If you need further excuse to be outside in this gorgeous weather try this crafty little project of covering flower pots with recycled fabric – really adds a nice bit of colour/texture/pattern to your garden. Just cut fabric to correct size and glue on with spraymount or craft glue. Stretch fabrics e.g. jersey are easiest to adjust. Simple!
Another great find this week included this pair of Vintage style curtains. Visiting family in Leicester means that I have access to the staff shop of a well known high street store. The staff shop is full of samples, returns and sale items and these curtains called to me from the sale rail! They are perfect for our bedroom which is going to have a classical french feel to it (when I am finished with the decorating and furnishing!). I will add pictures of the room when it is finished.
After dragging my slightly reluctant family around the staff shop we walked through Leicester city centre. The John Lewis building here is beautiful – it is decorated with an antique lace print which was taken from Leicester textile manufacturing archives. What a lovely idea; using this method to link old and new.
The last place we visited on this whistle stop tour was the Pink Pigeon Vintage shop. I loved the chunky gold nut and bolt necklaces and the vintage chain print scarves. Lush!
Pink Pigeon flyer below – their online store is currently being developed but be sure to check them out soon…
This past week has been really exciting. Along with the Bristol Harbour festival and enjoying catching up with friends and family, one of my close girlfriends is visiting from Hong Kong where she has lived for the last 3 years. We met up on Friday and spent a delightful day sipping coffees, browsing BS8 charity shops and dining at Planet Pizza in proper ‘ladies that lunch’ style. The above pics show my prized find of this shopping trip: a vintage electric blue dress with bat wing sleeves and a button up back. It needs shortening so I will use the quick and easy skirt shortening method to modernise my rockin’ new dress! Pics of the customised item will be added soon. Does anyone have any recommendations for other charity shop goldmines?
This weekend has been fabulous so far and it’s barely even started! Today is the 1st full day of Bristol Harbour Festival. Officially it started yesterday and as I was in town I had a wander through Queen’s square, Millennium square and the Waterfront to get a preview of the event. There seems to be even more packed in to the festival this year with entertainment and activities to be found in every corner of the city centre. If live music from acts such as DJ Derek, reggae band Black Roots, and live drum & bass outfit Vibatronic doesn’t thrill you enough, there will also be…
And much much more.
It’s 10am and already gloriously sunny outside. Grab a picnic blanket, shades and sunscreen and assemble your friends for one of the Bristol-based highlights of the summer. Enjoy!
For full information on all of the Bristol Harbour-side activities and performances, please visit: http://www.bristolharbourfestival.co.uk
You can’t feel much better about shopping than when you visit New Life in Cannock, Birmingham. New Life is a giant warehouse-sized store, full of recycled clothing from some of the biggest High Street names. And…as well as everything being recycled and super cheap (prices start at around £2.99), all profits go straight to the ‘New Life’ charity to help disabled children and their parents in the UK. Membership to New Life is £4.49 per annum and I’ve been told that people visit from as far as France to stock their closets! Whilst there are many bargains to be had, it is also worth fully checking any items you would like to purchase as the clothing can sometimes be faulty or damaged e.g. a missing button or a pulled belt loop. Despite this I have found some of my favourite items here and would defnitely advise a look – especially as it’s for such a good cause.
As well as the items featured in the picture below, other New Life finds on this buying trip included…
Sound interesting? Check out the New Life website for more information….
http://www.newlifetrading.co.uk/docs/superstore/superstore.shtml
Has anyone else discovered a similar shopping experience? Do you feel differently spending money if it means supporting a local business or charity? I’d love to hear your thoughts on how to shop savvy in 2012!
It’s a rainy Saturday afternoon and I’m sat at my sewing desk with one of my favourite takeaway treats (a steaming hot cappuccino from the local coffee shop – lovely!). After mending a couple of garments (more on that later) I decide to finish my tutorial on sewing with shirring elastic as mentioned in the post Vintage Fabric Ruched T-shirt dress. Sewing with shirring elastic is a great way to add shape by nipping in a waist or decorating a cuff. I hope you enjoy the new ‘How To’ format. Again, if there are any sewing tutorials you would find helpful, don’t be shy(!), get in touch by commenting below…
Top Tip: It’s best to wind the shirring elastic onto the bobbin by hand as this stops the machine stretching it out too much.
Over 900000 tons of shoes and clothes are thrown away in the UK each year. I like to minimise my ‘landfill footprint’ as much as is fashionably possible by wearing vintage, taking old clothes and accessories to charity shops, attending/organising clothes swap parties and customising/refashioning items. Transforming a garment which is considered un-wearabe or outdated into something fresh and fashionable is a great feeling. Over time I will be sharing ways of upcycling various vintage items. Tutorials will also be added to show how you can modernise old pieces from your wardrobe. Here is a quick and easy way to shorten a cotton (or similar fabric) skirt or dress. If there are any other fashion/textile processes that you would like to know more about, please comment below and I’ll create a How To just for you lucky reader! Happy Sewing!
Beautiful Plumage. 