accessories Archives - Journeys Are My Diary

Harry Potter Ball – take two

August 30, 2016 by Bel Leave a Comment

As you may remember, I posted a little while ago about a Harry Potter convention and Ball that I went to with my best friend and two daughters. It was a little disappointing to be honest and left me feeling like I could have done better myself. Having talked it over with Nat (or maybe ranted in the car on the way home) we decided that maybe we should plan our own – perhaps for her 30th next year.

This got me to thinking about what I would wear – the changes to what I wore this time and what I could improve. The largest change of all, would be to lose some weight. We’re hoping in fact that this may motivate us! She got so many lovely compliments in the dress she was wearing, that I really want people to look at me and say the same. For that reason I would definitely pick the same dress. I have worn it twice now and I love it. However I definitely think I could do with some accessories so I’ve been doing some research.

Gryffindor Ball

I love the idea of a heavy piece for a necklace – something like this beautiful Victorian necklace from Berganza. I also love this cuff bracelet from House of Fraser and these ruby earrings from India Times to really give the Gryffindor vibe (I’m sorry, but I love red far too much to not be a Gryffindor). The ring probably isn’t that necessary to the outfit but I love to pull a bit more of the ruby in and this would be a nice subtle touch.

Since the girls are Ravenclaw and Slytherin (Lily is like me, torn between Gryffindor and Slytherin), I decided to look for some ideas for them too. They won’t be going to Nat’s 30th but just in case we find another decent Harry Potter ball to get invited too, I thought it would be nice for them to have accessories.

Ravenclaw accessories

Megan is quite delicate so all the pieces I picked are delicate too. They all feature sapphires as I figured this suited Ravenclaw colours. Of course no ball outfit would be complete without Rowena Ravenclaw’s Diadem too.

Slytherin accessories

Lily likes to be fierce in everything she does so I know she’d rock the brightness of the emerald pieces. The snake earrings (despite the fact her ears aren’t pierced yet) and the snake bracelet are by far my favourite choices. She also has a huge amount of hair so this beautiful comb would look great. Finally the necklace is nice and solid so it would hang nicely around her neck.

Sorry Hufflepuff but you lucked out. No one in our house is interested in being from Hufflepuff so I decided not to do one for you! Besides, really not a fan of Amber or yellow coloured stones either.

What would you pick if you were supporting your favourite Hogwarts House to a Yule Ball?

Happy Birthday Closet Geek

August 22, 2016 by Bel Leave a Comment

Can you believe it’s been a year? I can’t!

Yes, that’s right, one year ago today, I opened my Closet Geek store. Something that started as just sewing for my own children, for Amy and I to cosplay and for Liv to wear to WDW, turned into this tiny little business selling hair bows, pencil cases and girls dresses.

Now a year on, I honestly can’t believe how much support and love I’ve had. I hit 1000 followers on Instagram a few months ago and I’ve had over 1500 sales on Etsy. In addition to the dresses, pencil cases and hair bows I started with, I now sell Disney ears on a fairly regular basis, bunting and cushion covers. I take inquiries for custom skirts and cosplay, along with anything else people are interested in.

Though I’m yet to crack it yet, I bought a laser cutter a while back and I also experimented with screen printing. In the next few weeks I hope to dedicate more to time to them. I’ve also signed up for 4 days of Christmas Market in Lincoln during December, so prep for that will begin soon. I made a post called “Almost a year on…” on the Closet Geek blog, discussing some of my popular items and some of my favourite.

I’d love to explore the possibility of Subscription boxes throughout the next year, plus more fandoms that just Disney and Harry Potter. I can’t wait to be writing a post that’s “two years on” and I hope that you’re all still following me to see it! Thanks again for all the support.

Florida 2015 (2 weeks to go) The Shopping

March 18, 2015 by Bel 2 Comments

Today is 2 weeks to go till our holiday and I seriously can’t believe it. This week in my Florida series I’m covering the shopping – which I believe falls into two categories; Clothes and “Stuff”. I’m sure the two categories speak for themselves, but I really couldn’t think of a better name than “stuff”. It’s basically just all the other things you need for a holiday, that aren’t clothes! Within those two categories, there are of course two more – things you need… and things you want.

Many weeks ago, the girls and I made lists of what we’d want to pack – regardless of what we actually had. We included all the clothes items we could think of – and then all the other STUFF! From that moment onwards, we began to shop. I’ve been picking up bits here and there, while the girls did one main shop in Meadowhall. We’ve picked up incidentals as we’ve gone along and now I think we have pretty much everything we need.

Megan’s Shopping

Above you can see the items that Megan got in her Meadowhall shopping haul. The hat is in replacement of a typical sun hat, there are of course sunglasses, shoes and a cardigan. All of these are really accessories and that’s basically because for Christmas I bought both girls 10 dresses and have since made them 2-3 more. One thing they definitely didn’t need was main clothes, so these were the extras. That said, I’ve bought them some pjs, swimming costumes, the odd t-shirt and skirt etc. On top of that she has had a Travel Diary, an autograph book, as well as some other things I can’t think of off the top of my head.

Lily’s Shopping

Again, above is Lily’s shopping haul from Meadowhall. A lot like Megan, she has just the extras, because she had all the dresses she needed as a Christmas present. Also I forgot to mention before, but they both also got their suitcases for Christmas, which meant they were pretty much all set. Other than the clothes she got from Meadowhall, we’ve also picked up a travel diary and autograph book for Lily. She’s also had a new rucksack to use as a flight bag. Of course there are a few other bits and pieces too, but again I can’t think of them off hand.

Chris’ Shopping

On Friday, it’s Chris’ birthday. He wasn’t really sure what he wanted for his birthday presents and so in the end I took him shopping for a few bits and pieces he needed. Anyone who knows Chris, will know he’s very much a black clothes type of person, meaning he doesn’t have an awful lot that’s suitable for a sunny holiday. He also wears a lot of jeans, combat trousers and long sleeved t-shirts. This obviously wouldn’t do! Though the picture above is terrible, I bought him some new swimming shorts and five new t-shirts. I also bought a whole heap of trainer socks. After that I ordered the odd thing here and there, including another t-shirt and some cut-off combat shorts. Finally I spotted a hat I thought he would like in Tesco and this has become his sun hat.

There are a few other bits that Chris has wanted, one of which was an iPad mini. He sold his full size iPad and bought a Mini instead – he’s really pleased with that decision. For his birthday I’ve also bought him a couple of other bits, like a new swimming towel and a bag to use on the flight. I don’t have a picture of these though as they’re hidden away, waiting for Friday.

My Shopping

My main shop was definitely a parcel that was long awaited from Hot Topic. I treated myself to a Harry Potter dress and five Disney dresses. That said, after trying them on, I decided to get rid of both the Princess Quotes dress and also the Harry Potter one, as they just didn’t suit me. However I’m really happy with my remaining four dresses, one of which you may have seen in my Disney Outfit of the Day post, on Sunday.

As well as the Hot Topic haul, I picked up a few other bits and pieces as I went along. There are the two dresses above, as well as a couple of other dresses from Ebay. I also got a few t-shirts, a pair of shorts and a cardigan. I also picked up a couple of pairs of shoes.

Most recently, I got a £70 Amazon voucher and I’ve put it towards “stuff” for the holiday. I bought a charger case for my phone, a backpack for my laptop and the parks, and finally some Disney fashion books for the girls (because they love the one Amy bought them on her last visit).

I’m sure there are a few other bits here and there that I’ve forgotten to mention, but these are the main things we’ve bought for our holiday. We’re almost ready to go. Next week I will be sharing our packing with you all, where you’re see the final stage of our holiday planning – with one week left to go!