DIY: Studded Belt

This is my first DIY of all time!!! FYI, I'm not the most creative person when it comes to making anything non-food related. Now that I'm preparing for another person - I've really taken a hiatus on shopping, outside of the necessities (diaper bag?). I've been eyeing a handful of DIY projects, but never had the actual motivation to start the project...until now! My first project was a really easy one. My inspiration came from this oufit from the April 2011 J. Crew catalog.

I love the entire look, however I totally zeroed in on the studded belt, which is retailed at a whopping $98. I recalled that I've had a studded belt in my wardrobe since 2004. The belt is from The Limited, and is black leather with gold-plated "diamonds." I rarely wear the belt, but I have yet to donate it. I also recalled the February 2011 issue of Lucky Magazine, that talked about dyeing fabrics. Putting two and two together, I thought - I should dye the belt a metallic silver color and I'll get a lot more wear out of it. So that's just what I did! I couldn't find the tarrago dye used to dye leather, so I actually used a Sharpie paint pen, and a concealer brush that I never use - don't judge me!

The Sharpie cost $2.99, and the concealer brush was free :). I didn't color the inside of the belt, because no one will see it. I used the Sharpie and filled in the spots, I used the paint brush for the hard to reach spaces. The entire project took me about 2 hours. Here are the before and after pictures:

I love my "new" belt - I'm sure I'll get a lot more wear out of it now. I love that this total transformation only cost me $2.99 - HOLLA!