Cute Puppy Jumper December 2012

When trying to think of Christmas gifts this year I was inspired by what my sister has been trying to find for a while now. She has searched all over the internet (and beyond probably) for a jumper, or a knitting pattern with a picture of a Yorkshire Terrier on, as she has the cutest pair going.

So I made her one for Christmas this year!! This was the result and the pup who inspired it, Toby, how CUTE!!

So I just used a picture that I found of Toby looking super cute and still!! It is a good picture as it is mainly big shapes which are easy to sew.

First I cut out a shape in a pale brown fabric, which resembled the shape of Toby's head, but simplified. I then pinned it to a jumper that I bought in the men's section in Primark, the sturdier the fabric the better. I used the same colour thread to satin stitch around the shape. This was done using a zig-zag stitch on the machine, but you could do it by hand, it would just take longer. It's a technique called appliqué, easy to do but looks really effective.

Next I cut the shape of Toby's beard in a darker brown fabric and again used satin stitch to attach it to the jumper.

Then sewed a nose shape using chain stitch and filled it in using chain stitch again. I used the same method for the eyes and the mouth, but used black thread.

I think it looked rather cute, and it could be done for anything really, as long as the shapes are kept simple enough.

If you are interested in anything that I have done, or would like me to sew something for you then just message me on here or contact me on my Facebook page or Twitter!!

Christmas Angel - Dec 2012

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! Thought I'd just show my Angel for my tree!! I made her from scrap fabric I had lying around and used pale orange wool for the hair. I love her, she also has a halo made from picture wire (not shown). She is stuffed with teddy bear stuffing. Her wings are covered in gold sequins (same sequins I use for the sequin collar shirts). I think she is lovely and looks great on my tree! Next year I will have more handmade Christmas tree decorations on my tree!! 

It is hard building up a selection of Christmas decorations by yourself!! But I quite like mine!! Also reindeers in Liverpool Queen's square! They looked sad but they made me feel happy and Christmasy. Also look at my ugly owl decoration from John Lewis, he is brilliant!! I want to make some like this!

Check out my Facebook and Twitter or message me on here for any requests or questions!!

x x x 

Personalised Presents- Dec 2012

Christmas is coming!! It's so close now! But what do you get the person who has everything?! Well their very own personalised present! It doesn't have to be just for Christmas, it is a perfect idea for pretty much any occasion. It is also good for those who are trying to save the pennies.



Something hand made or hand personalised is so lovely to receive and great to make and completely original! Something that is really simple but really effective is just sewing someone's name onto an item, whether it be a t shirt, a teddy bear, a bookmark or what i've been doing recently make up bags.


So I used a plain black, quite sturdy make up or toiletries bag. It is from Sainsbury's I think (this was for my sister's friend so my sister provided the bag). Really plain, so a great blank canvas. So firstly I drew on lightly the name that I wanted to add (this is obviously for Danielle's birthday!!). I then chain stitched over the outline that I had made. I used a really pale lilac as it stands out well against the black.

Then after that it is completely personal preference. I added flowers and leaves to make it girly, but you can basically add anything. The flowers are just long and short stitches using one colour of thread for the outer petal and another for the centre petals. The stems are vine stitch and the centre of the flowers are french knots.

I have done a few more of these personal presents but can't reveal any names as I don't want to ruin any of the surprises before the big day!! But I'll add some pictures of the decoration on them.

Hope you've got a few ideas, or if you want to get in touch about getting some items personalised by myself check out my Facebook or Twitter or message me on here!!

Merry Christmas!! 

DIY Studded Leather Jacket - October 2012

Studs are still EVERYWHERE, and leather is a key piece this autumn/winter, so a studded leather jacket is completely on trend (as well as looking pretty cool!!).

So of course it will cost you a fair bit of money to find the perfect jacket stud combo. Or you could do what I did and use a jacket you already had and adding whatever shape or size stud that you desire. By using as many studs as you want (mine are from eBay for a few pounds) you can update your jacket for autumn/winter in very little time and for a fraction of the cost.

It is really simple to do, just requires a bit of patience. Best thing about this jacket, no one else will have it, it's completely unique to you!!

You could add the studs on the shoulders, cuffs, collar, just about anywhere really. 

Check out my Facebook and Twitter for more ideas or to contact me about any bespoke pieces that I could do for you, or just with any general questions!!

x x x 

Pink pink to make the flamingos wink - Bestival 2012

With Bestival on the Isle of Wight happening this weekend I thought I'd show you what I created for a friend (and her friend) who are going. Every year there is a fancy dress theme and this year it is wildlife, so that could have been anything from and elephant to a ladybird. What my friend had in mind was flamingos, the campest and over the top animal ever, which is brilliant. So it was all about the pink, feathers, sequins etc. So what we ended up with is a Bjork style swan dress (everyone remembers THAT dress don't they?!) except as a flamingo!! How brilliant.

A H&M bright pink long sleeved body con dress was chosen for the base. I then promptly chopped the sleeves to make the neck and stuffed them and added a beak. The beak is painted and I used a little button for the eye!

And then came the hard part. I cut out HUNDREDS of different fabrics, all shades of pink, into feather shapes. This is what took the most time.....

I then sewed these shapes into strips by hand. I tried to sew them on as random as possible so not to make it look like a pattern or patchy. As you can see I've used netting, bits of the dress, left over fabric from other projects, offcuts, anything I could get my hands on that was pink!!

So I continued to hand sew all the feather shapes all over the front of the dress, with a few on the bum too. I then added loads of actual feathers too, I used a glue gun for this!! This took forever!! But deffo worth the effort!

When I finished them I thought the flamingo faces looked a bit too sad, so I added some fluttery eyelashes, and made feathery hair clips for the girls hair!!  I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out actually!! But by the time I was finished sewing all those feather shapes on I was sick of the sight of them!! They turned out quite cheap as well, as all the fabric was recycled (apart from the H&M dresses which were £9.99). The feathers cost 99p for 20 from eBay. All buttons and sequins were from my own collection (which I've built up for years!!). 

I can't wait to see how the girls will look in these costumes!! Definitely will stand out, no one else will have these one off pieces. Most people will just have them Primark animal onesies won't they!!

If you are interested in any costumes or fancy dress please feel free to contact me on here, on my Facebook Page or my Twitter.

ROAR!! A mane for Jamie's face!!

Jamie from JamiesFace fame is a lovely friend of mine, so when he asked me to make him something for his YouTube channel I said yes please straight away because, 1. I knew it would be weird (no offence Jay) and therefore fun to do, and 2. He is my friend, it would be tres rude if I said no.

So he told me for what sketch he needed it for (I'm keeping quiet so it will be a surprise!). So he basically wanted a lion's mane that he could wear, but was stretchy for his massive head (his words not mine).

I then got my thinking cap on and thought making it like a balaclava almost  would be the best approach, as it is stretchy and covers his chin and fod.

So I cut the face out of the balaclava and sewed strips of fur onto it.

I used the fur below from this eBay seller. I got half a meter, but I didn't use all of it, but better to have too much than too little in the sewing world!! 

This took agggess!! And fur is a PAIN to work with, I'm still finding big clumps of orange fur round my flat!! But once that was finally done I finished it off by adding little yellow ears!! I think it turned out brilliantly actually! So below is me wearing it after I finished it, this would be perfect for a fancy dress!

Now here is the man himself wearing it, and as you can tell he is very pleased!! Can't believe he has moved to London!! I will link the video as soon as it is uploaded!!

ROAARRR!!

So again if you want anything like this making for you (I know bestival is coming up?) you can contact me on here or via my Twitter or my Facebook.

x x x

My Most Unusual Request Yet

Most of my alterations work tends to be repairs, taking up hems, sewing buttons on etc. so when something a bit more unusual and creative comes my way I love it.

So I was asked to make a funny christening present for a little baby and was sent this picture.

 

Now this is a Japanese product which basically a duster on a baby grow, so when the baby is crawling around it can clean the floor as well!! How funny is that! So he brought me a baby grow and those microfibre cleaning mitts and I worked my magic!!

So it took me a while, as the microfibre was quite tricky to sew, but I think it turned out great!!

How cute? Yes? I thought it was a really simple and different Christening present!! It also turned out quite cheap, plus everyone who I have shown it to has thought it was hilarious so win win!!

If you want something like this you can contact me on Facebook, on Twitter or on here! 

x x x

DIY patchwork quilts

I have been making patchworks for 4 years now maybe, I just did them in my spare time (in the summer holidays usually) and they are simple and fun to do. They also make really great personal presents for people. (People are proper made up when you give them it!!) It is something you would keep forever! What I never realized is how expensive they are if you where to buy one! Hundreds of pounds!! And they are impersonal, sure they look great but £200?? I don't think so!

So I thought I would go through how I go about making one. So I have my own special one, which goes on the end of my bed. It is made up of fabric which has been a part of my life (old curtains from baby room, bed sheets, old clothes) so instead of throwing them away, I made them into something that I could look at everyday, and hopefully pass onto my own children (a long way in the future!!).

So what I first do is cut out squares of the fabric, you can choose what size squares, but I always do 12cm x 12cm. But that doesn't really matter as long as they are squares. You can use a paper template if it makes it easier. I then cut out more squares, I usually aim for a quilt of 12x12 squares, so that is 144 squares (!!) this is the most time consuming bit, but you can do it watching the telly! 

Next I machine sew the squares into strips of 12 squares, I like to alternate the squares but you don't have to, it is entirely personal preference. 

I then sew the strips together to get one huge square. If you feel like the square is too small, or needs neatening up, I sew a large border around the patchwork area of one colour. I finishes off it nicely I think, and makes it look less busy. All that is left to do is but a lining on the other side. I usually use a padded lining (already has wadding attached). This gives the blanket a bit more weight, but again it's personal preference. You can just use ordinary lining.

So attach this lining, you put the two right sides of the fabric facing together (inside out) and sew all around the edge leaving a gap of about 15cm. You then pull the fabric through so now the right sides of the fabric are now facing away from each (the right way round) you can then hand stitch the hole closed. You then can either sew an edging around the fabric, or just machine stitch an inch all around the edge to finish it off, and again this is personal preference. 

And voila! You have your very own patchwork!! And for literally a few pounds (unless you have to buy all your fabric). Nothing like the price of one from a shop, and these look much nicer because you made it with your own fair hands!!

If you fancy giving this ago, and need tips, or even if you want me to make you your very own, feel free to message me, comment, or go on my twitter or Facebook  and get in touch with me there!!

Hope this has inspired you to get the scissors out!!

x x x 

DIY studded collars for an OOTD

Studs are everywhere now, studded shoes, bags, jackets, belts and collars. The may look good, but the price tag that comes along with them aren't. So of course I thought, I can do that for the fraction of the price and off I pop to eBay and get myself some studs. This is the seller I used and they were £2.50. 

I used a mint green blouse I had bought from New Look, I thought it would look good contrasted to the silver studs.

It was really easy to do, the spikes easily pushed through the fabric and I used a thimble to press over the spikes to secure them in place.

I added three rows of studs, as it prevents hair being caught in them! They look like collar tips almost. I added them to the pockets as well.

I think they look really good! and for £2.50 I can add them to anything, plus they are really easy to remove again.

I wore it recently with a skirt I had made from Liberty fabric and some vintage lace that was lying around my house. Looked perfectly summery.

This is one customization that anyone could do themselves, so I would deffo give it a go on a rainy day (plenty of those at the moment) or to give an old item of clothing an edgy new look. The result looks professional and expensive! No one would ever know that it only cost £2.50!!

x x x 

OOTD 9/8/2012 DIY ombre hair for summer

Recently I've been umming and arring over the ombre hair look, I think it is beautiful for the summer, but the thought of bleach on my hair and the expense was putting me off. Saying that most of my hair is extensions, so it is not my hair I'll be bleaching!! (well it is mine, I bought it!!). Next was the expense... so I must have watched a million YouTube videos and read a million blog posts of girls who did it themselves. From these videos and posts I decided that I could do that, looked simple enough, and the results looked good. So I took the plunge, it is only hair after all, it grows back, you can dye it back. Plus I've sort of got into the mentality recently of 'You only live once' so why not?

So I used Jerome Russell B blonde hair lightener. It was around £5 from Home and Bargain. It was one of the powder bleach ones. I bought two boxes as my hair is quite long, and my hair is almost black!!

So I followed all the tutorials I had seen, and after one attempt I washed my hair. It had lightened it, but it wasn't as light as I wanted so I did it on the very end of my hair two more times. This time I washed my hair and thought 'Oh my God it's ginger!!!' but thankfully it was just the light in my bathroom!! Again it was not the colour I wanted, but it had worked, just more subtle than I had hoped for. But ah well!! This is what it looks like.

So it looks ok I suppose but i don't think this hair will physically go any lighter!!

Anyway, so today is actually like proper summer, so you can actually wear summer clothes, so i thought I'd do a quick actual summer outfit of the day. So i'm just wearing a white vest from Dorothy Perkins (about £4), a grey jersey high low skirt from Topshop (£20), vintage gold, white gold and rose gold necklace from my nan, and Primark nude pumps with gold studs (£10), and Primark plaited belt (~£1). Excuse the pasty legs, they haven't seen sun in about a year!!

Hopefully I'll get a bit of tan on them today!! 

Much love x x