Briar Rose Archives - Journeys Are My Diary

Making a Cosplay Costume

November 10, 2015 by Bel 1 Comment

In Summer, Amy and I (plus Kariss who we met there) attended SFCC (Sheffield Film and Comic Con). Last year we were attending LFCC (London Film and Comic Con) but unfortunately the timing just wasn’t right to get to that one this year. I’ve also attended MCM Comic Con in London this year, back in May. However in the end we decided not to cosplay for that, so SFCC was our first cosplay of the year.

Amy and I decided on Disney cosplay (surprise surprise). She was going as Briar Rose and I was Belle. Both choices are their “peasant” dresses, so in a way we’ll be a pair.

I started on Amy’s first as I couldn’t get the fabric I needed for mine without ordering. The first thing I did was find a pattern that would work for what I wanted (I only ever work from patterns). It was pretty easy and didn’t take me too long. Ironically it was another Disney pattern, one used to make Elsa’s Coronation dress.

Next was to pick out some colours. Luckily both costumes comprise of basic block colours, so cotton poplin is perfect for what we need. I headed off to Boyes, picked out come colours and then started to work with the pattern and fabrics.

So once I cut out all the pattern pieces I was sure about, there was the grey to figure out. I picked one that I thought might be a bit dark and when placed together with all the other fabrics, it was decided between Amy and I, that it was too dark. Sadly this began our own 50 Shades of Grey disaster which took about 8 fabric samples from Ebay before locating. However with the grey only effecting the skirt, it was easy to still continue and make a start.

Once the top was done and the grey was found, it didn’t take long to sew it all together and add the zip. It was lucky too as I ended up making Kariss an Alice in Wonderland dress and apron, before also making my own Belle outfit. I was fairly pleased with how they all turned out too.

I have a post on Closet Geek dedicated to all the Cosplay outfits I’ve made so far. But keep an eye out as I will be updating it before too long I’m sure!

Closet Geek Update

September 23, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

Obviously as you probably know, I now own a small business called Closet Geek, where I make handmade jewellery, pencil cases, hair bows and clothes. I also take custom orders – which recently has led to a prom dress and a Cinderella cosplay. Because of this it means I struggle to find time to blog sometimes, but I thought I would write a quick post about what’s going on over at the store!

First thing to note is that my website itself (www.ClosetGeek.co.uk) isn’t having that many orders! I guess if I’d thought about it more in advance, I probably would have known this – but basically it feels like I opened up a little shop on a tiny off-the-beaten-track lane and the only customers I get are few and far between. However on a positive note, my Etsy store (which basically duplicates most of my store listings), has been really busy and it’s been so much fun sewing and making bows for orders. This last week I’ve had two “Little Miss Disgust” dresses to make (one even with a neck scarf), three hair bows and four necklaces. I even have an adult Little Miss Disgust dress on order.

I’ve pretty much completed the Back to the Future Prom Dress, which will hopefully be mailed off towards the end of this week. I’ve also properly started on the Cinderella dress (after a nightmare with fabrics). I’m hoping to make a batch of Villains hair bows, which will be a sort of “Halloween” launch, but permanently in the store once they’re launched. I’d also love to do a Superhero batch but I have no set period of time for that. Probably not quite in time for Halloween unfortunately, but in the not too distant future, I’d love to do a Disney Villains inspired batch of girls dresses too – which my girls are keen to model!

On top of all that, I’ve actually started working on ideas for Christmas. I’d love to make some geeky stockings and I’m currently in the process of working with some fellow bloggers on getting some designs made and reviewed. On the topic of reviews, I was also featured on Fashion Quirks YouTube channel this week. Carley, the girl who vlogs, featured my Golden Snitch necklace, a Cinderella carriage necklace (end of line), an Alice in Wonderland bow and also a Minnie and Mickey pencil case. The video is here if anyone would like a watch!

As well as all that, I have an order for several bows and scrunchies that I’m currently working on, I recently made a Harley Quinn dress for Lily which I hope to put in the store soon and also I have a Snow White rags, Woody, Minnie Mouse and Briar Rose dress to add to the store too. It’s all busy busy busy but I absolutely love it. I only wish I had clones of myself so I could make clothes, watch TV AND blog, all at the same time.

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Week 37 – Monday Round-up

September 14, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

Yes, it’s Monday and I’m actually making my round up post on time, woohoo! So what has happened this week? Sadly it’s a little same old when the kids go back to school. Megan and Lily were at school every day and Chris was at work all but Wednesday (even the weekend too). Monday and Tuesday, Chris was at work from 2.30pm until 11pm which was weird to say the least (he hasn’t worked that late since Ladbrokes). I spent both days sewing, getting on with both a Briar Rose dress and Snow White rags dress. On Tuesday I also finished off Amy’s Wendy Cosplay, after a quick visit to the market for ribbon that morning. I also cleaned my oven Monday/Tuesday… that was fun. Though Tuesday I did get a new phone and that WAS fun.

On Wednesday Nat came over for the day. It was Chris’ day off too but he spent most of the day upstairs on his computer. Nat and I spent the day working on some of my Closet Geek project – she helps cut out material and even just bounce ideas with. I got Amy’s package ready, with the four dresses I had already made (Woody, Briar Rose, Snow White rags and Wendy) but I also made a surprise Minnie Mouse dress too. I then made a few bows and added it all to her parcel before picking up the kids from school and dropping it off at the parcel shop.

Thursday I worked on both of my current custom orders. I cut out the pattern for one and printed out the pattern for the next. It felt good knowing Amy’s dress was out of the way and I could get on with other things. Chris was working till 11pm again so in the evening I let myself relax, watch some TV, but also do some research on nearby fabric stores.

Friday I spent the day sorting out the pattern I’d printed out. It was 62 sheets that I had to lay together, stick down and then cut out, all to get the 6 pattern pieces I needed. After I’d done that I was able to work out how much fabric I would need and order that too.

In the evening I cut out the fabric for the prom dress I would be working on over the weekend. I think I mentioned it in another post, the Back to the Future prom dress from the first movie. Anyway I cut out the fabric and the organza, ready to work on the following day. I also finally got time to watch more Grimm, after 2-3 days of not doing so!

Saturday and Sunday were fairly similar. I worked on the school website on Saturday but then did some sewing in the afternoon and into the evening. Sunday I sewed on and off most of the day, though mum came around from lunchtime onwards. She helped the kids do their homework too so that was great and time saving for me too. By the end of the night I’d got the dress to a good point and I was happy to leave it there. And that, pretty much, sums up my week!

What I’ve been up to!

September 4, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

It’s been a quiet week on my blog and that’s basically because I’ve been busy! The girls were back at school this week which took up a lot of my attention, but I’ve also been working hard on my new site, Closet Geek. I’ve been making and sewing, sourcing and thinking, browsing the web and just constantly thinking!!

If you missed the memo, my new site is sort of One-Stop-Shop (or it will be, eventually), for geeky apparel. Right now it stocks jewellery, hair bows and pencil cases, along with Disney inspired dresses for children. In the near future I want to add adult clothes, but at the moment I just do them on a custom order basis. If you want to keep up with what I’m going, Instagram seems to be my main platform as its great for visuals.

So this week I’ve been finishing off a Wendy cosplay that I’ve been working on for a while. It’s almost finished but not quite so I won’t share it here yet. However I have completed a new Woody inspired dress for girls and started working on some other projects.

Woody Inspired Dress

I have two custom orders in process at the moment, the first one of which I’ve ordered fabric and have a pattern for, the second being quite a big project! The first one is the Prom Dress from Back to the Future. Know which one? Marty’s mum, Lorraine wears it.

Back to the Future, Prom Dress

The second is a Cinderella cosplay which I’m still looking at fabrics for at the moment. I’m pretty excited, but also a little terrified too! As well as that, I’m making a Briar Rose inspired dress and hopefully a Snow White rags inspired dress, fingers crossed they’ll be done over the weekend. I have loads more planned but I really need to get on with my custom orders.

Finally on top of all that, I spent almost one whole day making hair bows. I had some in my store but I’ll be adding more, again you can see those on my instagram. My favourite by far is Eeyore though. It was quite fiddly but such a good outcome.

Eeyore bow

In the future I’ll be adding a range of Villains bows. I’ll also be adding some Superheroes too!

So this is what I’ve been up to. How about you? I love working from home but I tell you, its hard to separate being at work and not being at work – switching off your brain and actually getting “me” time seems a thing of the past!

Sew Sew Busy!

August 6, 2015 by Bel 2 Comments

First of all I want to apologise for my lack of online presence at the moment! I’m so busy with other things – especially sewing and launching my online store – that blogging has taken a bit of a back seat. I don’t want it to though – as I have books to review, Inside Out to discuss and today we’re going to see The Railway Children so I’m sure I’ll want to tell you all about that! Hopefully tonight I’ll be able to make another couple of posts and schedule them for the next few days, but right now I have to get the kids ready and make a packed lunch! My trip to York includes a stop for sewing supplies too so I imagine that will mean even more sewing to do!

Promise I’ll be back soon but in the meantime here is some of the stuff I’ve been working on and some that will be stocked at Closet Geek!

Custom cosplay costume for a Kariss – Alice in Wonderland

Pencil Cases, various – for Closet Geek

Pinocchio Girl – Disney inspired dress – livvybirdadventures IG

Briar Rose cosplay costume for Amy

Week 30 – Monday Round-up

July 27, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

This week has been a fab week and I’m hoping there are more to come! I’ve been very well behaved with my diet which is giving the motivation to continue and that in itself makes some days easier! Also the kids broke up from school this week and that has been so nice, spending loads of time together but more importantly, not even needing to get dressed on some days!!

On Monday Megan didn’t feel very well and so the girls didn’t go to school. Sure it was a little naughty to keep Lily off too but we were all wishing we were on Summer Holiday already that we probably needed a day! We were incredibly lazy and did nothing all day. It was actually very nice. However I did manage to get some sewing done and finally finished the Briar Rose cosplay outfit I was working on for Amy.

On the Tuesday, the girls went back to school and Chris was off work so we had one of those days when we got all sorts of little bits done. We took his drum kit to a friend’s house as he was selling it, we went shopping, we went out for lunch and eventually we headed back to pick the girls up from school. It was a nice day but I’d hoped to get loads more sewing done and that didn’t happen! I did however manage a lovely long bath in the evening, a read of my book and an early night.

Wednesday was the girls last day at school, so we headed out with presents and cards galore. Chris was at work all day and I had website training for the Saxilby School website, round at my mum’s house. The training took all morning and then after everyone left, Mum and I had lunch. In the afternoon we headed down to storage to sort it out, as we’re hoping to hand the keys back next week. It didn’t take half as long as we expected so I headed back to mum’s for another cup of tea before eventually going to get the girls. Once I picked them up we popped to the post office, to get petrol and then eventually to Pizza Hut. This is fast becoming our end of term/summer tradition as we’ve now been to Pizza Hut every summer for about the last five years!

When we were finished, we headed home and it was still pretty early (especially since the girls were now on holiday time bed time) and we all settled down to chill. Lily went on her computer, Megan her iPad and I sat down to finish off the book I had been reading on Kindle. When it was time for Lily to head to bed we read some James and the Giant Peach which was the current bedtime read. Megan went a while later and eventually Chris got home from work and we headed to bed not long after.

On Thursday we were all wanting a lazy day (though Chris was at work) and so we did a whole lot of nothing till midday. However we got lunch, got dressed and headed out in the afternoon to get Megan’s ears pierced. She was incredibly brave and I was honestly so surprised. I bought her some extra earrings for when her ears are healed and she is allowed to change them, and also some magnetic ones for Lily so she didn’t feel left out.

Since we’d paid for parking anyway, we went to get coffee from Costa. Megan had a Mint Choc Chip, while Lily had Belgian Chocolate, mine was technically the only coffee as I had a Caramel Latte. We shared a mint choc chip cake too and it was delicious. After we finished out coffee we walked around for a little bit but then headed home. Once we were home we unpacked some boxes from my car and started to go through them. They were a mixture of photos, scrap books and cuddly toys, as well as a box of my old memories, dating right back to school and including school reports and letters I’d received from friends.

The rest of the day was just spend doing out own things, relaxing or getting work done etc. Next came Friday and that started off fairly lazy too. However both the girls needed showers as they were going to their dad’s house and we weren’t sure what the situation was with showering there (they just moved house!). We grabbed showers, packed a bag and then their dad arrived to take them away. Next came a message from Amy to say her and Liv were on time with train and since Chris was going down to catch the train they were getting off, I walked down with him and waited at the station.

Once Amy arrived (and Chris left), we went to Aldi on the way back and then came home. We didn’t do an awful lot with the day, just occupied Liv and chatted to catch up on the last few weeks. Eventually Liv went to bed, we had jacket potatoes for dinner and then chatted some more. The wine came out and Chris arrived home with even more for us. We all sat watching YouTube videos for Five Nights at Freddy’s and it was really nice.

The next day I woke up because Chris had a driving lesson. I got up and started to make some bows for the girls to wear to the cinema that day, but sadly it didn’t work out! The day ended up a bit rushed – heading out to get the girls from their dad, mum getting a flat tyre, coming home to get changed and heading out to the cinema again. However in the end it all worked out and we made it to the movie on time!

Everyone loved Inside Out and I was so glad we’d booked to see it early. To be honest I wouldn’t be surprised if we ended up going to see it again! Once it was done (we stayed till the end but there was no extra clip!) we headed out and went for a walk around Scunthorpe. It wasn’t somewhere I had been before and I was curious as to what shops were available. We popped into Primark (and Chris did CEX) and then wandered back to the car. Even better it was free parking all day Saturday so I think it’s somewhere we would go again.

Picture taken from @livvybirdadventures Instagram

We came back home and once we’d settled, ordered takeaway. It was our one weekend treat but it was so good. There were burgers, chips, pizza, garlic bread and donner kebab. I was stuffed afterwards and knew I’d have put on several pounds! In the evening once everyone was in bed, Amy and I relocated to the dining room and I made the finishing touches to her Briar Rose dress (the zip and hem). After that we were all tired and so headed to bed.

In the morning, the kids all got up and since I stirred I figured I would get up too. Amy and I sat chatting as always and Chris went upstairs to play on his computer. Eventually I had to get the girls ready for going back to their dad’s for the day, so we left around 10.30am. By the time I came back, there wasn’t long before Amy needed to go, so we measured out the Wendy dress pattern so I could get on with that and figured out what else needed doing to her Snow White dress. After that I took Amy and Liv to the station, it was pretty miserable as it was raining. Once they had left, I went to Tesco and did some shopping, coming back and getting myself upset about how empty the house was!

Chris humoured me for a while so I wasn’t lonely but in the end I settled down to do absolutely nothing and just mong on my computer. The girls were back earlier than expected, so I had to figure out dinner for them. Chris went for a bath and the girls and I just spent the evening together. Finally the girls went to bed and Chris and I watched TV (well he did and I continued to do nothing on my computer). It was a nice end to a nice weekend but I’m looking forward to continuing on these nice days, for the next six weeks!

Week 29 – Monday Round-up

July 20, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

So it’s Sunday night again and I’m actually trying to be good and get this done in advance! What have I been up to this week? Well lots and nothing all at the same time! For the most part I’ve been sewing. I have attended a few things at the girls school too but every day I’ve either blogged or sewn with the majority of my day.

Monday was a sewing day for the most part. I had what I termed a “finishing day”, whereby I’d spent the whole weekend sewing and made three dresses, but most of them needed something doing in order to finish them. I had hemming, zips and even button holes to do and I got to use both the zipper foot on my sewing machine and also the button hole making zipper too. It was pretty great to learn something new.

The girls were with their dad after school and I always enjoy those days as it means I don’t have to stop what I’m doing and turn out for them at 3pm. Instead I got to sew pretty much all day and that was good. I did also do a bit of blogging so as not to fall behind but that was pretty much the sum total of my day.

Tuesday was a computer/blogging day. I caught up on a whole load of posts, emails and so on. I set myself up for the rest of the week too which is always nice as it means I know I have more free time to get what I want to do done. The girls got their school reports (which were awesome) and Megan finally finished the Harry Potter books. That was really the highlights of the day!

On Wednesday I dropped the girls off at school and headed into Lincoln. I needed a few bits but it was also nice to have a wander as I hadn’t been in a while. Afterwards I called at mum’s for a cup of tea and then I headed home. I didn’t get an awful lot done as I knew I was turning back out in a few hours but I did get some more blogging and sewing done. This continued on into the evening once we were home from school too.

Thursday was Lily’s end of school church service so after taking them to school, I walked with Lily’s class to church and back. Afterwards I headed home and since Mum was having the girls after school again, it was nice to know I had the whole day to get things done. I started working on a Pinocchio dress for Liv and while it was time consuming, over the next few days I got it done. That was majority of my day though and I don’t remember doing a lot else.

Friday was a lie-in, a trip into town, more sewing and finally picking up the girls from school. Spent the evening doing more sewing, made a pencil case and also wrapped presents for Lily’s friend Ciara, whose party was the next day. Saturday I dropped Lily off with Ciara, as they were going to the cinema and for lunch, and then Megan and I headed for the cinema and lunch together too. Afterwards we had a bit of shopping time but in the end we picked Lily up from Ciara’s around 3.30pm (though we didn’t leave till 4pm) and came home. Megan and Lily made some fimo bits and pieces while I sewed and then eventually it was bed time.

Sunday was a lie-in day too and also a chill day. I spent the morning being distracted by the girls doing their fimo and the afternoon sewing. Chris had hurt his leg so I was running around after him all day but I didn’t mind as I’m always at my nicest when I have someone to look after ;) We all had chicken fajitas for dinner which is a favourite in this house and then just chilled out. Chris and I ended up playing a silly game of Spot the Intro for ages and then eventually it was time to send Lily to bed. We had a bedtime story of James and the Giant Peach, which is our current read at the moment and then I came downstairs to watch Captain America with Chris. Megan went to bed shortly after and we just continued to watch the movie, though I was on my computer too!

Girls have three more days of school left before they break up and I wish they were done already. Can’t wait to have days when we don’t even need to bother getting dressed! Lots to look forward to this week but I’ll update you next week! Till then…

Week 27 – Monday Round-up

July 6, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

Thankfully this week has been a lot quieter than recent weeks, though I can’t say that means I’ve got more done! As much as I’ve loved the hot weather, its really not helpful when it comes to doing certain jobs. However, Monday Nat and I were invited to a Weleda Day (post to follow) in Ilkeston and the warm weather was really welcomed. A lot of the day was spent outside and it was so nice to feel some sun on my skin! I actually got sunburnt but oh well!

Tuesday the girls had a sort of school pride parade, which involved walking around the village, singing songs and generally trying to make people smile. I went with Lily’s class, while mum went with Megan and we spent the whole morning enjoying ourselves, again in the sunshine. At lunch time I headed to my mum’s for some food and when she offered to collect the girls from school and bring them home for me, I headed home myself. I spent the afternoon catching up on blog stuff before she brought them around! While at my mums, she also decided to take us on holiday to Paris so that was something great to add to my countdown!

On Wednesday Nat came around for the day, primarily so we could watch “The Fault in Our Stars”, this month’s “From Page to Screen”, over at Twice the Mum. Though we always get delayed, catching up and having a cup of tea, we eventually got into the movie and both really enjoyed it. However afterwards we were really sad so we went to nearby Blyton and treated ourselves to ice cream! Afterwards Nat went home and I went to get the kids from school and we then went to the park, still enjoying the beautiful weather.

Thursday was my first free day to do something and I really wanted to sew… but I didn’t. I’m not entirely sure what I did do, but I wasted it messing around on my computer, watching TV etc. I did however make bacon, chicken and hallumi salad for dinner, so not all was lost! The weather was still nice too!! By Friday I decided that even though it was warm I needed to start getting some things done. I caught up on the dishwasher, washing etc but also made a start on some sewing. Sadly my sewing machine is on it’s last legs and it’s really made me sad as I’m not sure what to do about it, but I don’t want to sew anything else and know it’s not sewn properly! Anyway I worked hard on Amy’s cosplay costume of Briar Rose and got the majority of the top half finished. Also the girls had Heroes day at school and Lily dressed as her teacher Mrs Holt, while Megan went as me.

On Saturday we were supposed to go to the girls school fair and then the girls were going to stay at my mums. However the weather was dull (following the storm, the night before) and we decided not to turn out. Instead we all bummed around and I tried to fix my sewing machine but nothing I did made any difference to the problem I’m having! I didn’t really feel very well – full of cold and constant sneezing – so in the end I gave up trying to be productive and just hung out on the sofa all day.

Sunday I didn’t really feel much better so again I didn’t do much. I went in to town to pick up a few bits and pieces, and then in the afternoon ended up having a sort out of all my paperwork. Chris and I also made a cocktail (which was gross) and Lily and I started painting her tardis, for school homework. The weekend was fairly uneventful but that was nice and because I wasn’t feeling well, I was grateful for it. This coming week is going to be busy in part but I’m also hoping to secure plenty of me time! Fingers crossed.