Tutorial Archives - Page 114 of 117 - Violet LeBeaux

How To Repair Old Slippers -Day 3

by VioletLeBeaux | Dec 9, 2009 | Craft, Hime Gyaru, Outfit Of The Day, Shoe-Tutorials, Tutorial

I’m super tired tonight so I’ve just got a mini tutorial on repairing old slippers for you all 🙂

I’ve been a little obsessed with slippers lately so I’ve got 2 tutorials planed that revolve around slippers. It’s probably because I spend so much time at home but I think a good pair of slippers are a very important part of a girl’s wardrobe ^_^

It takes me a long time to choose slippers (more on that in my next slippers post!) and when I finally find a pair that I like I have a hard time giving them up, I’m the kind of person that will wear them until they literally fall apart! I’m also quite thrifty so at times when money is tight I am all for repairing and reusing anything I can possibly fix.

So I have this cute pair of slippers but…

The soles are all gross and worn out. There is even a small hole!

So what you need for this version of repairing old slippers:

-Scissors -A sheet of felt in a matching colour -Needle and thread in a matching colour -A pen or tailor’s chalk

Start by putting your slippers on the felt and tracing around the outside. Get as close to the size of the actual sole as possible, if in doubt it’s better to cut bigger than smaller because you can always trim it but you can’t add more felt if you cut too much! Cut one out for each slipper.

Thread your needle and with the new sole on top of the slipper sew it in place with 1 stitch. You should start at the very back of the slipper. Tie it in a double knot so it doesn’t go anywhere.

Now using a blanket stitch start sewing around the edge. If you need to know how to do a blanket stitch have a look here.

Continue around the entire edge. If you find there is slightly too much felt you should trim it a little bit. If there is not enough, stretch it because once you put them on the felt will get worn into position. When you’re finished they should look something like this:

Hopefully your stitching is a little neater than mine!

And there you go, with 60c worth of felt you saved yourself from buying a whole new pair of slippers! One thing to note- the felt is super slippery on tiles until you wear it in so don’t slip over!! That said it’s pretty fun to be able to faux ice-skate around my tiled house in the middle of a 35Degree Celsius summer 😀

Enjoy!

Bonus outfit post:

Jsk- Angelic Pretty Stockings- Myer Slippers- Bras n things Hair things: some junk store

See you all tomorrow when I’m not half asleep! Let me know if you ever give repairing old slippers this way a try!

How to Apply Individual Eyelashes – Day 2

by VioletLeBeaux | Dec 8, 2009 | Beauty, Beauty-Tutorials, Hime Gyaru, Review, Tutorial

Quite a while ago I was sent a bunch of 1000 hour individual eyelashes to test out:

To be honest I wasn’t really thrilled about the idea of individual lashes, it sounded like an awful lot of unnecessary effort to me. I mean who really wants to apply full eyelid’s worth lash by lash? Who has time for that either? It wasn’t until I did a bit of a rethink and took some inspiration from the lovely SuperKawaiiMama that I got some inspiration.

These lashes are perfect for a cute casual look. You don’t actually need to put lashes over the whole eye to get an adorable effect, these are perfect for a cat-flick at the side! Ok so here is how to do it ^_^ These are my lashes to start with, I’ve applied some mascara and given them a little bit of a curl.

Before: cute and casual look.

This is the packet they come it, it’s a step up from 90% of other lashes available in Australia because the little tray they come in actually has a lid. I hate when you get lashes and they just come in the tray, it makes them useless for storage! This however is good and you get a lot of them in a pack so they last a while especially if you reuse them.

So to begin with get one of the little bunches.

And some scissors.

And cut the tip of the bunch on an angle. You need to do 2 of these (one for each eye so cut them in opposite directions). This is the part that will gradiat to the longest lashes on the ends. If you don’t have one of these it will look like you’ve just one a random flick on the edge.

This is what they should look like.

Now grab your lash glue. I would not recommend this brand unless you are allergic to others like me.

Add a tiny bit of glue to the base of the bunch. Depending on the glue you’re using you will probably need to wait for it to get tacky before applying.

Ok now apply it to you lash line, you should apply it a couple of mm before the end of your lashes. Once you apply the bunch, give it a little pinch to make sure it’s in line with your natural lashes.

Here is a photo of it applied to my lashes, you can barely see it because the shape blends into the length of my natural lashes. In the next photo I’ve highlighted where it it.

This is where it is placed, if you compare the below and above photos you’ll be able to see exactly what I mean and the angle of the cut.

This is how it looks when my eyes are open, it’s much easier to see here but you can still see how it blends.

And here it’s highlighted…

Ok! Now you want to get 2 more bunches per eye. These ones should be full sized. Do them one at a time so you have lots of control over the placement. Add the glue!

And this time we’re going to place this bunch next to the one we just did on the outside side (closer to the corner of the eye). You should make sure that the last one sits on the very edge of your lash line. By the time you’re finished you should have 3 bunches on each eye (2 full ones and 1 angled one).

Once you’ve placed them if you want you can add another coat of mascara to make all the lashes the same thickness or even curl them again. One other tip I have is that if you find they are sticking up at a different angle than your natural lashes, give them a coat of mascara and pinch them together with your natural lashes gently. The mascara will act like a light glue!

So this is what you should end up with:

And here is where the lashes are:

With eyes closed you can really see the difference:

And highlighted!

So there you go! This look is great as an everyday look because it’s not too heavy but the flick at the end is super cute. Now as for a review of the actual lashes I found them to be really good. I was really surprised at how durable they were, I’ve used the same 6 for this look several times. The best thing that I found was that they were comfortable enough to sleep in… probably not something I need to worry about every day but great when you’re on a 7hr plane trip! I was worried that because they weren’t held on by much glue that they would be hard to keep on but I haven’t lost one so far. You can get them from Priceline, Kmart and other beauty supply stores for around AU$7.95 which is an average price for lashes here in Aus. I really like them and I’ll be buying them again… though with this many in a tray I probably won’t need to for a long time hahaha! Have you ever tried the 1000 hour individual eyelashes?

How To Store Headbands Cutely – Day 1

by VioletLeBeaux | Dec 7, 2009 | Beauty, Craft, Hair, Hime Gyaru, Storage/Utility-Tutorials, Tutorial

Why aren’t there more options for headband storage?

If you are anything like me you have a billion alice bands/head bands/what ever you call a bow on a rigid frame that goes on your head… and as adorable as they look they are really annoying to store!

They get tangled and if you just throw them in a drawer it’s hard to see which is which! So here is my solution, I’m going to make a gigantic roll shaped like a cute piece of candy to hold them all 😀

This is what it’s going to look like at the end:

So first thing’s first, get all the materials. I’m doing a no-sewing version because my machine is packed up but if you replace the glue gun with sewing it will work just as well.

What you need to make my version of headband storage:

-Fabric -Foam for the inside (I am just going to recycle an old yoga mat but you can buy proper foam) -Ribbon or wool -Lace and flowers to decorate -Glue gun or sewing machine

Now if you’re doing a no-sew version like me you’ll need tape too. You can double your tape as a stylish accessory 😛

Ok let’s get started! Lay out your yoga mat (ignore these steps if you’re using foam for the middle) and start rolling.

You should make sure that the size you’ve rolled will actually fit the headbands so test one out to be safe ^_^

Once you get the right size it’s time to tape it in place.

Now you should measure and cut the fabric out. You need a large rectangle which is long enough to wrap around the mat and wide enough so that it hangs off the end like the wrapper of a piece of candy. Make sure to leave a few inches extra for hems etc.

You should be able to mock it up like this:

Now after you’ve cut out your fabric it’s time to decorate the ends on the candy piece. I like frilly things so I used some frilly cotton lace.

Use your hot glue gun to fix it in place. If you want you can hem the edges but because they are going to be covered with lace (and I don’t have my sewing machine out) it doesn’t really matter.

Taadaa lacy edged 🙂

Ok now let’s make it up. Lay the mat on the fabric, make sure it’s straight and tape it in place.

Roll that baby up!

Fold the ends over and glue/sew it in place.

Now you should grab the end with your hand…

…and give it a good twist. Just like making a real candy ^_^

Grab the wool/ribbon and tie it in place.

This is what you should have now.

It kind of looks like candy but I think it needs a nice candy stripe 😀 So grab some eyelet lace and glue it to the wool/ribbon.

Roll it around in a nice spiral and glue it to the other end ^_^

I hid the ugly ends by gluing a cute flower over the top, of course that’s optional.

So this is it!

Now you just need to add all your headbands and you’re done 😀

Tadaa! Candy head band holder 😀 What do you think? Nice and easy to store and they are all displayed nicely.

How do you guys store your headbands? Am I nuts for needing something this big? XD The sad part is that this one is full now and I think I need another one >_< Let me know your headband storage ideas!

Hairstyle Questions and Answers

by VioletLeBeaux | Nov 30, 2009 | About Me, Beauty, Hair, Hair-Tutorials, Tutorial

Lately a couple of people have been asking about how I do my hair style and decorate my hair.

When I posted my make up tutorial Victoria Suzanne from Lolita Charm asked:

“I’d love to know about the roses in your hair – did you make them and how are they in such a cute little band? “

Here is a screen shot of my hair from the tutorial (the best one I could find anyway!)

So I thought today that I would talk a little bit about hair and show you how you can turn pretty much anything into a hair clip ^_^

So let’s make the hair clips first. These are my favorite types of roses. They are actually made from styrofoam which sounds strange but they are very soft, durable and realistic. I got mine from Spotlight but I imagine most craft stores carry them.

So what you need is flowers (or whatever you want to make into a hair clip), a hot glue gun and some bobby pins.

Using the glue gun you should put a good amount on both the rose and the bobby pin. Press them together. A good tip is to make sure that hot glue actually gets through the loop part of the bobby pin, this makes sure that it can’t pop out of the glue later.

You should hold the bobby pin where the stem on the flower would go. Normal hair clips would put the clip on a right angle but I find that it’s easier to hide the pin amongst your hair like this. Be careful not to burn yourself on the glue! When it’s dry it should look like this:

If you want you can cover the ugly glue on the back with a small circle of felt but seeing as it’s going to be buried in my hair I don’t mind so much ^_^

You can really do this with anything. Here is a sneak peak at what I’m going to be wearing in my hair at the Nuffnang Christmas party… I bought these butterflies at a junk store.

Now I have an army of butterfly hair clippies!

They are going to look super cute!

So now that you’ve made your clips it’s time to decorate your hair! How you arrange them greatly depends on the look you want. For me I want a hime style look but my other motivation is to cover my re-growth of non-blonde hair so I can wait longer between dyes and damage my hair less. So this is what I start out with:

When it’s up like this, the regrowth is super obvious. I’m sure I could cover it with a hat like a normal girl but with hime style hair it doesn’t go so well!

So to do the style I did in the video you need to start with a base head band. I like to use one which is similar colour to the flowers and has something interesting on it like a bow.

Everything about the style I’m making is lopsided so make sure you pick your best side for the bow!

Now get your flowers, it’s nice to use a few different types or shapes of flowers to make the style more interesting.

So grab one of your flowers (I’m starting with the light pink ones) and attach it. You should slide the flower under the headband because the band will hide the metal bit. You really don’t actually need to get much hair to hold it in, just a tiny bit. I get a tiny bit of my fringe in to it then push the whole way into my pouf.

This is how it looks all the way in. See how it hides everything nicely?

Now add another one on that side above the first.

And one on the other side… For this style I work with uneven numbers of flowers to make it even more lopsided.

Now you have quite a good base to work with, start adding the other kind of flower. You can add as many or few until you like how it looks. I like a lot of flowers so this is what I ended up with 😀

No regrowth to be seen ^_^

Now here are some variations on this look, it’s very versatile…

This time instead of a head band I started with a row of flowers that I’ve glued on a comb.

So add it to the side because it’s going to be your feature piece.

This version requires more flowers if you want to cover up regrowth but still looks cute.

If you are wearing awesome earrings you can pull the bits of hair on the side backwards and pin them over the headband. Here is how it looks with a different headband.

So I hope that answers some of your questions, if you’d like ore information just leave me a comment 😀
Btw if you’re interested in Lolita fashion you should check out Victoria Suzanne‘s blog, it’s full of really interesting articles and she has some very cute hair styles of her own!!

The Perfect Vintage Christmas – Violet Vision

by VioletLeBeaux | Nov 23, 2009 | Competition, Video-Tutorials

Good morning everyone, I’ve got another video for you all today and it’s on my version of a Vintage Christmas!

The delightful Super Kawaii Mama is having a competition at the moment and the winner will walk away with some absolutely beautiful prizes including gifts from Blue Velvet Vintage, For Luna and Notorious Kitsch!

So all you needed to do to enter is show what your Perfect Vintage Christmas would look like. Btw, how cute is the little banner she made for the comp below?

So because I’ve been a bit obsessed with my video camera lately I decided to make a video…

So I guess what I was trying to say is that my Perfect Vintage Christmas takes a lesson from the cliche 50’s and 60’s values as well as style ^_^

Hope you enjoyed my vintage Christmas video!

Video Make Up Tutorial- and Eco Tools Brushes Review

by VioletLeBeaux | Nov 17, 2009 | Beauty, Beauty-Tutorials, Review, Tutorial, Video-Tutorials

I have been planning to do this Eco Tools brushes review for a while and remember all that time ago when I promised you videos?

Well today my friends I deliver! Everyone kept asking about my make up so I have made you all a video tutorial on how I do my basic every-day make up. I really hope you all enjoy it, I’m not a pro at editing or shooting things yet but I am learning so be gentle ^_^ Also how awesomely flattering is the screen cap that got picked for the video XD

P.S What do you guys think of the theme song James wrote for me? How sweet of him!

Ok so the other half of this post is about the brushes I used in the video. This is a list of all the products I used in the tutorial:
-Foundation- Innoxa Satin Sheen Buttermilk
-Concealer- Bourjois Brush Concealer
-Powder- Cover Girl Tru Blend Minerals 405
-Mascara- Cover Girl Lash Blast
-Blush/Pink eye shadow- Boujois blush 35 Rose D’or
-White/Black eyeshadow- Be Yourself Eyeshadow
-Eyelash curler- 1000 Hour Lashes Heated Eye Lash curler
-Eyelashes- 1000 Hour Lashes
-Eyelash glue- Lash Me Type 1
-Lip Tint- Bourjois Rouge Hi-tech 65-Cyber cassis
-Lip Gloss- Prestige Vinylwear High ShineJust before the Nuffnang Awards I was sent a box of EcoToolsmake up brushes to test out so here is my review…As someone who is a beginner in make up techniques I am always looking for the simplest, easiest ways to do things. Up until I got this set I was using those little foam applicators that came with my eye shadow pots. They always break and don’t last very long and I found that quite frustrating, I also didn’t like the fact that it was quite hard to get a precise line.

So when EcoTools send me this package I was quite excited to be able to try out some brushes! In this pack there are 5 different brushes and a matching bamboo container, you can also buy the brushes individually and the prices range from AU$4.95 – $22.95 (available from Priceline Kmart & Price Attack) which as I understand it is fairly run of the mill for make up brushes of this level. The brushes in my pack are the following:
-Blush applicator
-Angled Eyeliner brush
-Eyebrow brush
-Concealer Brush
-Eyeshadow brush

I tested them all out pretty well as you can see in the video! I gave them a brief play with before we went to Singapore but the big test was really my make up for the Nuffnang Awards and you can see by looking back at the photos, they passed with flying colours ^_^

The thing with EcoTools is that it’s made from all cruelty-free sustainable materials (hence the bamboo holder). So you can feel like you’re doing your bit for the environment while you’re doing your make up XD When I read the back and discovered that the bristles were synthetic I was a bit apprehensive about whether they would be scratchy but I was pleasantly surprised, it’s so soft it’s kind of like rubbing suede on your face! Also because they are made of bamboo and aluminum they weight practically nothing. That’s great if you’re traveling so you can pack in more copies of Japanese magazines!

My favorite brush is the angled eyeliner one. I don’t use eyeliner often but I’ve found it’s really useful use for getting into to all those annoying parts like the corner of my eyes with eyeshadow! Genius!

I thought the box thingy was quite a handy addition to the pack because I would have no idea how to store something like this. Knowing my track record with my bathroom mess they would probably just end up laying on the counter somewhere ^_^ But now I have the box thingy I’ll keep all my pointy make up items like mascara, lash curler etc in there too!

So final thoughts? Well I’ve thrown out all the old foam applicators and as I mention in the video, I really do like having a set of brushes. I think it’s enough to say I’m using them every day now! I think it will enable me to be more adventurous with make up ideas in future ^_^ I would give these 8/10 over all, they were quite easy to use, the quality and price were good and the presentation was quite cute. I bet they’ll look even better after I deco them 😉

So what is your verdict on my video? Like/dislike? Anything in particular you want to see me do next time? I’m open to suggestions (within reason) ^_^

P.S. Can you totally tell James took these pictures for me because they’re all fancy and arty? If any of you and interested in amature photography you should go and take a look at his blog because he’s started writing tutorials with tips and things now ^_^

Thanks for the reading my eco tools brushes review!