Modifying my eBay dress

I was very excited yesterday after receiving a nice parcel in the post containing this dress! I won it on eBay for £3.20 (bargain!). Unfortunately, when I tried it on it came down past my knees and desperately needed a bit of modification. As usual, I cut it off way too short and extremely wonky, so I decided the only way to save it was to add this black band around the bottom.

I quite like the effect, and I think/hope it has made the dress look a lot more expensive.

I was going to wear it with mustard yellow tights but I was a bit unsure. What do you think?

My mum's old watch. You have to wind it up every day!

I am completely in love with my new shoes. It's amazing how much extra confidence a small heel can give you!

Sadie xxx

Homemade keyrings!

Does anyone remember using 'Shrinkles' as a child? I have many fond memories of sitting in my best friend's kitchen colouring in fairy pictures and turning them into little plastic fridge magnets.

For anyone who doesn't know what I'm talking about, Shrinkles are little craft kits containing sheets of special paper. You draw whatever you want on the paper, put it in the oven for a few minutes and it shrinks 7 times smaller, and becomes 7 times thicker! You can make keyrings, necklace pendants, magnets and decorations out of them.

I went on a bit of a nostalgic trip and bought some shrinkle paper on eBay, and used it to make this personalised keyring :D. I have 5 sheets left. What shall I make next?

When they came out of the oven

For anyone who wants to buy some Shrinkles (or Shrinkies - they seem to have two names), you can try eBay or look here!

I'm sad to say that the holidays are drawing to a close, which means (as predicted) I have a huge mountain of holiday work to complete before going back to school. And I have a driving test on wednesday, scary!

Sadie xxx

New shoes :D

I bought these gorgeous gorgeous shoes at a carboot a few months ago for 50p. They match all of my criteria for what makes a great shoe! However, I was very upset to discover that it'll cost £30 to re-heel and re-sole them because they're so old (I think thats a bit too expensive, especially when theres no guarantee it'll make them wearable). So I decided to invest in a brand new pair!

I’ve been eyeing up several similar designs for a while now. I wanted a nice pair for school, that aren’t too high and won’t be too hazardous (I’m quite clumsy). And I thought black was probably a more practical colour for me, as I basically always have black tights on.

I came across the perfect pair today, these Hush Puppies from Schuh (£54.99). They're really comfy and just the right height! Tadaa!

Some of the 'shortlisted' shoes:

Tunic - Topshop
Belt - Accessorize
Cardigan - Topshop
Scarf - Vintage
Shoes - Schuh
Bag - Monsoon

The tunic was one of my London purchases. I LOVE the topshop tunics, I have three, all in different colours!!

Sadie xxx

Vintage Umbrella

This umbrella has been in the cupboard under the stairs for as long as I can remember. It's made out of a really thick waxy material, and has a lovely wooden handle. I thought today would be the perfect day to bring it out, as it's raining here in England. (That's the sad thing about summer here... it's just the same as winter).

I'm enjoying a nice cup of tea right now. There is something so beautiful about drinking a cup of tea and watching it rain outside - does anyone else agree?

Cardigan - La Redoute
Tights - Topshop
Belt - Vintage (I seem to wear this belt ALL the time)
Dress - Not sure!

I'm quite excited because I just won some dresses on eBay! I'll take some photos when they arrive :D.

Sadie xxx

Car-boot Guide

I wish I bought these - they were £1!

Many of you have asked for advice on bargain hunting at car-boots, so I thought I’d make a short guide!

• It’s best to get there early so you can snap up items before everyone else sees them.
  
• That said, the bargains are usually found at the end! This is when everyone is desperate to get rid of the last things – and they’ll accept very low offers.
  
• If you’re looking for vintage clothes, you can spot bright 80s prints from a long way away. This usually indicates that there are other old treasures on the same stall.
  
• Be imaginative! That long skirt may not look very nice now, but if you chop a few inches off and rehem it, it could turn into something great! (this applies to charity shops too).
  
• If you fall in love with something, buy it – you’ll probably never see it again.
  
• And the most important thing - always always haggle! You’ll be surprised how much cheaper you can get things.

For UK residents looking for a carboot sale location, there are many helpful carboot directories on Google. I found this site and this site quite useful.

Happy car-booting!

Sadie xxx

Checked Dress

I just found this dress at the back of my wardrobe and it was feeling a bit neglected. I made it last year during the Dolce & Gabanna-influenced checked 'country' clothing craze. It's made out of a duvet cover! (cheap source of fabric). I used a pattern to do the main bit then added the halterneck and the bow myself because I thought it was a bit too plain.

It's one of those dresses that are really hard to accessorize, so I thought I'd keep it very simple with a brown bag and shoes. It might be ok in winter with a nice long brown coat - or maybe it'd look good with a denim shirt and a more casual look? What does everyone think?

Dress - Homemade
Shoes - Clarks
Bag - Vintage shop in Brighton

I seem to have a huge collection of these 50s/60s style frame bags! I think this one is my favourite though - it has a gorgeous orangey brown colour.

Sadie xxx

Red

Just to clarify - I'd never have confidence to actually wear this outfit out! It was more an opportunity to show off my new thrifted finds :D.

I went to the carboot this morning (a 6am start, aaah). This time, I was actually a seller, and I got rid of some old stuff that has been sitting in my cupboards for years. And I made a grand total of £13.90, just enough to cover the pitch fee! Oh well, at least I have more space now.

I did however manage to steal an hour for a bargain hunt, and came across this burgundy vanity case for £3. Isn't it cute? I found the bowler hat for 50p at another carboot, and the dress is a charity shop find. The shoes and cardi are 'thrifted' from my sister (shh).

Not quite sure what's going on in the second picture...



I feel a bit like a character from the film Madeline - did anyone watch it as a child?



Sadie xxx

Cornish Cream Teas

Being in Cornwall, I HAD to make my own scones! I’m a very amateur chef, and it didn’t help that I had to guess the measures, but the end result was not only edible but remarkably quite nice! I feel very proud.

For anyone else who wants to make some, here is the recipe that I used (although it was a bit improvised)…

Ingredients:
225g Self Raising Flour
55g Butter
25g Caster Sugar
150ml Milk
A pinch of salt

Method:
1) Heat the oven to 220 C/Gas 7
2) Mix the flour and salt and rub in the butter. Then stir in the sugar and milk (bit by bit - you may not need all of it) to make a dough.
3) Place the dough onto a floured surface and knead it lightly, then pat it out until it is about 2cm thick. Use a cutter to cut out rounds and put them on a greased baking sheet.
4) Brush the tops with some milk.
5) Bake for 15 minutes until golden.


Scones are usually eaten with clotted cream and jam (the jam is put on first if you’re in Cornwall, and the other way around in Devon!).

Sadie xxx

Cornwall!

I’m blogging from a little ice cream parlour in Padstow on the edge of Cornwall. It’s boiling hot here, and chocabloc with tourists (me being one of them!), but it’s such a quaint place. There are lovely tea rooms along the alleyways, as well as countless Cornish pasty shops and fudge shops, and the streets are decorated with rainbow bunting!

I rode here on a tandem bicycle with my mum (it was the only bike left in the bicycle hire place...). It was extremely wobbly and the gears didn't really work, but it was a fun experience, although perhaps not one to be repeated.

Here are some photos of my stay so far:

Sadie xxx

I love Kitty Killer.co.uk!

I just did an interview over at I love kitty killer, a beautifully presented blog with great content and lots of gorgeous pictures! It is written by Robyn, a 20 yr old fashion journalism student, who has great taste in clothes, music, accessories, and even homewares! Definitely check out her blog if you haven't already seen it :D.

Click here to read the interview.

Sadie xxx

London!

Yesterday, I went to London with my best friend for a shopping trip. It was such an exciting place, with an overhwhelming amount of shops and people! I haven't been to London to shop before, but it definitely is the place to be. It was a swelteringly hot day, which was unfortunate because I was wearing a winter outfit (including my woolen coat...).

I loved all of the vintage bikes which were all over the place!

We spent quite a long time in the Topshop on Oxford Street, which was absolutely brilliant - I couldn't believe how big it was. The bottom floor was full of interesting brands such as Motel and Dahlia, as well as a huge vintage section. I think we needed a whole weekend just dedicated to Topshop! I bought a great pair of jeans and the acid wash tunic that I've had my eye on for a while.

After visiting some more shops on Oxford Street, we wandered to Carnaby Street which was full of independent shops selling nice quirky jewellery, shoes and clothes. Our final stop was Beyond Retro where I tried on a lovely vintage tennis dress. I didn't buy it, but I'm thinking of recreating it with some spare material I have at home!

Sadie xxx

P.S. Tomorrow I'm off on holiday. I'm going to see if I can find an internet connection to do a post, but if not, I'll be back in a week!

DIY Diary Cover & 'How To' Guide!

I've been on the hunt for a nice diary for next year for a while now, but all of the pretty ones seem to cost so much! I found a fairly basic one the other day, which has enough room to write all of my homework and deadlines in, but the cover was boring - so I thought I'd spruce it up.

I used some wrapping paper that I've had for a while, and then covered it in sticky-back plastic so that it survives in my school bag (is it just me, or does everything eventually get destroyed if you leave it in your school bag for too long?).

Here's a how-to guide!

And the finished article, tadaa!

(I can't resist but fill in loads of dates when I get a new diary)

On friday I'm off on a week's holiday to Cornwall. I can't wait, but I really hope it doesn't rain all week...

Sadie xxx