Thursday 30 June 2011

DIY Navajo Bag


This is a DIY for a Navajo print bag. I have wanted one for ages but haven’t found one in a print that I liked.... Well I do like the Ralph Lauren one but I don’t have that much spare cash!
I’m going to show you how I did it J  First you will be a piece of printed fabric (mine is a table runner from a Cypriot market), a bag strap (mine is off an old bag), two D rings, ribbon and a sewing machine. I have added the leather straps and toggles for extra detail.


·         First fold the fabric is half, making sure the right side of the fabric is folded inwards (I wil llater turn in inside out so all the seams are on the inside of the bag).


·         Next sew up both edges. I have not sewn all the way to the top as I want a flap at the top of my bag (I left about 10cm spare to make the flap).



·         To square off the bottom corners of the bag. Take the corner pull it out and stitch a straight line to make a triangle shape



·         After you have stitched the bottom corners, turn the bag inside out. As you can see the fabric is now the right side and the corner are tucked inside and squared off so the bag stands up a little better.


·         Ok now for the D rings, these are what are going to attach your strap to your bag. I used black ribbon to create the loop to attach the D ring to the bag. I looped the ring through the ribbon sewing together both ends to lock the ring in. I then pinned the ribbon loop and D ring to the edge of the bag just under the point where I stopped stitching up the sides. I then stiched the ribbon onto the bag 


·         Now the overall bag is complete I thought I would add some finishing touches. I found these spare toggles in my mum's sewing box they were for my school duffle coat when I was 5! I sewed on the leather strips and then the toggles so they would help fasten the bag ( but they are more for show than anything)



·          Clip the strap onto the D rings and the bag is ready to use J
      Hope you like my DIY, I will be posting some better pictures of the bag soon! Tonight I’m off to a friend’s BBQ , it’s a party as she is going away to Australia for 5 months, she is going to have such an amazing time, I’m very jealous!
Ashley x

Tuesday 28 June 2011

Lana


Sunny, Raining, Sunny, Raining.... the weather cannot make up its mind!   
This is what I wore yesterday, today it’s thunder storming. I got this tube skirt from New Look for £13, I love the bright colours and Aztec ish print. The top is from H and M; I have it in 3 different colours as they are so useful and were fairly cheap J
The necklace is a DIY and the tassel bracelet is from Miss Selfridge. The rings are the usual mix of places.
And the shoes... I saw them online and couldn’t resist (I did mention the other day that I have gone a bit shoes crazy) .What drew me to them was the unusual woven effect and the fact that every pair of Jeffrey Campbell’s I have ever worn are both comfortable and easy to walk in whilst being insanely high and chunky.  
In answer to some questions the red lipstick from this post is No 7 and the necklace from this post is from Topshop J
Oh and I got a distinction for my Art Foundation course :) wooo. Thanks for all your comments on my Art work and photography over the past months they really help develop my ideas and help towards my final grade!
Ashley x

Sunday 26 June 2011

By the Seaside


These pictures where form a few days ago J I went to Brighton, it only takes 40mins to get from my house to the seaside!
I finally got my nose pierced, I have been wanting to get it done for AGES and finally got the time to have it done!  It wasn’t too painful and is healing really well so far J
 I wore a Topshop maxi dress with an H and M jumper over the top, my Asos Fedora hat and my Topshop fringed bag. Oh and River Island cowboy boots. I had to wear flat shoes as the boy and I did so much walking.
I’m heading out for a BBQ now. Hope everyone is having a good weekend, laters.
Ashley x

Friday 24 June 2011

Birds


The lovely people at Love Struck sent me this gorgeous dress, it’s has great back detailing, it’s a bright eye-catching colour and it has tiny swallows all over it, all in all a very sweet summer dress.
As it has been slightly colder at the moment so I couldn’t style it with a floppy hat and summer wedges. So I teamed the dress with black ankle boots and a leather jacket.
I have also changed up my make-up for this post. I felt a statement red lip worked well with the dress and I didn’t put any mascara on my bottom eye lashes, I think when I have full lips and eyes it looks a bit much for day.
Hope everyone has had a great week J I find out my results of my Art Foundation today fingers crossed!
Ashley x

Tuesday 21 June 2011

Skate




I tried a bit of skate boarding with the boy a few weeks ago and completely forgot about these pictures! I wasn’t brilliant at skateboarding I much prefer having a go on the long board (something about the larger board makes me feel safer).
This is about a grungy as my clothes go at the moment, shorts, baggy T and Converse. I got these shoes years and years ago, I had to have them when I saw them as I had never seen this design before, they are also high high tops which makes them slightly more unusual .
The t-shirt is from Republic and the shorts are from Mango.
Oh and the little bag is Firetrap J
Ashley x

Sunday 19 June 2011

Sooooo Much



 Who would have thought that this skirt is from good old Marks and Spencer! I saw it months ago in the Sunday Times magazine and knew I had to have it, finally when it arrived online I added it to my shopping basket straight away. The skirt is slit up to the thigh almost exactly the same as the Lanvin one, which I was very excited about (see it here).
I teamed it with this Vintage crop top that was my Mums in the early 80’S and a thrifted necklace I bagged for £2.
The shoes are an eBay purchase J they are the Jeffrey Campbell “So Much” shoes. I’ve gone a bit shoe crazy at the moment, I seem to be spending all of my pay cheques on shoes, these and the JC Gypsy clogs arrived on the same day (happiest day EVER) ! I’m sure they will be making an appearance on the blog soon J
Ashley x


Friday 17 June 2011

Is It Summer Yet ?



The final art show was two nights ago and it went sooo well! There was a huge turnout of people and many saying how high the standard of work was this year J I have to say I’m just pleased it’s over and I can start my summer.
The weather has been really miserable in England over the past few days, I took these photos a while ago when it was ALOT sunnier J
I’m wearing  Gap flares, a Warehouse top, Litas, and a necklace for a charity shop. This outfit is simple but the pattern on the top adds a bit of interest.
Also my second hand Jeffrey Campbell Gypsy clogs from eBay arrived yesterday J I can’t wait to wear them!
Ashley x