Bling it on!

I’m tired of looking at the visual effects of a male-dominated world. Sure, I could go into war, politics, religion, etc, but I’m going to keep it simple: I like my world to LOOK PRETTY! Have no idea what I’m talking about? Take tools for example: they’re all metal; no colors or patterns and not pretty to look at. Why? Because guys make them and guys don’t care what they look like. They use them for function, not for looks. (this last observation was made by my husband after reading this post. Quite frankly, I’m surprised this all he had to say about it) If I’m going to use a tool, I want it to work AND look pretty – and it can! There’s no reason to surround yourself with the color of metal or feeling of drabness. And it’s not just metal. When I walk into an auto parts store, or a tool store (or other mechanical man-type stores) I’m just not inspired. Everything looks so cold and uninviting. Retailers could at least offer more stylish choices for the fashion conscience consumer. Women can build hot rods and fix things when they break (just to name a few) and we should have tools and accessories designed to be both functional and representational of our femininity.

Here’s a perfect example of a recent purchase of ear muffs from a local tool store. Generic, bland, boring. I was determined to take action to turn them into something I can feel good about wearing. 

Boring

I popped off both ear cups with a flathead screwdriver. Then I scuffed up the red plastic surface with 120 grit sand paper. I used masking tape to mask off the s quishy part that touches your face and ears. Then I mixed a ratio of 2/3 red glitter to 1/3 gold glitter in a shallow bowl. Once both of the cups were prepared, I used Mod Podge clear acrylic sealer spray (I was out of spray adhesive) to spray on a thin coat all over the red plastic part of cup. I sprinkled the glitter mix all over the cup. I sprayed on more clear sealer, and then more glitter. I did this a total of 3 times until the cup was evenly coated. Then I repeated the same spray/glitter sequence to the other prepared ear muff. I let the glittered ear muffs dry overnight. In the morning, I shook and dusted off all the extra glitter from each cup. Then I popped the cups back onto the fittings of the headband part of the ear muffs with pliers, being careful to press gently so as not to crack or break and plastic parts. Since glitter was involved, it got rather messy so make sure you lay down plenty of newspaper before you begin. This was a fun project and proof that there are other choices out there. Make your stuff your own!

Blinging!