Marvellous Monday #8

Today is my birthday, so this week's Marvellous Monday is going to be a little self-indulgent, in that I shall share pictures that make me laugh!
I certainly need a giggle with the impending doom of another year on my age, so I hope you'll laugh with me! :)

Source: findapassion.tumblr.com via Kei on Pinterest

There are some geeky, fandom-related things here, too. Because fandom is funny!

Customising Clothes: Tops

In this bustling, throw-away society, it’s easy for clothes to become tired, boring, or (with fashion’s ever-brief dalliances with retro styles) frumpy.

It can also be pretty easy to bypass clothes because they aren’t quite right--perhaps that skirt has a great print but an ugly style, or that thrift-shop shirt has a stain on the cuff that looks rather permanent.

But there are so many easy ways to customise clothing that these uninspiring, damaged garments can easily be turned into something stylish and wearable, sometimes with only a few minutes work!

This post focuses on customising tops. Next week, I'll post about bottoms (not that kind, cheeky!)

Drab denim jacket into rockin’ waistcoat!

The makeover on this piece was incredibly simple. I hacked off the sleeves and then brought out my ancient BeDazzler and added a bunch of evenly-spaced gold studs from my stash!

Marvellous Monday #7

Well folks, it's Monday again. I hope you're having a good one.

It's about time we had some cute animals again, isn't it? :)

Source: themetapicture.com via Kei on Pinterest

This little lamb is certainly having a good Monday. Look at that happy face!

Ethnic Tassels and Ribbon Necklace

It would seem that I haven’t had enough of tassels yet. Haveyou?

I made this necklace a little while ago and always intendedto write a tutorial to go with it! Unfortunately I forgot to take photographsas I made it. Go me!

However, I think it is clear enough with the photos I tookafterwards.

This necklace is pretty straightforward to make, really, soyou can probably guess the construction fairly easily!

You’ll need:

11.5 inches ribbon

4 x 6 inch lengths of chain

11 tassels (buy or make! Check out steps 1-4 of this tassel necklace tutorial for a how to)

Three large jump rings

Needle and thread

Scissors

Flat nose pliers

1. Fold over the ends of the ribbon and stitch to secure andthen stitch on one end of each 6 inch length of chain to each ribbon end.

2.  Use jump rings toattach three tassels to the chain, evenly spaced. To stop the tassels fromslipping, hook the jump ring through one of the links. Open and close the jumprings using flat nose pliers.

3. Stitch the back of the ‘heads’ of the other tassels to theribbon.

 

4. All done! Here is Mr Cow modelling the finished piece:

This has fast become one of my favourite necklaces. It’s nottoo fussy but is different enough that it easily jazzes up a plain outfit!

Over the past three weeks, I’ve shared three ethnic inspirednecklaces featuring tassels and/or pompoms.

Missed one?

Understated Pompom-Tassel Necklace

Sweetlime-inspired Pompom Necklace

Will be linking up to the parties listed at the bottom of the page!

Marvellous Monday #6

Happy Monday! Are you having a good one?

We've all heard of the phrase, 'calm blue ocean'. Let's indulge in that for a few moments today.

Source: vintagerosegarden.tumblr.com via Kei on Pinterest

Isn't it relaxing to sit and watch the waves, or to stare at a picture of a beautiful calm sea?

Jumble Sale Loot!

You know when spring is here, because suddenly all the boot fairs, table top sales and jumble sales start up again.

I haven't been to a proper jumble sale in ages, so when I found out about one yesterday morning I headed along for a gander!

Entry was 50p, though I paid £1 as I also paid the entrance fee for my Nan (my partner in charity-shopping, jumble-rummaging crime!)

And boy did we rummage!

Cute Stuff

A while ago, my lovely friend Lilia of Horror Shock Lolipop sent me this fabulous book!

Cute Stuff by Japanese company Aranzi Aronzo is filled with easy how-tos for cute items that have a purpose!

There are patterns in the book that you can either trace or enlarge on a photocopier; helpfully the book tells you what percentage enlargement you need!

When I first looked through this book I wanted to make everything. Then I became sensible again and realised that I don't need three more cloth bags ;) 

Understated Pompom-Tassel Necklace

Did you like the Sweetlime inspired necklace I posted about last week, but found it too big for your tastes or too busy for your personal style?

Then this tutorial is one for you. This pompom tassel necklace uses some of the same, or similar, parts, but produces something smaller and more understated.

It also takes less time!

Marvellous Monday #5

Ready for another Marvellous Monday?

This time, let's take a look at some fabulous rooms! Places to relax, places to lounge in the lap of luxury. Inviting rooms, warm and cosy scenes--somewhere to curl up with a good book and a daydream.

Source: thesequinsparkles.tumblr.com via Kei on Pinterest

Everybody needs a little attic hideaway, a place to escape to watch the world go by.

Procrastinating, Instagram-Style

I'm procrastinating in writing this post. I could be making more jewellery, painting, photographing stuff for future Etsy listings, reading, or doing a whole ton of other things.

Instead, I'm here, because I feel like rambling about recent things.

Yesterday, I finally got around to making some business cards. I only printed 24 (it would have been 32 but the printer rejected the last sheet of card multiple times!) but I think that's enough for now. I will carry some in my bag, as I'm getting better at plugging my wares :)

I picked up this awesome fabric in the village charity shop recently. It's a tad under 2 metres and cost me £1.50. The picture doesn't show all of the black section at the top, but it's the print that really drew me to the fabric!

At the moment, I can't decide what to make out of it. My initial thought was to make a long skirt, because last summer I wore my long refashioned skirt loads.
But now I'm thinking that maybe I should try to make a maxi dress or kaftan instead. Argh, decisions, decisions...

Remember how I wrote recently of my slowly-drying Wreck This Journal? It dried, after around three days against the radiator. I had to keep turning the pages so it dried all the way through!
This is how it looks now. I'm getting to the point where it takes ages to find the right page (especially now they're wrinkled and bent and ripped...) so I added lots of little post-it slips to help me find my way!

Okay, this last picture has a bit of 'eww' value, so I'll hide it behind a handy 'read more'. For the curious, I burst a blood vessel in my eye...

This is from last Friday. Of course, due to it being the Easter weekend, with bank holidays left, right and centre, the doctor's surgery was closed! Instead, I went to the chemist on the Saturday, where the pharmacist recommended some eye drops. The redness has gone down slightly, but I was told that it could take two weeks to clear up! I might go to the doctor if it hasn't cleared up more by the middle of next week. My eye doesn't hurt and I can see just fine, at least!
Absolutely no idea how I did this, but at present the red blob looks a bit like a rabbit. Did the Easter Bunny visit my eye...?!


Well, post done! Let's see if I can be productive now...hahaha!

Sweetlime Inspired Pompom Necklace

Whilst flicking through a copy of Marie Claire, I saw a gorgeous statement necklace by Sweetlime. It had everything: colour, texture, metal, textile, beads and a real ethnic, world traveller feel.

It was £365. Trust me, if I had £365 to spend on a necklace (or a couple of thousand, having looked at all the lovely things on their website) I would be making a huge order!

My version

Thanks to my stash, I was able to make my own version of Sweetlime’s ‘Pom Pom Madness’ necklace. This took me almost a day to make which proves that Sweetlime’s expertly crafted jewellery is worth the money (if I could afford it!)

Source: sweetlimeuk.com via Kei on Pinterest

And here is the original from Sweetlime (isn’t it lovely?) Sweetlime source parts of their jewellery from all over the world and a percentage of all their sales goes to the Salaam Balack Trust, a charity that runs 24 hour shelter homes in India (read more about it on their website, here). So you get karma points with your unique jewellery!

As you can see, there are several differences, especially when it comes to the beads. I was trying to stick to what I had, and ended up only spending 50p on an extra bead (the blue glass one with the red swirls) from Big Bead Boutique because that’s all I needed!

I didn’t have any nice ribbon and despite trawling the internet and high street alike, couldn’t find any embroidered ribbon at all! I ended up using embroidery thread to weave a friendship bracelet style ‘ribbon’ instead.

Okay, you’ve probably had enough of my rambling, right? Right! On to the tutorial :)

This is a great weekend project!

Marvellous Monday #4

Happy Monday! I hope you're feeling good today. Here's another Marvellous Monday!

It's Easter Monday, which is the inspiration for this week's theme: cute chicks and adorable bunnies!

Source: google.com via Kei on Pinterest