So happy to have Tiffany back from Making The World Cuter! She came up with the most clever (and inexpensive) idea today….and I’m loving how each of those leather cuffs turned out. So cute!
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Hi everyone! It’s me Tiffany, and I’m so excited to be back this month sharing a new project! I’ve been enjoying the heck out of my summer and the whole non-schedule-ness of it all. I almost take the summer off to just enjoy it, so Making the World Cuter has been pretty quiet. Posting here has been a fun way to keep my creative side awake.
I love accessorizing in any way, so I have a plethora of belts. The problem is, a lot of them don’t fit my waist anymore, or are just outdated and not worn anymore. I decided rather than throwing them out, I would make some DIY leather cuffs out of them.
There are endless ways to embellish these, and I probably have enough left over to make at least one more from each…not to mention the buckles that you can save for other projects, or figure out how to use them as part of the design.
Do you have some old belts that don’t fit or that you don’t wear anymore?
Supplies:
The first belt that I cut up was this fun already embellished with studs and thread number that I just loved, but because it was fake leather, it totally ripped and I couldn’t wear it anymore. It was perfect to make a few cuffs out of.
So first, wrap the belt around your wrist and give yourself some extra length so that you can add the snap and then cut with scissors. Below is the finished cuff with the snap showing.
The snap tool and snaps are easy to use…especially on thinner leather. You poke the top piece through, line it up with the snap and then use the tool to hammer it together. All of the instructions are on the product labels. Then you do the same thing for the other side of the snap and you’re done! I made a couple of these cuffs, because the thread colors were different as they went down the belt.
You can also use jewelry cording and not bother with the snaps. This belt was thicker and the snaps I bought wouldn’t go through it, so I came up with this alternative way. First I marked and punched holes with my big bite Crop-O-Dile. About half way through, I realized I was a big dope and could have just used the part of the belt with holes already in it. (Mom brain, I tell you, the struggle is real.) Anywho, just thread the cording through the holes and then leave plenty at the end that you can go attach it together by going back through the holes. I really like how this one turned out.
On that same belt, I thought a little lace and trim would be fun. I used some tacky glue to attach the trim pieces and then used my crop-o-dile to add some grommets to both sides. This helped hold the trim on and also gave it a place for some cording to use as a way to close the cuff.
The last belt was another faux leather one, so it was thinner. I had some fun embellishing one of the cuffs with this dimensional metallic paint, by just adding the dot in the middle of the flower designs. I then added the snap as well.
I made one more with this belt and used the lace and the cording again. I used some more grommets and used a snap as well.
And that’s it. Pretty simple!
Have you ever made a DIY leather cuff from one of your old belts? I would love to see them!
-Tiffany
You can find Tiffany over on her blog (Making The World Cuter) on Instagram (@makingtheworldcuter), and over on Pinterest (@tiffhewlett).