Dresses on a Clothesline

Sukie

April 21, 2012

Sukie was a kid, she liked to hang out in the graveyard

I was looking at google maps yesterday when I noticed that I live a stone's throw away from a cemetery. How have I been ignorant of this fact for so long? So after breakfast and a little studying I got onto my bicycle and went straight over there. There wasn't much need for the bike, it's only a couple of blocks away. And what a lovely cemetery it is, there were flowers everywhere, blossoming cherry trees and flowering gravestones. Even a lovely, little old church tucked away in the back. My favourite thing was the bluebells hiding in the long grass. On the way back I found a shortcut through a playground with an area that isn't restricted to children under 12. All I have to say is: SWINGS!

My beautiful bicycle (which hasn't make an appearance on my blog yet) was my birthday present last year, from my parents. Isn't she pretty? I've decided to call her Becky! Now that the weather has warmed up (still not that warm, I did wear tights and socks and a jacket) I'm going to make an effort to cycle around local places in London.

Lastly, you should all listen to Sukie in the graveyard by Belle and Sebastian, just because everyone loves Belle and Sebastian.

Asos socks, my mum's jumper (thanks mum!), antique hat, East End Thrift Store jumble sale collar tips, sunglasses thrifted from Fara, and shirt, skirt and shoes thrifted in Switzerland.

Fashion

It's many hundred miles and it won't be long

April 02, 2012

WARNING: Photo heavy post ahead. Proceed with caution

Alternative post title: Going away for a year and a day, wrapped up in a pea green coat. (If you get the reference, cookie for you!)

I’m going away tomorrow so I’m hurriedly putting off packing my bags. I usually use this suitcase as hand luggage, it’s the perfect size and it’s solid so, in my usual klutziness, nothing gets damaged. I found it at an antique shop, probably hidden under much nicer and more expensive bags with a reduced price which I've conveniently forgotten. It was cheap - honest!

Whenever I travel I imagine myself as a character from a 60’s black and white film, preferably French. I like to listen to Vashti Bunyan (60’s) and I’m travelling to France; that might explain it a little. Plus I’ve always thought of travel as so perfectly romantic, even though I've traveled since before I could walk. This afternoon I sat on the roof of my apartment and said goodbye to the city for a couple of weeks. I also had my favourite term-time breakfast - fried eggs and toast - as if to savour my last day at home. Although technically I'm going home to see my family, so expect nothing but field photos from now on! Are you going anywhere for the Spring holidays? Share with me, I'd love to know!

Wearing: Urban Outfitters coat and watch, everything else is thrifted.

Also, a side note, little girl tights are the comfiest ever. Not to mention they fit better than many tights I’ve tried from high street shops.

Bonus photos: It's a 'pixie' powder puff, from yesteryear. It belonged to my friend's grandma and I found it in the sewing box that I 'inherited' from her. It's perfect for traveling, so small and compact!

AND, one last thing to say (and I promise this is the last). A while ago, I was awarded a Versatile Blogger award by Anne of Mercury – Handmade Fashion. Now I'm no good at following rules so I'm just going to say Thank you Anne, I really appreciate it. Also, I follow a bunch of fantastic blogs but I never got around to putting them all in a list so you may have noticed the new Blogs I Love page, I've put some of my favourite blogs there and I'll be updating with all the other lovelies I follow on the web. Anyone on that list, that happens to be reading this, you may consider yourself awarded.

DIY

How To: Glitter shoes

March 31, 2012

I've had this project planned for months and I've just had the materials lying around since January but it wasn't until this week that I got around to it. University work and a lack of furniture is to blame. I've already seen a few tutorials on the web for glitterizing, as it were, shoes of various kinds but I thought I might share my spin, I've documented a few variations on applying glitter, choose whichever suits your needs. Plus, this sets a good precedent for documenting projects in the future. I hope someone finds this useful.

Materials

You will need:

Shoes
PVA/White glue (I hear modpodge works well, though I've never used it)
Glitter
Paintbrush
(Optional) A pen or pencil or other writing implement
(Optional) Glitter glue
(Optional) Painter's tape

Step 1: Preparing shoe for glitterizing

Remove anything attached to the shoe that you don't want covered in glitter. My shoes had horrible bows on them and I didn't want them, so I just tore them off. If any of the attachments are sewn, use scissors to cut the thread. Also make sure to remove any laces. If at this point there are any of the parts of the shoe you don't want covered in glitter that can't be removed, such as the heel, cover these parts in tape.

Step 2: Draw on any details

My shoes looked a little plain so I decided to give them toecaps, for this I just drew an approximate curve along the front of the shoes. You can add wingtips or stripes or any other pattern, as you wish. If you're super neat you can then tape off the sections to be done in another colour of glitter so that the glitter doesn't go over the line. Taping means a neater line and more defined sections but it works fine without it too. Tip: If you're working with multicoloured glitter and then a single coloured glitter like I did, use the multicoloured glitter first to avoid getting multicoloured glitter in the second portions, it's okay if you get single colour glitter in the multicolour though, because it's just one of the many colours.

Step 3: Glitterize!

Mix some glue: I decided to mix some glitter into my glue before applying, just to increase the coverage. This isn't necessary. Also, make sure to test any mysterious glitter glue before using, mine turned out to be very slow drying so I decided to stick to plain ol' PVA for the shoe painting.

Method One

Mix some PVA and glitter, make a small quantity to begin with - you can always make more - then paint it onto the shoe. This method gives and light coverage, depending on the glitter:glue ratio. If you want full coverage you'll need to make several coats and you must wait for each coat to dry before moving onto the next. This method would look great with silver glitter on black shoes, a galaxy effect without covering entirely.

Method Two

Squeeze a little glue onto the shoe and then spread it thinly across the shoe with a paintbrush. Then, making sure you're floor/table is covered, dump some glitter straight onto the gluey area. Shake vigorously to remove excess glitter and then let continue with other sections of the shoe. This method gives the fastest results but it's the messiest and it can lead to small bald patches, these can be fixed by waiting for the glue to dry entirely and then putting a dab of glue on the bald spot and dabbing glitter onto that spot, à la method three.

Method Three

Glue up the shoe as in method Two. Then load up the paint brush with loose glitter and pat it onto the gluey bit of the shoe. Once one section of the shoe is entirely glittered, move on to the next. This method is faster than One because it gives better coverage but less messy then method Two because the application of glitter is controlled. I found that this method worked best for me but there were still some bald patches when all the glue dried, this was fixed in the same was as method Two. I recommend this method of achieving full coverage quickly, it also works best if you're working with areas of different glitter colours, to prevent mixing.

Step 4: Top coat of glue

To seal the glitter and prevent it knocking off easily, paint over a top coat of glue. Squeeze glue straight onto the shoe or onto something else and then spread a very thin layer onto the glitter. You can also use any form of spray sealant that you like but I just had glue on hand.

Step 5: Allow to dry

Could be somewhere sunny, but it doesn't have to be.

Step 6: Wear with pride!

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Sukie

It's many hundred miles and it won't be long

How To: Glitter shoes

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