Halloween Skeleton Make up

I love Halloween, Always have always will. I'll admit I love christmas and that is my favourite time of year, but autumn and Halloween are a definite close second. Dressing up has always been something I enjoy doing, that topped with treacle toffee, pumpkin carving and scary movies is just on for a winner really. This year i went as a skeleton,... as you can see below :) I cut bones out of an old T-shirt for my top - Martha Stewart's DIY and painted my face and spinal cord.

there are lots of videos on youtube you can look at (and I sure did) to create this look, but this is how I did mine :)

It took about half an hour - 45 mins to do, but the time went quickly :)

 I admittedly used acrylic paint, and probably shouldn't have as I imagine it's not very good for your skin, but I'm a student and we make do with what we have and I didn't have any face paint... on the plus side the acrylic left a much more opaque colouring which worked well. It also peeled/washed off easier than i'd anticipated.

I started with a base layer of all white except round my eyes.

I then filled the eye area in with black felt tip eye liner (I don't like taking risks with my eyes) . I painted the majority with the eye liner, but filled the outline of the socket in with black acrylic, and the same along my eyebrows. I then painted my nose with black acrylic to create an almost hollow nose like skeletons have!

The I painted a little black around the top of my skull to define the shape a little better, but thats optional. I would advise doing it along the cheek area though as this is necessary for a realistic skull. I followed the lines of my cheeks and shaded the outsides with more black acrylic.

I also added a spinal cored (which I rushed a little) but you can see from the picture it gives the rough idea... Just before leaving the house I also painted my lips white and painted rough teeth on (below), this was so

it would last as long as possible as the moisture from lips make the paint peel easier.

 Admittedly by the end of the night the paint had started to peel, but it did add to the scary halloween effect.

 I had a great night and hope you all did too! I don't think i'll ever grow out of enjoying Halloween, so hopefully their will be many more years of costumes, candy and spooky goings on :D

Tin Bag DIY

I love tins. My mum has always had an unhealthy obsession with vintage tins, and I think it has well and truly rubbed off on me too....

I particularly like old food tins from iconic brands like Heinz, where the paint has chipped and is peeling but is so beautiful :) I do also like a few new tins, such as the tin in this DIY.

I use tins to hold pens, paint, hair clips etc, and even just as decoration on shelves in my house.

Here I decided to utilise this pretty Cath Kidston tin from Homewoodbound collections and make it into a cute but functional bag to carry little bits and pieces in. I've always chosen and worn shoulder bags with longer straps as I find handbags quite irritating as I don''t like to have to hold things when I'm out and about (probably because I'm too busy photographing slugs and eating) and with shoulder bags your free to manoeuvre freely, or as freely as possible at least.

What you will need:

1 Tin of your choice, a suitable size for a bag/purse

two large jump rings (I cut mine from an old nag I no longer wanted)

A strap - either a tape measure like mine, a leather strap (you could use and old belt), material, or chain

A sewing machine

Drill, with a drill bit 1 mm larger than your jump ring (mine was 5 mm)

pliers

1. To make your strap, you need to measure how long you want it to be. I like quite a long strap so that the bag sits on my hips, but this is your own decision. My strap was 57inch. You need to measure 4 cm extra for seam allowance. Once you have measured your desired strap, you will need to thread each end through the metal jump ring, fold it over, and using your sewing machine fasten the ends down, just like the picture below.

2. This is where you made need some help - Scott is really good at things like this, so he drilled the holes and attached the rings for me, but know I know what to do - I can safely say it is actually quite simple to do!

3.You need to make the holes in your tin, as shown below. You will need four holes, two at each side of your tin, on the sides of your tin that are near to the lid. 

To determine where the holes will be, you need to hold your jump rings next to your tin, and measure the points it will need to be (This is easier if you open the lid and visualise the jump rings by holding them above)

Be careful when drilling! As you obviously don't want to drill through any body parts....

4. You can now attach the jump rings as shown below. I used pliers to open the rings, then threaded them through the holes, before closing them up again with the pliers. Don't worry if the ends don't meet perfectly, you may have to cross them over to keep them in place (This happened to mine)But you won't see it as the joint is inside the bag.

And that is it! I'm thinking of trying out some more tins now I've mastered this one, so I'll keep you posted on my progress.  You may want to add a fastening yo your bag if it isn't secure enough, I'm sure a simple latch/clip would hold it in place, so maybe on my next go I will post a little 'HOW TOO' of that as well :)

P.s Thanks again to Scott for helping with this one :).. He secretly loved being manly and using the drills etc.

D.I.Y fruit ice cubes

Hello there :)

Here is a ridiculously simple and easy recipe/D.I.Y of how to add a little more colour and fun into a drink.

 What you will need:

Ice cube tray

water

raspberries (blueberry's, sliced strawberry etc etc)

mint (lemon rind, midget jems, other small fruits, herbs etc etc)

1. Add your raspberries and mint, or whatever combination you choose to your ice cube tray.

2. Fill your tray until full but not overflowing.

3. Place in freezer for half and hour - hour. Take out the trays and give the berries ad mint a little poke so that they stay beneath the ice that has formed ( this keeps the fruit central so they don't bulge out of the top of the ice cube).

4. Freeze until completely frozen and serve with a tasty drink.

These are really good if your having a summer dinner party and want to jazz up a jug of water, or even good in a cocktail.

Cupcake case garland

Here is a quick and easy D.I.Y on how to make a cupcake case garland. It' really simple, and is just a bit of a change from bunting and that sort of thing.

What you will need:

A selection of cupcake cases

A tool for creating a hole

string of thick thread

a handful of beads

It is very simple to make -

1  Cut your thread about 1.5 metres long, or as long as you'd like your garland to be!

2  Group 2-3 cases together and pierce the middle with a hole. Thread them onto the string or thread and then change to a different colour/patterned case.

3 I found to keep some in their position, it was easier to thread on a bead and tie a knot , which creates a stopper so the cases can't move out of place.

4 Carry on threading the cases on, and tie a bead at the start and end of the first and last cupcake case to keep them still.

5 Tie a knot/loop at the ends of the thread and that is all folks!

D.I.Y Shiny red ballet style shoes

When I was younger I used to have tap dancing lessons, and by no means was it my forte. I really disliked it, but stuck it out for a year or two until I finally convinced my mum I was not built to be a dancer!  I have a bit of a 'thing' for red shoes, and maybe the tap dancing could have been where it started, I had patent red shoes with the underneath made of metal, which made such a beautiful sound.

I saw these red pointe shoes on the internet, and fell in love ! I wanted to try to create my own more practical version (also a lot cheaper) that I could wear for everyday use. The above images are from Google and show the ballet pointe shoes both in red, and the iconic pale pink ones.

Here is my take on them -

What you need:

1 Pair of white ballet shoes (Mine were from Primark £4)

2 Meters red ribbon

1 Can high gloss red spray paint

Scissors, cotton

Tissue paper or newspaper

  

 You need to stuff your shows with tissue paper or newspaper to stop the spray from getting inside your shoe. Then take them outside, somewhere that you don't mind being sprayed.

Now Spray your shoes. It is better to have several thin coats, than one thick one, so be patient and spray, dry spray etc until your shoes is evenly covered.

Now leave your shoes to dry overnight, as they can sometimes be
 sticky for a few hours after.

 You now need to have 1 meter of ribbon for each shoe. Cut each meter in half (50cm) so altogether you have four pieces of equally sized ribbon (4x25cm).

Roughly mark in the middle of the shoe where you want the ribbon to be. Sew either by hand or on the sewing machine each piece of ribbon to the shoes (four times altogether).

 Then they are finished! I watched a video of how to tie them on Youtube - Ive posted the video so you can see for yourself how it's done.
My version's are obviously not meant for proper dancing, so only use them as day shoes!

D.I.Y Bear ears

Bear Ears

This is a super cute D.I.Y to add to an unused or plain Hooded top to make it that bit more fun!

I was really into bear Hats about two years ago, and when River Island brought out their range of animal hats I was first in line (and in school) to have one! Then they became a bit, well over used and EVERYONE had one, but I still love the idea and this way you don't have the same hat as everyone else, but you can have your own version!

 I chose bear style ears, but by changing the colour and shape of the fabric you could do rabbit, cat, fox, antelope, the world is your oyster ;)

What you need:
2x Colours of felt
Thread
Sewing Machine
One Hooded Top (Mine is a cheapy from the men's section in Primark)
Needle

 1) Start by marking out where you want your ears. I wore my hoody and looked in the mirror to see roughly where they needed to be. Then use Tailors chalk to mark onto the fabric. I used a ruler to measure the distance from the middle seam to each ear so they're not wonky.

 2) This next step depends on how you want your ears to look. Cut four of the same outer shape (in whatever colour you choose, it's best if it matches the hoody though), and two for the middle colouring. I like white as it's pretty simple and more 'realistic' (as far as bear hoody's go?!)

 Now you need to sew one side of white felt to one side of black, and do this twice, so you have two shapes like the picture above.

To sew them together, place TWO RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER (as my textiles teacher would always emphasise), and sew along the edge. Make sure not to sew the bottoms together, or you won't be able to turn them the right way! Now turn them back out so you have a shape like the one below.  Do this twice, once for each ear.

Then you will have these two shapes. Don't worry if they're a bit wonky, it all adds to the look. (Have I ever told you I am THE WORST SEWER EVER!)

This next step is optional, but I think it does help to keep the ears upright when their sewn on. Stuff the ears with cotton wool, or this synthetic wool stuffing I have here. Make sure its not too full, but that there's enough so it holds a fatter shape.

 Lastly, sew the ears to the hoody! I didn't stitch the bottoms of the ears together before sewing the
m to the hoody, but you could do if you fancied. I just used black thread and sewed them by hand.

And that's all there is too it! I hope you enjoy your new ears :)

They work well as a very lazy dressing up costume too !

D.I.Y Teabags

Hello there !

I haven't blogged for a week now and I feel really bad. It's not like I feel I have to blog, its just I think it's so important to document all the little things that happen in our lives that may be forgotten over time without something like a blog to document them. I've been mega busy this week attempting to put some form of a portfolio together for university, and I haven't had much time for my usual things like walks with Scott, cooking and crafty things. But I made time to try out this cute DIY that I found from - Amanda, and can't wait to be back to normal and not so stressed :)

What you will need:

Tea leaves, or the contents of a teabag.

Coloured card

Filter paper (I used coffee filter paper from Tesco)

Embroidery Thread

Sewing Machine

 1) Start by cutting a rectangle into two sides of the filter paper. Then sew three sides leaving one open to add the tea leaves.

 2) Add the tealeaves. At this stage you could add flavourings such as peppermint etc to flavour your tea, personally I like mine plain.

 3) Cut two shapes (whatever you like) out of card. I chose a heart and made it from this lovely red glittered paper.

 4) Use your sewing machine to sew the embroidery thread to one side of your card. Then glue the other piece onto the sewed side.

5) With the other end of the thread, you need to sew the bag to the thread using your machine.

 6) Gently fold over the stich making sure the thread is central, and there is no gaps for the leaves to leak from.

 Finally sew the fold down, and thats all there is too it.

 It's super cute, and although its unpractical for everday use, it looks lovely if your having a tea party, friends over, or even as a gift!