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!

7 comments:

  1. Love it! I can't wait to see you incorporate it into your wardrobe. That Lucky article makes me want to dye some clothes that I love but don't wear for whatever reason. Now I just have to get around to actually doing it...

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  2. Hey Monique, I gave you a Stylish Blogger Award http://tinyurl.com/3ltp2nr :-D

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  3. Yay, see I knew you were creative!! I have some DIY projected lined up for the real "spring"..lol


    ps. Love the new page! :)

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  4. Thanks everyone!

    @ Mrs J - LOL at "I knew you were creative", thank you though!

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  5. Do your thang, girl! DIY is the way to go. Love the "after" photo much more. Stunning!

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  6. @ Libby - thanks girl, clearly I'm not on your level, but that's what goals are for :)

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  7. Do your thang, girl! DIY is the way to go. Love the "after" photo much more. Stunning!
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