Some Sad News

Hi Gals,as you know it's not often that I get very personal in the pages of my blog, recently I had some very sad news my mum in law died of cancer after only a week in hospital and I felt it was important to share it here even if it is the season of Christmas, sometimes you can't sugar coat something you just have to share it. Writing and sharing my fashion and lifestyle blog with you all is one of my greatest passions, so please forgive me if my posting is a little irregular at the moment. I have so many fun Christmas inspired post's planned, but right now I just need a little time to adjust to not having one of best friends and someone I admired around any more. I wanted to share with you some of my favourite Christmas DIYS courtesy of pinterest,I love making friends gifts and making Christmas decorations if I have time as long as the process is fairly simple! What about you?

  Christmas DIY Favourites

 This tree was used in Anthropology's window display and reminds me of a giant foxglove it's made using rolled up paper plates and varying shades of green, the snow man is made by gluing the free ends of 3 different sized balls of string together and then gluing each of them together to create the head, middle and lower half of the snow man, I loved the idea of using a reel of cotton for a hat. I am definitely going to be etching initials onto some glass kiln jars as in the Christmas sweetie jar featured, but I will probably use an assortment of bright green and red bubble gum in smaller and larger sizes with the addition of a few silver cake baubles to add a bit more fun to the gift.My final Christmas diy pick, is this snugly vibrant pom pom wreath. 

Knot Wrapping Paper

I love pretty prints and packaging and being able to use things more than once as you have probably guessed from my previous DIY styleposts, this time of year I start to get obsessed about new ways to gift wrap my Christmas purchases.In the past I've used everything from music manuscript, plain brown parcel paper and newspaper print finished with  black velvet ribbon.So it's not surprising I have recently fallen for the charms of  the new retro inspired bright coloured scarves from lush Lancaster, made from Greenspun fabric which recycle plastic bottles into the fibres of this particular fabric, each scarf contains the equivalent of two 500ml plastic bottles and can be used to create an attractive alternative to gift wrap called knot wrapping a custom that comes from Japan, the process used to make Greenspun is identical to that used for making polyester, the difference being the plastic pellets are made from old plastic bottles. at under a five pounds each I think they are amazing value and it feels pretty good to have the option to help slow down the growth of our landfill sites through the combined efforts of Lush and companies like Greenpac that are creating fabrics that can help reduce plastic waste. Plus how many Christmas gifts do you receive where you can actually wear the wrapping paper and look ravishing wearing it!   

Join Me For Some #MERRIMAKING

We are getting a little closer to the season of Merrimaking, so when the gals from Merrimaking told me about their made to order festival animal hoods worn by Ellie Goulding and Rizzle Kicks, I thought is was the perfect time to share their passion for all things fun and furry here.

The two friends behind Merrimaking will be sewing live with the Secret Emporium Dec 15^th and 16^th at; London. Factory 7, Hearn St, Shoreditch. 
  a rare chance to commission a piece in person and make your animal hood that much more unique.

  From this snuggly beautiful made stag hood featured at Selfridge's to their soon to be launched first ever reversible lion hood on the 1st of December 2012 the dynamic duo that make up Merrimaking have their finger on the pulse of what us animal loving fashionistas will enjoy wearing and making merry in this Christmas, all I can say to that is, how grrrrand!! 


 

*images courtesy of Merrimaking

HEATTECH BY UNIQLO REVIEW| MY PASSPORT TO STYLE

A short time ago I made solemn and very difficult vow to myself that this year the lead up to Christmas was not going to be my signal to eat every adorable chocolate santa and reindeer that crossed my path. Shortly afterwards Uniqlo  approached me and invited me to review their slim line (my words) HEATTECH range which celebrates its tenth anniversary this year, the timing could not have been better, I'm a big fan of their extensive range of prints and was excited to discover they have recently partnered Orla Kiely, which means more beautiful affordable prints and colours in wafer thin fabrics that can help me fight the pre Christmas bulge but still keep me warm, maybe I could relax my self imposed  pre Christmas chocolate ban and indulge in the odd chocolate reindeer.

Secret Girls Buisness

 

 

 

Some time ago I was asked if I would like one of my fashion posts from My Passport To Style (Every ones A Winner) to feature in a new book release called Secret Girls Business, my fashion post was about the trend for wearing underwear as outerwear, the book by Maggie Hamilton encourages teenage girls to connect with their creativity and forget conformity. I wish I had one of these knocking around when I was thirteen. Secret Girls Business covers fashion ideas, body image, vintage fashion, creativity and relationships.

Gal Friday | Desert Island Favourites

  Hi Gals, for quiet a while now I have been itching to share my favourite desert island products here, I'm a sucker for products that are like a Swiss army knife in a beauty crisis; I love the feeling of having a magical pot of something in my rucksack that I whip out and have fun with because it's so versatile and will sort out several grooming and beauty issues at once. So to encourage you all to go and find your favourite sunny island and get stranded on it, I want to talk about two Lush firm favourites, Lady Godiva shampoo bar and Ultra Balm.

    

   Lady Godiva Shampoo Bar

Saffron yellow in colour and of a creamy consistency which conditions and washes the hair at the same time, saving you time but also perfect for hand washing your smalls too (this might come in very handy if you get stranded on a desert island of course, Lady Godiva contains a lovely bunch of moisturising scalp loving goodies such as -

Cocoa Butter
Shea Butter
Jojoba Oil
Camellia Oil
Macadamia Oil
Cupuacu Butter
Extra Virgin Coconut Oil

For any lush fans this shampoo bar smells of Flying Fox shower gel and does not leave you with a greasy residue on your scalp, just shiny and clean hair and it's great for long hair and dry ends.

Ultra Balm

This stuff feels so decadent for an all purpose balm that's effective for dry elbows and knees, chapped hands, parched lips, dry cuticles and the ends of your hair it's like the Wonder Woman of moisturising products and I love things in tins, it contains three simple but effective ingredients 

Organic Jojoba Oil (Simmondsia chinensis) , Candelilla Wax (Euphorbia cerifera) and Rose Wax (Rosa damascena) 

Alphabet Chic - M Is For .........

 

Marvellous Maroon

My Passport To Style| Guide To Choosing Sunglasses

 

Although I don't wear glasses myself, for a long time I struggled to find a pair of sunglasses that had frames that I felt flattered me, being part Nepalese, I have a very narrow bridge to my nose which is much more Asian than European, so finding a pair of frames that were comfortable and stylish was a bit of a challenge.

 

Since working out what are the best shape frames for my full oval face shape and quirky nose, which are the large Cats Eye if I'm wearing a nude lip and the small Cats Eye sunglasses (Cats Eye styles are really a take on the classic Ray Ban Wayfarer) or slim oblong frames if I want to wear a brighter lipstick, I have got quite savvy about spotting frames that flatter my friends and women that come to me for wardrobe advice with my stylist hat on.

#Chloe Sevigny For #Miu Miu A/W 2012-13

 

 

 

 

When Miu Miu cast Chloe Sevigny in the role of teddy boy temptress for their Autumn Winter 2012-13 campaign I think they got it VERY right, I know I'm a very biased Sevigny fan, but she brings impish charm and style to the brands Autumn/Winter 2012-13 campaign.Never has such a mash up of yellow, texture and print looked this slick, the layered shirts in shiny sweeter wrapper colours and prints are so moreish and effortless and lets face it what gal doesn't want stategically placed mirrors on her favourite tie, with which to view her makeup. If you missed the behind the scenes video, it's a lot of fun check it out here.

*images courtesty of Miu Miu

Filling A Cake Shaped Hole

 

 

Filling A Cake Shaped Hole

I have decided to go on a voyage of cake baking discovery, largely due to the fact that I recently got addicted to watching the Great British Bake Off and it has left a sizable cake shaped hole in my life but also because I'm just pretty passionate about baking.I can whip up a mean brownie but I'm in need of a new challenge and so have decided to do this properly and have joined my local cake club my cakey user name is Cherry Bakewell one of my tea time favourites.The club is called the Clandestine Cake Club and they are springing up all over the UK as well as overseas so watch out for one in your local area.

 

 

The idea is pretty simple, the Clandestine Cake Club release a cake theme every month, Decembers is pantomime cakes, you can't bake any small cakes, so cupcakes are forbidden, but you have complete creativity to create a cake of your choosing based on the theme, no more than fifteen people get to bake and bring a cake to the chosen venue to share and you don't get to know the location till the day of the event.

 

 Let Them Eat Cake

 Then you eat lots of cake, so how hard can it be I can already bake and eating it is clearly not a problem, well I can make great tasting cake but other than a couple of smarty cakes I have knocked out in the past I'm less confident about the decoration of large cakes, so I'm hoping to maybe pick up some cake decorating tips and learn how to make my cakes look more stylish and appealing. Any favourite easy cake decorating tweaks or cheats for an icing beginner like me or suggestions for a pantomime theme welcome.   

 

 

Top Ten Best Wet Weather Buys

Zalando

It's been a little while since I have written a style advice post, but since there is no escaping the rain in the UK and my time has been pretty much been consumed with coming up with more stylish ways to dress on a wet and windy day's I thought I might as well share my top ten stylish wet weather buys, not flimsy pac mac's and light weight brollie's that see you struggling to shield yourself from everything our weather can chuck at you,but waterproof clothing that is made for the job and pretty stylish too. I was surprised at some of the places I unearthed my waterproof top ten,

Happy Birthday Media Marmalade!

 

 A big Happy first Birthday to Media Marmalade. I first found her on twitter recently and if your not familar with her fashion blog this is a fashion blog with a twist, this gal knows all about advertising! In fact she is a director of advertising in London no less. I love it when you happen across a savy and stylish blogger on twitter, being a bit of a low tec gal myself,it's great to have tecy gals to learn the ways of selling your buisness. I guess nobodys going to do it for us, so it's good to have bloggers to inspire us and encourage us to continue to strive for our dreams. Also you might be interested to know you can win a £50.00 voucher for Krisp Clothing to celebrate (if you follow the link here ) I love the name of this clothing label, it sounds well sharp!  

DIY | Cats Whiskers | Halloween Brooch

 

If like me you have not had time to whip up an outfit for your Halloween party tonight why not take the express route and make my easy kitch diy cat brooch and my glam treat pouch for all those bon bons you will collect on route to your friends party.

 

For The Cats Whiskers Brooch - You Will Need

 

1. An old gauze jewelry pouch in black.

 

2.An old pair of black knickers.

 

3.A vintage pair of earrings, mine were a kindly gifted to me by Jon Richard and are part of the Butterfly collection by Matthew Williamson.   

 

4. A giant safety pin.

 

To Make - 

 

1. First turn the gauze bag inside out and push your choice of earring through the fabric about half way up the bag using the backs to fasten them to the fabric, then turn the back right side round so the earring are on the outside.

 

2.Next roll up your pants and pop inside, fasten the bag with the draw strings, the corners of the bag become the cats ears, you can add a mouth, nose and whiskers if you wish, but I prefer my brooch slightly naive looking with a touch a humour. 

 

3.Attach your giant pin and your good to go!

 

Just in case the lovely people at Jon Richard decide this is a good way to market their earrings sets this Christmas, you saw it here first! If you want to use this brooch diy as a Christmas gift idea also and you have a few more black gauze bags lurking amongst your jewellery. You could always pop a black velvet alice band in the bag as the stuffing for your brooch which would make a nice little set with the earrings for a friend.   

 

 

For The Treat Pouch-

 

Use a glamours small bag with a rope chain handle, tuck the handle inside the bag and fasten the flap over a nice thin bright belt then fasten over your coat and start collecting treats! I used a rose gold square bag and a purple velvet vintage inspired belt for my treat pouch.

 

 

 

Costume Drama I love!

 

I have just been watching Strictly Come Dancing the results show and getting my weekly dose of glamour, Paloma Faith performed her heart out and looked incredible in her Mexican inspired costume, complete with a head dress of giant brightly coloured flowers and a huge black feather skirt the girl done good!Are you a fan of the show? What's the most glamorous item in your wardrobe? Here are a few of my favourite pieces, if you like these you can find more on my pinterest boards here.  

 

 

 

 

 

Essential Accessories For Well Heeled Gothic Ladies

 

 

gold Prada sunglasses titanium frames -round black lenses

gun metal Prada sunglasses titanium frames -green lenses

As the dark nights start to draw in, I have been contemplating adding Gothic heroine to my costume/wardrobe wish list. I thought I might try and strip the look back, to just the key essentials  I need to pull this look together in a wearable way and leave myself with individual pieces that I can actually conceive myself wearing in the near future.

 The Goth catwalk this A/W12 was all about gaunt pale mask like make-up with a crimson mouth and no eye make-up what so ever, great for those with chiselled jaw lines, but not for me that relies heavily on the use of blusher and eye make up to define my bone structure, I thought the next best thing was enlisting the help of some oh so fabulous Prada sunglasses. Round frames have long been a favoured look amongst those recreating the Gothic look but these designer sunglasses have a touch of Steam Punk about them which I ADORE and at the same time have a regal feel that Prada is known for.The obvious choice is black, but I think by opting for gunmetal or gold my favourite coloured frames, I will add some necessary opulence to this look, also gold frames will help warm up my naturally pasty skin once winter kicks in and will work with the fresh pinks around next spring. 

The other key element to recreating this look convincingly is statement texture. So I'm going to make it a bit of a mission to find a fine black wool cape with plenty of embroidery, I may add a little further embellishment into my cape mix with the addition of some dark purple silk tassels from my local haberdashery store, I'm still thinking about that one, a black pleated skirt would work well also. I might be brave and add in some deep red long leather gloves. I have been promising myself a neat little Doctor bag for a while now and could kick myself for not picking up an authentic one I recently spotted at a charity shop but quite honestly I was scared it might fall to bits on me! I'm loving these Victorian style booties, with  flutterbyes running up the sides, both the cape and the boots would also do for the folklore look which I tend to put a spin on every year and particularly in winter. I love the idea of a black top hat, but I think it might detract from my Prada sunglasses and cost a pretty penny too, so instead I'm thinking of working a broad black velvet alice band and a large low bun in black spotted net.       

 

ornate black cape -shop bop

 

 

leather pleat skirt John Lewis

Gothic butterfly boot 

*Please note this post was kindly sponsored by Smart Buy Glasses but the words and ideas are my own, images sourced from Smart Buy Glasses, pinterest and the above named outlets.   

Help Save Our #Bees Ban Pesticides





Honeycomb sponge Hokey Pokey- Lone Baker

We all love honey, honeycomb and the sound of bees lazily buzzing in our garden as they do their work during the summer months, only as you might already be aware we have not experienced as much buzzing or honey as we are generally used to, as a very wet UK summer and a unhealthy amounts of UK pesticides saw whole colonies of our bees wiped out this 2012 and beekeepers forced to drip feed starving bees sugar to keep them alive. The knock on effect on our food chain and our beautiful wildlife is already being felt, if you care about the beautiful country in which we live and our little friends the bees please read more here about the effects and or sign this petition to force our government to invest more in this crucial area of wildlife. If you want to help even more great! Share this post in a link with your readers or write your own,help spread the petition and save our bees!Were you aware of this issue what are your thoughts?  



 

Shoes Of Prey | Sweep Me Of My Feet!

My finished shoe design!

 

I was in need of a little pick me up recently, what could be better than a pair of glamorous shoes to do the job, sadly scrolling through row after row of designer shoes left me feeling a little worse for wear. I'm not great with really high heels, I tend to walk like I'm wearing stilts I blame my very flat feet, something I have shared here before and all the lower heeled options just don't seem to have the same glam factor. So unless I was to relent and use my newly purchased high heels purely as shoe art in my home and enjoy them from afar or only ever use them for my outfit blog posts on My Passport To Style, it was time to come up with another viable solution.So I was pretty thrilled when I happened upon Australian on line company Shoes of Prey a shoe mecca that embraces all types of shoe wearer from frustrated shoe designers to 5 inch heel phobics like me.