Friday 20 July 2012

Nailpolish Flowers

I was walking through our main shopping area and I stopped at some 2 dollar shops/cheap shops. Feeling creative, I bought some black hair combs and a plastic bouquet of tacky flowers, hoping that with a lot of time, thread and nailpolish I could turn them into something worth the $4.50 I spent on them.

When I got home I opened my craft box and noticed I still had a decent amount of lace left.  Placing my shopping goodies to the side I made: 
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I was feeling pretty happy with it,I had simply wrapped lace around a comb and sewed it in place.Then I tried it on...Chrysanthemum told me it was very 'maid' like....and as much as I love Downtown Abby, I'm not prepared to become one of them.

After testing out several nail polishes on scraps of lace,and considering tearing it off completely, I decided to put it to the side and try something else: SAM_1623

This is the result of snipping off four plastic flowers and coating them 'neatly' in nailpolish. It worked fairly well considering how simple it was.However after consultation I decided the freshly dried flowers would look best on a headband,Take 2:

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Unfortunatly I still wasn't happy with the result. I realised that a thick double layered headband wasn't going to work. I needed a skinny one...Cue frantic searching through my craft boxes/bags for an appropriate headband. One failed to turn up, and as the shops don't re-open till Monday, I'm going to have to wait until then to finish it off.

Incase you were wondering, here is the original flower bouquet in its full tacky-ness. SAM_1592



Watch this space!

Flower themed hair piece

I was searching through my hair decoration box for something to go with my new Bat Man shirt (Yellow and black) when I realised I had NOTHING to match it. With this in mind I watched several You tube videos on how to make flowered headpieces.

Unfortunately they all seemed to require a glue gun (Which I don't have) or they looked distinctly Bride/wedding themed which is not the look I was going for. I realised I was going to have to make it up as I go along.

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Here are my instructions on how to get the headpiece I made: 

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You will need:
 Some random fabric scraps, a headband, thread, a needle, lace,nail polish (coloured or clear)or a sharpie, and scissors.

 1. Cut out 2 big circles of fabric and one little circle, I used the base of a cup and cut it out jagged. It won't matter how neat you are as you won't see the edge in the finished product.

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2. Take the first circle and scrunch it up into a remotely flower shape. Sew it tightly so that it will stay in place. Repeat with the second circle . The third circle needs to be rolled up to resemble a bud with a couple of stitches through the centre.

 3. Sew the two big circles together however you think they look best. Then place the fabric bud in the centre and stitch it all together firmly.

 4.Take the lace and place it around the edge of the fabric so that it forms a frill. Sew it firmly.

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5. Cut off any loose threads and arrange the flower neatly. Take a nail polish, if you like the orginal colour of the lace then I suggest using a clear polish however I decided to use Midnight Fever ($2.00) which I found at a local chemist.The polish stiffens the lace so that it will sit firmly against your head.

6. Carefully paint the lace with polish until the whole of the lace is covered. Allow the flower to dry completely before moving on to the next step.

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6. Take the head band and after deciding where you would like the flower to go, sew the flower in small looping stitches to the band. 
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This step is very fiddly, especially if your headband has teeth. However the finished product is well worth the effort.

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7. Tie a knot in the thread and cut off all loose strands. For extra firmness I would suggest adding clear nail polish to the stitches, but it works fine without. You now have a one of a kind headpiece.

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Enjoy!

Thursday 19 July 2012

My gothic/cute shoes

I am doing a blog post dedicated to my two favourite pairs of shoes.I Love Shoes. They can make or break your outfit.

Every girl knows that your outfit is only as cute as the shoes that your wearing. Therefore, here are my most fabulous shoes!
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Black heeled shoes go with jeans, leggings or smart black skirts. They also create a mature look even if your wearing something casual on top.

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 I got these shoes from ALDO, and if your looking for these shoes in particular they are called 'NAUMANN' and are simply the MOST comfortable shoes I have ever owned.

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Silly shoes are fun and creative. I purchased these for around $20.00 but with a little imagination and a hot glue gun they wouldn't be hard to replicate. The brand of this shoe 'Instep' has some cool silly shoes at relatively cheap prices, I find them perfect for jazzing up a boring outfit.

 I'd also like to suggest cheap shoe shops, like Dimmies, King Kong, Crazy Clarks and any shop that sells cheap plain shoes. These shoes are very boring and tacky but splash some paint and glitter on them and they are definitely worth $10.00.

I can't possible be the only one who thinks retail therapy is the best medicine?

On another topic, look at this cute flower clip I made a little while ago:

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I will do a post on how to make this hair piece sometime soon.