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Monday 28 May 2012

New shoes

Each Crystal is hand glued on with Love & Care

I hope you like my creations I have been working really hard on them, So would love to know your thoughts Please leave comments below

To order a pair email me at mail@getthrifty.co.uk Prices start from just £40.00


Ashlee
xxx

Thursday 17 May 2012

How to make a felt bow

I used google to find the prettiest bow and used several tuturials to make this one design.

Cut two retangles from a peice of felt, then cut along the top, to create a strip
Glue the edge

and stick together to make a circle
Squash the circles flat and pinch to create these cute dimples
Glue the 'Pinch' and secure with a clip
Wrap the cut of strip around the bow

Glue into place
Finished bow add some sparkles, gems bottons, or stitches to make it look super pretty.


Ideas for using this bow?
* Glue a hair pin to the back and wear in your hair
* Attach a safety pin and wear as a brooch
* Add to a bracelet
* Add to a pair of shoes

What do you think? please leave a comment



Monday 14 May 2012

Design a shoe at Nelly.com

I just designed a shoe at Nelly.com

I prob could have done better, but I was between cooking and entertaining the children!


click here:

Turn Jeans into a Waistcoat

I have a few pairs of jeans some are as good as new and get sold on Getthrifty, others however are suitable for the bin - but I dont want to send clothes to landfill.

You need to see 'Clothes' as 'Material', unpick the original sewing and you have a blank canvas to work from, right?

I recently bought a denim waistcoat from Topshop - and I didnt like the price! not one bit! but I really wanted my daughter to have one too. So this will be my first project.

Where to start...

Remove the legs, leave enough room at the top to make a skirt? shorts? or bag?

Remove both legs
Use an unpicker to unpick the seems


I did this whilst watching Tv and took me around 30-45 minutes - so you could do this faster
This is what you should be left with, I have kept the original seams to save on more sewing
Draw around an item of clothing that fits, I was lucky enough to have a waistcoat but its just as easy to use a shirt and fold in the sleeves
Sew your denim together and with a chalk mark the shape of the template over the denim.

Cut out your template.



Hem the edges, I have pinned mine first
Sew the hem
I have now decided to add a Lining to make it more pretty

Use pins to keep the lining in place, fold over the linen to act like a hem and sew
Now, Sew the shoulders together, try and keep with the natural shoulder which generally points downwards away from the body, you could also place the waistcoat on and pin to fit.



Well, My daughter was impressed, and even if she just uses it for dress up its better then sending it to landfill!

The waistcoat took me around 3-4 hours to complete.

I had some more material left over from the jeans, so heres what I made, each item took less then 30minutes to make.

Beans bags (filled with rice and lentils) we set up a bowl and had to get the bags in the target! great fun
I used the top of the jeans to make my daughter a little handbag, add some ribbon and pretty things.


A coin purse from just cutting the pocket out

If you wanted you could add some fringing

What have you made to recycle, upcycle your old denim jeans? Please leave a comment, and even links to your upcycled items.

Thursday 10 May 2012

My day at Camden Market

Camden Lock Bridge
My mum runs a lovely handmade made business called @Theshed she uses recycled, upcycled, reclaimed furniture to make gorgeous home accessories.



She attends Craft Fairs and also helps me run my Getthriftys Craft fairs, but she wanted a bigger audience, so decided to run a stall for a week a Camden Market, So I volunteered my services for her first day.

I always get excited when I drive into London, I don't know why? I suppose when I worked in London I didn't really appreciate it, I become a typical London worker, always having somewhere to be and always in a rush, trying to be the first on the train... I no longer work in London so can step back and enjoy everyone else running around like headless chickens! its great to watch and I love the hustle and bustle of it all.

Can you believe our first day on the market and we were late.. thank god this wasn't an interview. They already loved my mums work so she was guaranteed a stall because all her items are handmade by her, this gives you priority over other traders.

There are so many stalls in Camden, lots of different sections its like a maze, the weather wasn't very happy and mainly rained all day. luckily we were upstairs in the hall so nice and dry and not that cold.

I took a few strolls around, but didn't buy anything, the market was actually very quiet, apparently it changes on the weekend! I did however spend £5 on two cookies! your understand why when I explain I am allergic to dairy. So having these treats doesn't happen often, although on the market today there is alot more options and I tend to make a lot of my own treats, I couldn't believe my eyes when I spotted this stall, to be honest I didn't risk eaten anything whilst out - that would have made it a long day, So they put the treats in a box and I took them home. The Vegan and gluten free company was Cookies and Scream and I'm about to tell you the cookies are GORGEOUS, currently wiping the crumbs of my keyboard as I type. I am saving my chocolate frosting between to chunky cookie sandwich until later so I can really enjoy it, but now I'm thinking why didn't I buy a weeks worth, they had cakes, and brownies and they all looked delicious.
Thank you heaven!
Cookies and Scream with excitement

Right back to the reason why I was at Camden Market, My mums stall was based upstairs, Stall 2 to be precise, we were positioned right near the stairs next door to some gorgeous handmade leather bags and Yumchaa Tea which filled the air with lovely scents all day. The stairs are a little of the main flow of the market so many people didn't even enter into our section unless they spotted the stairs.


Camden is very cosmopolitan and there was a lot of European school trips passing through. So for gifts The Sheds plaques, rings, notice boards and etched glasses were perfect.
Cupcake Noticeboard

Personalised plaques - this is my fav!


The day was (or should have been) 9.30am for set up 10 open to the public until 6pm. So its not really that much of a long day as most permanent stalls can lock there items up so there ready to go in the morning.

My mum has continued to have a stall this week 9th May until Friday 11th May. So if you are around be sure to pop by and say hi she will probably be in need of a cup of coffee too.

Ashlee
x

Thursday 3 May 2012

Recycled Glamour

I didnt need no fancy title to get you reading, the words Recycled Glamour instantly draws you in.

You may have seen me share, like and comment on this ladys work before, you wouldnt believe how lucky I am to have such a talented family, this lady is in fact my Auntie,  Estelle, my Dad's sister.


I wanted to find out more about my auntie Estelle, when did she realise she had such an amazing talent? I asked her a few questions and heres her response.

'Way back in 1994 I was fresh out of art college, full of ideas and out of work, living in Bristol in the UK... No longer able to spend the day welding metal together I had to think of a new way to be creative.

I loved the quirky designs of fashion designer Wayne Hemingway and his label Red or Dead, so inspired, I picked up an old treadle singer sewing machine at a junk shop and started making purses out of AstroTurf that a green grocer gave me with little Subbuteo football players on them or fake daisies... Recycled Glamour was born!

Over the last 17 years I have made 100's of bags and purses, at one point I had a stall at the very wonderful Spitalfields Market in London and I sold in boutiques in London, Bristol and Brighton... I've had many other careers as an Art Teacher, Ceramics technician, artists assistant, lighting designer/maker. But I always come back to my handbags and purses!
Estelles Gorgeous set up at a Vintage Craft fair

I now live in Auckland, New Zealand (a very crafty part of the world), After the upheaval of moving halfway round the world I've started again!

I have a studio in a 1960's caravan in my garden and take what I make to the many craft markets that are around in Auckland and sell online through felt.co.nz

Lots of my ideas for my bags are inspired by long ago happy memories of my Grandmothers house on Dartmoor in Devon, England. So Tweed, linen,  Houndstooth, silk scarves, Liberty Lawn and floral fabric feature in my designs.'







Estelle Pemberton

Recycled Glamour


Purchase Estelles Handmade products from felt.co.nz

This is enough to make you want to get on a plane and visit Estelles Crafty Caravan, Her latest project is a top made from vintage silk scarf, I will be the first to put an order in, Im so excited.

Visit Estelle on Facebook to see what shes up to. Recycled Glamour

Wednesday 2 May 2012

Giveaway

Hey My lovely readers

Im already able to do a giveaway

I have 2 x Grand Design tickets to give away! TONIGHT

For more info visit http://www.granddesignslive.com/show-info/

Not only that! I have teamed up with the fabalous Powercouture on Twitter 

So heres what you have to do.

Log on Twitter at 9pm tonight! follow both @getthriftycouk and @Powercouture

Tweet as many times as you like 100th Tweet wins the Grand design tickets and 200th Tweet wins this gorgeous bag! DONT TWEET BEFORE 9pm as wont be counted

Power Couture is offering the lucky winner this gorgeous pink Bag with your own design! Why not have youname printed on your arm candy?
If you cant wait till 9pm purchase yours here http://www.powercouture.co.uk/

Good luck all.

Love you all
xxx

Christian Louboutin Exhibition

What a lucky girl! My lovely fiancé surprised me with tickets to the Design Museum, Shad Thames London. who is hosting an exhibition full of the gorgeous Red soled shoe.
Shoe collection descending from the ceiling

Entrance to the exhibition


Shad Thames back streets are just lovely and remind me a little of Paris. Full of coffee shops, where you can grab a pastry or croissant, and handful of Italian restaurants, I bet this place is bustling in the summer months.

When you walk into the exhibition which is full of shoes floating around on a funfair carousel. On the walls are little - ok long captions of Christians thoughts, desires and following his creative imagination, you really begin to envy his motivation for designing shoes.
Shoes hanging from a funfair carousel, adorned on a velvet red bed


We all know the big celebrities wear the red sole, its an identity of fashion couture, from a respective well known french designer.

Who would be better to adorn this sole? None other then Dita Von Teese - two of my favourite people. I love Dita's 50's glam style she brings back to life, she creates her own style which makes her even more perfect in my eyes, a flawless beauty.

During the exhibition around every 30minutes a large crystal shoe displays on the hologram screen, the shoe turns into Dita and she dances away a few layers of clothing which turns to sprinkle silver dust, an exquisite beauty of dancing done in a glamorous and stylish way, your intrigued to watch through to the end when she turns back into this glorious shoe. A wonderful match. and piece of history in relation to where he created he's love for shoes.



The exhibition shows how shoes have changed through the years, not just for Louboutin but you recognise the styles in general, well the highstreets have to get their inspiration from somewhere! but they will never match the exquisite shoes created by this man, the love and detail shines through on each and every shoe, there is a story for each sole.
The exhibition takes you through a story of his life, from the year 1991 when Christian opened his first boutique through to the current day is creating his 'Fetish' shoes including the 8inch ballet shoe.


Throughout the exhibition you are warned 'Do no touch' but thats all I wanted to do... Look and touch! and although I have always vowed I would own a pair before I am 30 - that number is getting closer and yet I have still not walked on those 'Red Sole'.

I mean come on - even Barbie owns a pair! 


We had to catch the train to 23 Motcomb Street to visit his boutique, a security guard standing at the doorway opens the door for you to enter, a celeb standing at the till - although I have no idea who..? I'm rubbish with faces. lol, I got to touch, hold and take in his styles and understand his creative thoughts I have just read about. Some prices shocked me, some made me want to rob a bank! Prices starting from £400, one shoe I admired being £1650 - trust me to fall for this one!

Across the road from Christian Louboutin Boutique



The feel of the boutique is actually very relaxed, with velvet red carpet, the shop flows seamlessly as you follow your way round the shop admiring the collection, with patchwork chairs in a very similar style to those created by The Shed  


Patchwork footstall similar to those at Christian Louboutin Boutique


Some of these pictures are not mine, as Cameras, phones etc all not allowed to be used during the exhibition