I made this! Ornate notice board

I bought this large ornate picture frame before I bought my current flat. It fitted in with the decor of where I was then, but since I moved and decorated, and it suddenly looked all....wrong. So it lay under the bed, stored with other items I love too much to give to charity, awaiting for inspiration for me to transform it into something altogether different.

A while later I had an idea. I had some white paint left over from the kitchen make-over, and a few coats later....

And rather than using it as a picture frame, I thought it would make a nice notice board. So off to Ikea, and a Stanley knife and some glue later, I had a new notice board. I added these beauties I found in the haberdashery store - (another great find in Barnett Lawson)

Gorgeous, colourful birds with bendable wire legs for 'perching' on hats, costumes, or wherever you like - such as an ornate notice board....

Nice, no?

I Made this! Jacket updates

Not strictly something I made myself, but I did some customising and updates to give a fresh lease of life to a couple of my jackets.

As I've said before, the 'Make Do and Mend' trend is in full flow at the moment, but even before it was the trendy thing to do, I've always loved to update, embellish and re-new my clothes. Yet again, I headed to Barnett  Lawson for some haberdashery goodies.

The first jacket was actually a new buy and an absolute bargain. I walk to work down Lower Marsh everyday; Lower Marsh is a market street just behind Waterloo, packed with quirky boutiques, cafes and coffee shops and, my favourite, the daily market stalls. On my way to work recently, I saw this army issue jacket on sale for £1. Only £1!! Very 'on trend' for the Summer, and just crying out for a bit of work...

A few stars, some gold embroidery epaulettes, an antique gold weave trim, and Bob's your uncle. The haberdashery cost more than the jacket!

                                        

                                         
And the other jacket is one I've had for a while, but has been languishing in my suitcase under the bed (where the clothes I like, but not enough to be in the wardrobe, reside). I removed the boring navy plastic cheapo buttons, and replaced with some lovely gold mirrored buttons instead.

Et voila - very chic and Marc Jacobs-esque. Nice, no?

I made this! Fascinator 2

I made another one - i recycled an old alice band, and used the left over feathers from my first 'creation' and some pearl beads i had been meaning to use for years. The result is...a little fashion forward.

I mean, as gorgeous as it is, where the hell am i going to wear it to?!

I made this! Fascinators

I've always had thoughts about designing hats and fascinators. This week, i decided to stop thinking and start doing. So, i took a trip to Barnett Lawson - an excellent haberdashery supplier on Little Portland Street (http://www.bltrimmings.com/).

Not only do they have anything you could want to do any crafting and designing (I was like a kid in a sweet shop - decided i really didn't need the maribou boa..), but they were also very helpful for novices like me; i was given advice and was patiently talked through the basics for how to make a simple fascinator. Also, which i really appreciated, was the advice:  "on the first visit, customers should just look, take it all in and then come back and get started at their own pace". And that's exactly what i did.

I came home armed with the simple components - alice band, fascinator base, veiling, some feathers...

I found a little bit of scrap fabric to add a little colour...et voila:

The Boy's verdict? "You bought this, no?" Even he was impressed - though i had to explain what a Fascinator was...

I made this! Knit-tastic.

Knitting is all the rage at the moment. There's a fashion for the 'Make Do and Mend' ethic which i commend, but do feel it will be soon forgotten and a new fad will be embraced. That being said, i love the it, and it's not just a money thing, it's the creativity and the pride in making something by hand, myself.

And so, here's my first finished knit project - and i don't think it's so bad! I knitted a long scarf, and attached a bobble fringe to finish it off. I'm pretty chuffed with it. What to knit next....

For the bobble trim, i went to the fantastic Barnett Lawson  - an Aladin's cave of buttons, trimmings, ribbon...the works. Be warned - you won't leave empty handed. http://www.bltrimmings.com/