Pretty Me Up-Probably one of the most chic belts you'll ever make for cheap!

Hello there!

Do you love skinny belts? I know I do! Well, here's a skinny belt that:

A.Has Glitter

B.Looks super chic

C.Has minimum materials used

D.Gives shapeless dresses a glamour punch!

Now that I've got you excited, let me tell you first that this can be a lil bit time-consuming, but at the end of the post I promise I'll add some super-alternatives you can try out!

This skinny belt was inspired by the design here.

In India or its neighboring Asian countries, you get heavy laces like these for a significant amount of cash because they are usually used to design custom bridal outfits which if you've seen Indian brides before, are detailed with loadza intricate, heavy work and motifs!

So let's do a cheaper version at home! (and also to use up the glitter from my DIY Vanity Tray)

Beauty In A Nutshell- DIY Concealer!

Hello there!

A simple trick I often used to do when I'm outta concealer or having trouble matching a newly bought one to my skin tone would be the one I show right here!

It was only recently that I thought of separating another jar for this purpose just like the store-bought ones!

Just follow the instructions below!

Inspiration Nation // All about Gorgeous GiftWrapping and Pretty Storage!

Hola!

I'm so excited to start this new series called Inspiration Nation! I figured I needed a space where I could share DIY's which weren't exactly DIY's...erm, more like a vast colorful ocean of DIY tips and techniques, and also a whole lotta on trend how-tos. This first post will be all about glitzing and glamming up discarded cardboard and bringing it to new life *and* using the same technique to whip up some crazy fun and pretty storage for your lil n' loved collections!

For starters. let's begin with this cute n' chic way to dress up your gifts! You'll need anything cute you can find for this, don't just stick to ribbons, add cute vintagey or bright colorful buttons to your stash, maybe tiny doilies if those are available (I dunno about tiny doilies, I made mine in Photoshop!), even sparkle and glitter, and don't forget the renowned one solution to all: washi tape!
Let's start this eenie meenie adventure shall we?

Here are a few of the supplies I used, striped Washi Tape, a collection of assorted ribbons in Gold,green and white, ruler to map the edges, little color coordinated doilies with your giftwrap, sharpies, Gold and Silver Markers, wet and stick glue!

All I did was recycle junk cardboard (using Granola Bar Boxes, Cereal Boxes etc!) and cut it according to my template.Before you cut out the cardboard onto the template, paste your giftwrap on the other side and cut out the template.Now fold along the creases and keep the fold in position with some tacky glue.

Now to jazz up the lids, cut out a lil washi tape to fit length-wise on one side of the lid!

If you boxes are bigger than mine, you can write the initial of the person you're gifting it to in the doily's center and loop it using a ribbon to the box or stick it on with a lil bit of extra Washi!
I think it would be a fab idea to use a tower of these boxes in threes or fours to gift to each person of a small family! It would look so cute with the letters monogrammed on the doilies!
You can download these same giftwrap papers from my free Garden Mists collection!

I used different sized boxes to house earrings, tops(studs),necklaces and bracelets!

You can use the ribbons as is with a bow or make some ribbon roses as toppers.If you're not sure how to go about that watch this very easy video tut here.
Or loop multi colored beads and gems into a ribbon or some yarn and wind it through cute tags or labels! (also in my Garden Mists collection for free!)

 

Other ways to freshen up your gifts:

• Using newspapers! They bring an antique feel to your gifts.Don't worry that they'd look cheap, just add a that much needed color burst with some scrap fabric ribbons/bows/flowers/toppers!Also, I've seen tuts on the web teaching you how to make flowers outta discarded book pages! Ta-da! Perfect match!
• Using satin/velvet scrap fabric and sewing them into lil pouches makes such a dazzling cute gift for small accessories! Tie them round with gold/silver ribbon! Metallics go amazing with velvet and satin.
• Using colorful magazine pages to make fun envelopes for gifting coupons is also a net idea!
• When you are short of time, use plain cardboard boxes or discarded boxes of other items and do a quick  coat with metallic/glitter spray paint! This makes sure you have enough time left to choose your gift/DIYing without fussing over wrapping/packaging it and still making it look lovely!
• At most times, all you need is a pretty oversized gift tag to zap some new life onto plain single color wraps!
• If you have scrap lace available at hand, it makes for a super addition to any plain jane cardboard boxes making it go from blah to shabby chic!
• There's no need to stick to just one bow, gather multiple bows in an ombre style to wound round your box!
• It's always interesting to bring a change to the norm so there's no need to stick to regular boxes, star shaped or any unique shaped ones also add a cute touch!
• To create a beautiful vintage feel, combine lace, net and snip off a rose/flower from atificial stemmed flowers and glue it on to the lid!
• Masking tape comes to rescue in so many situations! Place a little masking tape at random angles on your box and spray paint in one or a million hues, remove the tape and voila! Instant update!
• To give your gifts an extra kick, print out one of the memorable pictures you had from spending time with that person and and paste it on the inside/backside of your gift tag or even on toppa the lid! (Instagram pics look fantastic!)
• If you have any not-in-use-anymore ear rings or lost one from a pair you had, secure it to a plain gift tag to up the oomph a notch higher!

For more cheap and chic tips feel free to contact me!

All that was about  the art of giftwrapping, now let's see an infographic on the science behind it!

I hope this first post in this serious kickstarted some inspiration! Do let me know in the comments!

To download the doily patterns I used click 1,2,3
To download the gift box template I used, click here!

Credit for some elements used in the infographic were freebies from this wonderful Facebook Page!

See you with another fantastic post on the table!
And oh yes, don't forget to pin this post if you liked it!
Nash :) :) :)