DIY: Beaded Quote Bracelet

Summer is *supposedly* ending soon as we drift into September, but if you know anything about Hong Kong you'll know that we don't feel a single breeze until the middle of October. Taking advantage of the still-warm weather and short sleeves, I've created these colourful beaded quote bracelets that make for super cute arm candy!

You will need:

• 6mm pineapple beads in colours of your choice
• 5mm metallic pineapple beads
• round alphabet beads
• elastic string
• a ring
• scissors

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Let's begin!

1. Lay out your word/phrase/quote. As I'm constantly being inspired by Tumblr culture, I went with 'fangirl'.

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2. Cut a 30cm strand of elastic string. You probably won't need as much, but it's always best to play it safe in case of any adjustments needed. Tie one end to a ring in a reef knot (a single knot followed by another knot, but with the opposite string looping down), leaving a tail. String on some 6mm beads, a 5mm bead, your phrase, another 5mm bead, and finish with more 6mm beads.

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3. Once you feel like your bracelet is long enough, undo the reef knot and adjust if necessary. You'll want the number of 6mm beads to be equal on both sides. To try the bracelet on, tie both ends of the string in a single knot and pinch that knot while slipping it onto your wrist.

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4. Finish everything off by tying both sides of the string with a double knot. 

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I made a Sense8 bracelet because OMFG, that show is mind-blowing; a 'whatevs' bracelet for those 'meh' days; a 'fangirl' one, and a 'Maximoff' one in homage to the ever-gorgeous, amazing Maximoff twins (not going to lie, I'm still bitter about Pietro's death). 

This DIY is totally customisable, from the phrase you choose to the colours of the beads. Go to town on this one, and flaunt your _____ pride!

Whee, that's all from me today! Hopefully I'll get my August favourites up on the channel next week. In the meantime, check out my channel here and my other links on the sidebar.

See you soon! x

DIY: Tumblr Inspired Clear iPhone 6 Case

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Ever since I got my iPhone 6 a few months ago, I've found out that I really like the look of clear cases on it, because the phone's own colour can still be seen. Not surprisingly, phone cases are overwhelmingly expensive and the ones I really like are out of reach. I took matters into my own hands and created several cases, all inspired by my many hours on Tumblr (as mentioned dozens of times). Continue on reading for a quick and easy tutorial!

You will need:

• PVA glue (a.k.a Mod Podge, Elmer's glue, 白胶浆)
• a small paintbrush
• images for your design
• a clear case 
• scissors
• something to hold your glue

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Let's begin!

1. Find your images and cut them out. I found a dripping yin yang symbol on Google, scaled and sized it on Word, then printed them out.

2. Once your images are cut out, place them on top of your case to map out where you will stick them. 

3. Using your paintbrush, apply glue to the top of the image. Stick it onto the underside of your case (where it touches your phone). The glue will dry clear, and your design will be seen through the case.

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4. Continue glueing until your design is complete. Leave everything to dry overnight, and you are done!

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You can find clear cases online for relatively cheap (I got mine for under $10 each!), so buy a stack and go to town with it. There are endless designs you could do and naturally, I couldn't just create one!

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I created the 8-bit speech bubble case in honour of one of my favourite Avenger, and to express my frustration that he is dead (Marvel, kindly revive Quicksilver in the upcoming Civil War please!). I used mixed media for the other case (not really), using a combination of printed images and flash tattoos. One of the great things about this DIY is that you can create a design that compliments your phone colour, or clashes to create a statement. Of course, this isn't only limited to iPhone 6's. 

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This has got to be one of my favourite DIYs that I've ever done. Phone cases are one of my all-time favourites, so check out my other one here that I did a while back (the format may be different as I wrote it while the blog was still named Love From Icy. Updated links are on the sidebar.) 

Hope you enjoyed this post! I'll see you next time! x

DIY: "Cute But Psycho" Pocket Tee

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Hey there!

I'm back with another DIY. I gained inspiration for this tee through my many hours on Tumblr (of course) and thought it would be a fun DIY to write a post on. The whole process is relatively easy to do, but the embroidery may take you longer to finish. Anyways, let's get to it!

You will need:

• a white pocket tee
• black thread
• sewing needle
• chalk marker

1. Write the words onto the pocket using a chalk marker. Personally I had to use a fineliner because the chalk marker wasn't showing up on the material. It washed away easily in the wash afterwards.

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2. Using your needle and thread, go through the words using a straight stitch. Go back and forth over the letters until you have your desired thickness. I went through the letters three times: from one end to another, back, then again to the other end.

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The steps for this DIY are so easy, but getting everything right can be hard. I personally struggled with getting the shapes of the letters right, and trying to get the thickness to be even. But eh, I'm pretty satisfied with the outcome!

I am so sorry for missing out on a post last week, and I know, I was supposed to do my May Favourites. For the past month I've been busy with mock prep, so nothing interesting really went on. But alas, I have a plan! I will combine my May and April Favourites into one video, which will come out next month. Also there is a possibility I will be going on holiday next month, so there may be a few vlogs up on my channel. I had this DIY stored in my drafts folder anyway, so I think everything turned out alright!

Hope you have a lovely day! x

DIY: Collage Phone Case

Hey guys :)

First off, the past few weeks I have been crazy-busy with science revision. I did the end-of-year assessent a few days ago and now I feel FREE.

But tomorrow I have a Chinese exam. Whyyyyy.

Secondly, happy Father's Day to all dads out there! I would like to thank my dad for being supportive of everything that I do, and I love him very much! Unfortunately he wasn't here today to celebrate with us as he's on a business trip, but I send my love♡

Anyways, I have not done a DIY in almost two months! Today I have a DIY collage phone case, inspired by my many hours of procrastination on tumblr. I have been obsessively going through my dashboard, clicking through hashtags, reblogging, the usual jist on tumblr :)

Let's get started!

You will need:
1. Microsoft Word (or any other program where you can arrange photos)
2. pictures of your choice
3. a clear phone case
4. a cutter and cutting mat
5. a pencil and ruler

1. Firstly, you've got to find the pictures you want for your collage. You can use any: personal pics of you and your friends or family, photography, patterns... I like to search up 'grunge', 'vintage', 'indie' and 'girly' on tumblr; they usually give me the best results. You can check out my tumblr for inspo http://icygirl79.tumblr.com/ ;) Check out We Heart It and Pinterest, they have cool pics on them too. Remember to choose pics with a higher resolution or when you print them out they'll be super pixelated. 

2. Start up Microsoft Word or your choice of program and open up a blank page. You'll want to change the size of the page to fit your phone. I have a iPhone 5S so I made my page 6.4 cm by 12.9 cm. If you have a different device, measure your device's length and width, then add a few millimeters to both numbers, just to give yourself some room when you start cutting. 

3. Print it out and you'll be ready to start.

4. There are several ways in which you can get the shape that you need. One, you can directly trace your device onto the collage. The second way is only if your case came with a paper structure in the shape of your device. In my case (no pun intended!) it did, so I used that to trace.

5. So you've got the shape done. Next you'll have to cut the camera hole. With your case, line the collage up to the appropriate place and trace the hole. Use a cutter to cut it out. 

6. Fit the collage into the case and you're done!

This DIY is definitely my favourite out of all the other ones I've done! I love how you can customize all the pictures. I made another collage and a few other designs with a single larger image.

If you choose to recreate this, I would absolutely love to see it! You can instagram it and tag me @icygirl79, tweet me @icygirl79, or message me on tumblr (link is above) :)

Hope you've enjoyed today's post! That's all for today, have a good day/night!

Leave a comment down below and don't forget to follow Love From Icy on Bloglovin or by email!

DIY: 'Always Losing Bobby Pins' Wall Art

Hey guys :)

My lateness for this post can be totally justified... it's Chinese New Year!

Chinese New Year is an Asian festival which happens around the end of January to the beginning of February, depending on the calendar. There are countless traditions, such as hanging up red pieces of paper with four-word sayings in calligraphy called fai chun, or setting out a 全盒, a box filled with candy, melon seeds and dried foods, each symbolizing a different meaning. Few dos and a lot of don'ts apply to CNY, most of them originating from superstitions. For example, we can't sweep the floor during the CNY period because we will "sweep the luck away". Other things we can't do is cut our hair, wash our hair, or buy shoes. Weird, right?

We get about a week off from school, and I've been visiting relatives, friends, friends of relatives, the annual routine. It's not just about the lai see or food (which BTW, are added bonuses!), but about spending quality time with family and friends.

Yep, so cheesy but it's true!

So today, I have another jazz-up-my-desk DIY for you guys. This DIY is even easier than the silver star jar, and easy is always a good thing :D I was browsing around WeHeartIt for 'overlays' and 'transparents' to draw. If these two terms are completely new to you, they are basically tumblr-esque pictures or graphics that people layer onto their [Instagram] pictures when editing. I occasionally use them for my own pics and you can check them out on my Instagram @icygirl79. Anyways, I like to draw overlays and transparents because they are easy to draw and I can practice my questionable drawing skills.

Pics from WeHeartIt

The objects are not meant to look lifelike, which is why I tend to draw them instead of real objects. I came across this:

My mind was immediately like, um YES. Honestly, where do bobby pins and hair ties go? There aren't many places where they can hide and yet I buy a pack of 50 one day, I end up with 5 the next! MADNESS. 

I relate so much to this picture so I decided to put it on a canvas to hang up on my extremely blank wall.

My desk is messy :(

You will need:

1. a canvas size of your choice - my one is 10" x 12" and I purchased it from the New Town Plaza Phase 3 Commercial Press for $29

2. a black paint marker (or black acrylic paint and a paint brush - if you are able to handle these, I applaud you :) )

3. a pencil 

1. To start off, I used a pencil to outline the bobby pins and text. This is to ensure I don't mess up the final work. If you don't need to outline, skip ahead! If you are like me and want to be extra cautious, practice on a piece of paper. For this step, you don't have to follow the picture exactly. Be creative! 

2.  Draw on the design using your medium of paint

*extra tip: of you have visible pencil lines, you can easily remove them by rubbing the area with a cotton tip dipped in rubbing alcohol

3. You. Are. DONE :)

☆Starring Always Losing Bobby Pins, featuring Mr Silver Star Jar☆

I know, it's so easy you don't even need a tutorial. I just love this picture so much and I'm sure many girls can relate to this problem/issue/curse. 

That's all for today. Have a good day/night!

If you ever recreate this, show me on Instagram by tagging my username; I would love to see it! Leave a comment down below and don't forget to follow Love From Icy on Bloglovin!