All of those teaser shots with rhinestones and other supplies were used to create this bad boy!!

I wanted a fun accessory to wear to the Justin Timberlake/Jay-Z concert for or "me and my girlfriend(s)" and thought that a bow tie would fit the bill. I mean why not channel the duo's "Suit & Tie" song, outside of the karaoke booth of my car, via an accessory, right?

This project is super easy to complete! First I started with panels of Darice's self-adhesive rhinestone sheets, Gemz and some black 7/8" Grosgrain ribbon. (Feel free to go thicker/smaller depending on the size of the bow tie you'd like)

I wanted to coat the entire width of the ribbon with the rhinestones and five rows of the rhinestones fit perfectly! I trimmed a 6" piece of ribbon and then cut a 5 stone width of rhinestones about 5" long. (I didn't match the rhinestones to the full length of the ribbon because we'll want the ribbon ends bare for creating the "knot" in the center.)

I took the center of the rhinestones, matched it to the center of the ribbon, peeled off the backing, and adhered the stones to the ribbon.

After the rhinestones were stuck in place (the backing is super sticky and stays amazingly well), I created the base of the bow tie by taking the center of the ribbon (this will be the center of the bow tie), and pinching this with the ends of the ribbon around to the back.

Next I trimmed a section of rhinestones three stones in width and about 1.5", as this is going to be the "knot".

I peeled off the backing, and affixed this rhinestone portion to the back of the bow tie where the ribbon edges were, wrapped it around to the front of the bow tie, all while cinching the center to create a little ruching, and then wrapped the rest around to the back. (If there is any excess of rhinestones, you can just trim them off).

I wanted to make this a bracelet, so I measured my wrist and cut a bit of black elastic...

...and then sewed the edges in place.

I cut a final a section of rhinestones, three stones in width and just long enough to coat the entire back of the center, "knot" panel. I took the elastic and placed it on the back of the bow tie and then put the new strip of rhinestones on top of the entire back panel of the tie to hold the elastic in place.

And now we've got a little bracelet! (...or hair tie, or necklace, if you go longer...)

Also, to avoid sewing, you can always just cut a longer length of elastic, affix the center of the portion to the bracelet, and then just knot the ends. Also the sticky back of the rhinestones are pretty secure, however I ended up squeezing a little glue in the opening beneath the "knot" just for good measure.

I handed out the blingy accessories to the gals and proceeded to have a little arm pre-party!!

We picnicked at the Rose Bowl where the concert was being held...

...and scored the most perfect photo op from a duo of Pasadena firemen rolling through the grasses on a golf cart keeping peace.

We made our way through the masses to get to our seats...

...only to be welcomed by the friendliest concert neighbors ever!! I think we were sitting in the liveliest section of the arena, and that was before the show even started!

The row neighbors below us were dancing up a storm to the pre-show DJ, discussing the people who snuck into the stadium selling bootleg T-shirts in our section (I'm surprised they didn't get caught/kicked out!) and sharing their contraband. Yep, the gal in front of us was pushing her special vodka infused Gummy Bear stash to all of us...her name was Erica and she was on a mission to get everyone to try one.

The lights dimmed and the show began!! I'm obsessed with JT and have been ever since the end of N'Sync. (I was never really that into the boy bands, weirdly. I know, I feel like I'm a perfect boy band candidate.) When his Justified album came out in the early 2000s, I was hooked!

I've not seen Jay-Z in concert before and he killed it. We didn't sit down once.

It was such a ridiculously fun show and one that we were anticipating since getting tickets back in March. Unfortunately with shows of this size, the getting-out-part tends to be a minor disaster.