To cool for school

DIY vest top

My sister was lusting after a cream jumper with a big ? on the front that she saw Monica wearing on an episode of friends the other week. I'm pretty sure that I've seen versions of them in Topshop recently but being only 11, she has a few years to go before she can start experiencing a total lack of self control in the amongst all the pretty racks of clothing :)

Never being one to let something stand in the way of what she wants, she found an old

white vest top in her wardrobe and a black fabric pen and decided she would make her own version.

She was going to fill in the question mark using the black fabric pen, but as she had a ribbed vest top

we thought this wouldn't work very well and it wouldn't look as good.

I've always loved patchwork colours together so I suggested she sew floral squares of fabric over it instead

(one of which she actually sewed, the rest she left to me in typical younger sister fashion)

And voila!

 

It is me modelling it though I quite like it

 so I might have to borrow it when shes not looking :)

Love and kisses

x x x x

When I grow up...

When I was little I wanted to be an author. From the age of about five to twelve ,I filled countless notebooks and word documents with stories about witches and and fairy tale lands, and when I was seven I sometimes used to make up a story in my head on the way to school  to entertain myself. When I got to comprehensive school, I remember changing my mind and wanting to open a cafe and sell art work off the walls, and use my gramps gravy reciepe (is it me or does no one do a cooked dinner like your grandad can make it?) in the cafe. When I got to my GCSE & A levels and it really was time to grow up and decide what you wanted to do I decided I wanted to be a journalist.  I liked writing, I was good at english so it made sense to me.

I got in to uni, was there for a week hated pretty much everything about the course and have been working in retail ever since.

It all seemed so simple when I was little :)
But now I really am all grown up...What is that really I want to do???

Sometimes I wish that I had been more interested in fashion and art & design when I was in school and the I could have gone on and studied one of those courses in uni...but I wasn't. It was only really when I started working and had money to buy clothes and jewellery for myself that I started becoming more interested, and  I wonder would I have been so if I had not worked in retail and had some disposable income to spend on clothes and things? Probably not as much.

I know I could still go to uni now theoretically and study something fashion related but at 23 as most of my friends are starting to go in to full time jobs and look seriously at moving out, the thought of graduating at 26 with a £30, 000 debt isn't that appealing. I know you have to look at the bigger picture sometimes, but that thought scares me. And with the recession at the moment the last thing I want to do is go through all that and then end up not being able to get a job in that field and be back doing the same kind of job I am doing now but £30 000 worse off.

As I was thinking about all this I happened to read this months issue of Company magazine. They have a pretty big spread on careers this month and they had a feature 'Now I'm grown up I want to be a ...' Which then went on to list 20 'dream jobs' that their readers had picked and some advice on how to get in to each of the industries by someone who already worked in them.
I loved this article particularly when I read about theses five career choices:

Jewellery designer

 

'How I did it: I studied jewellery design at central saint martins and started selling work to friends. I then interned in New York. In 2009 I set up Daisy Knights

Get my job: Be an intern for a jewellery designer-I'm looking for one!'

errm...yes please. lol

This would be my ideal job :) If I had a massive light airy studio full of gorgeous materials and sparkly things to make jewellery with. Heaven :) I am actually starting my own jewellery business but its very much something thats mine that I love to do on the side of a job that the source of my main income. (unless I become very famous ;))

 

Boutique owner
'How I did it: I'd been an assistant shop manager but started my own jewellery website in 2004. In 2010 I had enough money to open my own shop!
Get my job: Working on the high street taught me shop keeping skills'


I would love this job as well :) If I had a boutique I think I would fill it full of gorgeous jewellery and accessories and perhaps some items of clothing. I'd have fairy lights strung everywhere, vintage wallpaper,  little white wooden chairs heaped with floral cushions to sit on, and huge ornate mirrors so you could see what things looked like on.

Fashion stylist

'How I did it: In 2004 I took a six week fashion styling evening course at the London College of Fashion then got an internship in GQ mag's fashion cupboard. They offered me a job stylist assistant. I started free lancing in 2006.

Get my job: An evening course can help you get qualified without having to give up your job.'

Ideally, I know you would really need to live in a busy city like London for a job like this (and I'm a home girl at heart) but if I did I would love to work for a fashion magazine calling in clothes and styling models for shoots.

(and sneakily trying some of the shoes on when no ones looking)

Fashion Buyer

'How I did it: I worked on shop floors in high street stores, took an international fashion course at university of Manchester the applied for a Buyer's clerk job at River Island.
Get my job: Get to know your customers, its all about giving them what they want

I read on one girls blogs once (can't remember whos) and she mentioned that she'd worked in the accessorize head offices as a buyer/merchandiser.
*sigh* yes please :)

Fashion designer
How I did it: I took a BTECT National Diploma in art and design then studied fashion and textils. My first job was a design assistant at John Richmond. It took another few years working for other brands before I got the job at Topshop.
Get my job: With a fashion degree and work experience

This would be a great job although very hard work. It so talented to be able to make clothes, I wish this was an ability I possessed!

I'm glad that I read this article its made me feel more
 inspired and determined to get a job that I really love

love and kisses

x x x x

This charming thing

I love reading posts about fashion DIY. Some of the things I've seen on line recently are so gorgeous and professional looking they could belong in a shop. The great thing about DIY is that you can put your on spin on it so no one else will have one exactly like it :) And as much I love shopping I think you treasure things that you make yourself and it means more to you.

If you read my blog regularly you will know that I have an obsession with jewellery and recently started making my own. I love making things and I love all the creative fashion inspiration thats about so I thought I would do this post and share how I made these fabric charm bracelets

Materials

You will need

Scissors. Preferably fabric scissors, but it doesn't matter if they're not

Jewellery pliers or normal pliers. A normal pair of scissors will probably work but be careful nothing flies off in your face as its harder to cut the mental links using scissors

Fabric of your choice. Lace is quite pretty if you have some

A chain. You can get a meter length from places like Hobby Craft if you want to make a few to wear, other wise an old chain you don't use any more will be fine.

Eye and clasp You can use a clasp off an old necklace, but for the 'eye' bit you will need one of these to secure the fabric. I would imagine they're easy enough to pick up in a local craft shop, you can also find them on another necklace you could use, but careful you don't accidentally snap it when you use the pliers to take it off 

Start by measuring the chain around your wrist to get the length you want

Cut it using the pliers

Then measure the fabric to the same length and cut a strip off.

You can have your fabric any width you like, I cut mine about half an inch to an inch wide

You will need to cut at least two strips so you can plait it with the chain but you can cut more if you want it to be thicker

Put the lengths of fabric and chain together. In the bracelets pictured above I used two strips of fabric but for this one I'm using 5 strips plus the chain

Start plaiting

Secure one of the ends with the eye. Slide the fabric in the eye and use the pliers to push one side down and then the other. Its quite fiddly but doesn't take long when you get the hang of it :)

Tie the other end securely together. Cut the ends off

Add your clasp to the other end of the chain using the pliers/scissors

Start adding your charms to it :)

If they don't already have links on them you can use cut some of the links

from the left over bit of chain to attach them

Snip any loose threads off if you need to. I didn't with the first three I made but with this one depending on your fabric it may fray easily and you may need to neaten the edges up



Voila!

If you love DIY posts I seriously suggest that you check out this lovely  Lady's blog.
aboutlovemaegan.blogspot.com 
I've just spent the last half an hour lusting after her DIY creations. They are endless and she is very talented you will not be disappointed!

love and kisses

x x x x