Jewellery Pouches

 

This is what I spent my afternoon doing today :)

 

My parents are going on holiday soon, and I thought I would make my mom a little travel case for her jewellery to keep it from getting all knotted up. Then I got carried away and made 6 more....

 

 

 



They were just so quick and simple! Not gonna lie, I did enjoy deciding which trims and bits of lace to use for which, I think I enjoyed it a bit too much because I am a sad person.

I'm not exactly sure how I intended it to be tied up, but maybe something like this...

 

I think this is my favourite one. the fabric I bought ages ago in a sale, and the trim came free with Cloth magazine a few months ago.

But I think they are really cute and hopefully they will go to a good home. 

Collars

For a while now I have been looking at embellished collars as necklaces. I know they have been around for a while, like these lovely ones from Nordstrom

(Picture from Nordstrom)

 

Its took me a long time but I have finally got round to making some of my own.

 

 

 

I had a few old shirts which used to belong to my dad and I cut off all of the parts besides the collar and the top button fastening. I made sure I cut as close as I could to the seam line so I didn't have to sew anything myself.

 

I then used lots of bits and pieces to decorate them.

 

 

This one was made from gems from old necklaces which I stitched on to the collar and little pearl hearts which I glued using fabric glue.

 

 

The points on this collar were really small so I cut up some studded fabric I had and glued it to the points with fabric glue. I thought it would look quite cool with some little dangly pearls from a broken charm bracelet, so I stitched those on too.

 

 

This last one is my favourite. The gold roses were old earrings that I never wear. I took off the pointy bits and stitched them onto the points of the collar. I then added a piece of old gold chain to join up the points. I stitched one end of the chain to the point and added a hook from a hook and eye to the other collar point so I can put it on easier.

 

It was a bit chilly today so I was wearing a thin jumper. The white collar looked really good with it. I think I will wear them with more high neck jumpers in the autumn/winter, but they also look quite cool with vests and stuff. :)

 

I originally made them to sell, but I think I may have to make some more cos I want to keep them! I will have to hope dad wants to get rid of more shirts! 











Small Projects

I have been making a lot of bigger things lately. I love making clothes and I'm so happy with how my things have come out lately, but I felt like I needed a little break.
It can get a bit hard going sometimes and I don't like getting stressed out with sewing. I always try to stop what I'm doing if I am getting frustrated or annoyed, so I decided to break it up and sew a few fun smaller projects.

I have made a few little make up bags and stuff before so I thought I would have a go at making these sweet little purses.

I think they look quite cute. They are just made with fabric scraps and spare buttons I had. Inside I lined them with silk.

This little bit of pink silk used to be a part of a dress my mom wore in the 80s!

I also made a few other things. I tried my hand at making these little owl pincushions out of old fluffy jumpers.

And baby ones which I am gonna string up and put them on some sort of hanging thing. (Really well explained I know)



 

It was nice to have a change but I feel like I want to get back to some serious sewing now haha. My 2 Nans have both given me enough jobs to keep me busy for a little bit though. I have two dresses to make for one, a skirt for the other and cushion covers for both.

So here is what I will be working on for the next couple of weeks!

More Shorts.

I made some shorts a few weeks ago for my friend Melissa. They are from the same Burda pattern as the ones I have blogged about before here and I knew Melissa liked them, so I whipped them up in a few hours.

For this pair I used some white and navy striped cotton which looked really summery and I also added these little white lace daisies on the pockets.

I made them exactly the same as I did before but a tad smaller for Melissa, the stripes definitely were a little challenging to match up at times though!

But she liked them, yay! And she sent me some pictures of her wearing them

Doesn't she look cute! I love her jelly shoes!

So if anyone is low on shorts this summer....... haha.

Carrie Bradshaw Moment

This calls for a Carrie Bradshaw moment I think

http://pinterest.com/pin/555420566515208313/



I woke up this morning and decided something had to be done about my wardrobe. I have to admit that I love sorting out all of my clothes, however I have been letting get a bit out of hand until it looked like this.....

Yeah slightly out of hand.

But oh, you just wait it gets worse. I thought it would be a great idea to take out all my clothes and shoes to decide which ones I wanted to sell on ebay, which ones need to go to the charity shop etc. But then my room looked like this.....

Pahaha, just to add as well, the floor was so covered I was standing outside of the door to take these pictures.

Anyway, the clear out gave me some new ideas for outfits at least. You may see a few on my Lookbook soon. (you can access it from my home screen. I am a bit addicted to it right now.)

After a few hours it looked loads better-



I even managed to get all the shoes in!

You should see my to sell pile though....

 



Yes, I am going to have a fun filled evening putting this lot all up on ebay! Wish me luck!

70s Skirt

Here is a skirt I made today and thought I would share it. :)

The pattern is one I picked up from Wales last week for 20p and is from the mid 70s. I really wanted a new skirt pattern as mine are getting a bit tired so this was perfect, there are 3 versions to choose from but I liked this one with the little fake pocket tabs.

I was so surprised at how easily it came together and the size was perfect. I thought it may be a little small as the waist size on the packet was an inch or so smaller than my actual waist. But there must have been a fair bit of ease allowance as it was pretty much a perfect fit.

Well that is besides the length of course. I did take about 10cm off the pattern piece, but then ended up taking another 10cm off to make it a mini. Ahh the pain of being short. So in the end it is kinda more 60s style than 70s, but I think it works.

The fabric is the metre of Oscar De La Renta I brought from Mood and I added some cute little turquoise buttons.

I decided to wear my skirt with these little cut out boots I got recently from Aldo which I love. I am also wearing my favourite pink sunglasses which I got ages ago, which my brother always takes the piss out of me for.

I think this skirt is one of my favourite things I have made. Think I might be getting my wear out of this one this summer!

Stash from Wales

Every year around August me and my family all go to Wales for the weekend for my Grandad's birthday. My mom and dad have a mobile home/static caravan in this really small quiet place called Llandanwg, right by the beach and its so relaxing!

It was really nice to spend proper time with my family and the weather even held out! We had a great time just hanging out at the beach and playing cards in the evening.

There are also some great little junk and antique shops which I always have a look in, sometimes they have off cuts of fabric or cute little buttons and shizz. This time I was really in luck!

This bundle of fabrics came to about £5, which is great because there is at least 1.5m of each. I had a closer look at the pink one and had a look on the internet. Its Laura Ashley from the 80s and so pretty! I have no idea what to do with it yet though.

 

I also picked up a few patterns from a charity shop, one from the 70s which is a cute little skirt, complete with all pieces. They were 20p each.

Then I got some unusual buttons, badges and a whole load of zips for about a pound. But what I loved most was this Girl Guide badge. How Cute! Again, I don't know what to do with it yet, but I love it anyway.


So I was pretty pleased with my haul, just got to find some way of using it all now. I don't know about anyone else, but I am so good at hoarding my stash, buying more and more and not using anything up. Ah well when its as cheap as this it would be rude not to!

Erin and Ping's Copy Cat Challenge

I have finally entered my first sewing competition!

Erin of i heart fabric and Ping of Peneloping are running the Copy Cat Challenge until October. Inspiring people to recreate something already made that they love.

I entered my graduation dress as I was inspired by Marilyn Monroe's white dress.

I was one of the first 30 to enter so I got a 25% off voucher for Burda patterns which I'm very excited to use!!

Some possibilities.......

 

 

 

Don't know where this girl is taking that cake though.

 

There are some great prizes, and Erin and Ping were so nice! I think I'm going to enter again, just gotta think of some more things to copy.

 

Good luck to anyone else entering!