DIY // Ripped Jeans

jeans - topshop // shoes - converse // shirt - urban outfitters

Shredded and distressed denim has been a big trend lately and I have been desperate to get my hands on a pair of these ripped jeans from Topshop, however i dont have a lot of money right now so i decided to make my own by simply taking a pair of scissors to my old unwanted jeans. Although this is VERY easy to do your self, i thought i would do a quick post on how i did it.

1. Wearing the jeans, take some white chalk and mark where your knees are (or anywhere that you want to cut up)
2. Lay the jeans on a flat surface. Take a pair of fabric scissors and cut a rectangular slit from one seem to the other. 
3. Take a pair of tweezers and pull out threads along the raw edges which you just cut. Carry on pulling out threads until you are happy with the look of your jeans and its as easy as that!

Expressing my love for jelly shoes...

So a few months ago I decided I'd hop on to the jelly shoe bandwagon when I found this adorable pair of jellies in primark for only £4! I was about to go and spend £20 on a pair of juju jellies so I am so happy I found these and saved my money. If I am completely honest they have been sitting in the back of my wardrobe since March however we are having a  bit of a heat wave in England at the moment (which is a miracle in its self!) so I have finally got the chance to wear them.

I have been wearing my jelly shoes with girly dresses mostly, and frilly topshop ankle socks however, if like me you can't stand flip flops or sandals and find it difficult to find appropriate yet nice looking footwear for the beach, I think these would be a great alternative! I am going to Greece in a few weeks time with some friends and I think it's safe to say I will be living in my jelly shoes.

Enjoy it while it lasts // (photos from my last week of school!)

(photos from left to right: leavers 2014 hand prints // me wearing my old school uniform on my last full day of sixth form // il miss these two girls when they go off to university ...and Liam's sassiness! // some of the many photos i took on the last full day of school // me and my sister looking sad because of the height difference, or sad because it was my last day? // getting exited about the AM logo on the barriers at Finsbury park // Alex Turner being perfect // my 'front pit' wristband from Arctic Monkeys)

Although it hasn't quite hit me yet, it is safe to say that i have now finished school ..forever! last week was my last ever week at the school i have been at for the past seven years. It doesn't at all seem real yet, in the back of my mind it still feels like we are returning in september! Tears aside, it has been a really fun week and despite my constant moaning about homework and teachers, i really have enjoyed my time at secondary school. (well, most of it.)

Since i have been so caught up with revision and deadlines i seem to have completely abandoned this little blog of mine. since i have now finished two of my A-levels and i only have one exam to go, i now have plenty of time to blog but i thought i would do a quick 'my week in photo's' type post to get things started, as i have had a great last week of school.

Monday - Wednesday consisted of parties in all of our last lessons. everybody brought in tea and cake and we gave thank you presents to our teachers. My photography teacher even made us all a pencil case with our name on it! On Thursday we all wore our old school uniforms (as we don't wear uniform in the last two years of school) and spent the day taking photos and chatting about everything everybody was moving on to do next year. 

Finally on friday morning we had our last assembly as a year group and a glass of pimms and then we where free! i went to my friends house for pizza and then rushed into London for probably the best concert i have ever been to! We saw Arctic monkeys (supported by Royal Blood, Tame Impala and Miles Kane) at Finsbury park. I have been in love with Arctic Monkeys since the age of 11 so to finally see them live was amazing and they sounded great! It also made me VERY exited to see them again at reading festival in august!

If any of you have just finished school, leave a comment on this post about your last week. i would love to hear about it! Stay tuned for plenty of fashion posts on my blog!

Photo Journal ● Exploring Chelsea

Hey strangers! Apologies for the lack of blog posts for the last week or so. I am currently on my Easter holidays however all of my plans to be productive last week went out the window when i go the flu! Since I wasn't really up to photographing my outfits (or my face!) as my eyes wouldn't stop watering, here are some photographs I took on a trip to London with my friend a few days ago.

The best thing about living In the south east is definitely how easy it is to get into London. If you catch the right train you can be in Central London in 25 minutes! Every now and then my best friend Alice and I will buy travel cards and wonder around London for the day. This time we visited a few places including Camden and Covent Garden, but Kensington and Chelsea is probably the best  place to go if you want pretty photographs. It was a really warm and sunny day so I am really happy with how my photos turned out and I am sure I will put them to good use in my photography lessons at school.

This week I am going to Dorset with my family for Easter and I am very exited because I gave up chocolate for lent and I have only a few days left to go! Il get back to blogging regularly soon!

The Birthday Pug

I have been making these quirky little heart decorations as gifts and to go on greetings cards for a while now, (putting my A-level textiles to good use!) and i thought i would share with you my most recent make. I made this cute little birthday pug decoration for my friend Livvie as it is her birthday on monday. These decorations are really easy to make, i simply layer fabrics on top of each other and then stitch them on the sewing machine using a free machine foot. i always add a photograph to the center and stitch it with embroidery thread. This time i went for a photo of a birthday pug, as i know she loves pugs (who doesnt?!).

I really enjoy making textile decorations like this, and for a while now i have been considering making a load of them over the summer and selling them, but i have no idea how to go about that sort of thing so if anybody has any wisdom they could pass on then i would love to hear it!

Colder then a polar bear's pajamas

 top - DIY

trousers - Topshop 

shoes - Converse (buy similar)

watch - ASOS via Ebay

So i was browsing the Topshop sale rail recently and came across these jazzy floral trousers for £10! so i grabbed them thinking they would be a great piece for summer. However to my embarrassment, when the sales assistant scanned them they actually came up as night wear! I looked them up on the topshop website when i got home and it turns out they are pajama bottoms! I do love them though, and they are SO comfy so  you never know, i might be brave and wear them out or they may remain lounge wear. we shall see!

March favourites!

I thought I would hop onto the 'monthly favourites' bandwagon, so here are my short and sweet march favourites...

1. No7 shine free primer: i have been using this stuff for about two years now and I'd say it is the cure to an oily t-zone! It applies like a cream, although very chalky and it makes your skin instantly matte, and keeps it that way all day, so recently I decided to try using it on my lips to make some of my lipsticks more matte and long lasting. It has been working pretty well!

2. Topshop lipstick in 'infrared': This has also been a favourite of mine for a few years now (ever since I plucked up the courrage to start wearing bold lipsticks). Orange is one of my favourite lipstick shades, as I think it works well with my fair skin and blue eyes. I have also been using the no7 primer under this lipstick to give it a matte Finnish.

3. Topshop ceramic daisy necklace: I happened to have £4 left on a Topshop voucher so I grabbed this necklace on a whim and I feel like I haven't taken it off since. I love small pendants like this, and I have also been loving the whole daisy trend this spring.

4. Drowners - Drowners self titled debut album was finally released in February and I have had it on repeat since my CD came in the post. I'm not the best at describing music, but I'd say if you like your indie bands then you will probably like drowners! (P.s Matt hitt, the bands front man is also a male model...) My favourite tracks on the album are shell across my tongue and Luv, hold me down.

Mountains of school work a side, March was a pretty fun month, although I think that was mainly due to the amazing weather we have had In England recently. Fingers crossed that it stays! 

Tie Dyin' // DIY

Plain white t-shirts have always been an essential for me, however i do have a tendency to spill food or splash paint on them! Tie Dying is one of my favorite ways to recycle my old white t-shirts, and it is surprisingly easy so i thought i would share with you how i do it!

1. Lay your t-shirt flat on a surface, and lightly spritz with water. The fabric will be easier to twist if it is slightly damp.
2. To create the spiral effect you will need to make a twist in the fabric. pinch the shirt with your index finger and thumb and twist the fabric around its self. Usually, i like to do one twist in the center of my t-shirt but today i decided to try doing two.
3. Once you are content with the spirals and twists you have made, use elastic bands to hold the t-shirt in place. Use as many as you like and make sure they are tight around the t-shirt.
4. Now its time to add the dye. I would recommend mixing your dye in a water bottle, so you can easily pour it over the t-shirt. Lightly pour it over the shirt, don't drown it! I used blue dye, however i mixed in a small amount of deep red dye which made a pretty cool effect where the two colours separated in some places.
5.  you now need to leave your t-shirt for at least 12 hours (I left mine for 24). I would advise leaving it in an old ice cream tub as the size is perfect and its not the end of the world if you get fabric dye all over it! after 12 hours or so, lay your shirt on a flat surface or hang on a washing line to allow it to dry completely.
6. Now your shirt is ready to wear, however before putting it in the wash you must 'set' the dye to stop the colours bleeding in the washing machine. there are a few ways to do this, but i tend to do it using salt. i soak my shirt in salt and cold water and then it is ready to go in the washing machine.

 t-shirt originally from topshop  // necklace - ebay

Sunday doodle #1

Sketchbook - Moleskine

Since I have being drawing allot recently (as it is a great form of procrastination when I have mountains of school work to do) I thought I would start a weekly feature on my blog where I show one of my drawings. Although my sketchbooks mostly consist of pointless doodles, I thought this would give me the chance to write about things that have been going on in my life. Let me know if you like this idea (or if you don't!) and feel free to leave comments or tweet me with any questions or things you would like me to write about. 

I have always found that I work better in the middle of the night (typical teenager!) and that is when I am most creative, so last night whilst babysitting I made a huge list of ideas for blog posts. I really want to start posting more consistently as I am about to Finnish school (only six teaching weeks left WOO) and because I don't have any exams after we leave (the perks of taking three art subjects!) I would love to take up blogging again. So expect more posts from me soon,

Singing my black and blue

Baseball tee // Brandy Melville

Leather jacket // Topshop

Checked shirt // Urban outfitters

Knit leggings // Newlook

Lipstick // Topshop  - infrared
(For shoes I was wearing all black converse)

Long time no see! I am so sorry for being so inconsistent with my blog, I am well and truly the worst blogger ever!

I really didn't have any big plans for today. I met my friend for a Costa, went to the post office and spent the rest of the day at home. My outfit pretty much evolved around my new baseball tee from Brandy Melville. I had no intention of buying anything when I went into London recently, however when I discovered that there is now a Brandy Melville on Carnaby Street, I just had to go in! 

Look forward to more post's from me!