I read this post over on e-elise etc the other day, in which Erin demonstrated how to make a nifty DIY book page ornament. I love anything literary (as you can see from this post where I decorated my old uni bedroom all the way back in 2013!) so this little DIY was right up my street. I'm sure not one person will be surprised to hear that I used Mockingjay as my inspiration. This was my first attempt; it's definitely a bit rough around the edges! But I like really the concept a lot and it's something I'd definitely try again. I didn't have all the recommended materials to hand, so improvised with some cardboard and sticky tape. I did however follow the advice of scanning and printing a copy of the page - there was no way in hell I was slicing and dicing my copy of Mockingjay. My attempt here is not a patch on Erin's (seriously go and check out her blog!) but the whole idea has given me some great inspiration, which is super handy as I want to make some little crafty bits for some upcoming birthdays. If I succeed in making neater versions to give away as presents, I think I'd like to try and incorporate some mixed media if I try another one, perhaps some typewriter typography or something as simple as a few dabs of glitter!

Jade x

As a uni student, fancy dress has become something of a favourite past time of mine. I love dressing up for different socials and nights out, but more than anything I love trying to make my outfits as unique or as homemade as possible - anti-conformist as ever!

 

For Halloween last year I dressed up as Pocahontas. Admittedly not the most scary outfit ever but it was so much fun to make (especially as all  I used was a pillow case and some ribbon!) This year, after much deliberation, I decided to go as Minnie Mouse. Again, not particularly scary but I remember seeing pictures of one my fave fashionistas Ashley Madekwe dressed as Minnie and ever since I've been waiting for the opportunity to do it myself! Since I'm contemplating dyeing my hair soon (more on that soon!), I wanted to make the most of my Minnie Mouse-esque hair while I've still got it.

 

Onto the actual costume, I already own a number of black crop tops and black shoes so that half was sorted. I have a pair of ears so all that was left was the polka dot skirt. I searched high and low for one I could buy, even in the kids sections of shops! Determined not to admit defeat I ventured to the market and bought a square metre of red and white dotty material. Cue my DIY polka dot skirt!

 

As much as I love creating and customising clothing, I'm not very good at doing things off the cuff, so I decided to cheat a little bit and use a skirt I already own - much easier!

 

I started with the big square of material and cut it into a smaller piece that was more manageable to work with. I then started pinning the material directly to my skirt so I would be able to take it from a square shape into a more fluid skirt shape.

 

 

Once I had pinned it all the way round, I cut it to shape and thought (rather naively) to myself, well that was easy! If only!

 

Of course when I went to try it on, because I had pinned the material when the elastic of the skirt wasn't taut, as soon as I tried to pull the skirt over my legs, half the safety pins began to buckle! So after a bit of fiddling around, I tried again and voila! One polka dot skirt perfect for Minnie Mouse.

 

 

I will do a follow up post to this, complete with a full outfit picture. What are any of you dressing up as for Halloween?

 

Jade :)

I was browsing Urban Outfitters earlier today and stumbled across a pair of Cut-Out Leggings which I instantly fell in love with. I vaguely remember cut out leggings being in fashion a couple of years ago but at the time I barely wore plain black leggings outside of my dance classes so cut-outs were out of the question! But now I'm older, very legging-friendly and more willing to experiment in my life, I decided it was about time I gave into cut-out curiosity.

Now at first I was tempted just to buy these: they're cool, they're quirky and down from £65 to £30 - over 50% off! But I figured that before I spent that much on a pair of leggings, I'd have a go at making some of my own, just to see if I'd even like what they looked like on me. I'm the first to admit I don't have the slimmest legs ever so I would terribly regret spending that much (yeah, £30 is a lot to a student) on something that I would then never wear.

So I found one of my many pairs of black leggings (once a dancer, always a dancer) and took a pair of scissors to them and this is the end result!

And voila! Here is the finished product . Now I just have to see if I'm brave enough to actually wear them in public - the cut-outs don't look particularly professional but I quite like the fact that they'll be unique!

Anyone a fan of the cut-outs? Or had any D.I.Y delights or disasters they'd like to share?