Gifting season is almost upon us, and while the looming task of shopping for everyone we hold near and dear gets us in the festive mood, there's nothing that says Happy Holidays like a little handmade love. This year, we're going to supplement our store-bought presents and hot glue, knit, and embroider our way to gift-giving heaven—with a little help, of course, from the best Do-It-Yourself-ers on the web. To celebrate the domination of D.I.Y., we've rounded up our favorite bloggers who go to ingenious lengths to create studded bags, embellished tights, and other avant-garde accoutrements that we're eager to imitate in the weeks to come. Now excuse us while we mosey over to Michael's.
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As if we needed more reason to feel bad about our lack of accomplishments in middle school, along comes yet another teenage fashion wunderkind, this time in the form of 14 year-old Estonian stunner, Anni. The blonde shows off her skills in both the jewelry and clothing departments, fashioning fabulous zipper rings and adorable scalloped skirts, which she pairs with the her favorite thrift store finds.
Central Saint Martins graphic design student Shini Park regularly puts her mitts to good use, crafting up Rodarte sweaters that look like they were just snatched off the runway and studding bags á la Alexander Wang's coveted Coco Bag, except hers doesn't come with that mile-long waiting list. This DIY star always accompanies her posts with great photography and helpful instructions, inspiring even the laziest of us to get cracking with our high school Bedazzlers.
Its no secret that we're big fans of Erica's work. This ridiculously talented blogger shows unbelievable ingenuity, creating headpieces from scratch that rival Philip Treacy's millinery and and out-of-this-world embellished shoulder pads that would look right at home on Lady Gaga. Erica's equally adept at reworking existing items, transforming plain canvas totes to Vuitton and Goyard-inspired masterpieces and turning an old t-shirt it into a fringed summer scarf. And her faux-fur tutorial, which involves little more than fabric and a pair of scissors, will convert even the biggest glue-gun phobic to the cult of D.I.Y.
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This Boston student draws a lot of attention for her beautifully minimal and modern outfits, but we think the star attractions of Sophia Chou's site are her D.I.Y.s. This crafty chick braves blistered fingers to take on leather disc jackets, rhinestone and spike-encrusted bracelets, and feathered dresses, all to brilliant effect. And the icing on the cake? She usually has giveaways for her crafts, meaning the less gifted among us have a shot at getting our hands on her handmade creations.
It goes without saying that we're obsessed with Queen Michelle's utterly fearless style, but we especially love her highness' self-made creations, which are as avant garde as they come. Leg chain garters compete neck-in-neck with net-and-feathered "shoulder explosions" for our favorite project, which Michelle naturally photographs with some of the best pieces from her enviable wardrobe.