DIY Bling: a Primer

I will be performing a bellydance fusion piece on Saturday at the Solstice Hafla here in Halifax, and I’ve been busybusybusy putting together a kick-ass costume. One of the highlights has been making some ridiculous fake bling. For those of you who would like to follow along at home, I present here a step-by-step, illustrated guide to pimpin’ yo’ dancewear.

Step 1:

Google “bling”. Be sure to check the image results for inspiration.

Step 2:

Gather your supplies. You’ll want some cardboard, tinfoil (or Caramilk foil wrappers if you’re into gold), scissors, a utility knife, fine-tip markers, pencils, glue sticks, glue gun, PVC (white) glue, artist’s paintbrushes (crappy ones are fine--you’ll probably end up destroying them), glitter, rhinestones (if you can find them for cheap, which I couldn’t), and anything else that strikes your fancy. Oh, and protect your work surface with a plastic tablecloth or something that won’t stick to your pieces when you’re gluing them.

Step 3:

Rough out a design in pencil, and when you’re satisfied outline in ink. Keep in mind that when you cut this out, it shouldn’t fall into pieces (unless that’s what you’re going for), and design accordingly.

Step 4:

Cut it all out using whatever combination of scissors/knives/jedi mind-tricks works for you. Be careful not to impale yourself on sharp objects.

Step 5:

My favourite! Gluing! The method I found works best is to get one side of your cardboard nice and gluey-gooey, stick it down on the back side of a piece of foil, flip the whole thing over and rub until it’s fairly smooth and you can see the whole outline of the cardboard through the front of the foil. Kind of like making those crayon rubbings, you know? Then lightly trace the point of the utility knife around the outline to cut away the “negative” foil areas. Be gentle--you don’t want to tear any foil from the areas that are glued.

Step 6:

When the first side is all foiled up and the glue is dry, repeat step five on the other side.

Step 7:

Decorate! You’re going for as much flash as possible, people, don’t hold back! Like I said, I wanted rhinestones, but I couldn’t find any good ones for a decent price, so I’m going with loose glitter set in a bed of hot glue. This bling is going to tell people how utterly dope you are, so really get in there and make it your own.

Step 8:

Wear with pride/irony, and sh-sh-sh-shake like a Polaroid picture.