Make it: Outfit alterations

I do this thing, where I buy clothes that are not quite right from the high street, second hand shops or vintage clothes that just need a little something doing to them.  Then they languish in my wardrobe for roughly 4 months, before I get a large enough collection together, before I finally admit defeat and actually alter them to be able to wear them.

I don't know why I don't just do it a little at a time, I guess its like ironing, you wait until there is a large enough pile to warrant you getting the iron and ironing board out, so you end up doing a whole batch at a time, rather than just small bits.  But lets not get me onto ironing, because I have been known to send things to the charity shop once I have worn them once and realised they need ironing for the next wear.  My iron only comes out when I am crafting or dressmaking!

I thought I would show you a few of the items I managed to do this time and let you know what I did, so that you can perhaps get some inspiration to alter those almost perfect items into perfect pieces. 

Firstly the skirt at the top of this post, unfortunately I don't have a before shot!  I got a bit too scissor happy before I thought to photograph it!  This was once a button up dress from a charity shop that I loved, yes because its blue and spotty.  The top part didn't fit and so I lopped it off and made a hem over the elastic waistband, so that it becomes a great skirt.  Brilliant for the summer.

Next up, was this maxi dress from Primark for £13 that I loved the pattern of - it's this season and so you might still be able to find it.  The length just wasn't quite long enough for my liking, I like my maxi dresses to be right onto the floor and this was more mid calf length.  In Primark the short dresses are far too short for me and so I thought that I could just make a longer dress into my desired length instead.

All I did, was to hang it in front of a dress I already liked the length of and then go around and pin in to the desired length, making sure its nice and even all the way around, again this is made so much easier having another dress to match it up to, especially if you are a single girl, so no help hemming up from a friend!

Then it was just a case of hemming it at the right length and using pinking shears to stop it from fraying too much.  You could also roll hem or double hem if you prefer.

I bought this dress about 8 months ago (the shame) from Frock and Roll for about £12 and loved it from first sight.  As you can see it was just a little too long for me as it drowned me a little and it had no shape to it.

So with my trusty friend Sammy with me I asked her to help me create some darts in the back.  All it needed for a little shape at the top.  She grabbed about an inch section on two sides of my back and that was enough to make the darts at the back.  I then put the dress in front of another dress to do the same hemming as the other dress.

This last dress has been in my wardrobe for years and I have worn it - honest!  But everytime I put it on, it just didn't quite feel right.  I bought it years ago from Pop Boutique  for about £10 and had to re-elasticate the waist back then, but it still didn't quite fit properly and so it has been put on and taken off more times than it has actually been worn.

Again, this dress was just a little too long and so I pulled up the skirt into the waistband to shorten it, making sure it was straight all the way around.  The sleeves were a little too baggy but as the top of the sleeves has some tucks, it was the bottom part of the sleeve that got altered.  I just took a little bit off from the inside of the arm, making the curve dip into the armpit area a bit more and it has given it much more shape.

So, what do you think.  These are all really simple things to do and so I really should do it more often, rather than waiting for a pile up.  Is there any big transformations you have made or smaller alterations, just to make things fit that little bit better?  Let us know in the comments or share with us on Instagram or Twitter with #livelovemake.

Just off to find some more goodies.
H, xxx

Breakthrough Breast Cancer #TLC and the Great Pink Bake Off!

Last week H and I were lucky enough to be invited up to London by the lovely girls at Breakthrough Breast Cancer to visit their head office and hear about all the amazing things they have coming up in preparation for Breast Cancer awareness month in October. 

There was so much to take in, the guys at Breakthrough are always working so hard to heighten awareness of early detection and the first thing we learned more about is their TLC campaign. 

The idea behind TLC is to help everyone to be aware that the signs and symptoms of breast cancer don't always just show themselves as a lump.

#TLC stands for Touch, Look, Check.

They have produced a pocket sized guide that you can keep with you, We were really surprised as we had always thought that it was only really a lump that you needed to check for.

You can download these leaflets or find out more at Breakthrough's website.

One of the other things we were there to find out about was the Great Pink Bake Off which sounded right up our street.

This October, during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, they're asking you to put your pinny on, roll up your sleeves and show breast cancer what you’re made of. On 18 October an army of bakers will hold their own Great Pink Bake Off in aid of Breakthrough Breast Cancer. You can find out more and download a fundraising pack here.  They have designated Friday 18 October as Great Pink Bake Off day but don’t worry if that date doesn’t work for you – you can choose any day in October;  Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

David Bright from Bright Cake Design made an amazing cake specially for the occasion too! 

Bea's of Bloomsbury had supplied some yummy cupcakes for everyone so we ate ours whilst checking out some recipes from some familiar faces. 

This new fundraising opportunity has some great people behind it who have donated yummy recipes. Michelle Heaton who at the age of 32 underwent a double mastectomy and re-constructive surgery when she found out she had an 80% chance of developing breast cancer and a 30 per cent chance of developing ovarian cancer after being diagnosed with a mutated BRCA2 gene, has shared a healthy cupcake recipe.

Will you rise to the occasion? We do love a good pun!

The thing I love about Breakthrough and why we like supporting them is that they always manage to build a community around their campaigns, the Bake Off is no different, you can head over to the site and show off your baking creations and disasters to the other fundraisers, you can also vote for your favourites.

We had a lovely morning with the guys over at Breakthrough Breast Cancer, we learned so much and had some yummy food. We also found out all about the AW13 fashion and homeware lines, which I will be sharing next month. 

Do you fancy being a part of The Great Pink Bake Off? Head over to the site and get registered!!

Sammy xxx

Declutter your life - Part Two

Last Thursday I took you through how to start a de-clutter in your life and I promised that this week would give you some hints and tips for all that stuff you now have bagged up.  Hopefully will have a good few bags full like these ones of mine!

For everything you have bundles up ready to go, you have a few options:

Take to your local Charity shop, I like to alternate between a local charity and a more national one for my bags of goodies.  My local shop even gives me a card so that they can gift aid and they let me know how much my stuff has made each year.  Nice to know it's going to a good home and it's giving the charity some much needed funds.

The good condition items (including items still with tags) could go on ebay or taken to a car boot sale to make some extra cash.  I have found I get much better results with brand names or items that have not been worn much, if at all.

You could see if you can customise anything - perhaps you would wear it if it was shorter/longer or less faded.  This is where a sewing machine or some clothing dye would come in handy.  You could add some extra material to the bottom of a dress or make your Jeans into cut-offs or a skirt perhaps.

You can take beads off of the jewellery, use the findings again and make new necklaces or earrings.  Just because it doesn't work as one piece of jewellery doesn't mean it won't work for something else.  I love taking apart necklaces and making earrings or brooches, especially ones I have no use for anymore or the ones you find in car boots.  As I mentioned before I have to be picky with my jewellery as I am allergic to nickel, so If I love something, I can always make it into something else!

Your Jewellery could be sent away to a worthwhile cause for recycling - they take broken jewellery too so don't woryy about that.  A few I have sent to include The Alzheimers Society, Diabetes UK and Marie Curie, all information can be found on their websites.

There are even places you can send your good condition old bra's too!  Don't throw them away, send them to Against Breast Cancer or Oxfam, more details can be found on there websites.  They are both very worthwhile causes and mean that someone out there has the benefit of something you no longer need and we all know they are going to end up in landfill otherwise.

Plenty of options for all that stuff you had before, that could now have a new lease of life, either with someone else or from what your imagination can do with it!

H 

Link for the week: Movember

Photo courtesy of www.uk.movember.com

This weeks link is all for the great cause Movember.

Now if you haven't heard of it you have probably been under a rock or you will now understand why men seem to have unlikely moustache's in November!

Anyway, it is a great cause for Men's health and more information can be found here: http://uk.movember.com/about

Love it

H

Make it: An up-cycled Cake Stand

So as the long Jubilee weekend is going to be shortly upon us, we thought a cake stand tutorial would be just the thing to get you through the week!

Thanks to the Jubilee and the recent trend in cakes and all things vintage we thought that making a cake stand for your jubilee party might be just what the doctor ordered.  It is so simple you can find some items on the charity shop on Saturday, make it on the Sunday and have it ready for the extra days off's celebrations!

Firstly you will need a few things and thanks to a rummage in the house and a very helpful Vintage fair for a few of the lovely plates, there is some very helpful photos below of the items you will need!

3 plates of various sizes and 2 bowls or cups to make the pillars

A tape measure, glue and pen

I managed to find 3 different plates in various sizes, the largest for the bottom of your stand and the smallest for the top tier.  Also I found two glass cups, one taller for the bottom tier to make it stand a little taller.  But you could use tea cups or little vases, whatever you already have or you find when you are out and about!  It's always nice to keep a consistent colour or style of items, to make it seem not too mismatched, but you can go with whatever you like really.

1.  To start I would wash and clean all of your crockery and glassware and so its all nice and shiny.  Then using a tape measure, find the centre of your largest plate to make the base of the stand and mark with a pen.  Tip: If you also draw around the top of the glassware on the bottom of the two other plates, making sure you keep it central - it will make it easier for you later.

2.  Adding glue (you can use glue of any kind, as long as its strong and will bond glassware or crockery) to the base of the first glass cup, you then place it in the middle of the plate and hold until adhered.

3.  Then add glue to the top of the glass and using your previous marks on the bottom of the middle plate you can keep it central.

4.  Then repeat steps 1,2 and 3 for the next glass cup and top plate, making sure you keep it all central.

That, as they say is all!

You end up with a Cake stand that even the Queen would be proud of!  Something to show off to your friends at your party and make sure you try and get some Special edition Jubilee Fondant Fancies to top it off!

Make it for the long weekend!

H

Make it: Pillowcase Dresses at Drink Shop Do

So tonight, I went to Drink, shop & do to go support a friend of mine for her Pillowcase Dress Challenge. I got there just after 6 and the place was already busy with post work chin-waggers and some early bird decorators.

Alison from Peggy's Pickles and friends had been busy making the dresses over the past few months and now it was time for a little helping hand from the Drink, shop & do crowd to decorate and embellish the dresses, so that they can go to little girls in Africa.

Now it may not be how everyone wants to give to charity, but I think that every little girl wherever they may be, would love to have a dress and something which has been handmade makes it that little bit more special.

Now, unfortunately I forgot to photos of my endeavours, but trust me that in a few hours I had decorated 3 dresses!  A rosette for one, a decorated pocket for another and daisy decorations for the third.  Go have a look at Alison's blog in the next few days and I am sure she will have many a photo up on there, even perhaps with my concentration face on!

Promise to take photos next time!

H

Make it: A Pillowcase Dress for Girl Around the World

One of H's friends is on a Pillowcase dress making challenge in aid of Dress A Girl Around The World, a charity based in the US that asks you to ‘Imagine a world where every little girl owned at least one dress’, and then tells you how you can make simple dresses from pillow cases. These dresses are then distributed to girls in countries such as Malawi and Kenya.

Picture courtesy of www.dressagirlaroundtheworld.com

They are so simple to make and for such a lovely cause so go and check out her blog and have a look at the challenge and if you can help in anyway, then you can find all the details on Peggy's blog

Make it
H