Tagged handmade

May 1, 2015

Evening Elegance

How many times did your dad screech at your 18 year old self that less is more when you were tottering out the front door with your gaggle of gals for a night out, referring to your make-up and not the ridiculously short skirt you were sporting obvs? For me, the saying really does crop up time and time again and for this fascinator less really is more.

Stripping it back to basics, focusing on composition, highlighting the backward positioned shimmering petals against the deep round base. Completely hand stitched, it was both painful on the fingers and terribly time consuming but, my ooh my, was it worth the swear words! The result is definitely one of the most effortlessly elegant accessories I’ve made to date, a sophisticated match for a plush party any time of the year.

April 26, 2015

The perfect pink

Hot pink, light pink, champagne pink, piggy pink, carnation pink or paradise pink? The possibilities of pinks are endless and if you thought standing in front of one of B&Q’s colour charts was a confusing kerfuffle of colour, boy were you wrong. Forget 50 shades of Grey, with Wiki’s tints of pink you can even choose a nationality for your chosen shade and since the tones stretch from France to New York it is hardly surprising we women find it a struggle to match our dresses with our many accessories. But rather than rant that we have every notable pink colour of handbag bar the one we are really looking for, I’m just going to enjoy the perfect match created below.

Tickle me pink.

(Quite possibly with a blend of shocking pink and a hint of cherry blossom pink too!)

April 1, 2015

A hat trick of hat tricks

Christmas brings an excess of tinsel, tiaras, turkey and tantrums and leaves very little time, or energy for creativity and folding of silks and sinamay and the stitching of flowers and feathers. Then came the February blues, not January in my case as I’m quite a fan of the leftovers and failed attempts at new beginnings. February brought one great big snotty slap in the face in the form of the flu. My first experience. My first, month long experience of resting, and sleeping, and sleeping and then resting, and Oh! the boredom! The only positive was the subsequent weight loss, which FYI, is sooo not worth it, so please if you can, always take vitamin C. But after February comes March, the best month of the year. Why I hear you ask? Why, it’s my birthday month! Yes, yes I do behave like a spoilt teenager and enjoy dragging out the celebrations for weeks on end and as result, it is now April. APRIL. I am a few pounds heavier and a few pounds poorer and clearly currently a failing blogger, so it is time to occupy my mind, my hands and my free moments with one of my favourite pastimes again… But in the mean time, here is a few snaps of 2k15 so far.

December 19, 2014

Loopy Lou

Tonight I have been getting in to the Christmas spirit, preparing for the present wrapping and swirling delicate ribbons into long loose curls whilst watching my all time favourite Christmas film, Miracle on 34th Street, and munching on my first mince pie of the season. Talk about clichés, I know. Then, during the finale of the film, where I am yet again, screeching at the screen that I too, believe, believe in Santa Clause, I decided my time would be better spent making some sassy swirls to be worn to some swanky festivities. So the deliciously wrapped present idea was short lived, one hour and forty eight minutes to be precise, here’s to trusty tin foil, the most efficient, effective and shiny wrapping paper ever invented, and here’s to another new fascinating fascinator creation by yours truly.

November 26, 2014

Ascot Attire

A little late of the mark, hopefully unlike the horses, but here is a quick snap sent over by a summer client, sporting her cream and pink dress up for Ascot Races. I love the two colour combination with the pop of the two tones of pink against the cream, and the height given by the tilt of the base, but even more so, I love the selfie smiles.

Great dress, check! Bespoke, handmade fascinator, check! Happy racers, check! The only thing more satisfying than creating an object of beauty, is seeing someone happy to be wearing it. Thank you Amy Breslin for the photographs!

November 21, 2014

Stick and stitch

There is nothing more inspiring than a rainy day. The perfect excuse to hide away from the wet, woeful world and get lost in possibilities. So today, a particularly miserable looking Friday, I decided to turn off the glue gun and return back to the good old fashioned needle and thread. A few hours, Mr Olly Murs on repeat and the occasional pin prick later, here we have it; a new creation, a new wedding fascinator and a new style for the end of the year.

October 11, 2014

Formal Feathers

I don’t know if you’ve noticed (don’t worry if you haven’t, I have only just caught on myself) but i’m a bit of a fan of alliteration. And the letter F apparently. Sorry about that folks, I will look for a new flavour of the month and a new letter of the alphabet to fixate on. In the meantime, my spare moments have been filled with fiddly feathers (couldn’t resist!) rather than vocabulary and this is my first of a new wintery style fascinator. With feathers opposed to flowers and navy and black opposed to pink and purple I can quite confidently say I am a fan of this formal fedora and that from now I do promise to refrain from this obsession with the letter F….