heavenly knits

These two pieces are the most recent additions to my wardrobe- the Lafayette knit dress and Smith sweater by Friend of Mine. When I saw this incredible knit, slightly metallic spun yarn that creates an amazing texture, I knew I had to have some. And what's better than one sweet knit? Two! I know it's a little OTT wearing them together but they're so perfect for each other I couldn't resist.

[wearing: Friend of Mine Lafayette knit dress & Smith sweater, heels from iOffer, choker from ebay, DIY perspex cuff]

grey ombre

 I threw together this super casual look to take advantage of a surprisingly sunny winter's day in Melbourne, which I doubt we'll be getting a lot more of unfortunately. This knit's another Iconic purchase, but I can't be blamed can I? It's all so ridiculously convenient and fast, I mean I got this jumper delivered the day after I bought it! It's seriously killing my bank account. I love a great layering jumper, and the fact that this is the perfect grey marle ombre is such a bonus, it also comes in a sweet forest green (which I only saw after I'd bought the grey, considering going back for it!).

P.S. I've found a new shooting location.. My neighbour's synthetic nature strip. So strange, but I guess it saves having to cut the grass!

[wearing: Huntingbird knit via The Iconic, thrifted shirt, Dejour jeans, Asos boots, Life with Bird bag, Tatty Devine perspex ring]

candy stripes

My spontaneous sewing ventures seem to turn out quite nicely these days. I've been wanting to do something with this striped cotton for a long time, whether that be upholstery or clothing I just wanted to make use of it somehow. I only had about 1.5m so was originally going to just make a skirt, but upon cutting decided there was enough for a full dress. Turns out my subconscious knows what's up, because it seems there are completely accidental similarities with a dress I've had my eye on for ages now, Josh Goot's Float mini.

It's an extremely summery fabric, which is very unfortunate as Melbourne gets colder by the hour, but I'm quite certain it will get a lot of wear come spring!

[Wearing with Asos cuffs and boots, Tatty Devine perspex bow ring]

paint pants

All my creative energy had been bottled up inside me for so long until I finally got around to doing a long awaited DIY painted jeans project yesterday! So so simple I'm not sure why I didn't think of it earlier, but I guess it's true that the best ideas are the ones you leave brewing for a while.

I bought these jeans from Primark when I was in London in February. I'm sure most people know about the craziness of Primark and how you just don't bother trying to line up for the change rooms, so it's all a bit of a lucky dip sizing-wise. Thankfully these jeans were a perfect fit, although for £11 it wouldn't be much of a loss if they didn't!

Materials:

Any odd pair of jeans (light colours work best)

Acrylic paints

Textile medium (I used Chromacryl)

Paint brushes (various sizes)

Instructions:

No prep required, but if you are using brand new jeans it's probably a good idea to put them through the wash first to get any excess dyes out.

Lay your jeans flat on a surface with newspaper or a drop sheet underneath, slot extra newspaper inside the legs so the paint doesn't seep through either side.

Mix up your acrylic colours with textile medium in separate disposable tubs/bowls (the medium should come with instructions, mine said to use 2:1 parts paint to medium).

If you plan on using light colours or not covering the entire fabric with paint put down a thin base coat in white or any background colour you like.

Then, go nuts! But not too nuts, you should try and just stick to a few complimentary colours and have a theme going (mine was inspired by lush tropical rainforests). It's really easy to go overboard with the paint so step back every now and then to think about your work (sorry if I sound like your 8th grade art teacher!).

If you're not very artistically confident and are lucky enough to know an abstract painter, get them involved! But I'm pretty sure anybody can whip around a paintbrush as I've done, so don't be afraid.

Hang the jeans up to dry. When the paint's completely dry iron the jeans under a tea towel or scrap fabric on the hottest setting to set the paint. Hand wash them in cool water to make sure the paint doesn't run (if it does though, there's basically nothing you can do except try and set the paint with the iron again). If you're paint runs it means you haven't used enough textile medium, so my advice would be to try and wash it all out and start from scratch unfortunately.

Wearing with: Style Nanda top, COS necklace, DIY perspex cuffs (as seen HERE), Windsor Smith Loren heels.

LDN purchases: part two

Probably THE funnest piece of clothing I own. I'm not one for tube skirts, but I just had to grab this when I saw it in Topshop as it reminded me of the Austrian alps we drove through on our way across Europe.

Wearing:

Urban Outfitters lace fringed crop bra

Motel skirt

COS metal collar necklace

Murano glass ring from Venice

DIY perspex cuff

LDN purchases: part one

I almost cried when I found this pleather skirt in H&M! I'd seen it online months ago and cursed H&M for not shipping to Australia, but the shopping gods must have been smiling down on me this day as they had one left and it was in my size!

Also completely obsessed with my new boots from Office London, they were a bit of a splurge but are ridiculously comfy and go perfectly with absolutely everything.

Wearing:

sequin top from Appletree Boutique in Portobello Road

H&M skirt

Office London boots

Tatty Devine perspex bow ring

H&M cuff

perplexed

Inspired by Sharday and Gabby's posts on DIY perspex cuffs, I put some of the magical stuff to work this weekend. The project turned out a success and I can't wait to wear these bad boys out soon!

Wearing with: DIY laser-cut dress, Ebay sunglasses, DIY hose connector choker (sourced from Bunnings Warehouse!) and vintage ring.