DIY D&G Crown

Of course, like many others, I was blown away with the Dolce&Gabbana fw13/14 collection. The rich colours, the intricate mosaics, and of course; the crowns! Since I had a medieval theme party to go to, when would be more perfect? So I pulled out the glue gun. But first some inspiration, for more go to my pinterest.

                                                           bottom photo: "The Accolade" by Edmund Blair Leighton

Next, shopping! I was looking for something that had filigree, which is delicate twisted metalwork soldered together to suggest lacework. Used since ancient times, say 3,000BC. The D&G crowns use one piece of solid straight edged metal to create the body of the crown, hinged at the back for comfort, dotted with delicate points or crosses to create interest. The dominate colours for the swarovski crystals are red, amber, and green. I used two bangles from New Look, linked is similar (just mount on a headband or clear backing to use separate pieces), to create the main body of the crown, added to that a pair of earrings and a circular piece to the front to create the 'points'. I got the stones at the Bead Works, where I collected glass, and stones to decorate my crown. 

Supplies:

Glue

Needle Nose Pliers

Gold Wire

Gold Edging/Ribbon

Sandpaper

Gold paint/spray paint

Stones

Filigree metal pieces

1. Use sandpaper to roughen the surface of the metal so the paint will adhere. 

2. Glue the pieces together. 

I mainly used hot glue for my crown as it didn't seep through the filigree and had a high viscosity. Be aware, it is very hot. If I did it again I might use UHU instead.

3. Paint the metal surface.

I also used gold paint to even out the colours of the various pieces, but spray paint would work just as well. Test out the colour before covering the whole piece.

4. Glue the beads on the crown, wire can also be used 

  Needle nose pliers and gold wire to attach the rounder beads (secure the back of the wires with glue)

Note: It helps when buying and gluing to plan out where the beads will go.

5. Glue gold edging to bottom of crown/ ribbon to sides

Gold edging and ribbon to cushion the bottom of the crown and to attach it at the back. In the original the ribbons were velvet and the crown extended further back so the back pieces were hinged for comfort and fitting. 

and you're done!

So now you can go out and feel like a queen, without spending $4,000. Yeah, I totally wore this to cook dinner in! I'm thinking of widening the metal (by hand and carefully) cutting it into three pieces and hinging it all together to make a belt, which is much more wearable! But I have to admit, wearing a crown has its points...

all photos unless otherwise stated are by Chloe Cornell