up.

I love this fun little felt insect. She's cute! I think this would make a great gift for anyone who's into brooches, or insects for that matter. Also, easily customizable with different embellishments and colors. An easy DIY gift idea right there (hmmkhmm, Christmas is really not that far off).

Happy creating!

xo. Hanna

This tutorial first appeared in the April 2014 issue of MOOD magazine. Finished project photos by Rein Saar.