Almost 3 years ago now on Twitter Miss Esme and the Laneway asked me if I had any ideas on how to store belts in a more organised way. At the time I didn’t own any belts but I do actually remember these things XD
So 3 years later here we are hahaha!
Living in an apartment with very limited storage space means having to find ways to display things as well as store them neatly. I collect scarves and now I have a decent collection of belts to my name as well so it was time to do something useful with them rather than hiding them in a drawer which could be used for better things.
The solution: commandeer a suit pants clothes hanger and arrange the belts and scarves in one easy to hang area!
The belts are looped through the top 2 tiers with the decorations pointing out. This means they can be easily removed and put back without disturbing the others on the rack. The long parts hang at the back so they are hidden.
The scarves have two rows as well but because there are more of them I hang the least used ones on top and most used on bottom. There’s another row below it to use when I collect more too. Let the scarf obsession continue! They too can be removed easily without disturbing the others.
Previous to this solution I’ve tried out many other ways to store them including making a hanger rack but none of them worked so generally the belts would just end up dumped on the end of my clothes rack.
… or more realistically on a pile on the floor 😉
This solution is much prettier but more importantly it’s practical too which is really what the Home Sweet Home project is all about! One more thing done, only the rest of the house to go haha!
It’s funny, making the little changes like this seems to inspire me a lot more than making the big changes. I’m sure that will change when I get to the really big stuff like the couches but these things keep me happy in the mean time!
A blog and Youtube channel about a girl and her quest to make everything sparkle. New craft, hair and beauty tutorials every week!
Violet LeBeaux spends most of her time trying to think of ways to make life prettier, posting said ways on her blog and drinking very strong tea. She writes about big hair cute things, girly fashion, beauty finds, sometimes Hime Gyaru fashion (姫ギャル) and crafty tutorials.
She lives with her adorable boyfriend Jimmy, fluffy puppy Miss Lottie and Bergamot Bunny in Melbourne, Australia.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Music: Garageband unless otherwise credited
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fun Twisted Pigtails Hairstyle Instructions.
Today I’ll show you how I do an interesting twist on the plain old pigtail…
Pun fully intended.
Start by putting your hair up into two pigtails above your ears.
Split into two even sections.
Very tightly twist the first section towards your face.
The tighter you twist, the tighter the end result will be.
When you reach the end, hold on to it so you can do the other.
Twist the other section towards your face too.
Both of them need to be twisted in the same direction.
Now wrap the two pieces around each other.
You should wrap them in the opposite direction to your twisting.
So away from your face.
Tie the end off and if you want to, puff out the top so the whole thing is more tapered.
Taadaa!
Repeat again on the other side.
Twist one section towards your face very tightly.
Hold on to it while you do the other one.
Again they need to be twisted in the same direction otherwise they won’t stay together in the end twist thing.
And wrap them together the other way.
You can kind of see how they want to twist together like this if you don’t hold them too tightly.
And then fluff out the tops.
You could add a flower or a bow or any cute accessory to top it off.
Or you could do a big bun on top of your head.
I hope this was a useful video, please check out the blog post linked in the description for more information and tutorials.
Thanks so much for watching!
Bye!
I am asked very often to do absolute beginners tutorials on things like sewing, crochet and knitting. I definitely want to do all of these in the long run but they are posts which take quite a bit of time to put together as they require a lot more instruction than regular tutorials.
Considering how long it’s taken me to get to this point I thought I would point you guys to some links which might be useful in the mean time. Many of these are quite popular sites but hopefully they can be a good start ^_^
Free Vintage Crochet Lots of patterns but as the title says, all from vintage magazines and books. This site is full of annoying pop up ads but some of the patterns are worth it because it can be hard to actually find vintage styles like this any more.
Coats & Clark I’m pretty sure this is another yarn company but their section of free projects is pretty good.
Lionbrand Heaps of free crochet patterns here too. They also have a handy thing which converts the crochet patterns to knitting and vice versa.
Lionbrand, Glossary of Terms Used
One of the bigger yarn companies (though I don’t think you can get it in Aus!) has easy to follow instructions.
Websites with free knitting patterns…
Knitting Pattern Central Same as the crochet version of this site there are heaps and heaps of free patterns divided by type.
Vogue Knitting Vogue has had a knitting version/sections for as long as I can remember. The patterns are quite varied and worth a look but you need to sign u to download them.
Nerdy Knitting Exactly what the title says, a collection of nerdy themed knitting projects. It’s on Livejournal so you may need and account to view I’m not sure.
Knitty Magazine Knitty is an online magazine full of tutorials and patterns. All of the previous patterns and issues are online too and it’s totally worth trawling through them because there are some real gems. There’s a bit of everything from regular shawls and cardigans to crazy stuff like knitted wigs for Halloween.
Lionbrand Heaps of free knitting patterns here too. They also have a handy thing which converts the knitting patterns to crochet and vice versa.
Sewing:
Learn to sew…
Free Needle Lots of basic beginners tutorials as well as covering the basic pattern making concepts.
Sew Stitch Learn Basic techniques including ruffles, bows and zippers. Lots of good information with clear photos. Good information on sewing machines and the technicalities about it.
Cyber Seams Information about sewing by hand, Very important skill because machines aren’t always available or appropriate.
About.com – Sewing Again, hate the layout but there are some good beginners tips here.
Websites with free sewing patterns…
Simplicity Patterns One of the largest pattern companies, they also offer many free tutorials and patterns on their website. There are tutorials on sewing techniques as well as actual free patterns.
Lolita Handbook patterns I know a lot of you are into Lolita styles so I’ve included some links here. Many of these can be modified into other styles including Hime Gyaru with a few changes. This link gives some basic sewing advice and a couple of tutorials.
Avant Gauche Sewing Another Lolita link, this is a collection of commercial patterns which could be used for Lolita styled clothing.
Burda Style Another big commercial pattern maker, Burda have a section where you can submit your own patterns as well. You can see lots of other people’s tutorials.
Thread Banger Youtube channel which has some interesting sewing and diy ideas.
Freeneeedle A collection of links to various blogs which have sewing and diy tutorials. It can be a bit of a gamble clicking as there are no preview images but there are so many patterns you could spend hours doing it.
Inspiration and communities:
Craftster Massive crafting forums. Everyone is very friendly and all crafts are welcome. I always mean to post more on my account here and never have time to ;_;
Ravelry Knitting community! Invite only but signing up only takes a few minutes so it’s worth it. There are heaps of free and paid patterns as well as a massive library of yarns. You can also keep track of all of your projects and how far complete you are.
Pinterest If you’re on here you should totally add me! Anyway, you can find pretty much any craft imaginable as well as keep track of future projects you want to do.
CraftGawker Similar to Pinterest though they moderate all submissions so only the prettiest things get in. Again you can save favorites and click through to the full tutorial etc. Lots of pretty eye candy and full of tutorials.
Etsy This is the place to go for supplies and to buy other people’s crafts for sale. If you ever decide you want to sell your work this is a good place to start. Remember to check whether patterns you use are available for commercial use though. For example mine are available for personal use only so you can’t sell products made from my patterns.
Deviantart This is another community for artists, the Artisian Crafts section is huge and there are lots of knitting/sewing/crochet groups. If you’re into cosplay there are lots of groups and tutorials too.
So hopefully they are useful and will keep you going for a little while longer!
If you have any awesome sites of suggestions just let me know in the comments and I’ll add them. I’m considering maybe putting together a bigger list of tutorials so if you guys have written any you can submit them. What do you think? Would that be useful?
A blog and Youtube channel about a girl and her quest to make everything sparkle. New craft, hair and beauty tutorials every week!
Violet LeBeaux spends most of her time trying to think of ways to make life prettier, posting said ways on her blog and drinking very strong tea. She writes about big hair cute things, girly fashion, beauty finds, sometimes Hime Gyaru fashion (姫ギャル) and crafty tutorials.
She lives with her adorable boyfriend Jimmy, fluffy puppy Miss Lottie and Bergamot Bunny in Melbourne, Australia.
Today’s tutorial is for a basic fishtail braid.
I hope you find it useful!
Start by brushing all of your hair over the shoulder on one side.
Divide it down the middle into two sections.
Take a small piece from the back of one side.
Pass it around the front and between the two large sections so it sits at the back of the second section.
Now take a small piece from the back of the second section and pass it around the front between the two and to the back of the first section.
If that makes sens, the visual probably helps a little more than the words.
Continue this motion alternating hair from side to side.
Take a piece from the back of one side, bring around to the front, between the two sections and through to the back of the other section.
It forms an interesting fishtail batter.
Here’s a close up so you can see the motion a little better.
I’m pulling from the back of each section, moving it over the top, through the hole between then around to the back of the other section.
Then it’s just a matter of repeating it all the way down.
Make sure you take even pieces of hair from both sides so both sides of the braid stay even.
Continue right to the end and tie it off.
It’s similar to plaiting but each movement you make, you’re using one tiny section of hair rather than 3 even ones.
Once tied, you can pull the sections to puff them out more if you like.
Add a pretty flower and you’re all done!
It’s a nice alternative to traditional plaits!
I hope this was a useful video, please check out the blog post linked in the description for more information and a photo tutorial.
Thanks so much for watching.
Bye!
So a while ago I did a tutorial on how to make removable iphone covers so you could easily switch up designs on a daily basis… then I never got around to making any other designs! Well today I finally made another one. This one is much more simple and classic looking than my usual tastes so it’s perfect for times when it’s not appropriate to have crazy styles… like corporate business meetings.
Still very girly but not too over the top!
You need:
The kind of iphone case these fit in
A base made of cardboard or plastic to make the template from
This is a quick tutorial on how to do nail art which was inspired by the very pretty Bornite Stone. Some have suggested that if you used lighter colours i would look like Opal too, very pretty! .
~~~~~~~~~~~~
A blog and Youtube channel about a girl and her quest to make everything sparkle. New craft, hair and beauty tutorials every week!
Violet LeBeaux spends most of her time trying to think of ways to make life prettier, posting said ways on her blog and drinking very strong tea. She writes about big hair cute things, girly fashion, beauty finds, sometimes Hime Gyaru fashion (姫ギャル) and crafty tutorials.
She lives with her adorable boyfriend Jimmy, fluffy puppy Miss Lottie and Bergamot Bunny in Melbourne, Australia.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Music: Garageband unless otherwise credited
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bornite Stone (AKA Peacock Stone) Inspired Simple Nail Art Instructions
Today’s nail art is inspired by a very pretty stone: Bornite.
I’m probably pronouncing that wrong.
It’s full of beautiful dark purples, blues and pinks.
These are the polish colours I used.
You can use the same technique with any though.
You will also need tweezers and a tissue.
Start with a basic dark purple base.
It doesn’t need to be neat at all.
Add a drop of light purple to the tip, scrunch up a piece of tissue and use the tweezers to dab it lightly into a pattern.
This same basic technique is used to add the other colours too so if you don’t feel confident with it practice a little first.
Add a drop of pink glitter around the base and repeat.
You can use different items such as sponges, paper or fabric for different effects.
The more crinkled your tissue is the more interesting the pattern will be.
Add some darker splotches to cover any gaps and dab in place.
Lastly add some shimmery green highlights in the same way.
Getting a good pattern depending on your polish consistency so if you can’t get it right, try leaving your polish to dry slightly on the nail first.
Clean any mess with a cuticle stick and a tissue dipped in polish remover.
Once dry, give all of the nails a clear top coat.
And you’re all finished!
Shiny and very pretty.
Just like the beautiful stone that inspired them.
I hope this was a useful video.
Please check out the blog post linked in the description for more information and a photo tutorial.
Thanks so much for watching!
Bye!
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.
By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. more information
The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this.
