Aladdin Sane David Bowie- Silhouette T-shirt

I am a massive Bowie fan! He's had many looks over the years and I love them all even the Labyrinth look but my personal fave is the one he sports on the front cover of Aladdin Sane. There's something so striking about that zigzag across his face. Anyway I have to admit that this idea wasn't entirely my own, it came about from one shirt I saw in a shop for a whooping £30, Will's ideas and Mine and all together we came up with this...

More pictures after the jump! 

Another Pillowcase Skirt

I Spent last night making this skirt whilst watching the trials and tribulations of the characters on Eastenders. It was a pillowcase with a gorgeous broderie anglais trim. It seemed a shame to waist it so I hemmed it to the bottom of the skirt thus killing two birds with one stone.

The pillowcase was hella see through so I made a lining for it out of an old white duvet cover. All in all the skirt cost me less than 50p to make, which makes me a very happy sewer!

Weekend Inspiration

It's my birthday this weekend! While I'd like to be having a relaxing time with my family, sadly I am a bit snowed under with working this week! But hey it's not like its a special birthday and while technically I am not three years old (add 19 years to that figure!) I just love this card and am going to be thinking about all the..

1. Good Times.
2. Suprises.
3. Friends to Play With. 

For a little bit of happy inspiration! 

It is also a minor double celebration as this here post marks Minnie Burton's 50th post!... which either means I am doing myself proud by keeping up with this blogging lark or that I am too full of my own waffle for my own good! 

I'd also like to say a very happy birthday to my brilliant cousin Scott! He's 21 today! We could have so nearly been twins if only he'd have been born 363 days earlier! 

Have a brilliant weekend I'm going to get my birthday started with some (Palm Oil free) birthday cake! 

Book Review: Make Your Own Clothes: Twenty Custom-fit Patterns to Sew by PatternMaker and Marie Clayton

Make your own clothes, is a craft book with a difference. It has the usual step by step instructions but it also comes with a CD rom that prints off custom made patterns to your size! Simply input your vital statistics, press print and voila perfect custom pattern for your bod! So in theory the book should be brilliant but is it all that it promises to be?

I bought this book on a bit of a whim and have been studying it for a while now and I think the simplest way of doing this is to highlight the book's good and bad points because there are multiples for both!

THE GOOD 
1) The book is part of the C&B craft range and I have a couple of these books and find them fantastic reference points. They are great for beginners to advanced sewers and have good overall techniques and advice.
2)The cd-rom that comes with the book means you can print out patterns to be your exact size. You simply imput your measurements and it will create a tailor made pattern. You print it out on your own computer and stick the sheets together so you can make multiple copies of the same pattern.
(one tailored for you and one for a friend possibly?)  The CD rom is also very simple to use and happily you do not have to be a computer whiz to use it!
3)Lovely full colour illustrations and simple to follow steps.
4)Generally it is a nice book, nice print, nice pics, nice cd-rom, you know it's nice! 

THE BAD 
1) The patterns are a little hit and miss. I would say just over a third of them I will attempt at some point. I am 21 but by no means looking for uber trendy outfits, just wearable. Sadly I have a feeling this book may have been rehashed from the 80s or 90s but with more modern pics. Some of the patterns are God awful! The swing jacket and elasticated waist trousers in particular!
2)Though the pictures are nice and in full colour the models all look a little stiff and uncomfortable. A teenage girl in a hideous swing jacket in YELLOW. Need I say more?
3)Some of the pieces which would be brilliant have been made in TERRIBLE fabric. It's a shame whoever was the design brains behind this book didn't research more trendy or even non-dating fabric.
4)The price. At the moment I think this is still a little steep for a book that is GOOD but not GREAT. Especially where there are so many great patterns available via BurdaStyle. The tailor made patterns cinched the deal for me and while I don't regret buying it I could have easily waited for it to be reduced further. Not an essential purchase for me I suppose!


You can currently buy it at Amazon priced at £8.56

Painting in Nepal

I've been doing what I do best and reminiscing about the good old days! I thought I'd share with you something that was mighty important to me and one of the best make overs I was ever apart of!

(Before)

(The desk my little helper is standing on is actually her bed!)

(After)

More pictures after the jump!

Spring Birds

I am desperately hoping the weather hots up soonish. It is so cold still here in the Midlands! I still have to wear my Winter coat! Brrrr! Anyway whilst wishing I could truly believe Spring had arrived I got all crafty in a Spring like mood and I turned this....

Into this...

Click to read more!

Who knew wedding invites could be so geeky chic?

A good friend of mine, Lara is getting married this summer and the wedding I'm sure will be full of fun and unconventional, unstuffy traditional wedding stuff! Why would I think this? ... Just take a look at the wedding invites, you'll know what I mean!

(Click image to enlarge)

They are so damn beautiful, personal and original and the best part is she designed them herself! Using your own artistic skills to personalise your wedding day is such a nice touch, don't ya think?

The invites feature aspects that are personal to the couple and they just could not be any cooler! I received mine in the post last week and it's so much better in the flesh! I mean it looks fab on-line but even better on the gorgeous paper she chose. (Plus it arrived with a dog postal stamp which made it better still!)

This is not her first foray into the world of graphic design! Check out her website here! or find the Toastmonster button in the blog sidebar. And the best news is if you like the look of these invitations, she does commissions! HOORAY! Click here to contact Lara Crow via email.

I phone Sock

I had a little bit of spare material left over from the pillowcase skirt I made. I recently got an I-phone and was dithering about what case to get to protect it. I wasn't sure if I wanted a flip one, a skin style one, a sock style one....There are just too many to choose from so I decided to take the decision making into my own hands and make myself a sock for my I-phone.

It was so simple and easy to make and took me less than twenty minutes! I just measured my phone and worked out how much material I needed. I made a casing for the top so it was a nice tight elasticated fit. I'm just loving red at the moment so luckily it matches my bags, shoes, purse and other things. It must be an Aries thing being a fire sign and all.

Because it is a sock for my I-phone and I use my phone for taking pictures for the blog I can't get a picture of my phone inside the sock! Doh! Ah well just use your imaginations!