etsy Archives - Journeys Are My Diary

Shopping Online as both a buyer and seller

February 19, 2016 by Bel Leave a Comment

As some of you may know, I run an Etsy store/website called Closet Geek. I sell handmade items that are geeky themed, such as; hair bows, pencil cases, jewellery and kids clothes.

Being a shop owner has helped me to see a whole new side to online shopping – the difference between people who “favourite” items, compared to those who actually buy for example. It has made me curious as to how people can leave 4 (out of 5) star reviews, but write whole paragraphs about how fantastic the item was. Deciphering addresses is often tricky – especially those in other countries. At least with UK I can recognise missing house numbers or half post codes, but it can be hard when its abroad.

As a shopper, I like to browse. I add things to my cart – sometimes with no intention of checking out – other times with the intention, but seeing the postage or not being able to get a code to work, getting put off the whole process. I get sick of putting in the same information each time, being asked to make an account with password, just to proceed and so on.

The video above is from a company who hope to take some of the complication out of online shopping. They want to make the process easier which in turn will benefit both the buyer and the seller. It’s definitely worth a watch and I have to admit I love the term “Cart Abandonment”. I know that’s something I’ve done a lot. The idea of just having to put your address in once, to have more control over delivery and really just to ease the whole process, is definitely something I would be behind. This is something I would be interested in looking into in the future.

For now though I will continue to browse stores such as Hot Topic and the Disney Store, glad that for the most part I abandon my cart, otherwise I would quite possibly be bankrupt!

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.

Save

Just Sew Geeky

June 10, 2015 by Bel 1 Comment

As you probably know from my previous posts, I love to sew. My mum and dad bought me my first sewing machine at the age of 18 and I used it for a good year or so before it got stowed away and barely used. Since having kids I’ve used it every now and again, but it has never had more use than in the last 12 months. Last summer a group of us decided we would go to London Film and Comic Con and that we would cosplay. This was my first ever experience of cosplaying and I wanted to make my own costume. I was pretty pleased with how it turned out, especially since I hadn’t used my sewing machine in a long time.

Sadly now when I look at the photos, all I see is how much weight I had on at that time. I was beginning to lose weight at that point but since then I’ve lost about 1- 1 and 1/2 stone and feel so much better for it. Anyway, when I try to focus on the costume itself I’m pleased but I know I’ve done so much better since. In the following months I made young Anna and Elsa dresses for my two daughters, I made a Snow White costume for my best friend Amy and I made a whole stack of Disney inspired dressed for our holiday to Florida.

Since getting back from Florida I’ve flipped flopped back and forth about starting my own business – sewing clothes. I have had an online store on Etsy selling jewellery for some time now and I’d love to combine everything geeky that I like to do and make a little business from it. Anyway… the title of this post was one of the names I toyed with – Just Sew Geeky. However I felt it was too sewing orientated (and I want to do more than sewing) and in the end went for Closet Geek. The sewing section of my site will probably be the largest – for the most part I’ll be offering inspired dresses and clothes for children. In the future I hope to be able to offer custom cosplay too, not just for kids but for adults. I’ll also add my Jewellery Ever After stock (and add to it), along with the inspired hair bows that Megan and I were making a few months ago. On top of all that I hope to add murder mysteries to the categories, but that’s a little way off right now. It’s a lot of work and I’ve really only just started. I have the bare bones of a site in progress, social media platforms set up and business cards ordered.

At the weekend (just gone) I sat down to get some sewing done and discovered the foot from my sewing machine was gone. I’m absolutely certain I’ve put it somewhere “safe” but after two hours of searching, I still couldn’t find it. In the end I ordered a new one, costing a total of £8.79 (only £3.80 for the foot but £4.99 postage!). To be honest I toyed with buying a new sewing machine all together. I checked out sewing machines online and I found a really good range at Tesco Direct but as yet I haven’t made a decision. There is nothing actually wrong with my sewing machine at the moment but I have to admit I can tell it’s definitely on it’s way out. As I said, it was bought for my 18th birthday – and I literally just had my 36th last week. It’s old… though not as old as I am… and it’s going to need replacing soon, especially if I expect to be sewing on it even more often than I have been recently.

Though I’m bubbling over with ideas of Disney inspired dresses to make, my first project is actually a cosplay one. For now I’m going to keep it a secret but I’ve ordered vintage Simplicity pattern 9825 and turquoise jacquard material that I could really only find in the US. I’m excited to crack on with it so my sewing machine foot better turn up soon! In the mean time I’m going to head for Pinterest and start pinning some more ideas and also work on my online store! I’ll let you know as soon as I have an update.

Guest Post – 10 reasons Disney is not just for kids

April 7, 2015 by Bel 1 Comment

Annabelle from Lillyringlet has been kind enough to Guest Post for me while I’m away.
Please go and check out her blog if you get a minute!

I love Disney – I love the music, colourful creature sidekicks and captivating storylines. The stories from the animation powerhouse invoke joy to millions around the world, they have won awards and yet they are still seen by many as for only children. Most of Disney’s fan base is in fact over 18 – so why is the stigma still there! Compared to 10 years ago, it is much better but still many people clearly see Disney animations as a form of entertainment either only for kids or something to struggle through as the kids enjoy it.

As a kid I did enjoy the films and certain characters but it is only now that I’m 27 that I can really enjoy a lot of the animations. I thought I would share my top 10 reasons to why I think Disney isn’t just for adults.

1. Cosplay

If you ever go to a convention you will find an array of people dressed as their favourite characters. While there are often little kids dressed as Disney characters, most Disney cosplayers are adults. Pinterest is full of amazing Disney cosplay outfits – it is because of the incredible characters and their outfits that so many people want to dress up like them.

While anime and cosplay have a much stronger connection in many people’s minds, when there are great Disney cosplays they go viral! Halloween 2013 a group of friends did Zombie Disney Princesses and within hours it was all over the internet! While there are some incredible anime cosplays that are truly spectacular (and award winning), it is the Disney cosplays that capture the imagination and media attention.

2. Parodies

Now in the days of video sites like YouTube and Vimeo, there are parodies about everything but Disney is one that is always highly popular. There are rap battles, hipster Princess Musicals and even Google translated (and then back to English) versions of Disney songs. There is a thriving community and clear love of this content as they are very popular. On 17th March one of the most popular videos among all adults ages 18-34 is a Cinderella vs Belle rap battle, and yet it is not as popular among the younger audiences! Disney may have come into our lives at a young age but there is a demand from those of us who are still young at heart.

3. Disney Weddings

Did you know that you can get married at the Disney Parks? That’s right – you can get married in Cinderella’s castle and now they have even started an engagement service! While little girls may dream of their wedding day, these popular services are aimed at an audience old enough to tie the knot.

4. Disneyland California

I love Disneyland – though I have only been able to go to EuroDisney! The rides, the shows, the shops and the parades are thrilling but have you ever considered how many of the rides and events are aimed towards adults? I remember vividly how I was too small to go on most of the thrill seeking rides when I visited as a kid. This is the case with many theme parks but none more so than Disneyland in California – it is renowned for being the best park for adult fans. When Disney have designed one of its parks with adults more in mind, then why is it hard to consider that their films also have them in mind too.

5. Wreck it Ralph

Now a video game theme film may sound like a reason to why Disney films are just for kids, as video games also have a reputation among certain groups to be childish, and yet it is a great reason to why it is. While this film played on many modern video game themes, styles and characters, there were so many references to old characters and themes that only older gamers could love or giggle at. The use of these older video game references and characters are a clear indication of being a film not just aimed at the younger generation.

While there are other great films to point at with some under lying themes that might go over audiences under 18, such as the complex emotions of being a father in Finding Nemo, or how hard it can be to say good bye forever to friends like in Toy Story 3, Wreck it Ralph shows it through both the storyline, retro video game characters and maturity of the main characters. It is a film that even includes PTSD, a mental alignment only really otherwise covered in the Hunger Games or Forest Gump, and the impact this has on an individual character. While there is action and fun for the kids, there is so much more levels for an older generation to enjoy.

6. Official merchandise

For Disney addicts like me, visiting the Disney Store has always been fun! Most of my bags are from this haven, as well as most of my mugs. Through the years I have collected lots of items, and while some of them may seem for those a lot younger than I, there are PJ’s, slippers, cookware and even purses that are aimed purely for adults.

In recent years Disney Store have reduced many aspects in their own stores but this is because they have found that they make more money selling licensing rights to the likes of Asda, Primark and Top Shop. There is now more adult Disney themed clothing than ever before!

Yes I do have the big fluffy cuddly toys, character notepads but I also have bags, purses and clothing that fits a size 14 me.

7. Disney Cakes

Merchandise doesn’t seem to be the only thing people can’t get enough of, so Disney have started a magazine on how to create Disney theme cakes and sweets! Again, this may seem like this is aimed towards kids on the surface but when you actually delve into the magazine it is clear that this is aimed towards adults with the complex designs and skills needed – there are even recipes that state how to make them child friendly.

Mix the UK’s growing love of baking and with constant love of Disney, this is a perfect piece of evidence to the thriving adult fan base. I’m addicted to the wonderful silicon Disney character trays that I have collected but the Minnie Mouse moulds are still my favourite.

8. Etsy

There are nearly 150,000 different Disney related items on Etsy – and that only includes the ones labelled with Disney! You can order everything from Little Mermaid aprons, Sleeping Beauty crowns to personalised Disney themed artworks. While there are some items for children, the majority of the items available to buy are aimed at adults. It paints a clear picture that there are thousands of keen adult crafters and a clear demand for these products!

On top of all those very gifted crafters, there are thousands who are not selling their items and keeping them – like me! After tracking down some Disney fabric I have been able to create an amazing skirt! When you add together the amateurs, professionals and official merchandise out there – that is a lot of products being made and sold worldwide.

This echoes on Pinterest, which is mainly used by people aged 25-45 – this social media platform is full of unique Disney products and crafting ideas beyond the grasp of younger audiences.

9. Adult references

Now when I say adult references, I am not saying that Disney is vaguer in anyway but that they often put in funny lines that only adults might understand from person experience. My favourite is from the Emperor’s New Groove where Kuzco when walking past a row of potential brides

The other memorable moments include, in Ratatouille when there is talk of getting too familiar with vegetables, Genie’s quip about how he thought “the earth wasn’t supposed to move until the honeymoon.” and Meg’s reference to

Skinner: “What are you doing in here?”

Linguini: “I’m just familiarizing myself with, you know, the vegetables and such.”

Skinner: “Get out! One can get too familiar with vegetables, you know!”

While small snippets of humour filled lines may be an obvious strand, it is the complex underlining of many of the stories that we love and adore. Many people know how The Lion King is based on Hamlet, but they often miss the subtle points to Shakespeare such as Timon’s “What’s in a name?” reference to Romeo and Juliet. What about the manipulative Iago from Aladdin who shares characteristic traits (and name) as the one from the great bard’s Othello? With films using complex narratives as a “Whore of Babylon” by Frollo in The Hunchback Of Notre Dame as he struggles with his urges towards Esmeralda or Ursula’s comment of “body language” being a way to win over a man (complete with sexualised side thrust) – Disney films are films with complex layers and can be enjoyed by all ages.

10. Once Upon a Time

Still not convinced – then you might have overlooked ABC’s series Once Upon a Time! As ABC are owned by Disney, they take on the classic fairy tale stories. If you haven’t seen the series, it may be that you feel it might be too childish like your opinion of the films many of the costumes and stories are based on. You are very wrong – in this series, even in the first series, you see the complex and very adult issues of affairs, warring parents, small town politics and betrayal. It may not have nudity, or violence like other series covering similar themes, but it manages to mix storylines and characters that youngsters and adults can enjoy on different levels.

With one of the main characters having his adoptive mum also being his step great grandmother, whose mother had an affair with his grandfather… it is not a series that can be fully followed by children and yet it has a huge following! One of the couples in the show has reach the final two in Entertainment Today’s search for this year’s TV show couple of the year! Fan’s coo over the use of updated versions of their favourite Disney outfits but also the twisted nature of many of their stories – there was a flurry when fans found out that they had made Mulan fall in love with Sleeping Beauty, or how Snow White was having an affair with Prince Charming!

Death, betrayal, topics and jokes that only adults will understand on top of the very revealing outfits makes this a wonderful series for avid Disney fans older than the traditional demographic.

Disney is where it is today because unlike many other animation studios that have come and gone, they have been smart enough to capture young and older audiences in the same film! Their films wouldn’t be so popular if the parents really didn’t want to sit through them! I know as a kid I had that issue with some of the Warner Bros films – they held no interest with my parents so I would have to wait until they were on VHS and buy them with my own money.

Disney has evolved in recent years, having realised the potential of older fans, and it getting bigger because of it. They are redoing some of their classics, such as Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella which are much darker – adults are the ones behind the buying power after all!

So enjoy Disney, and if anyone calls you a kid for being a Disney addict, just point to the deeper themes and basis for the stories as you will probably find it a lot more refined than those drooling over most chic flicks and soaps. Just saying – Disney rules!

Once again, please check out Lillyringlet to read Annabelle’s blog!

Week 2 – Monday Round-up

January 12, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

It’s been a good week, but a tiring week. I can’t reiterate enough how glad I am to not actually be working any more. It’s literally heaven every day – even when I’m hoovering or scrubbing the house! That said, I haven’t been doing an awful lot of that, but I have at least been keeping on top of things like the dishwasher and the washing.

Monday was a teacher training day at the kids school, so we had one last day together before school started. I’m used to the girls going to their dad’s on a Monday so it was nice to actually feel like I got that last day with them myself. Chris was at work so as such it was just us girls. In the morning we just hung out and chilled, but in the afternoon we had arranged to go swimming with my mum, who traveled over to come with us. When she first arrived, I had to get her to sort out some photographs with me, but after that we headed out swimming. It was about 3pm when we went in and about 4pm when we came out. Afterwards I had her drive me past Argos so I could pick up an Ab Roller I’d ordered and I also popped into Sports Direct where I bought another swimming costume each for the girls and two Frozen dresses as well.

Mum decided she would treat us all to Chinese takeaway which went right again the diet but was much appreciated! I put a little bit of money towards it too so I could order a little extra for Chris and save him some, but somehow we ended up with tons anyway. Once food was eaten, mum headed home and the girls and I had a little extra time before Chris was back. Both girls had to be in bed promptly though, especially with school the next day. I spent majority of the evening, catching up on blog stuff and also updating my diary and making sure I had current plans written in it. Afterwards Chris and I watched some TV together and snuggled on the sofa.

On Tuesday it was up early and out of the house for everyone – and boy was it a shock to the system! The kids’ dad was having them after school though so I just headed straight home and worked on my blog – which I had just moved to self-hosted. I had left over takeaway for lunch and felt a little guilty about the health kick I was supposed to be on. I vowed to go running the next day (though no surprise, that didn’t happen!). My brother called in after he’d been to mum’s that night and so we had time to catch up too. The girls arrived home and Chris came in from work and it was a little crazy for a while but nice too. The girls and I started on the second Never Girls book called “the space between” and when I updated Goodreads it also made me feel guilty for not even attempting to read any more of my own books!

Honestly I don’t really remember what I did that evening but I know Chris and I finally managed to catch up on both Arrow Season 3 and Flash Season 1, up to the mid-season break. This is great because we managed to watch the cross-over episodes in the right place and be ready when the series’ start airing again soon!

Wednesday was school and work again, another early start that really was taking its toll (god knows how I managed to function when I was working too!). I dropped the kids off at school and headed into town for a little while – even planning to go for my job afterwards. Like I said before, that didn’t happen – I don’t know if it was the latte I chose to buy which made me feel sloshy, or the fact it started raining (or of course sheer laziness) but either way, I was rubbish! I headed home and made a start on sorting out my jewellery, before heading back out to get the kids. After school we were supposed to watch a Disney movie (it was supposed to be Tinker Bell but we’d already watched it accidentally so we were going to watch Snow White) but none of us could be bothered and we just wanted to mong! Megan and Lily just played on iPads and computers while I tuned out to the TV. I did manage to keep on track with food this day and combined with the walk in town that morning I definitely felt healthier. In the evening I cracked on with more work and all in all, it felt like a constructive day.

Thursday I dropped the kids off at school and headed to see my mum briefly. Afterwards I headed back to Gainsborough where I needed to get some shopping and managed to waste a few hours around Marshall’s Yard. I did spend the last of my M&S voucher (from my birthday) on some healthy food and that felt very positive. I then went home and had soup for lunch, which also felt very good. I finally got my Ab Roller built too, though I won’t lie and say I used it. I mean I did check it was all working fine – but for maybe 20 roll ups! The girls were staying at my mum’s that night and so in the evening Chris and I just spent time hanging out.

On Friday I got a lie-in! It was so needed. Chris climbed out of bed around 7.10am and although I was aware of him moving downstairs, as soon as he left at 7.25am, I went back to sleep. I woke up at about 9.30am but I didn’t get out of bed until 10am. I potted around the house in my dressing gown and was basically very lazy! I made a few phone calls which I’d been needing to do and I put on more washing, hung it out on the radiators and did the dishwasher etc. I made myself a light lunch and then got to work on my Get Fit Friday post – which is my ongoing series to track my weight loss.

Eventually it was time to leave as I’d told my mum I would call in on her again before picking up the girls. I stopped with her for a cup of tea before heading to school and picking up the kids. We headed home and got some dinner, only to realise our Disney task for the day was to make disney themed food. We didn’t have an awful lot of choice so we just made some cupcakes in the shape of Mickey Mouse – and as it was late, we said we’d decorate them the next day. Once the girls were in bed and Chris was playing on his computer, I sat and watched a movie by myself and just chilled out. When we eventually headed to bed, I couldn’t sleep – so typical since I’d managed a lie-in that morning! It was gone 1am before I actually got to sleep and I can’t tell you how many times I nearly got up and did something “useful”.

On Saturday we didn’t have much planned but Chris did have his first driving lesson booked for 10am. We woke up naturally about 5 minutes before his alarm was set to go off at 9am and dragged ourselves out of bed. While Chris was out on his lesson, the girls and I got cracking with everything we needed to do that day. Sadly the cupcakes got eaten however, rather than decorated. Once Chris was back home, Megan and I went out to buy some ribbon. We were way longer than we had expected to be, coming home with £30 of stuff. After getting some lunch, Megan and I spent the afternoon learning how to make bows. It was a long process but we got there in the end and now we’re making quite nice ones. The girls also painted a peg doll and a plaster figure, which was their Disney task for the day. We then all had dinner and relaxed for the evening. I went for a bath and then afterwards Chris went. While he was having a bath I went upstairs to read and eventually he joined me, bringing me a cup of tea. We lay mostly in silence for an hour – me reading and him playing on his phone. It was really nice and in the end we just headed to bed afterwards.

Sunday morning we got up and Megan wanted to make more bows. We were a lot better at it this time, finding it quicker and easier to accomplish what we were trying to do. Sadly I had a really bad headache that didn’t shift all day so I know my patience wasn’t the best. We had a fairly early lunch as we knew we were heading out to the cinema later. We left about 2pm and drove to my mum’s, swapping cars and traveling with her into Lincoln. When we got to the cinema the queue for the popcorn was huge and so even though we’d planned it, we had to skip food and drink – heading straight into the movie. We watched “Into the Woods” and it was great. It’s been really nice seeing two very current movies (Big Hero 6 last week) just as they’ve come out. Afterwards, since everyone was pretty hungry, mum drove us to Burger King. Chris and I went in to get everyone food but we drove back to mum’s before eating it. After we’d eaten, Chris hung up a picture for mum which she’d asked him to do and then we all headed home. It was Lily’s bedtime and Megan decided to go at the same time and play on her iPad for half an hour. Once they were in bed I sorted out some jewellery stuff ready to photograph the next day, but ultimately found myself restless. In the end I suggested to Chris that we head upstairs to read and relax again, which we did, and I’m pleased to say I only have about another 100 pages of my book left before I’ll reach the end!

So that was my week and while it was tiring, it was also quite good for a first week. Since I want to get some training in at the school office, I went in to sort out the forms for disclosure, but also worked on jewellery and hair bows for adding to my Etsy store. While I’d hoped to get on with making clothes, that sadly didn’t happen. I did however ring the Tax Credits people and sort out my claim which hopefully will get sorted in a few weeks. Finally, while I didn’t start off the week great, I managed to live a fairly healthy lifestyle for the majority of the week. This paid off on Weigh-In day, when I’d lost 2lbs (though this was over the whole Christmas period as well). I’m pleased with how life is going so far and I have high expectations for the future. Hopefully its onwards and upwards!

#LincsBlogMeet – Jewellery Ever After

August 19, 2014 by Bel 4 Comments

As you’ll have seen, I’ve done a lot of posts about the #LincsBlogMeet and the companies who supported it. I have to admit it took a lot longer than I thought. However I’ve pretty much covered all the immediate ones I wanted to do, though I have extended plans for Lush and Weleda in the not too distant future. However before I finish in the short term, I’m making this one last post – Jewellery Ever After.

Now I’m not going to lie, this is pretty much a shameless plug of my own products – yep, that’s right, I make Jewellery Ever After’s jewellery. It’s something I originally started in 2010, then let fade off for a while, but was reignited last year for Lincoln’s Christmas Market. Ever since then, I’ve been meaning to get all my items listed on Etsy and finally this last week I got around to it. In the meantime, the only thing I really did with my jewellery was support #LincsBlogMeet, by placing a necklace in each goodie bag and offering a Harry Potter themed raffle prize.

Jewellery Ever After is basically jewellery themed on Happily Ever After. It’s very Disney saturated, but also includes lots of other movie and book inspired pieces. Though I haven’t made anything since December, listing it all on Etsy has kickstarted an interested again for me. I’m currently looking into some of the new pieces I might add to my shop, including cabochons – so keep an eye out!

I’m also currently looking for bloggers to pick a piece of jewellery and review it on their blog. If you’re interested, check it out on Jewellery Ever After’s Twitter account for more information! Also and pretty much finally, you can also find JEA on Facebook and Instagram!

And that’s pretty much it! If you like geeky jewellery, please check out my store. There is nothing over £5 and postage is only £1 within the UK. Pieces are inspired by various Disney themes, Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Wizard of Oz and lots more. There will also be other pieces added shortly.

Thanks for reading!!

Making my Vanessa (Ursula) Costume

July 19, 2014 by Bel 1 Comment

Day 1: LFCC | Day 2: LFCC | Day 3: LFCC | Comic Con & Cosplay

This week I have focused on all my time at London Film and Comic Con last weekend. I did a day by day breakdown, along with the costumes and cosplays by both my group and several other people who attended. However the one thing I haven’t focused on yet is how I made my own costume.

Once I’d finally decided on a person to be (the clothes being part of that decision), I decided immediately that instead of wanting to make a dress, I would make a corset and skirt. Recently I have been wearing a lot of corsets, largely because I’m unhappy with my size and shape. With that in mind, I ordered these two patterns from Ebay.

Once the two patterns arrived, I proceeded to order all the bits I would need for making the two items. There was boning, zips, eyelets etc.

After much consideration I picked Iris and Purple as my material colours, along with a black lining material. It was then time to begin!

As the skirt seemed the easiest to take, I did that one first. It was a really simple pattern, just 6 main panels to make the skirt and another two for the waistband. I managed majority of the sewing myself, though I have to admit I called in to see my mum when it came to adding the zip. Not because I couldn’t… just because I figured she’d do it better.

Next I moved onto the corset. I’ll admit I was sort of dreading it a little but the beginning seemed fairly straight forward at least so I cracked on with that. There were lots of pieces to cut out, not just from the purple but also from the black lining and also from interface. It took quite some time just to get it all cut out.

Next it was a case of ironing on the interfacing and sewing all the purple pieces together. Then doing the same for the black lining. After that the boning had to be attached to the lining pieces. Finally it was starting to take on a corset type shape.

Before officially sewing it all together, my mum pinned it all together. The part at the front was actually my mum’s idea too – a fake opening instead of an actual lace-up front. Once I was sure it all looked okay and was going to fit (we actually took it in about an inch on each side), we sewed it all up properly. I then had to edge it all, which I chose to do by hand to make it look neater.

When it was all finished, I was really pleased with the result. I added eyelets and ribbon, the corset was made and the outfit was complete. Well almost anyway… I’d ordered a necklace from Etsy, the perfect thing.

Finally, all that was left to do, was get rid of my blonde tips in my hair. I bought a cheap brown hair dye and within 30 or so minutes, my hair was all brown again. Not just that, but it was in great shiny condition!

And that was that. My outfit was complete and I wrote it to LFCC last weekend. I was really pleased with how it turned out and while I expect I won’t wear it again, I was really happy with the choice to be Vanessa.

Cosplay – to Buy, to Make, to Assemble?

May 16, 2014 by Bel 4 Comments

As you possibly already know, I’m going to a Comic Con this year! I’m super excited to even be going, but mostly to decide what I’m going to wear! This post has been a few weeks in the making to be honest and even in that time I’ve changed my mind a hundred times. Originally our group was going to go to Comic Con in two different costumes, for the two main days. However over the last few days its been agreed that (largely due to cost) we’re only going to do one costume, for one day. This is a massive help to me as I’ve always been definite on one of my costume ideas and have been struggling for a second.

So who am I going as for Comic Con? Regina from Once Upon a Time. More specifically, The Evil Queen Regina.

Source

I can’t exactly explain why I want to go as Regina, since I definitely don’t like some of the stuff she wears, but for the most part she is awesome and I would love to dress like her for the day. However with the “who” decided, its now to decide the “what” and the “where”.

To Buy

I looked into buying a costume of Regina, straight out. I knew it would be expensive but a) it would probably look awesome and b) it would all just be simple and done for me. Sadly though, there aren’t a lot of places that I’ve found which sell Regina costumes.

Costumes seem to vary, from one extreme to another.

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/180326995/costume-based-on-once-upon-a-time-regina

This jacket above is for sale on Etsy, at a price of £76.36. It’s custom made so any size etc. but its hard to tell how good it would be, as its on a mannequin and not on a person. However, aside from that its pretty good and all you’d need would be a corset style top and some leather trousers.

A middle of the road option, would be this blue dress below. At £351.27 its way out of my budget though and definitely not one of the Regina looks I would go for.

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/189522262/once-upon-a-time-regina-evil-queen

Finally, a beautiful copy of a Regina costume, but absolutely out of my price range. I don’t entirely think it would suit me either but hey, if I had the money I might give it a bash!

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/167051758/regina-once-upon-a-time-ouat-lana

None of these grab me and in which case I don’t really want to part with my hard to come by cash. If it was one of the dresses or outfits below, then maybe I would be swayed!

To Make

Of course when I couldn’t find something I liked, I considered making my own. After the last sewing incident, you’d think I wouldn’t be in a hurry to do it again… but these things cross your mind regardless. I remembered seeing a pattern for Regina’s costume, back when Nat and I were making our Shakespearean one so of course I went looking. As with most patterns, they’re a fairly reasonable price but then of course that’s not the part that gets expensive!

McCall’s do a pattern, that is fairly easy to get your hands on. I think I saw a few on Ebay and a few on Etsy, some from this country and some from the US. From what I could see, you’re looking around £8 for all three of these patterns together. Obviously from that point, you can decide which one you like most and make it.

When you go to Comic Con, there is definitely something about a handmade costume. People spend hours and hours making their costumes and I suppose it would be nice to say I made mine. But what if it goes wrong? What if it doesn’t fit right? What if its so stressful I take the dress-making scissors to it with only a week to go! Not just that, but it actually ends up pretty expensive to make a costume like this. Along with obvious time its going to take to complete, where do you get the beautiful fabrics that make it look authentic? Are they even readily available?

I first considered making my own costume about 2-3 weeks ago and even then I thought it was crazy and could end up too time consuming. Now I’m 2-3 weeks nearer to the deadline and I haven’t even started/decided yet! Would it even be possible?

To Assemble

After talking myself out of making a costume (though please note I’m not completely talked out of it as its an ongoing decision that I really should make soon) I decided to look for ready-made clothes that I could just assemble to look like Regina’s costumes. I searched through Ebay for hours and this is what I came up with!

Now I’m not clothes or fashion expert, so I haven’t even attempted to put any of these together as an actual outfit, however I’m sure I could figure something out from all these bits (or at least ones that are similar). Even better, some of the items start as little as only about £5 – though some of the jackets and skirts go up towards £80-£90. The concept of putting together already made clothes seems like a good one to me, if I can find the right stuff. The plus points are that I’ll possibly be able to wear some of these pieces again, which obviously wouldn’t be possible with either of the other two options. However, to really get the look, some of the clothes would definitely have to be the more expensive items. And then, when I have it all together, will it look right?

I really must make a decision ASAP but at least even writing this post has helped me to compile all the information and thoughts that I have!

What would you choose to do in this situation?

Blog Every Day in November!! #BEDN

November 1, 2013 by Bel Leave a Comment

Possibly I’m crazy, but I’ve decided to take part in Blog Every Day in November, similar to the Blog Every Day in May challenge that I did back in May. Though I did find it a little stressful last time, I have found my amount of posts slipping recently, so perhaps this is a good idea to kick my butt again.

Unfortunately November is going to be quite a busy month for me as I’m taking part in Lincoln Christmas Market and so will be spending every night making Jewellery to sell. However I’m going to give it a try!

Are you up for the challenge?

Introducing: Karen Hallion

June 25, 2013 by Bel 4 Comments

Perhaps another new feature here, “Introducing” looks at telling you all about people who inspire me, people I follow for one reason or another, people who are generally just awesome in my opinion.

For this first ever post, I thought I would tell you about an American artist called Karen Hallion – a person who I have only recently stumbled upon but now pretty much stalk across the internet (not in a creepy way I promise!)

Karen Hallion first came to my attention, when a set of Disney meets Doctor Who prints started to float around my Tumblr dash. I had previously seen an Alice in Wonderland one (and bought it on a t-shirt from TeeFury) but I hadn’t realised there was a whole set of them. I googled them up, figured out the artist name and that was how I stumbled across Karen Hallion. I have since realised I already own two of her designs on print.

As you know from my last post here, I am completely addicted to buying t-shirts and these are just two of the fab designs she does. She draws (and I presume likes) Disney, Doctor Who, Harry Potter, Labyrinth and loads of other things too – so there is nothing not to like about this woman.

By far, its her Disney and Doctor Who prints that appeal the most to me. I feel like I must own them all!

So far I’ve managed to acquire the Alice in Wonderland one (as I mentioned before) and as Threadless had a sale this week, I’ve ordered the Belle and Cinderella ones too. Just today I’ve had a message from Redbubble offering me 15% off all orders, so some of her other prints are looking tempting!

She has loads and loads of designs, under many different fandoms. I really strongly recommend you go look her up. You can find her in all the main places, Facebook, Pinterest, Tumblr, Twitter and so on. If you’re interested in actual prints, stickers, notecards and whatever else, another good place to visit is her Etsy store. She does a lot of one off and signed work there especially.

From Fairytale Who, to Steampunk, from Pop Culture to Harry Potter. Whatever you’re into, give her a look in. Hopefully you’ll love her work as much as I do.