ffefrynau friday | 30.12.11

1. lovely white dress 2. nautical playsuit 3. girl & bear
4. peter pan collar blouse 5. gorgeous colours 6. blanket skirt
7. cords and braces 8. orange! 9. blue skirt & floral blouse

Nadolig Llawen!

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who takes the time to read my little blatherings, I appreciate each and every one of you, I hope you have an amazing Christmas, filled with joy, laughter and good times with your loved ones x

{ Source: Number One London }

{ Source: Bouf }

Or, in English, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Thanks for stopping by,

Ffefrynau Friday { 23.12.11 }

1. How to tie a pretty bow 2. Burlap stocking 3. 1940's style pillbox hat tutorial
4. Picture wall 5. Bows for sleeves 6. The Madeleine
7. Dixie cup light tutorial 8. Beautiful dress 9. Handbag tutorial

I'm afraid I've not managed to collect all that much this week, what with Christmas coming up and me being ... well, me and not having finished any presents for my family!

•  I discovered the lovely Victory Patterns through Lazy Stitching via Marie of A Sewing Odyssey and I adore the Madeleine. Kristiann has some lovely patterns to choose from and has just started up a blog.

•  I also discovered Rosie Girl, a UK based designer making vintage inspired clothing.

Have a great Christmas!

Thanks for stopping by,

Happy Birthday { to me }

Yesterday was my 36th birthday. I know, I look twelve not that old. It's a curse which, yes, I'm sure I'll be grateful for someday but in the meantime have nightmares about never ageing until one horrible day when I wake up looking like a 100 year old woman. I swear, I've not really aged since I was about 21.

But I didn't start this post to tell you that! I wanted to tell you about my outfit, which hasn't photographed well at all actually, but I love it so who cares! It's been a while since I've done outfit posts because a) I don't have much in my wardrobe that I feel like showing off yet, 2) I don't have many places I can take photographs due to decoration (or lack thereof) and d) it's winter and I live in Wales, we hardly see the sun.

I bought this dress off, surprise surprise, eBay a while back and have never got around to wearing it. It's too big, as you can probably tell, but I love the colour. It's made from a lace fabric, no lining on the top half but a slip is sewn in to the skirt section. Unfortunately, I decided to wear tights on Sunday when I wore this little outfit to Henry's in Cardiff for drinks and food with friends, and the bloody slip stuck to my bum like glue and then started riding up and up and up! Thankfully I was wearing a coat that covered my poor bum or it could have been a very interesting afternoon walk through the heaving city centre!

Henry's is my absolute favourite place in Cardiff, it's a large café/ bar with art deco features and a playlist comprised of old school jazz and big band blues or the kind of thing you hear at wedding receptions. I love it. Their food is yummy and reasonably priced and the staff are welcoming and always pleasant.

My friend, Scott, took the photos and was amazed by the amount of food I put away (I skipped breakfast to be able to eat it all but ssshhhh, don't tell him!), hence the pictures of empty plates - although I should mention one of the plates is actually his. It was a lovely afternoon out and great to see my friends.

On my actual birthday (yesterday), I enjoyed coffee with my friend from over the road and then met my parents in Cardiff Bay for an afternoon screening of the new Sherlock Holmes film. Love!! Highly enjoyable and lots of fun. Followed by all you can eat Chinese. It doesn't get much better.

And I got home to find my mother of pearl press studs had arrived which means I can now finish the dress I've been working on! Huzzah!

I wore:

Dress: Vintage turquoise lace 1970's dress from eBay

Cardigan: Present from my Mum

Boots: Clarks via eBay

Thanks for stopping by,

Sock inna Bun

A while back, I saw a tutorial for a no-heat curl method that actually worked and only requires a hair band and an old sock. I've used it many times and have recommended it to anyone and everyone. If you're going to give the Sock Bun a try, I can't stress how important it is, particularly if you have a lot of hair like me, that you ensure your hair is almost completely dry otherwise it will still be wet when you take the bun down. I've also found it's also easier to roll if ever so slightly damp.

And here's my results, using absolutely no product at all:

After washing and (mostly) drying, pre-bed time

The next morning, en route to London blogger meet-up

End result

Another end result from a different occasion

If I'm due to go out and want my hair down, sans frizz, then I tend to wear the bun during the day rather than sleep in it and I take it down just before heading off - just make sure your sock matches or is as close to your hair colour as possible so that if it does become visible for any reason it won't be glaringly obvious. Perfect curls every time.

The title of this post is a dubious nod to one of my favourite authors, Terry Pratchett. I'm sure I could've come up with something that didn't relate to Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler and his sausage inna bun but that probably wouldn't have amused me as much.

Thanks for stopping by,

A Crafty Christmas

I've been so run down from work and a stupid cold that destroyed my social life at the peak of party season that I am now woefully behind on my Christmas crafting. Thankfully I am now finished with work and can devote myself to just making things ... once I figure out what things to make!

One thing that was easy to decide on was completing my hobby-reindeer I was making for a friend's son. I'd originally planned to make it for Noah, my nephew, but realised soon after he arrived back in the country that it wasn't something he'd be interesting in playing with. Ewa had asked that I make one for her too and so I just offered her the one that I had spent almost a year making.

The pattern came from Tone Finnanger's Sew Pretty Christmas Homestyle that I've been blathering on about almost since day one. If you're a fan of Mollie Makes this month's issue contains several templates for Tone's creations. Have a go, they're beautiful when made up. Exhibit A is below:

The pole is a piece of cheap dowling from B&Q that can be painted, I decided to leave it as I liked how it looked with the fabric I chose. The head is stuffed with rather more hypo-allergenic kids toy stuffing (from Hobbycraft) than you'd think, painted with fabric pens and his reins are made from some gorgeous ribbon I got from eBay. I'm very pleased with how he's turned out and am considering making another head in white and mounting it on the wall as a 'trophy head' as something fun for the house.

Thanks for stopping by,

Ffefrynau Friday { 16.12.11 }

1. Homemade Marshmallows 2. Antique French cheese board 3. Icebox cookies
4. Christmas decorations for the kids room 5. Felt flower tutorial 6. Blackberry & Apple jam
7. Covered belt tutorial 8. Wooden decorations 9. Felt mistletoe wreath

•  Zoe of So Zo posted about her style inspirations and in doing so re-introduced me to a band who are absolutely fantastic. Check out Kitty, Daisy & Lewis, they've got a wonderful sound. You might also like Caro Emerald, who not only has an entire album of songs I desperately try to sing along to but also has a vintage inspired style to match.

•  I've mentioned her before but I'm loving Elsie's of A Beautiful Mess blog, oh look and she's another fringed brunette too! Which is not why I like her blog but because it's full of pretty things.

•  An abundance of beautiful crafty goodness to lust after over at Eline's blog.

•  Glasses Direct have some lovely frames, and some are even on sale. Better yet, they do free home trials so you can try (up to four pairs) before you buy!

•  I found this tutorial for lovely felt zipped purses from the adventures of bluegirlxo and need to start making some asap.

•  Lisa of Up The Wooden Hills is currently running a Christmas giveaway for a beautiful blouse.

Thanks for stopping by,

Spotlight: Cymru

I spent some time on the road during October, checking out various locations as potential places to film. I got to see rather a lot of the Brecon Beacons I'd never visited before, and parts of Pembrokeshire. My trusty camera-phone came with me and I snapped some of the more stunning (and one rather random and surprising) locations for your enjoyment. Obviously, not all of Wales looks like this, there are cities here, they're just surrounded by this kind of landscape ;)

Standing on a plateau in the Brecon Beacon mountains

Standing on a plateau in the Brecon Beacon mountains

Standing on a plateau in the Brecon Beacon mountains

A Dŵr Cymru Reservoir

A Dŵr Cymru Reservoir

Assuming the land and roads are passable, the location we're filming at today

The entrance to Dan yr Ogof Show Caves

On the road to Pembrokeshire

On the road to Pembrokeshire

Pentre Ifan, our filming location last month

Thanks for stopping by,

Caerphilly Medieval Christmas Fayre

Every year, Caerphilly holds a Medieval Christmas Fayre. This year I asked Popbabe7 (aka DC) of I Knit, And Sew What? if she'd like a mini-blogger meet up and was very happy when she agreed.

The majority of the Fayre is held inside the Castle. Caerphilly, I believe, has the largest Norman castle in the UK except for Windsor. It's massive and still has most of it's walls, floors and ceilings. DC was rather surprised to find so much of the castle still intact and we had a great time exploring, stumbling across a very authentic looking Father Christmas in one of the towers looking resplendent in a full (very real looking!) beard and holly and ivy crown.

Unfortunately the weather was so terrible I couldn't take any photos or risk drowning my camera in the excessive amount of water falling out of the sky. I managed to pick up a small wooden shield and sword for my nephew and a couple of necklaces for myself.

We then went for lunch in an old fashioned tea room that is now my absolute favourite place in the world. DC surprised me with some handmade gifts she'd put together for me from her Paying It Forward challenge. She made me a lovely hat, fingerless mittens, shoe clips and stocking (see below). Not photographed is the rest of the chocolate, the stocking (as I'm ashamed to say I left it in reach of the wolf and still containing the chocolate), and some lippie that I've been using and has now taken up residence in my handbag. Such lovely lovely gifts and rather handy for the Brecon shoot and threatening snow. I had a fabulous day, thanks DC!

So now it's my turn to pay it forward. The first 5 people who comment on this post agreeing to take part will receive a handmade gift from me (probably in the New Year now). In return, they have to promise to make handmade gifts for the first 5 who comment on their blog post. And so on and so forth. Let me know if you'd like to take part and I'll send you something nice. And hopefully next time DC and I meet up we'll take pictures!

Thanks for stopping by,

How To: Cats Eyes

Last week I talked about my experiments with cats eye eye liner. There are many tutorials out there covering various methods for painting on cats eye flicks with liquid liner and far better than I ever could so I'm not going to repeat them. Instead, below are some of those that inspired me, along with a couple of things to note that may be of use and I wish someone had mentioned to me sooner:

•  How you hold the applicator will have some affect. It's the difference between using a biro and a fountain pen and it'll take you a while to get used to using a brush if you've only used pencils before. Just persevere, I promise it'll pay off.

•  There are different tips available for liquid liner, from brush to an almost felt tip. I highly recommend trying them all to see which one suits you better. I originally thought the felt tip would be easier to use, given my experience and ability with pencils, but I found the tip left almost no colour and resorted to using the edge of the pen only (which left too wide a stroke) so I've ended up with a brush tip instead. I find it offers a larger variety of strokes than the more solid tips.

•  If you're advancing in your years and have got to the age where wrinkles (let's call them laughter lines shall we?) are encroaching on your eyes, you might want to gently stretch the skin around the corner of your eye to allow you a clean and defined flick.

•  When using a pencil I don't stabilise my hand at all, but with liquid liner I tend to rest the edge of my hand on my cheek as any wobble is instantly visible. Just like a great drama, start small and build*. It might even help to try applying the liner with your eye open (although I do end up with liner all over my lashes when I do that, but it does mean I can see what I'm doing!).

•  The flick should follow the line from the corner of your eye to the tip of your eyebrow ... not literally, unless overly dramatic is a look you're aiming for, but the length of the flick is entirely personal.

Of the 18 pins I've pinned on my beauty board on pinterest, 11 involve cats eyes. This is obviously a method I'm completely in love with! I hope some of these will be of use to you.

{ Source: Pinterest }

{ Source: Pinterest }

Some of my favourites I've pinned:

{ Source: We Heart It }

{ Source : We Heart It }

{ Source: Miss Woody }

* Actually the first rule of great drama is to suck in your cheeks, but then it's start small and build.

Thanks for stopping by,

Ffefrynau Friday { 09.12.11 }

1. Cloud mobiles 2. Cupboard Love 3. Gorgeous gingham dress
4. Wedges 5. Beautiful dress 6. Quirky Christmas decorations
7. Coffee filter flowers 8. Kitchen inspiration 9. Topiary as table decoration

•  J'adore French furniture, fabrics and style so when I found The French Cupboard I was rather happy! Lots of French-styled goodies! 

•  I love Wildflowers holiday lookbook 

•  And Laura's dress of The World Looks Red is so pretty I'm green with jealousy!

•  A recipe for oven Fried Chicken that I'm just dying to try

•  Ever wanted to make your own poppies, here's a lovely tutorial for you

•  Help on how to antique glaze your belongings

• And with Christmas around the corner, here's an easy tutorial for a pretty little star garland

Thanks for stopping by,