Wardrobe Revolution Update #2

I first posted about Wardrobe Revolution last November (twice). A month later I posted some progress, then this blog fell by the wayside and I didn't post anything else about it. Boo, me.

So it's time I updated, isn't it?

Dress (worn as top): TK Maxx
Skirt: Charity shop
Belt: Charity shop
Necklace: Handmade

I think I'm doing well. Aside from the few off-days where I slobbed about in jogging bottoms and t-shirts, I've more or less managed to never wear exactly the same outfit twice (accessories are your friend!)

Wardrobe Revolution Update

Just over a month ago, I posted about Wardrobe Revolution. (You can join me and set yourself any clothes-related challenge you want!)

For me, the challenge is about wearing more of the 90% of my wardrobe that doesn't get worn, and also to make more effort with my outfits.

I've been instagramming pictures along the way (you can find them under the #wardroberevolution tag) and here are some of my favourite outfits so far. Also beneath the jump, my observations on figuring out new outfits and also how I'm cutting down.

Plaid Top: Handmade

Shirt: Holly & Whyte by Lindex

Kilt: Charity shop

Socks: Matalan

Belt: Retro (from my mum)

Necklace: Handmade

Rings: Vintage/gift

The plaid top is the one that I made for Design 1o1. I wrote a litle about it on my first Wardrobe Revolution post, and have since sewn black bias binding to the arm holes.

Slash that Stash!

Do you ever get the feeling that your crafting stash is taking over your space?

I’ve made a resolution to craft using only what I have.

I’ll not buy more.

To try and stick to this, I’m sharing these pictures of my stash so it’s here for anyone to see that I have enough!

Also, I'd really appreciate suggestions for projects based on the crafting materials and tools I already have. So if you've got an idea, please do comment and let me know! :)

This drawer also houses some half-finished pieces and a couple of little boxes of charms, which I took out in order to take the picture.

Otherwise it’s beads, findings, jewellery to break up/broken jewellery and small pieces of crystal.

 

The rest of my jewellery-making materials won’t fit in the drawer, so live under the bed:

More beads, and tools...

Then of course there are fabrics. I’ve shared pictures of these cases previously, and wrote about the tags I made for them.

The amount of fabric has remained pretty constant--as I use some, I end up getting more!

 

Vote!

Voting for the 'I Will Wear it in Public!' challenge is now up! This time around you can vote for up to three entries per day! Click the button below to check out everyone's submissions and vote for your favourites.

 

Here's a quick reminder of my entry :)

Challenge Completed!: Shirred Top

After being majorly distracted from the 'I Will Wear it in Public!' challenge, I knuckled down yesterday and churned out my submission!

I'd been a bit stuck on what exactly to make, and only knew that I wanted to try out some shirring. Then Pam from Threading My Way suggested shirring on sleeves! It reminded me of this gorgeous velvet top I've owned for years, but never wear:

The reason I don't wear it is because it's dry clean only! Also the shirring at the waist has worn so it doesn't stretch properly anymore. Boo.

So I decided to make a more casual, washing machine-friendly version!

 

It can be worn on or off the shoulders.

Here's how I put it together:

I Will Wear It In Public (once I decide what 'it' will be)

As the title suggests, I've yet to decide upon what to make for the 'I Will Wear It In Public' challenge.

I previously wrote that I was leaning towards shirring, but to be honest I'm not all that crazy about the look. Or perhaps that's down to how high street fashion shops are currently using shirring--along the bottom of a loose-fitting top. Really not my kind of thing!

But I digress. Here are a couple of pieces of fabric I've been thinking of using for sewing projects:

This is just regular printed cotton; I have around 3 metres of it but it isn't very wide (I'd guess around 45-65cm) Originally bought it with the intention of making a dress, then decided that the flowers were too small. I'm still considering using it to make a dress, with shirring at the waist, though I'm not sure of the design.

This fabric is (according to the print on the selvedge) 100% silk. It measures approx 1m x 1m 60cm. I would love to make some super-wide-legged trousers from this vibrant fabric! My misgivings are that I'd have to make them with the print going horizontally, as above (not that flattering) and that silk trousers aren't all that practical, especially when you have five cats!
Still, isn't the print gorgeous?

I'm actually really stuck on this challenge! The 'try something new' part of it is what is troubling me most, I think...Also I'm still distracted with making costumes for later in the year, which I wrote about previously!

If anybody has suggestions, I'm all ears!

Sewing challenge ahoy!

Well, voting for the Typography Challenge finishes at the end of the month, and over at Ricochet and Away, Rikka has already revealed the latest challenge: "I Will Wear it in Public!", a garment sewing challenge.
The challenge this time around is to sew a new (or refashioned) article of clothing that you would proudly wear in public, and to try something new in the process.

For me, the 'try something new' part is probably the biggest challenge, since all the things I haven't tried out are pretty daunting to me--shirts, shirring and corsetry are some that come to mind!

Admittedly I tried shirring before, but it really didn't work. I don't quite understand why--I used a brand new reel of shirring elastic, wound it onto the bobbin by hand, etc, but the bobbin case just shredded it! Absolutely must figure this one out! (If anyone has any suggestions why, I'd greatly appreciate some advice!)

Corsetry is out of the question for this challenge, simply because I think it would cost too much (money-wise and sanity-wise!) Maybe when I'm feeling braver, and haven't got a long 'to make' list!

Shirt-making is something I've kind of done before, in a sense that I made a rather shapeless shirt using the top half of a dress pattern, and ad-libbed a lot of it. I also managed to rip a hole in the shirt whilst opening the button holes. Oops. Lucky it was just for a fancy dress costume!

So at the moment, I'm leaning towards shirring, or maybe smocking. Otherwise I'll consult my retro craft books for inspiration!

Zip Clutch Tutorial

Remember this zip clutch? It was my submission for the Naughty Notions Challenge, run by Keren and Rikka! (The challenge they most recently hosted was the Typography Challenge. Read about my entry here and vote for your favourite here)

As I wrote before, the clutch gave me a bit of a headache and there was some trial and error involved in its production. But it was worth it--the clutch looks fab and I won silver! (Check out the other winners here)

Anyway, I finally got around to writing a tutorial for this bag. Pictures are somewhat limited this time (sorry!) as I forgot to take them.

...Okay, I’ll confess: I didn’t write a complete tutorial. I skipped the first part. Mainly because the hinge frame bag tutorial over at Bag’n-telle explains it perfectly—so check it out first for how to draft a pattern best suited to your hinge frame and your needs. (Then come back here…you will, won’t you?!)

You’ll need:

Pattern

Lots of zips

Outer shell fabric

Interior fabric

Bias binding (to match or contrast with interior fabric)

Chains

Jump rings

Cottons to match your zips

Hinge frame

Strong glue (I used E6000)

Tools:

Ruler, set square etc for drafting pattern

Tailor’s pencil/dressmaking chalk

Scissors

Wire cutters

Sewing machine with zipper foot

Needle

Flat nose pliers

Something with a rounded point (I used flat-nose pliers)

Script Frenzy - Finished!

After writing here a couple of times about Script Frenzy, I finished up my script on Monday!

Here's a quick rundown of my pagecount progress:
Day 1 - 15 pages
Day 2 - 12 pages
Day 3 - 23 pages
Day 4 - 0 pages (bleh!)
Day 5 - 18 pages
Day 6 - 11 pages
Day 7 - 0 pages (gah!)
Day 8 - 15 pages
Day 9 - 14 pages

So I ended up at 108 pages, just over the target!

It sounds like a lot, but the way TV sitcom scripts are formatted waste a lot of page space :)

I'm surprised at how quickly I got through it really, since after writing around 10 pages I got stuck. Several days running, I got stuck. Then there were days when I didn't write anything at all.

Last year I had to go back and add in more material (last year I wrote a musical stage play).  This year, though I ground to a halt a few times, I reached the target without having to go back and add stuff. Boy was I relieved!

No more writing challenges now until NaNoWriMo in November!

Followers and Frenzy!

I popped onto the blog to write about Script Frenzy, but just discovered that Unfortunately Oh now has 100 followers! Hurrah!
I started this blog at the end of 2010, thinking it would be awesome even if I got ten followers, so for the blog to have grown and gained a hundred followers makes me really happy!

Thank you to all of you! Without your readership and kind comments, this blog couldn't have got this far. :)


With regards Script Frenzy, I am now at 79 pages!
I've had a couple of days - like today - where I've been unable to write anything, but with TV script formatting it's actually pretty easy to fill up a page. I had a little trouble at first, unsure of whether what I'm writing is funny, but am getting into the swing of it now.
21 pages to go and I'll have hit the 100-page target. I know how I'm going to end Act II, and what's going to happen in the tag--it's just a case of filling in the gaps in-between with things that will make people laugh.
Here's hoping I can bash out a few more pages tomorrow!

Typography Challenge Voting!

You might remember my Home Sweet Home wall decor that I wrote about not so long ago! As I wrote before, it was my submission for the Typography Challenge, hosted by Rikka (Ricochet and Away!) and Keren (sew la vie).

Voting for the challenge is now open! Click the button below to check out all the fantastic submissions, vote for  your favourite, and leave some love to the lovely challenge hostesses!

This challenge was great fun to participate in, as was the previous challenge (Naughty Notions clutch--see my entry here and keep watching for a tutorial!)

I can't wait to see what challenge those two creative ladies throw us next!

Script Frenzy!

So who has heard of Script Frenzy?
It's the script-writing sibling of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and takes place in April--so very soon!

The goal of this challenge is to write a 100 page script, over the 30 days of April. This could be a stage play, a short film, TV show, web show, screenplay or graphic novel!
Participation in Script Frenzy is free and the whole thing is run on not-for-profit donation. There are no prizes, except for the inevitable feeling of satisfaction you get after finishing off 100 pages of original scripted material!

I participated in Script Frenzy last year and wrote an absolutely terrible musical stage play that only came about because I was singing a silly ad-libbed song to my cat, Riley (yes, I sing to my cats. I'm practising for when I become a crazy old cat-lady!)

This year, I nearly decided not to participate, as I hadn't got any ideas. I know that some writers are adapting their NaNoWriMo into a scripted format, but I wanted to do something different!
Then - just as last year - I was struck by sudden inspiration :) So I'll be participating after all!

Script Frenzy provide a word count widget, which I'll add to the column on the right of this blog.

Are you participating in Script Frenzy? Let's be Writing Buddies! You can find my profile right here. 

Not participating, but want to know more? Check out the official Script Frenzy website, which has an extensive FAQ, loads of writer's resources (I hadn't a clue how to write scripts until looking at that page!) and forums where you can chat to all your fellow writers.

Well there's just a few days to go, and I'm nearly all set! All I need to do is decide whether to write another musical stage play, or push the boat out and write a TV sitcom...

Typography Challenge: Home Sweet Home

Since the challenge is now finished, I am finally sharing this at link parties! Voting is open until the end of April on Ricochet and Away

The moment I heard about the Typography Challenge, run by Keren (sew la vie) and Rikka (Ricochet and Away), I signed right up!

The lovely ladies hosted the Naughty Notions Challenge back in January, for which I made a zip-covered clutch bag.

This time around, the goal of the challenge is to create a home décor piece that incorporates typography. 'Great!' I thought, full of ideas.

Then I hit another craft slump and didn’t feel like making anything.

Luckily, some spring weather and a little easy-peasy crafting gave me the boost I needed to crack on with my project!

For this challenge, I decided on wall decor using maps.
Here’s what I put together:

Before starting on this, I was torn between a canvas and a quilted wall hanging. I decided upon a canvas since wall hangings remind me too much of secondary school, where student-sewn squares were quilted together into banners for the stairwells! 

This project cost me a grand total of 99p--and that was the cost of the canvas I bought from The 99p Store.

The fabric was an off-cut from my stash and the old map book I used was destined for the recycle bin.

I completed this across a couple of days! Read on to find out about the creation process, and the little lumps and bumps that happened along the way.

Tag!

So Terry from These Pease Taste Funny has tagged me in an 11-question game! I thought I'd give it a whirl, since these things are usually fun!

Here are the rules, dutifully copied and pasted from her blog :)

RULES

**You must post the rules.

** Answer the 11 questions that the tagger posted for you & then create 11 questions to ask the people you've tagged.

** Tag 11 people and link them in your post.

**Let them know you have tagged them.

 And here are Terry's questions, along with my answers!

1.  How did you decide to start blogging?
I started this blog as a replacement for a LiveJournal, which I began as a way of sharing my creations online, along with tutorials. People used to ask me how I made things, and eventually I realised it was easier to make proper tutorials and post them somewhere, rather than just try and explain the process with badly-drawn pictures!

2.  What would be your dream job?

I am still stuck on this question. I've wanted to be an astronaut, a special effects makeup artist, an artist, a writer, a photographer, and a plathora of other things! I still haven't decided but right now I suppose having my own shop of random things would be fun!

3.  What is your favourite movie or book?

Favourite movie is probably Labyrinth because I'm a geek for fantasy, or Pan's Labyrinth for the same reason. However, I have a special place in my heart for bara no konrei (aka Bridal of Rose), a silent vampire film made by a Japanese band that I love! It takes the storyline of half a dozen other vampire films and the acting is pretty terrible, but I love it nonetheless.

The soundtracks to all three films are awesome, too!

Book-wise, my favourite is Poppy Z. Brite's Lost Souls. It's gained me friends and fun and I've read it countless times!

4.  Favourite food?

Predictably, chocolate. Though I do absolutely love noodles as well!

5.  If you had an entire afternoon free, who would you want to spend it with and doing what?

Ooh tough question! If I could spend it with anyone in the world, language barrier be damned, I'd want to spend that free afternoon with Shina, (vocalist of the bands dangan shoujo and NOISY CROWDS) at Nekobukuro, playing with all the cats!

6.  What is the most significant goal you have achieved to date?

Going to a concert of two artists I never thought I'd see, in London, alone. 

...I did that yesterday, and it was fantastic.

7.  What is your dream vacation?

A world cruise!

8.  When you go to weddings, do you dance or sit like a bump?

I sit like a bump and watch the drunk people dance :) 

 I also take pictures of random stuff, like bits of confetti on the floor.

(I went to a wedding last Wednesday!)

9.  If you were going to volunteer for an organization, what would it be?

I am a volunteer already! I volunteer in the shop of a charity that helps underpriveledged people in Romania.

Mainly because I was looking for somewhere to volunteer, and they were looking for volunteers! They do some great work though!

10.  Favourite celebrity or sports star?

I don't really have a favourite...

11.  What is your best go-to recipe when you have company coming?

Since I live with my parents, I don't tend to have company. If I did, I'd probably whip up a sweet and sour chicken stir fry with noodles, because it's so quick to pull together!

Mm, some of those questions were pretty difficult to answer! But as Terry wrote, that is the relatively easy part!

Here are my questions for you guys:

1. Do you prefer to roll with the crowd or do your own thing?
2. What music/film/book to you like that surprises people?
3. What thing do you do that makes you most happy?
4. If you could ask anyone, living or dead, just one question, who would it be and what would you ask them?
5. How do you reward yourself?
6. What thing can you absolutely not give up?
7. What is your favourite sound?
8. Do you have any collections? If so, what do you collect?
9. What is the first thing you do upon returning home?
10. What would you consider your strong point?
11. If you could only do one kind of craft for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Tagging:

...ok, I admit I find tagging people really hard! 

So what I want, is for you to do it.

If you fancy a few minutes of fun, I hope you'll join in!

I'd love to find out more about you

Typography Challenge? Hooray!

So the Naughty Notions Challenge may have entered the voting stage (remember you can vote daily until the end of the month!). But Rikka and Keren have already come up with something new for us to take part in!

Bring on....the Typography Challenge!

Click on the banner above to go and check out the full details!
This time around the challenge is all about home decor!
 I'm looking forward to this; I don't often make home decor items so it will be a challenge indeed! But I've already got ideas and hope to some up with something fun and funky for my entry!

Home some of you will be joining in too! Keren and Rikka's challenges are always lots of fun :)

Naughty Notions Challenge: Go Vote!

Voting for the Naughty Notions Challenge is now open, over at Richochet and Away!
I posted about my entry the other day, but here's a quick reminder of my 'Naughty Notions' clutch:

Pin It
Read about my clutch here  See everyone's fantastic entries and cast your vote for your favourite at Ricochet and Away!
And whilst you're there, check out Rikka's other posts, and pop on over to Keren's blog, Sew la vie, too. Give the contest hosts some love!

Naughty Notions Challenge: Finished Clutch!

After struggling with lack of 'crafting mojo', fighting several times with a sewing machine, and lots of cursing (silently at least!) I finally got my clutch bag finished for the Naughty Notions Challenge! Phew!

Zip-a-dee Do-dah...

Pin It

Since the whole point of this challenge was to use notions, the look of my clutch bag was easily decided for me: zips! Zips everywhere!

Even after sewing this, I still have a while bunch of zips (though my stash has gone down noticeably now!)

I had so many because my Nanny got them from a friend who used to sew.

The zips obviously came from a thrifty person since most of them were used :) It's a feature I love, because it adds personality! I did have to spend ages picking little bits of cotton from them all, but that's fine, they were free!

This bag cost nothing to make. Everything was to hand, either given to me or already in my stash! Here's my middle sister modelling it:

This was my first ever attempt at sewing a bag with a hinge frame. I used the tutorial over at Bag'n-telle for drafting the pattern and for guidance on construction. Those frames are tricksy!

Decided to keep the back of the bag free of extra decoration! I had to trim off some of the zip so that I could slide the top of the bag into the frame (and also so I could sew together the outer and lining sides without breaking anything!)

All the zips were sewn onto a scrap of denim, using cotton from my vintage sewing box since so much of it was the right colour. Hooray!

Although this clutch is pretty small, it's just the right size for a phone, small purse, cards and keys.

Probably space for a couple of lipsticks, too ;)

Here's a shot of the lining fabric! It was a scrap left over from my pillowcase shopper. I love this fabric, and still have one more pillowcase left to craft from!

Somewhen I might post a brief how-to on this bag, though I forgot to take pictures at some stages in the sewing process. *sweatdrop*

Can't wait to see what other people have come up with for this challenge! Some people have already posted their finished clutch--so far what I've seen is amazing.

Edit: Voting is now up! View all entries and vote for your favourite over at Ricochet and Away!



Edit to add: My clutch won the silver! Yay! Congratulations to the other winners--check them out at sew la vie

Linking up here (or check the bottom of the page!) and: