Yet another bow tutorial, are you sick of these yet? I think I’m getting sick of making them but I’ve got one more after this that I promised before I’ve crossed them all off my list 😀
Today I’m making an rosette ribbon bow. That’s a mouthful!
Below you can see the results, mine is on the left and the one that inspired it is on the right, it’s an AP one. I don’t generally condone replicas etc but this bow is maybe 6 years old and I don’t think they’ve made any similar for quite a while. I don’t wear black as much as I used to so I wanted a similar design in several other colours.Funnily enough this bow was the first piece of brand that I ever got, it was a gift from my friend Sandy many years ago and though we’ve lost touch I still think of her when I wear it. She was my Lolita big sister back when I wore it and I really wouldn’t be where I am today (personally, professionally or style wise) without the example she set for me.
I love this style as it can be worn in so many ways!
You need:
Thick ribbon
Medium ribbon
Thin ribbon
Felt
Bobby pin
Tulle
Needle, thread, scissors etc
The three ribbons I’m using:
First cut 2 lengths of the thick ribbon, these need to be around twice as wide as you want the finished bow to be.
Fold the ends into the middle and stitch up both of them. Pull the stitches tights so it ruffles them into a bow.
Lay them crossed in the middle to form an “X” and stitch in place like this:
Now make another bow out of the middle ribbon in the same way:
And stitch it on top…
At this point you really should wrap a piece of the small ribbon around the middle to hide all of the stitches but I forgot so I had to do it later. Clearly my brain was too distracted by the chocolate I was eating at the time, don’t eat and craft it’s serious business.
So pretending you did that, make an upside down V shape with a long piece of large ribbon.
Put a V of the middle ribbon on top of it.
And then a V of the small ribbon on top of that.
Stitch them all together at the top.
Then stitch your bow section of top of that!
The back doesn’t need to be neat because it will all be covered.
Now we need the tulle puff which pokes out the back. Cut a long thin piece of the tulle.
And do a running stitch down one of the long sides. Pull the thread taught so it forms a big ruffle, if you tie the thread to where you began it should curl around into a rosette.
Something like this:
Mine was way too big so I grabbed the non-stitched end and trimmed it.
Stitch or glue the tulle on the back of the bow and then add a circle of felt over the top to make it much neater and finished. No one is ever going to see the back of mine so I just tacked it on. I also cut two slits into the felt to slip a bobby pin through. I usually wear this in my hair but the original was a brooch back so it could be worn anywhere. Completely up to you which you prefer, if I had more of the little metal brooch things I would have used that because then it’s so much more verstile.
Now seeing as I forgot to add the thin ribbon around the bow to hide the stitches before, I had to go back and do it now >_< Craft fail.
Last thing to do is cut all of the ribbon ends into little points
And that’s it! Obviously not as good as the original but still quite pretty and in colours I wear much more often. Now that you know the basic techniques you can make rpetty much any ribbon bow you could possible thing of.
Hope you enjoyed this and on the off chance that Sandy ever reads this: I miss taking photos at pretty buildings with you big sister!
Yet another “long time coming” post, I promise I’m trying to catch up!
Ombré, gradient, two tone, incredibly stupid looking, call it what you like, people have been asking about my hair ever since I did it. I’ve always been really hesitant in providing instructions etc because I’m not a hair dresser, I’m not a colour expert and I also don’t want to be responsible for people giving it a try and not being happy with the results *_*
So rather than an actual tutorial this is more of a post that I can direct people to if they are really interested in how I do it. I’m not suggesting that people try this at all because it depends on the type of dye you use, your hair type and a lot of other factors so please talk to a hair dresser before you do anything!
My hair is made up of 3 colours: blonde, pink and copper. This is my routine:
I bleach my roots maybe once a month (or leave it longer if I’m lazy/feel like wearing a lot of hats). I use a pre-colour stripper and do not use toner so it retains that orange tone which blends well with the other two colours. They’ve just discontinued the bleach that I use so not sure which brand I will be changing to at the moment >_<
The copper tips were originally achieved through a Schwarzcopf 8 wash colour (Aztec Copper) which never… washed out. I had planned on touching this up once a month too but it’s been a very long time and it’s still in there so I’ll probably only touch up when it needs it. The pink only tints the copper area slightly so it provides a nice backdrop and a nice variation in the colour.
The pink is done once a week, or if I’m feeling lazy once every few weeks. At the beginning I did it every 4 days but that was too much effort/expensive so I have since scaled back. The dye I use is called Wakk Stain but it’s not something I would recommend. For a few months I thought it was drying out my hair like crazy but the cause ended up being a hair treatment that wasn’t suited to my hair type, even still I probably wouldn’t recommend this dye because it washes out so quickly. The fact that it does wash out so quickly and doesn’t stain skin is perfect for my needs at the moment though because it makes it easier to move around into the correct place, goes on quickly and can be removed if you make a mistake. I think Priceline has stopped selling this now too anyway (or at least the ones near me have) so I will be experimenting with other dyes in the next few months.
So with all of that out of the way, this is how I do the pink parts! Again if you intend to try this please go to a hair dresser!!
So hopefully that answers any questions and fingers crossed you enjoyed!
Following on from the Vanity Box review I did on the clothing and accessories last Friday, today’s review is all about the make up products they sent me.
First up is the Vanity Box Ameli Soft Primer- $32.50
I am not an expert on primer as I’ve only just started using it recently but this one has worked better than any of the others I’ve tried so far. The texture is very different to others I’ve tried, rather than being runny and kind of like a thin moisturiser this one is more like a gel which is a little sticky. I think it works so much better because of the slight stickiness so when you put other products over the top, it grips them super well. I’ve been trying out wearing blush and without the primer it rubbed off very quickly, with my FOA primer it lasted around 6 hours, with this it lasted maybe 8-10 before needing re-application so I was quite impressed. It goes on very smoothly and feels very velvetish. As far as the smell goes, it is scented very lightly with something fresh and a little floral but mostly it just has that “expensive cosmetics” smell. At $32.50 it’s fairly mid range as far as price goes, the bottle is about average so I think it would last around 3 months of every day use.
VERDICT: Grips products very well and locks them in, pleasant but not overpowering scent, mid range price but reasonable value for someone wants long lasting make up. DO WANT.
I have 4 different colours to review on these pots so firstly some general thoughts on them. The pots are made from a shiny dark silver plastic, they look quite sleek and are very light so you could take them in a handbag if you needed. That said they are pretty damn big so if you wanted to take more than one colour it probably wouldn’t be much use. They feel fairly sturdy to use and are easy to open and shut (even with long nails). Some of them came with round foam applicators. I threw those away because they were the diameter of the container and so seemed too big to be used on the eyes with much precision.
Ok thoughts on this specific colour, I have always hated oranges so I was worried when I got this that I would automatically dislike it. I gave it a try though and it’s kind of growing on me. I still hate oranges in general but I managed to wear this in a way that I didn’t feel weird so I’m going to experiment with it more and see if I can overcome my fear. The colour itself is what I would describe as teracotta, it has a very smooth consistency and while being fairly pigmented it’s still quite subtle and easy to blend. So nothing to fault about the actual shadow, I just am not good with this colour XD
VERDICT: Not my colour, good quality shadow, large amount of product justifies the price if it’s a colour you use all the time. DO WANT (but not for me)
Quick swatches of all 4 colours left to right: Dress Killer, Orange Skin, Arabian Night, Pink Spot
Depending on the light this is either a nice dusty pink or purple. It has a slight blue shimmer to it which creates a really pretty effect in different lighting situations but can only be seen if you look really closely. Again it goes on very smoothly, blends beautifully and feels very light on. This is the kind of eyeshadow that feels like you’re not wearing anything. The colour is something I would wear very often and I think it’s quite versatile because you can wear it plain for a natural look or dress it up with lashes etc.
Verdict: Great quality, nice colour, versatile and lasts well through the day. DO WANT.
Very interesting colour combination, it’s a very deep purple with a silver shimmer to it but the base appears to be a brown. It blends really well with the other colours in the range and they all compliment each other nicely. Very pigmented but I found it was much easier to get the base purple/brown to stick to my lids than the actual shimmer so I had to pack on quite a bit to get the shiny aspect. Fantastic as a dark colour to blend and give a little pop of light but if you’re looking for something super sparkly this probably isn’t it. Other than being a little harder to apply, this has all the same positives as the other colours: smooth, stayed on well and blended nicely.
VERDICT: Just like the others it’s a good quality shadow. Not as shimmery on as it looks in the pot, great for blending and adding depth to other colours. Good as a complimenting colour. DO WANT.
ZOMG SHINY. Yes that was my first though! This one is for serious glitter lovers, it is a super shiny highly pigmented and sparkly Barbie pink. I can see this making some serious 80’s music video themed outfit appearances. I think a lot of people would be put off by the intensity it has in the jar but when it’s actually on it blends beautifully and can be thinned down to add just a touch of pigment and sparkle. When it’s thinned out a bit it’s more of a pastel baby pink with shimmer. I like this a lot because it gives you a lot of options while still being cute and sparkly. For a shimmer this intese it’s very smooth and just like the rest in the range it blends well and last all day.
VERDICT: Great quality, very versatile colour, the brightness in the pan might be a bit off putting which is a shame considering how wonderful the shadow itself is. DO WANT.
All in all I was very impressed with the quality of everything and I think it rivals some much more expensive brands in terms of cost to product/quality ratio. Now here are some shots in action!
I’m wearing the Orange Skin all over my lid, the Dress Killer on the outer 1/3rd in a C shape and Arabian Nights along the lash line.
Quite a pretty natural look!
I’m still not completely sold on the orange but what do you guys think? ^_^
If any of you are interested in purchasing from Vanity Box they have some special offers for my readers below:
2. Buyers that leave constructive reviews once they’ve received the item (members that register on the site can leave reviews on product pages) are eligible for store credits worth $5 or $10 . This is available for up to 10 reviewers a month and this is an ongoing offer.
3. For the next two weeks orders over $35 qualify for a free plat lip colour of their choice, normally worth $9.50. Just quote the code “Violet LeBeaux” and choose the colour you want in the Vanity Box checkout comments box.
Illustrator. Strong tea, knitting, watercolours, and making a video game called Moonlight in Garland. Living with her adorable husband Jimmy, fluffy puppy Miss Lottie and Bergamot Bunny in Melbourne, Australia.
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