by VioletLeBeaux | May 26, 2011 | Craft, Storage/Utility-Tutorials, Tutorial
Tea… my number 1 obsession. Craft… my number 2 obsession. When the two of them intersect it makes me a very happy girl. So how to make that happen? Craft a tea wallet for my purse! Some people are really particular about their teas blends, when I was little I had an adopted grandmother who loved lemon juice in her tea and rather than ask when she visited other people’s houses she would carry a bottle of it in her handbag… not even a small bottle… one of those big yellow squeezy bottles. Following on from that there are sometimes when I just desperately feel like a particular blend. When I worked in an office I had a huge collection of my favorites in my desk draw just in case! Now that I work for myself it’s all about portability and thus the tea wallet was decided upon.
This was my end result, it folds in half and fits neatly into a bag pocket…
![]( "Jump")
|
Indeed the stitching is not particularly neat but I think this was more of a test run for a better, prettier version so I didn’t want to spend a huge amount of time on it only to find out the end result sucked and I never used it! I’ve also just had no patience for crafts lately, hence the lack of tutorials >_< Now that I know it does get used I’m going to spend more time on a re-make and machine stitch it all :DWhat you need:
- Fabric scraps
- Needle/thread
- Scissors
- Tea bags to get measurements from
- Felt for decoration
First step let’s make the little bag part. You need two rectangles of fabric, one which fits two teabags with enough gab around them like this:
And one which is as wide but around 3cm shorter so it can form a pocket like this:
Working with the pocket, take your needle and thread and fold one of the long sides over twice to form a rolled seam. Stitch down to keep it in place. I’m using white thread so you can see where I’m stitching.
Taadaa…
Lay it on top of the larger piece with the seam facing up.
Stitch around the edges of the pocket like this…
And flip the whole thing inside out ^_^
You should have something like this!
Next fold the edges around the top and sides in and stitch all around the outside. Also stitch a line in the middle so it becomes 2 pockets.
You should have something along these lines…
Now it’s time for decorations. I chose to use the Lizlisa mascots because they are adorable and the girl has her hair in my absolute favorite style! I love the little lamb and girl mascots so much they are my phone background too XD You can see the originals on the Lizlisa tumblr here.
So I cut out my felt pieces to match, you can use anything though. If anyone wants a pattern for these let me know and I’ll add it to the list. I’m planning to put up around 10 patterns for old tutorials at a time starting in the next few weeks once I’ve stopped moving around so much.
Very easy to do… just stitch the felt characters on.
The girl was too big because I didn’t really think it all through so I decided to just leave her hair sticking up over the top as a point of interest. Big hair for the win XD
After everything’s in place just stitch on their faces and any details they’re missing and you’re finished!
When I re-do it I’m going to add a lot more detail to the faces and maybe do full on embroidery in the various colours.
And inside…
So there you go, a tea project for tea tragics like me XD Hope that was a useful starting point for some of you and fingers crossed I get time for more crafting next weekend so I can maybe get my groove back with it >_< |
by VioletLeBeaux | May 25, 2011 | Advert, Outfit Of The Day
After seeing my reaction to the Jesus Diamante dress she sent to me Marie (who is just about the nicest person ever), the owner of One Day in Paradise was lovely enough to send me 2 more dresses. Seriously, I was drooling when she dropped them off! I figured to show them off appropriately I would make a post with each dress co-ordinated in 3 different ways.
The first outfit I wore it in was to meet Julian Kynaston who is the founder of Illamasqua! Oh my gosh exciting 😀 I was so nervous but he gave an absolutely fantastically frank interview to us. Check out You’ve Got Nail and The Lip Print for footage of the day and I’ll be posting more of the photos next Snapshot post.
This outfit was the most fancy of the 3 I did with this dress.
This was the best shot I got of my outfit that day but clearly he and his suit was outshining me with it’s awesomeness!
![]( "Jump")
|
I paired it with simple white stockings and shoes because I was running very late that day. My hair has curled and piled on top of my head/down the side for an effective style that took all of 5min not including the curling!Here is a better picture of the hair… |
Yay for hair that is pretty fool proof to do 😀
The second time I wore the dress I was in Brisbane staying with my Dad while James and I were working there last week. This time I paired it with black accessories for a less sweet look.
My Dad’s house is full of fancy old knick knacks so I couldn’t resist taking extra photos while we were there.
Both of the bows on this dress are detachable so I wore one on the bottom and one at the small of the back under the lacing area.
This cardigan is one of my favorite things in my wardrobe, the best part: it only cost $3 😀 😀 😀
I was pretty happy that on this trip I managed to make curling my hair the day beforehand last all the way until the day after we came back! Yay for forward planning 😀
One last photo then I’ll stop for this time XD
The third time I wore this dress I wanted something a little more classic and how it was originally intended to be worn. No fancy make up, just low shoes, cute socks and a simple looped plait hair style. Definitely NOT Lolita but I suppose more towards that area that I usually dress XD
Obviously the dress was meant for Lolita so there was ample room for one of my old less floofy petticoats to show just how much room there is in the skirt. I prefer the shape a lot more without a petticoat but that’s just my taste. This time I pinned the larger of the bows on the top front.
This is a bit of a better view of the back so you can sort of see the lace up area.
Nice, casual and very comfy 😀
Taadaa, 3 outfits with different feels with 1 dress ^_^
One Day in Paradise information:
This is the Infanta Spring Whisper Lady Charlotte OP in Pink. Price is $120, available here. Available in Australian sizes 6, 8 and 10.
One Day in Paradise will be at Supanova Sydney and Supanova Perth. Currently the store in Fitzroy is open Fridays 11am-7pm and Saturdays 11am-6pm and will be open 7 days a week from June. Exciting! They will also be at the Illamasqua counter this Sunday the 29th of May 10-1pm with a group of Lolitas, Mori Girls and special Visual Kei guest Gothique Prince Ken of GPKism doing make up demonstrations for the various style. All are welcome and it sounds like a fun day out!!I can’t wait to show you guys the other dress, it’s become my absolute favorite Winter dress at the moment 😀
by VioletLeBeaux | May 23, 2011 | Review
Style is one of those things that most people want. Finding and developing personal style can be a long process and it can be a scary if you don’t know where to start. One of the most common emails I get through my blog is “I want to start dressing in BLANK style but I really don’t know where to start!”. I usually offer tips and suggestions but until now I haven’t really been able to direct people to a decent resource. Enter the lovely Vanessa who has written exactly that: her guide to style. She sent me a copy to read over/listen to and review so here are my thoughts on it.
The Guide is billed as a resource for beginners who are embarking on a style journey or looking to expand their style repertoire.
Title- Nessbow’s Guide To Developing Your Personal Style Price- $5 Available from- Nessbow’s Blog here.
![]()
|
Format-I really appreciated having the option of reading or listening. I downloaded the transcript to my iPad and read it in bed. While it would be good to be able to download the actual recording for portability it’s not a big deal as you can keep coming back to listen to it as many times as you like with the password you’re given. For the price as well I think having these two options is more than ample. It downloads as a doc file which is good as it’s a fairly universally compatible format. Vanessa’s voice on the recording was cheerful and easy to listen to. She speaks with the enthusiasm of someone who clearly loves what she’s talking about.
Info from Nessbow:
|
The guide covers topics such as: – Finding Inspiration – Defining your personal style – Pulling yourself out of a style rut – Debunking common excuses for not dressing the way you want to. – Translating your dream look into everyday life – Acquiring your dream wardrobe – Pulling an outfit off with confidence And a whole lot more.
The guide costs $5, and you can purchase it by clicking the Paypal button on the sidebar. For $5, you will receive: – A 30-page transcript of the entire guide – A password and link so that you can access the audio recording of the guide via Ustream – A big, sloppy thankyou kiss from me.Vanessa writes well, very descriptively and with humor. The beginning where she’s describing starting out in Melbourne and experimenting with her fashion, I could actually picture her standing there and trying to decide where to start. I can imagine there are a lot of girls who can really relate to her lack of money and confusion of where to start. Having grown up in a reasonably small town myself I understood exactly what she meant when she felt overwhelmed by the choices that are suddenly available when moving to a city. She uses herself as an example in a lot of the work shops which is great because you can actually put a face to the advice and see how her own personal style has evolved. It’s almost a bit like a large case study.
I think that’s what sets this guide apart from other similar options- it’s written from the point of view of someone who is being extremely realistic in their approach. You won’t find her advising that you ditch everything you own and drop a couple of grand on a new wardrobe because for most people that’s just not an option. Instead it contains tips for budgeting, saving and collecting to gradually build a style over time. She makes it seem like an actual journey and at one point describes her fashion wish list as being like a treasure map which I thought was an adorable way of thinking of it. Its nice to read about financially responsible fashion!
While I think this would be most useful for people who are just starting out on their style “journey” there are tips and exercises here that could definitely be of use to those who are in a slump and need inspiration to get out.
The advice and ideas here are easily adapted to someone interested in one style only such as Lolita or hime gyaru but also those who like to pick and choose styles to suit their moods, there’s even a whole section devoted to each idea!
The techniques and exercises here would definitely suit people who enjoy planning and making lists. Many of the suggestions involve note taking, diary keeping, outfit documentation and planning which I think is something people either love or hate so this may not appeal as much to those who prefer to just wing it.
I think the only nit picky points I can make about this was that I felt the end was a little abrupt and that maybe it could have done with an extra paragraph to send you out on your journey? Perhaps a few more links to starting points for the absolute beginner at the end? I suppose though that’s the part where the reader really needs to take over and make the leap themselves otherwise they might rely to heavily on advice not be comfortable taking initiative in future!
I think my favorite section overall was the one in which she tackles common excuses people use not to dress how they really want to. As someone who wears what a lot of people see as weird and out there fashion I have heard all of these before! I can’t wear BLANK because of my job, I wish I could dress like you BUT, I would never have the confidence to wear BLANK in public, what if people laughed at me for wearing BLANK. She covers how to overcome common fears and actually get out there and do it!
VERDICT- I found the guide to be very inspirational without giving unrealistic expectations, I would definitely recommend it for people who are looking to get more into style or fashion but don’t have a clear idea of where to start or those who are finding themselves in a slump and are in need of new inspiration. I think it is well put together, cleanly written and I will totally be recommending it to people who contact me in the future as a great place to start for style advice. DO WANT!
