Christening Gown

One of my friends has recently had a beautiful baby boy and I offered to make him a christening gown.  I took a few measurements last time we met up and today I have been playing around making a pattern and with different fabrics and lace.
Here are a few images from today, nothing is set in stone and most of it is just pinned onto the cotton base layer!

For Sale

Right, I've been having a little sort out and I have various items for sale.  All are hair and make-up rather than costume.

Kryolan Aquacolour 24 colours £35 ono
Remington Hair Straighteners P&S S-2012 £15 ono
Babyliss Multi-use Hair tool (straighteners, crimpers, curling tongs) £20 ono

Silver, 3 tiered make-up case on wheels including :
     Selection of sponges
     Curved Scissors
     Tweezers
     10x False eyelashes
     Disposable mascara brushes
     Disposable eyeliner brushes
     Disposable eyeshadow brushes
     Face to Face - Eyetoners palette (12 colours)
     Face to Face - Character Palette (12 colours)
     Face to Face - Character Palette 2 (12 colours)
     2x Face to Face - Cheektoners (12 colours)
     Face to Face - Shimmer Palette (12 colours)
     Face to Face - Smudge Eyeliner (black)
     Face to Face - Lip/Creme Blusher Palette (24 colours)
     Face to Face - Foundation Palette (11 tones plus mixing palette)
     Face to Face - Face Powder
     Large Collection of Eyeshadows
                                   Lipsticks
                                   Lip Pencils
                                   Eyeliner
                                   Blusher
     Eyeko cream (highlighter)
     Guru Make-up - Eyeshadow Palette (78 colours)
     Aussie Luscious Long Leave-In Conditioner
     Large Collection of Brushes in a roll
     Brush Belt
£250 ono

Please contact me if you have any queries or if you would like to make an offer.

Got a little carried away...

I went out to my studio this morning to tidy up a little and have a play around now that I have my sewing machine back from being serviced.


I started by covering my notice board, it started off with green felt and that didn't really go with the room, nor did it look very appealing.  I wanted to cover the whole thing but the stamples kept coming out so I pinned the fabric into the corners.  This worked, and I will just have to be gentle when putting things on it in the future.  I also wrapped lights around the outside to make it look pretty!

After this, I came across some blue flowered fabric which I rather liked and so I decided to make a bag for my cross-stitch from this fabric.  It is quite a basic design but I think it will work well for the intended purpose.

I also wanted a bag for my knitting needles, so I made a bag for them too.  I used the same technique as the cross-stitch bag but slimmer and put a draw string in around the top.

Whilst looking for the next thing to make, I found some solid bag handles so I made a bag to go with them.  This style isn't really for me but I like how it came out.

On a sewing calender I have, there were some fabric keyrings that looked fairly simple but quite nice as well.  I had a small scrap of fabric left and so I decided to make one of these. 

I wanted to have a go at quilting and so I was going to make a place mat, but then decided to make it a bit smaller and have it as an iron mat instead. 

After making this, I realised I had enough fabric and wadding left to make a tea cosy.  I have wanted to make one of these for a while and so decided this was the right time.

I think I have had quite a positive day making all these bits.  It has given me the chance to make things for me rather than to jump through hoops for university grades.
I plan on making 'stock' so that I can go on to sell my stuff at fairs and fetes.

Water Games

This past week I have been working with my other half making a water activity for the Cubs.

The idea is that you have to fill the tube up with water to get the tennis ball from it.  The catch is that the water is a distance away, and there are holes drilled into the tube.  The cubs work as a team, with one person running to fetch water in a disposable cup and the rest of the team cover the holes with their fingers so that none leaks and the ball will get to the top quicker.

We have made two and so it is run as a competition so see who can get their tennis ball first.

We look forward to testing them out this weekend :)

Seat Covers

Before:

We bought blue and blue gingham fabric from the Rag market in Birmingham and then I made a pattern to cover the seats.

The front seat have fitted covers, with a seat pad on the bottom for extra comfort.  The back are rectangles of fabric that are tucked around the seats (these will probably have to change once the rear seat belts are fitted).

We have since been to France with these seats and the added foam pad helped to prevent 'numb bumb syndrome' that always occurs and the fabric seat covers made sitting more comfortable as you didn't stick to the seats when they got warm.

May 2011

Well I have now finished univeristy so I have to grow up and get a job in the big wide world, but this also means that I get to make whatever I want to make. 

I have a few projects in the pipe line, the first being a set of seat covers for my Other Half's Morris Minor and the second being a Christening Gown for a friends baby son.


We have just been shopping for the fabric for the seat covers, and purchased a large blue gingham fabric a solid blue fabric to edge it with.  I plan to do an envelope style over the back of the seats and then having ties to go under the seat to secure it all in place.  I will keep this all updated so you can follow my progress.

Little Red Riding Hood

Over this last semester I have been playing with paper, and decided to make a costume made from paper.  I chose to make for a small theatre production of Little Red Riding Hood.  It was quite difficult to make as the paper kept riping but I'm pleased with the outcome.

Land Girl Burlesque

I spent my day yesterday at a local disused quarry photographing my Independant Study for my University module.  My theme is Land Girl Burlesque. 

I have used colours and textures from 1940s Womans Land Army and style from Burlesque.

Victorian Underwear

Whilst making the Alice in Wonderland costume, I decided to make the undergarments to go with it but I never got round to photographing them.  So here they are.
This corset really shaped my model and fitted her really well.
All garments are made from white cotton, and gold eyelets and fastening at the front.

Shakespeare

For our second project of the semester we had to design 2 make-ups and 2 costumes for 2 different Shakespeare characters.

My first Character is King Oberon from A Midsummer Night's Dream. We only had to make one of the two costumes, so for this one I only made the crown.  I'm really pleased with how this came out but I wish I had made the costume to complete the whole look.
I purchased the jewellery from a high street shop and applied the make-up myself.

 My second character is Beatrice from Much Ado about Nothing.  I decided to set my character in Medieval England when men played the female roles on the stage.  I made the whole costume for this character.  I feel that this costume went really well, and I'm really happy with how it turned out.
I purchased the wig from a popular costume shop in London, and applied the make-up myself.