How to Make an Insect Belt Buckle

This waist belt is a perfect accessory to finish an outfit and add some weirdness to it. You can have a lot of leeway when it comes to colours and insects. There are a lot of giant plastic insect online, you can choose from beetles, flies, spiders etc.

• Plastic insect (large enough to cover the belt buckle with the body)
• Elastic waist belt (at least 6 cm thick)
• Primer, spray paint, sealer (spray-on work best)
• Acrylic paints (to add details) and tiny brushes
• Drill
• 1 mm metal wire
• Long nose pliers
• Two-part epoxy
• Acetone or rubbing alcohol (to rub all over the insect before paining- removes oils and dirt)
• Disposable chopsticks or thick skewers
• Disposable gloves

Start by drilling or punching a small hole in the belly of the insect. It’s there so you can put a chopstick through. You will hold the insect by the chopstick while spray painting, it will let you rotate the toy and reach all the nooks and crannies.

Use alcohol or acetone to clean the insect. It will remove any oils and dirt and prepare the surface for painting.

If there are any loose or moving pieces like wings, use a small amount of epoxy to glue the wings to the body of the insect.

Push a thick skewer or a sharpened chopstick into previously made belly hole.

Put a disposable glove on your non-dominant hand, hold the insect up by the skewer and spray paint while rotating the chopstick.

Prime first, then use your chosen colour and let it dry while still attached to the chopstick.

Once dry, you can move to painting details like I did by applying acrylic paint to the eyes and wings.

Let it dry and spray paint one more time with a sealer.

Use a small drill bit to make 4 holes in the belt buckle, space them evenly.

Place the belt buckle on the fly’s belly and trace the drilled holes.

Drill holes in the belly.

Use pliers to cut two, 6 cm pieces of wire. Curl it like a hook on one end and maneuver them through the holes in the belly. Thread the wires through the belt buckle holes and twist 2-3 times to secure it, or, if your wire is like mine, thicker and more malleable, simply bend it to the side. Trim and flatten the ends as much as you can and do it in a way that allows the belt to be buckled.

Mix a small amount of epoxy, and apply to the belt buckle. It will prevent the wire from snagging your clothes and make the insect more secure.