Styling class

 I always thought that I was mainly interested in playing around styling 'stuff'- homewares, accessories, food but not really clothing or fashion. But since being forced to use clothing in some recent class assessments I am more inspired. In the near future we have to shoot a 4-6  page fashion story which I am very excited about, especially about choosing a location, using props and creating a mood.

Here are a few photos from class...

The brief for this was to use one or two items of clothing, styled with accessories and props and to shoot from above, then arrange another shot without the clothing to create a two page story.

This is the second photo in the 'Miss Cutie-pie' story.

An accessories shot, inspired by the picture in it.

Playing around. I loved this beautiful shell and happened to have a little bit of pearl jewellery.

The metal letter 'W' made me think of the word Whimsy, although I am not sure it really goes with styling.

I totally adore styling class, it allows me to get in touch with a few passions of mine which are theme, colour and little collections....and hopefully I can make this my future day job!

Shabby Chic Cupcakes

A few days ago a close friend of mine had her birthday and what better excuse to make more cupcakes! I have to admit that the cakes themselves were made from a packet, something that I don't do very often as I really enjoy the whole process of baking from scratch, but they did taste great! I spent ages handmaking the pink roses, but I'm so happy how they turned out.

The fondant icing is something totally new to me and I look forward to more experimenting. Maybe this year I will finally do that cake decorating workshop that I've always wanted to do.

Now it's time for a cup of tea and......a cupcake!

Having a red hot go at Interior Styling

For years and years I have been ripping out pages from all manner of magazines, whatever I could get my hands on really, but especially Interiors magazines. My ultimate dream is to have my home worthy to be featured in one of these. So when I learned that one of the subjects we would be covering in my Visual Merchandising course was 'Styling Merchandise for Photography', I could not contain my delight. We had our first assessment today and the brief was simply, 'homewares close up'.

 Above is my favourite shot. I am totally in love with the old window with it's wooden frame and grime streaked glass.

 This is the shot I think I will use as my final choice.

After completion of our assessment we then had to swap with another class member and re-style their accessories. This was very different for me as I am not a huge Red fan, but I am happy with how it turned out.

Now I am inspired to start styling areas of my home, so we'll see what can be done with a rented and fairly retro house that has seen better days.....

Scotty doggies!

Still on my sewing frenzy, I whipped up these cute little scotty dogs yesterday. I found the pattern free on the internet and it is by Jenny B Harris.

I'm still finding it a bit difficult making 3D toys, but practice makes perfect so I'll keep going!

Foxy!

Awhile ago in Frankie magazine there was a feature taken from Pip Lincolne's book "Sew la tea do" on how to make a fox quilt. Ever since then I have been wanting to give it a go.

Here it is! I decided to just make a fox cushion cover as I didn't really want a big fox quilt at this stage. I think I will make more and also possibly make a cat too!

Today I've been a Sew & Sew!

I've long been stockpiling fabric for a rainy day and although today was hot and dry, I finally sat in front of the sewing machine and pressed my foot firmly on the pedal!

I've had my eye on this softie pattern for quite awhile as I fell in love with the little deer on the cover so when Lincraft had half price on their patterns recently I couldn't say no.

And here is my first ever attempt at a softie! I think she is very sweet and although my sewing skills need to improve( I am used to only sewing in straight lines lol) she's not too bad for a first go.

An owl cushion I started working on awhile ago, it just needed to be stitched and stuffed! This was a pattern I made myself, next time I think I'll try a different owl as this one reminds me a little of a seal!

It's sooo good to have my sewing machine back,it had been sitting in my mother's spare room since I moved house last August, it's a neccessity really. Lots of things to finish off and many more projects in my mind, so going to be busy! Sewing is a satisfying skill and I endeavour to improve as the possibilities really are endless. So everybody get a sewing machine, a stash of fabric and start creating!

New Year projects.

My love of cupcakes has moved over into my cardmaking. These are my first few, the cases are made from corrugated cardboard with felt for icing,beaded sprinkles and of course a cherry on top!

Cupcake on canvas.

Owl and dove cards.

Birdy cards.

Deer and birdy.