Corsages for Christmas

An update is long overdue, and what better time than the manic week just before Christmas! In between shopping, wrapping and writing cards I've somehow found time to make a few little hair accessories.

These corsage style flowers are inspired by the streets of London - out and about I have noticed more and more girls wearing fascinators and hair accessories as casual wear. This is not about weddings, it's about what you wear to work, study or play.

There are a range of colours available and I am more than happy to do custom orders. Mention this blog and I'll give 10% off!

Nautical Stripe hair clip

Cream clip with flower button

Black rosette flower clip

Cornflower blue hair clip

Antique lace corsage style clip

PrettybyKitty's first wedding!

I was delighted to learn that one of my etsy buyers used my favourite fascinator "Something old, something new" at her wedding in the Spring.

On May 1st, Victoria and her high school sweetheart Dan were married by a close friend of theirs in Queens, NY, surrounded by close friends and family. I am so grateful to Victoria for agreeing to share some of their beautiful wedding photos with me.

It is such an honour to have been a part of their special day, and I would like to send all my very best wishes to the happy couple!

Who's in the box? We are...

I was very pleased to be contacted by The White Box Company last March and asked to be part of their box for the Pierre Garroudi show at London Fashion Week.

Pierre Garroudi is an Iranian-French fashion designer. His Spring show featured weaved, pleated and folded fabrics, and bright block colours. The White Box Co provided over 200 goodie bags and boxes filled with some unique fashion accessories and beauty products.

The show featured dazzling red colours, so the boxes were themed accordingly. I created some miniature red rosebud bobby pins, which can be see in the top right hand corner of this montage.



Other designers included: Linziclip, S and L Jewellery, Butterfly Twists, Little Pretty Things, The Powder Rooms, Hatastic, Funky Junk Jewellery, Lipcote, Faith Adelaide, Edwina Simone, i love hearts, Hoolala, Eyeko, Arbonne.

The boxes and party bags went down a treat and the White Box Co was asked to provide another set of boxes for his September show!

The montage below shows images from the event: 1) model Sophie Anderton with her TWBC goodie bag, 2) a member of the fashion press, 3) a photographer opening her bag, 4) the opening of the show, 5) the finale and 6) Sophie Anderton congratulation Pierre Garroudi.




Many thanks to The White Box Co and to Pierre Garroudi for giving us this amazing experience!

Pounce!

This week I'd like to give a nod to all the new etsy sellers out there. There are so many sellers who are still undeservedly undiscovered, so I've decided to highlight a few of them here by taking my favourite pick from their shop and givine you a little intro.

All these items have been in my treasury this week, although the treasuries are so short-lived that I wanted to give them a more permanent big-up here!

Firstly we take a look at the beautiful, bright landscapes of Geraldo Serrago from Milan. Visit his shop if you want to see more of his colourful acrylics, or even to brush up on your Italian!

My second pick is RennaDeluxe from Dusseldorf. Working with a mixture of paper, vintage stamps and fabric, Renna has some really original pieces. Her flower brooches are inspirational.

FelixMcGinley has created some truly impressive fine art prints. These landscapes are so dramatic and yet I find them really calm and peaceful at the same time.

Anka of FabulaDestash brings us some fabulous finds from a bag of vintage trimmings from 1970s Amsterdam. You won't find these items anywhere else!

I'm sure that Studio35 will not remain an undiscovered shop for long. These fabrics are just amazing... all items are created by the artist and her mother in Izmir, Turkey. I love the freshness of this swirly red and blue, reminiscent of the traditional Iznik tiles. Another favourite is their Hand Applique and Crochet pillow cover

What a clever idea - pdf stationery which you can print off yourself. And what a bargain! CreativeQube have some great ideas - something for every occasion - and I'm sure it won't be long before their talent is discovered!

These cute earrings from LeafyDesign are just one variation on their theme. These earrings are so unusual - I've never seen any like it. These fiery red ones are so versatile, they could be autumnal, Christmassy or hot and tropical for summer.

I have just fallen in love with this parisisal straw hat from TRAMPmillinery. It's so simple yet the classic navy blue lines give it real individuality. It is 30°C here in London today, so I really do need a hat like this.

LighthousePortraits take us on a tour of beautiful and historical lighthouses. Here we see the iconic Gay Head Light from Martha's Vineyard, depicted with acrylic on a slate tile. Bring a touch of the sea to your home!

This vase from NocturnesArt is just so unique - I've never seen anything like it and I still can't quite figure out how it was made! As a gift, or in your own home, this vase would certainly be a talking piece.

This tropical minidress from FiveTenTwenty is just adorable. I'm still so amazed that things from the 80s have come back in such a big way, but you can see why with this cute little dress. With its cinched in waist and cap sleeves, it would make the perfect holiday dress - also good for getting those legs brown.

Coffee or tea? Anek asks us. What a good question. If you get really stuck I guess you can use this print for "eeny meeny miny mo"! This stylish little print would make a nice addition to your kitchen.

That's it for my picks this week. I wish all these new sellers all the best of luck with their shops. With such fantastic items as these, I can't imagine that they will stay undiscovered for very long, and my blog post will soon be out of date!

London calling

In my treasury this week I decided to feature some colourful items from some of my favourite London sellers. I'm always disappointed that Etsy is not more well known in the UK - most of my friends look at me blankly when I tell them about it. As you can see there are some wonderful items available from uk sellers I hope these London sellers will join me in trying to share the Etsy love!

DIY guide to making a ribbon rose

This post is long overdue, I have been meaning to do it for days but just been disctacted by various things (food, friends to stay, politics on tv, pub...) Basically any excuse I'm ashamed to say!

For ages now I've been seeing lovely fascinators on etsy shops with roses made out of fabric or ribbons, and wondering "how do they do that?" I finally gave it a go over the weekend, whilst making a birthday present for my mum, and here goes:

First, choose a wire-edged ribbon. I picked one which was about 2cm thick, and about 50cm in length. If you choose a really thick ribbon you get a big flouncy rose, with a thin ribbon you'll get more of a little rose appliqué.

Step 1:

Pull one end of the wire out of the ribbon, by about 1cm. Secure this by winding up into a knot.

Step 2:

Take the opposite end of the same wire and slowly pull, gradually gathering the ribbon towards the knot at the other end. The ribbon will naturally start to form a flower shape. Keep gathering the ribbon until it is tightly and equally gathered towards the end with the knot.

Step 3:

Shape the rose as you like, with the wire knot hidden at the back, then stich into place. You can embellish with beads, buttons, or even another smaller ribbon rose in a contrasting colour.

The finished product... This is sadly not for sale in my shop as this is a present for my mum (eeek I hope she likes it)... I might think about doing something similar though for my shop now I have mastered the ribbon rose. Hope you enjoy making them too!

If you liked this post, you may like to try your hand at making your own fascinator: see my DIY fascinator kit

Summer skies, Butterflies

I've just uploaded a new comb to my etsy shop. Something a bit different from the other ones I've made, this one has five butterflies wired to the comb: two in dusky pink and three in smoky grey.

The butterflies (from VV Rouleaux off Marylebone High St) are gorgeous and come in all sorts of colours. It was a little fiddly wiring them to the comb without any damage, as they are quite fragile, but once on the comb they felt very secure. I've wound a ribbon round to make sure the comb doesn't bite into your head.

Next job will be taking some better photos - maybe this weekend if the sunshine comes back!

Summer skies, Butterflies