Bootleg Corner v.3: Anthropologie-Inspired Golden Heart Earrings

Thanks once again for joining us here at Bootleg Corner.  You may have noticed a theme tying together all of our projects so far:  They’ve both been inspired by jewellery pieces from Anthropologie.  This week’s project is no exception, though it deviates a bit in how closely it mimics the original.

As soon as I saw the Hopeful Hearts set on Anthropologie, it struck me how easily the look could be recreated.  Not exactly, of course, but closely enough.  Plus, this method can be applied to create other shapes for those of us who aren’t fond of hearts.  Since this is a Valentine’s Day-themed post, though, we’ll be making heart-shaped earrings.

Instead of providing you with a whole set of instructions, I am instead directing you to the highly talented women over at the beauty department.  Follow their instructions for making glitter bobby pins and make yourself a pair of glittery little hearts.  Now, instead of gluing them to bobby pins, stick them on to some post earrings (pictured), and you’re done!  So simple, right?

I hope you all have been enjoying Bootleg Corner so far.  Unfortunately, our next episode will not be for a while yet while we hunt down something non-anthro to bootleg.  In the meantime, take it easy and keep crafting!

Notes:
-Heads up that a lot of the time earring posts do not come with backs.  You will either have to buy some, take some off a pair of earrings you already have, or be ghetto and use pieces of eraser like me.  I got my posts at a local dollar store.

-You need to make your hearts or other shapes at least as large as the flat part of your post earrings if you don’t want this part to show through.  Instead of making the hearts with glue, I made a big sparkly patch on the wax paper, and cut the hearts out when dry.

-I coated my hearts with clear nail polish to prevent sparkles falling everywhere when I wear them.

-Glue gun might be fine for bobby pins, but I would recommend something like crazy glue for attaching the shapes to the earrings.

Found something you’d like to see on Bootleg Corner?  E-mail it to moinettedesigns [at] gmail [dot] com!  If your lucky, your idea might just become the topic of another Bootleg Corner!

there are no secrets in this world.

ETA:  Looks like I didn’t miss Nutella Day after all.  While enjoying your Nutella today, please take some time to think about this message.

I may be young, but I’ve experienced a lot of situations, and had a lot of feelings.
Maybe it’s because I’ve been feeling it so much recently, but I think one of the most painful emotions I’ve experienced is not being able to help someone suffering right in front of you.

As valiant as that may sound, I’m not talking about helping the homeless or anything like that.  I’m talking about that one person, who you know is in an emotional torture cell, and can do nothing for but stand by and watch.  Maybe you can smile at them now and again, but you can’t take away their pain.  Seeing this in friends is hard enough, but in someone you can’t reach out to?  It’s the worst feeling for me right now.

So to those of you who think no one knows your suffering, I send this crepe.  I made it for Nutella day, and would have loved to share it with you, but we aren’t there yet.  There are eyes everywhere, either close to you or in unexpected places, and at least one pair belongs to someone who cares.  They may want to help, but either not know how or not feel it their place to.  But they still care, which is kind of nice to know.

& for those of you who can do something, why not go for it?  You may not be well-received, but it’s better than not even trying.

~~~

Crepe recipe from Juls’ Kitchen
World Nutella Day is brought to you by the chocolicious Sara and Michelle.

Bootleg Corner v.2: Anthro Glass Cache-Inspired Necklace

Hello, and welcome back to another episode of bootleg corner.  I know it hasn’t been long since we last parted, but I found this and couldn’t resist (Anthro is ridiculous).  Yes, it’s another necklace, and yes, it’s also from Anthropologie, but I wanted to create a piece that suited my personal style more than the last, and this was perfect.

The Glass Cache Necklace retails for close to $600 on the Anthropologie website.  Now, I don’t know about you, but I personally don’t have an extra 6 henney lying around to spend on a necklace.  I do however happen to have a pendant from an old necklace that looks something like the rhinestone piece in Anthro’s version.  Using this, some string, and a couple of beads, I found it easy enough to recreate the look of this piece, but in a way more suited to me.

Dwaejigogibokkeum.

(It’s seems we’re on a bit of a Korean kick over here. Though really, when are we not?)

Before I made dwaejigogibokkeum (spicy stir-fried pork), it had been a long time since I’d really cooked a meal. So long that I’d forgotten how relaxing and freeing I find the process. My thoughts race about so much that cooking is probably the closest I get to meditation. & yet, I think it’s amazing how cooking invokes all the senses. In that way, it invigorates me and reminds me of the most basic but most precious components of human life. Where would we be without our senses?

I love cooking dishes that challenge me. In the case of dwejigogibokkeum, my challenge was slicing the meat thinly. I couldn’t get a hold of pork belly, so used another cut of meat that I can’t remember the name of. I was actually ecstatic when I managed to cut it down to 1/4 inch slices, as directed in Maangchi’s recipe (that woman is amazing!), and with fairly even cuts at that. I should have taken a photo, but such is life.

(Look at the pretty meat!)

I had to make some adjustments to Maangchi’s recipe to suit the availability of ingredients here. I couldn’t find green chillies anywhere, but had some cut-up red chilli that came with the Thai food I had delivered a while back. Also, all the fresh ginger I could find was sub-par, so I threw in a little (okay…a lot) of powdered ginger and hoped for the best. It’s the powdery stuff on top of the red stuff (gochujang) in the photo above.

Thankfully, it turned out delicious! I found the dwaejigogibokkeum very filling, and not as spicy as I was expecting (though if you’re not okay with spicy, you should probably reduce the amount of gochujang, or pass on this dish). I would recommend cutting the green onions like Maangchi does, in longer pieces, rather than into little bits like I did, since the sauce can drown out their presence if they’re cut too small.

Bootleg Corner v. 1: Anthropologie-Inspired Ribbon Necklace

Hello, and welcome to Bootleg Corner, a special feature on my blog where I show you how to recreate a high-fashion look for a fraction of the cost.

As a student, I understand the desire to keep up with the latest trends, and spice up your wardrobe every so often.  But I also know that not all of us can afford to purchase those pieces we see as key to changing up our style.

Today I will be showing you how to create a necklace inspired by a few necklaces on Anthropologie (here, here, and here).  While they are personally not my style, I saw the price on Anthro’s website and couldn’t resist.  $200, really?   Not many of us can afford to shell out that much for a single necklace, and we probably aren’t Anthro’s target market anyway.

Allow me to show you how to recreate the look at a fraction of the cost.

miyeok guk-ish.

(All the green! I love how vibrant it looks here)

One of the saddest things about going back to school is there being nothing to eat in the house.
I suppose it’s my own fault for not stocking up on staples before I left for the break, though.
The first few days are the toughest. You’ll find me in a cycle of wanting to get stuff to eat, but being too hungry to actually go out and get stuff. I break out of the cycle temporarily at first by ordering pizza or Thai delivery. Being a broke student though, this isn’t always the best idea. Plus, it’s all too easy for to slip into the habit of eating delivery only, and putting off grocery shopping, if I order in two times a week or more. & we all know I can make better food that what I’d be ordering, right? .

one little christmas tree can light up my home.

It’s been a number of years since we’ve had a Christmas tree, but I still miss assembling it, spreading out the branches so that they look all fluffy and perfect. Of course, the decorating was fun too, but I don’t know of any others who enjoyed assembling the tree itself so much.

In my current house, I have no space for a huge tree like the one of my childhood. I suppose I could buy a mini tree, but assembling it just wouldn’t be the same. So for years I’ve attempted to replace that tree in other ways, but none of them ever quite measured up.