Hats off! (and onto the wall): A DIY storage solution

I have had this big picture frame in my possession since I was about 15...my Step-Mum painted it pink for me and it had been housing various things within it's frame since then.

Now, as we are finally making some headway with the spare room of me & Mr Mike's new flat I thought that the frame was ripe for reinvention! And what better than a novel way of storing and displaying my hats?

I thought I'd share with you all how to do it.

What you will need:

 A paintbrush, your chosen paint, some strong wire or twine for hanging the frame, a hammer, nails, and a large frame.

*First, be sure to cover the floor with newspapers to avoid any disasterous spillages*

Now get painting!

Make sure you get into every nook and cranny of the frame. I painted the back board in the same paint as the frame, but you could cover the board with a beautiful fabric from your stash, or simply a contrasting colour paint.

 

Wait until the paint is thoroughly dry before hanging in it's designated wall space (you may be an impatient kinda gal like me, but you certainly don't want paint marks on your wall, so just hold tight!). 

My frame is a particularly large and heavy one, so I restrung the back with wire bought from a local hardware shop to give it plenty of strength.

 

Hammer nails carefully into the back board in whatever arrangement you like, thinking about spacing to fit your glorious hat collection in as best as possible.

Et voila!

A simple solution to the age-old problem of so many hats, only one head!

It keeps them from getting crushed in boxes, airs them to minimise the attack of damp that always seems to strike (at least in our home) in the cold winter months, and saves precious space for....well, more stuff!

This is also a great trick for fellow renters who are looking for storage and display solutions without putting too many nails in the wall!

I was feeling a little trigger-happy with the paintbrush so I also gave this chap a little lick of paint as his yellow pine-y appearance was just not cutting it...

 

Pip pip xx

 

Winter warmers: line your boots in shearling for toasty feet!

The darkness has descended and that dastardly Jack Frost is back, which can mean only one thing: winter is upon us. Le sigh.
Now I must admit that I am a secret admirer of the winter months; twinkling lights in the darkness, fireworks, the smell of bonfires and best of all, Christmas (it all feels rather exciting, don't you think?). But one thing that I always struggle with is what to wear during the cold months, as my regular cotton dresses and sandals just aren't going to cut it!

Today I am going to tackle the issue of footwear, because no one likes a long day with cold, soggy feet.

A 1945 illustration from Paris et l'Elegance feminine.

On the hunt for a good pair of 1940's-esque boots to protect my tootsies, I stumbled across these Clarks boots on ebay and immediately saw their potential for a turned down, cuffed style...

These brown suede boots have a low, wedged heel and slashed ankles which are reminiscent of snug 1940's styles, but they still needed something...to be just perfect. So I set to work...

For this project you will need:

~ One pair of boots

~ Shearling or faux shearling (I found mine on ebay)

~ 1 pen

~Superglue which will work on fabric/leather

~Scissors

~And some newspaper to prevent any superglue disasters

Step 1:

Lay the shearling, wrong side up, over one side of one boot. 

Trace out the centre-back seam first, and then trace a rough shape, thinking about where you would like the shearling to sit when inside the boot, adding a bit extra around the top to be trimmed off when finished.

Step 2:

Next, cut out the shape you have drawn 4 times (2 for each boot)

Step 3:

Apply a reasonable amount of glue to the reverse side of the shearling, and then carefully place the piece into the boot; lining up the centre back seam first will make this easiest. Once you are sure that it is in the right place, press firmly and hold for a short while until the glue is well bonded. 

Step 4:

Take a second piece of shearling and repeat previous step, meeting the two lining pieces in the centre.

Step 5:

Repeat the same process for boot number two, et voila!

Step 6:

Once the glue is dry, trim off the excess shearling from around the tops of the boots. You may need to add a little more glue under the edges to make sure the lining is firmly stuck.

I also covered those rubber flower buttons with the fabric too, to give fluffy little buttons!

And the result?

Gloriously fluffy boots which will be both warm and cute with wool dresses and fur during the cold months of winter!

What do you ladies think?

Please to let me know if any of you try it. I'd love to see the results.

Pip pip xx

A DIY faux-middy cut: the risk that paid off!

For those of you who may not know, a the 'middy' was a style of haircut popular in the 1940's, that was designed to allow curls to settle neatly into a beautiful shape, the layers sitting on top of each other comfortably to give those lovely graduated curls.
The cut consisted of even layers and a U-shaped bottom, with sides that slant up towards the face. The standard middy consisted of 4 inch layers, but there were many variations in different lengths.

Now, I have been wanting and meaning to go and get myself a middy cut for an absolute age, though being the hairdresser-shy girl that I am (I've only been to the hairdressers a handful of times in my life, usually utilising my mum or step-mum for haircutting needs instead) I haven't quite managed it.
So, when reading up on the middy on this Fedora Lounge thread, I was excited to find some mentions of a 'do it yourself' middy haircut tutorial- could this really work? Surely not! I was apprehensive, but read on to find that many girls had said they had tried it and it had in fact, turned out well!

So being impulsive and impatient, as I can be in matters of the hair, I washed my hair and set to work following C-Dot's tutorial.
Here are the 'after' photos...

Shock horror! My un-made up face and bedraggled hair.

But you can see the hair now slants sharply upwards towards my face.

And here you can see the U-shaped back in all it's self-cut glory!

After following all the steps in C-Dot's tutorial, I dried, spritzed with setting lotion, rollered and slept.
And then I removed my curlers in the morning with baited breath-

*Gasp* 

Hello graduated curls.

Hello curved new shape.

And hello little curls around my face!

Sorry for not having better photos, I took these when my chap was away so of course, using my iPhone I was rather limited.

But all in all, I would say that if you are pining for a middy-style and are hairdresser-wary or your purse is empty then maybe it's worth taking the risk with this clever little tutorial. I'm very glad I did.

Pip pip xx