Beauty. Fashion. Lifestyle.
Posts tagged Craft
What I Wore: Witchcraft
2
6 years
Handmade Flocked Skater Dress / MortiisM Vegan Skull Necklace / Blonde + Blonde Lace Up Block Heel Boots / Primark Tights
Today’s outfit post is also a Thrifty Finds post, as my beautiful flocked skater dress was handmade by my very talented mum, using fabric that we got from a carboot sale. And the best part is the fabric only cost £1! My mum drafted the pattern for this herself, using the bodice from one of my dresses, and the skirt from another, so it turned out the exact fit, shape and length I was hoping for. I’m so impressed by mum’s work, especially as this was the first adult dress she ever made. The stitching is so neat, it’s comfortable, and it fits me really well – quite an achievement considering I tried the bodice on once whilst she was making it, and that’s it! Needless to say I’ll be asking her to make me another dress very soon, as I’m so pleased with this one.
My necklace is also a craft piece, by the lovely MortiisM, who makes vegan skull and metal jewellery, antlers, and homewares. I won this piece in a giveaway on Instagram, and I adore it. I love the length, and the quality of the piece is really high. It looks so real, and the Swarovski adornment is like the icing on the cake. Stunning!
Naomi x
P.S. Check out how else I styled these boots!
25th Birthday Haul
1On Valentine’s Day I turned 25, and though I felt unwell (for the third birthday in a row!), I had a great day. Charles treated me to a lovely breakfast in bed of Belgian chocolate waffles, hot tea, and fresh orange juice. We then went for a long walk around Bradgate Park with my family, and had lunch at a tea room, and in the evening we had a pizza party with amazing chocolate birthday cake!
I was lucky enough to receive lots of cards, a few Highcross and Amazon vouchers from friends and family, and some gorgeous gifts, so I thought I’d do a little haul post to show you some of what I got.
My mum gifted me this watch, and it’s absolutely stunning. I love the marcasite detail and I’ve been wearing it every day since I got it.
My two main presents from Charles were these Kate Bush themed necklaces. The first one is from her official website, and features lyrics from one of my favourite songs, Cloudbusting. I actually saw this when I went to see Kate in London last year, but couldn’t afford it at the time. I really wasn’t expecting to get it for my birthday, so was so happy when I opened it! The second necklace is made of silver and was personalised just for me. I love it.
Charles also got me this awesome Game of Thrones t shirt. I can’t wait to style it for an outfit post in the coming weeks!
My dad gave me a few bits for the house, my favourite of which is the Moroccan lamp. It’s made of metal and is lined with purple fabric, and gives off a lovely ambient glow. It now takes pride of place on my living room fireplace.
Much to my delight I get quite a few books every year, and this year was no different. Charles gave me ‘A First Book of Nature’, and ‘An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth’ by my space hero, Chris Hadfield. The rat training book was from an old school friend, and my sister gave me ‘Wreck This Journal’ and ‘The Pocket Scavenger’, both by Keri Smith. I can’t wait to start filling them in!
All of the above were parts of gifts from my old school friends, who I celebrated with last night at my favourite restaurant. There was a definite rat theme to their gifts this year!
And of course, no birthday haul would be complete without an abundance of chocolate!
Last but not least, my talented mum made me this super cute heart wreath. She crocheted the flowers herself, and decorated them with buttons. This now adorns my bedroom door and it looks right at home.
Naomi x
ResinSparkles Pendant and Ring
9
7 years
by Naomi in Fashion
I recently came across a great little Etsy store called ResinSparkles, which is owned by the lovely Sara. Sara creates unique pieces of jewellery out of resin and glitter, a lot of which have a fab geek-chic theme, with Dr Who, Star Wars, steampunk and comic books regularly featuring in her designs. Sara very kindly offered to send me a couple of pieces to review, and after browsing her store the magpie in me chose a Sparkly Ring and a Steampunk Clockwork Pendant.
Both pieces are really well made, and they are both very generous on the glitter. They’re so eye-catching, especially in the sun, and both make a real statement. They came packaged in cute matching gift bags too – perfect if you want to give them as a present (and trust me, the receiver would not be disappointed with their sparkly surprise).
The pendant comes on an 18″ silver coloured chain and is nice and lightweight, so though it’s a fairly big piece, it’s incredibly comfortable to wear and hangs well. I chose purple as it’s my favourite colour and this particular shade is stunning, but these pendants are available in a wide range of colours. I absolutely love the steampunk theme too, as the little cogs and metal bits suspended in the resin give it an added edge.
The ring I received has come to be known as my mermaid ring, as the layers of bright blue glitter are so pretty and remind me of a mermaid’s tail, or the surface of the sea sparkling in the sun (how romantic!). Like the pendant, the dome of the ring is quite large so really stands out, and it sits securely on a silver coloured adjustable metal band. I have quite slim fingers so it best fits my index or middle fingers, which is where I prefer to wear rings anyway. These are also available in a wide range of shades, with some combining two different glitters.
Considering all of Sara’s pieces are handmade and great quality, they’re also very affordable. The pendants are £7.50 each including the chain, and the rings are just £3.50. So, if you’re a fan of sparkle, or know someone else who is, be sure to check out ResinSparkles on Etsy, and on Twitter.
Naomi x
*These pieces were sent to me by ResinSparkles for review purposes. All opinions expressed are honest and my own.*
Bespoke Sterling Silver Ring by Biggley
5Whilst browsing Twitter a few weeks ago, I noticed that an independent jewellers called Biggley were looking for bloggers to review some pieces from their new range. As a fan of silver jewellery, which they specialise in, I jumped at the chance of applying, and was lucky enough to be chosen as one of the few bloggers to receive a piece.
Biggley are based in Glasgow, and are made up of a small team of qualified jewellers and designers, who handcraft a variety of beautiful, bespoke jewellery. They make a wide range of pieces for women, men and children, from necklaces and bracelets, to rings and earrings, most of which is made of high quality sterling silver.
The piece I received is the D Shaped Ring from Biggley’s latest collection.
The ring is really unusual as it breaks away from the typical circular design of a ring, with a straight bar which sits across the top of the finger. The ring is crafted from sterling silver, and is set with a single cubic zirconia stone, which has a brilliant shine to it. As soon as I saw the ring I was really taken with how unique it is, and I think it’s absolutely stunning. Unsurprisingly, my mum does too, and she keeps asking me for it, so I keep having to hide it from her!
The ring also fits really nicely, and is an absolute pleasure to wear as it goes with any outfit, and due to its shape doesn’t spin round, so feels comfortable on the finger.
Biggley’s jewellery is all bespoke as every single piece is crafted by hand to a high standard, and is made to order. This doesn’t mean you have to wait a long time for your item though, as they aim to have all pieces ready to post within seven days of the order being placed. I am genuinely impressed by just how perfect this ring is. It’s flawless, and has obviously been made with care and attention to detail, by an extremely skilled and precise jeweller. I love it.
The D Shaped Ring costs £40, which for a quality piece which is made especially for you, is extremely affordable. To view Biggley’s current jewellery collections, click here. You can also follow them on Twitter and Facebook, where they will soon be launching an exciting giveaway, so keep an eye out for that!
Naomi x
*This sterling silver ring was sent to me by Biggley for review purposes. All opinions expressed are honest and my own.*
Nails by AB
15A few weeks ago I was asked by Amy of Nails by AB to review a set of her gorgeous false nails. Amy is a trained beauty therapist and her new business, Nails by AB, specialises in creating personalised designer nails which are painted according to your own specifications, and then posted out to you. Having seen some of Amy’s designs on Twitter I was hugely impressed so, of course, I jumped at the chance to try some of her nails for myself. The design I asked for and swiftly received was a set of bang on trend owls.
The nails came very nicely packaged in a drawstring bag, and a handy little tube of nail glue was also provided.
This stunning owly set contains 18 nails (9 pairs of differently sized nails), so you’re guaranteed to find a complete set that fits you in amongst them. A set of 18 owl nails costs £8.50 (including UK postage), which is incredible value for money considering the amount of effort that goes in to painting them! However, if you want a smaller set (which usually costs less) Amy will ask you to measure the width of your nails upon ordering, so that she can choose, tailor and shape your nails specifically to fit you. How great is that?
As I’m sure you can tell from my photographs, the quality of these nails is excellent. The design is simple, yet really carefully and neatly painted, and the colours used are really bold. I absolutely love these little owls, they’re just so cute, and it is obvious that Amy has a real talent for nail art!
Both my sister and I have tried these nails on and we both agree that they are very comfortable. The nails themselves are made of plastic, which is thin enough to be flexible and look like a natural nail, but not too thin so that they break easily. The glue that is provided keeps the nails on for a good while (basically until you decide to take them off), so if you want your nails to last longer than just a night out, these will.
The photographs below were modelled by my sister. She has far shorter nails than me so I thought it would be a good idea to show that the nails stay put even on short nails…
The Nails by AB range features many quirky, bespoke designs, including the latest Moustache Nails which cost £9.50 a set and celebrate Movember, with £4.00 of the proceeds being donated to the Movember charity. However, Amy is more than happy to paint a set of nails to your own design if you have something specific in mind. Nails by AB nails start at £6.50 a set, but only go as high as about £10.00, which is so worth it when you consider what you’d pay for a salon manicure.
If you would like to order some pretty little nails from Nails by AB, you can do so via Amy’s website, on eBay (under nailsbyab), through the Nails by AB Facebook page, or even through the Nails by AB Twitter account. Payment can be made through PayPal or Credit/Debit Card, and once payment has cleared your nails should hopefully be in the post to you within 2-3 days, sent FREE by second class post.
Nails by AB’s products and service are top class, and it is obvious that so much care and passion is put into Amy’s work, so please help to spread the word about this nifty little company!
Naomi x
DIY Simple Cord Bead Bracelets
5
9 years
I was recently browsing the summer sales and noticed that there were a lot of fine cord beaded bracelets around. I thought they were very cute and subtle, but I couldn’t justify spending money on what was essentially just a piece of string and a single bead. So, being the thrifty girl that I am, I decided to make my own! Under my bed I have a big box of craft stuff, so today I dug out some cord and a few beads and got making. As I went along, I took some photos so I could put together this little tutorial for you all 
Each one only takes a few minutes to make so you really don’t need to set aside much time to try this out.
All you will need to make your simple cord bead bracelet is:
Leather Cord
Scissors
A Pretty Bead
And this is how you do it!
1. Cut a length of cord which is a few inches longer than the circumference of your wrist. It needs to be quite long so you can tie knots later on! Any excess can be snipped off if needs be, so try not to make it too short.
2. Thread your bead onto the cord, making sure that it’s in the centre.
3. Tie a tight knot either side of the bead to keep it in place.
4. This is probably the most fiddly bit… Tie one side of the cord around the other side of the cord to create a sliding knot. It’s difficult to explain how to tie a sliding knot so if you don’t know how to do it, there’s a simple guide here.
5. Do the same on the other side. The sliding knots will make it easy to make the bracelet tighter or looser.
And that’s it – once you’ve trimmed it down you’re finished! I made several bracelets using different glass coloured beads so I can wear them stacked together. And here they are…
What do you think? I hope you like them! I’d love to see a photo if you decide to try this out.
Happy crafting
Naomi x
