Hectic

Hi Guys, I haven't posted in agesss because, as you can probably guess from the title, these past few weeks have been hectic! 

This isnt a real post, more like a life update and I wanted to tell you about the changes I'm thinking about for this blog. 

So mid-september is when school starts, which means back to uni, so moving back up to manchester was stressful enough. Then its freshers week, which means hangovers, a lot of hangovers. 

Uni also means going to lectures, and lectures means work! Especially as a 3rd year, it actually counts this time round.

These past few weeks have been host to all the fashion weeks too, and I wanted to wait for that to blow over because there is too much choice to focus a post on it. 

I'm thinking of starting to do OOTD posts, or rather OOTW, to make it a bit easier. This is because the posts are quick and simple, which would mean I can keep posting whilst keeping up with my work. 

However! My lack of clothes from travelling over, and my lack of money, means hardly any new clothes have been bought, so my OOTW's would consist of not very interesting style choices.

All of this has left me with no time, lack of motivation and a failed blogging idea. 

But don't despair, my 21st birthday weekend is fast approaching, which should hopefully bring some new fashion updates! 

In the mean time, here are some pictures of my new room at uni, a bit bigger than my old one, and looking more presentable with my homemade bunting hanging up!

I have managed to purchase one item of clothing since I've been here. This sleeveless chiffon shirt with studded collar, £24.99 from Ark, (you can't really see the studs, below) and you can buy it cheaper from Missguided for £19.99. I love it, really on trend with the military theme of this season. 

So there is my little rant of excuses over, try and stay tuned guys, its greatly appreciated!

DIY Bunting Decoration

Hey Guys!

I recently completed my little summer project of making my own bunting for my room. 

So I'm going to tell you how I did it so you lot can have a go if you like!

To start you'll need a selection of fabrics. Luckily, my mum loved the idea of bunting and bought me these beautiful patterned ones!

She also found some yellow gingham fabric in a sale bucket for about £2 for a load of it!

You'll need about half a metre of each, depending on how long you want the bunting.

Next, cut your triangle template onto card. Mine was 18cm wide by 21cm down, and there are plenty of templates online to print off.

Then you need to draw around the template onto your fabric with a pencil. Make sure your fabric is folded and it is the wrong side (the one without the pattern) so you don't get pencil marks on the finished triangle. 

To save on fabric, line the triangles up next to each other like this to cut them.

Useful tools to do this are a tape measure, a ruler and a pencil. 

Another useful tool is pinking sheers, this prevents the fabric fraying which means you don't need to do oversew each edge.

Start cutting straight on the lines of the triangles.

Once you have a triangle cut, you can start straight sewing about a centimetre around the edges, keeping it as neat as poss. You can pin the sides together to make it a bit easier, but I used thick fabric so there was no need.  

When you get to the point, reverse sew and go over it again to ensure when its turned inside out, the inside edge doesn't come out.

Turn it inside out and you should have something that looks like this.  

After a few, it starts to take shape!

Next I want to do a few letters on the triangles. I'm going to do my name. 

I found these templates online, make sure when you print them out that the size is OK for your triangle. 

Draw around the template onto the wrong side of a different fabric.

Cut it out. 

To save space you can line straight letters up neatly.

Right, for some reason I didn't photograph this bit so I'll try my best to describe!

Before sewing your triangle pieces together, place a letter on the right side of one of your pieces. 

As neatly as you can, after pinning or tacking your letter, do a zig zag stitch around the edge of the letter. 

Once you've done this, put the right sides together and sew your triangle pieces, turn it inside out and voila!

Next, you'll need a hefty amount of bias binding. 

Fold it.

And place the top edges of your triangles in the fold and pin. 

Then sew along the edge of the binding as neatly as you can in a straight stitch. Be sure to leave about 4/5 inches between each triangle. 

And there you have it!

Your very own bunting!

Hope you like this DIY and give it a go yourself!

Vogue Hoarder

For any of you who have seen my room, or my wall decorations, I am the definition of a hoarder. Spaces filled with clutter, I just can't throw anything away. This means packing up my entire room for the end of the University year is proving extremely difficult. It is especially difficult to let go of the pile of Vogues I have stacked up in the corner. 

To some they are just magazines, trash, and can easily be tossed into a recycling bin, without flinching. But for us they are the fashion bible, glossy sheets of creative beauty, that fill our stylish minds with inspiration each month.
I would keep them in a heart beat but they are too heavy to cart around.

I can't just get rid of them without knowing their going to a good home, or at least towards something useful, which is why I've torn them up. 

Sounds more drastic than it is, I have simply ripped out the best pages of each, which will then be filed away over summer, and upon my return made into a collage, framed, embellished, or simply kept as a reminder of the greatest pages that help us create our image.
I've picked my favourite campaigns and the best fashion shoots as well as the covers to form my own mini magazine.
This will then become a keepsake which I can keep and hopefully I can show my children and say 'This is what magazines (if they still have them in the future) used to look like when mummy was younger'

 

PROBLEM SOLVED! 

The 'Wall of Fame'

Apologies for not posting in a while. Uni, work and socialising hasn't left me much time to blog! The past few days I haven't had much to do, so this means I have been able to lazily wake up at godly hours of the morning and just think in bed for a few minutes, these moments are made better by my precious 'Wall of Fame' (Above). A memorial of favourite photos taken over the past few years that I can look at and remember as being the best of my life so far.

If your like me, and you would rather spend your money on those new shoes than a poster, or a fellow student unable to rip down the damp dreary wall paper and exchange it for some Laura Ashley floral prints then here is a great decorating tip for you! 

Do you have old photos lying around in albums, or stashed in a file on your desktop (most likely, being the 21st century) simply print them out and place them strategically, or even creatively intertwined with drawings, around your wall to really enhance it with memories you love. 

Apologies for the mess that is my room! Below is a small notice board filled with child hood and family photos which I have also added to with concert tickets, and various bits mainly from nights out!

But printing out photos is so expensive isn't it? Actually no! With a bit of site comparison research, I managed to find a great deal by signing up and getting 99 prints for just 99p. A bit of Advertising here, for those UK readers, I used Snapfish. They are always doing great deals and if you find a good offer, some of their products make really nice gifts, such a a calendar for Mum or even a canvas to add to your 'Wall'. For you international readers, i'm sure there is an equivalent near you out there!

I have even been cheap enough to gather free flyers and postcards from around campus to add to another wall decoration, including some great vintage vogue cover postcards (a gift from my sister) which I add to all the time and it looks interesting! 

So why not try it? There are so many possibilities with this idea. Something a bit different in terms of interior design, a chance to be creative and you can share your precious memories with everyone who walks into your haven!