Make a Spotty Tshirt for Children in Need

'Mummy, have I got something spotty to wear? We can wear something spotty to school on Friday for Children in Need'
For a child whose mother is ever so slightly obsessed with polka dots, Roo has a grand total of no spotty clothes whatsoever! Not a problem, says I, you have some white tshirts we can customise. And then I completely forgot about it.

Until this evening when Roo reminded me that he needed something spotty to wear to school. Tomorrow.

Here's what I did...

How to make a Spotty Tshirt for Children in Need in less than 15 minutes because you completely forgot to do it earlier in the week....

You will need

1 tshirt

a piece of fusible webbing (Bondaweb or similar)

scraps of coloured fabric

something round to use as a template (I used one of those dosing cups that come with EVERY bottle of washing liquid I buy...)

Scissors

Iron

First draw some circles on the paper side of the fusible webbing and cut roughly around them.

Place it, sticky side down, on your fabric and iron in place.

Cut out your circles.




Position your circles onto your tshirt until you are happy with the arrangement

Peel of the backing paper and iron the fabric circles to your tshirt

Put tshirt on and wear with pride whilst helping to raise money for Children in Need!

I do apologise that this is a bit last minute but, you know, that's just how it happens sometimes...

Pretty Nostalgic & Clothes Show Live sewing competition

Fabulous magazine devoted to all things vintage, Pretty Nostalgic have teamed up with Clothes Show Live 2013 and are calling all crafters, makers, designers and customisers to show off their creative skills in a great new competition.

The Best Customised Party Outfit Competition is open to everyone and the winners get free tickets to Clothes Show Live 2013 where you will see your work showcased at the Pretty Nostalgic Customisation Station plus a chance to feature in the magazine itself.

What do you need to do?

First you will need to download an entry form from here and send it in, along with before and after photographs of your reworked party outfit by October 1st 2013.

There are three catagories - mens, womens and kids outfits - and the initial stage of judging will be based on this entry so make sure you include lots of detail about how your outfit was constructed, materials used, inspiration and, of course, a picture of the final outfit being modelled.

A selection of entries will be invited to the Pretty Nostalgic Gathering in Bristol in late October for the next round of judging where the final three outfits from each category will be selected to go forward to the grand final at the Clothes Show Live 2013. Pretty Nostalgic will be hosting their own Customisation Station where visitors can bring their own outfits for advice on customising and redesigning. The final designs will be on display in this area.

You can enter all three categories if you wish and the judges will be looking particularly at good use of upcycled and recycled clothing and cast offs - so go to town, raid granny's button tin, scour the charity shops and ask friends for things they don't want anymore and get creative.

DATES and DEADLINES

Entry closing date : 1st October 2013
Semi finals :  26th/27th October 2013 at Pretty Nostalgic Gathering, Kings Weston House, Bristol
Finals : 6-10 December 2013 at Clothes Show Live 2013, NEC Birmingham

GOOD LUCK!

Folksy Friday - My 'Handmade on Folksy' Style

I love clothes. I'm not a fashionista by any means (typing right now in the sloppiest Joe jumper you have ever seen...) and I am certainly no slave to fashion but I do appreciate quality clothes.

I have never really investigated the clothes and shoes section on Folksy before (mainly because I would consider bespoke handmade clothes to be waaaaay beyond my budget) but this week I thought why the hell not?

Here's a selection of my favourites!

I love this gorgeous shirt by Fashion Couture - made to measure in stretch silk satin and fine cotton lace. You can't get much more luxurious than this!  (Yes it IS waaaaay out of my budget but a girl can dream!)

Lovely wrap around jersey top from jaworska.  I love her drapey cowl neck tops too!

Isn't this just the cutest dress? I love the colour. I love the style. And I adore the screen printed umbrella motif dancing around the hem!  Visit There's Only One Amy Laws and check out the cute 'Cowgirl' dress too!

More screen printed loveliness - this t-shirt comes from Proud Cloud Creations  at the most bargainous (yes I know that's probably NOT a real word!) price of £16!  I am definitely gonna have me one of these . . .







 

I adore this floaty accordion pleat LBD from Recycled Love. Lovingly made from recycled and vintage fabrics, all of Helen's designs are completely unique and one of a kind.  Absolutely guaranteed not to bump into someone wearing the same outfit as you!

And last, but by no means least, no outfit is complete without gorgeous shoes.  These cute ballet pumps are made from upcycled leather - scraps and off cuts from
larger projects and are available from The White Ribbon in a variety of colours.








This is just a small selection of the gorgeous handmade clothing available on Folksy. Check out my Pinterest board for more of my favourites - Folksy liked it so much they featured it on their home page earlier this week!

That's not my wardrobe (part two)

A few weeks back I told you about my wardrobe and how I don't feel like it actually belongs to me. I have been meaning to do something about it ever since, so today, as the Little Man woke me up extra early ( a special Sunday morning treat... ), I thought I might as well take the bull by the horns and have a clear out..

#InnerTruth - That's not my wardrobe!

Feeling a bit uncertain what to write this week...

Haven't had chance to practise the 4/4 energising breath I mentioned last week and a lucky blog competition win of a rather large (and very scrummy) box of Lindt chocolates sent the 'healthy eating plan' (still refusing to use the 'D' word...) right out the window.

But that was last week.

Yesterday I had a bit of a tidy up and bagged up some old clothes I have been meaning to give to the charity shop for months. While the wardrobe door was open I had a proper look inside and to be perfectly honest I was utterly depressed by what I saw.  My wardrobe is packed full of clothes that aren't mine...