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Tuesday 17 September 2013

Thrifty Doesn't Mean Cheap

Since I started planning my wedding my first thought was I can't justify spending £20k on one day. Sure, like any girl I want to look like a princess for the day but I don't need a castle and a £2000 dress for it. It's all about me and the other half.

I've been to many a wedding or party where the hosts have wanted it to look spectacular so chose a fancy venue where it costs £3 for a can of Irn Bru. Obviously this is their choice and I don't judge them, but personally, I wouldn't expect my guests to do that, so this has influenced our choice of venues.

Since meeting my other half he's taught me that you shouldn't always buy things brand new or pay full price, not because he's cheap but because he's thrifty. Things are just as good at £5 off or 2nd hand...'vintage' items anyone?

We've applied his thrifty skills to our wedding, using charity shops and boot sales for loads of stuff like decorations, crockery etc...and I know fine well it's going to look amazing and very much 'us'.

It's also turned me into a little crafter. I went from wanting a pair of gorgeous Vivienne Westwood shoes, at £130 to DIY'ing a pair I already had with inspiration from them that have cost a grand total of £3 and as they are homemade, it adds that little extra touch.

I decided to do most things homemade, not just because it's more budget friendly but because it adds a personal touch rather than someone doing it all for you. With around 6 1/2 months to go, I'm starting to realise that I've given myself a huge task but I'm happy to (it probably doesn't help that I've changed my mind 100 times...no more button bouquets!).

Time to start making final decisions before I have all my Pinterest boards crammed into one room!



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 



 

Monday 5 August 2013

Pretty Things Peepshow

Last-night I went to Stereo on Renfield Lane in Glasgow to watch the Pretty Things Peepshow on the last leg of their UK tour.

I picked up the tickets from a deal on ITISON for a mere £7 each, not because I'm a cheapskate, but because I hasn't actually heard they were coming until I got an email, plus I'm hardly going to turn down a bargain!

Pretty Things Peepshow is an American sideshow act made up from 4 performers (sometimes 5) who have performed a Coney Island and who are now performing all over the world. I had head about then from watching a show that myself and the other half enjoy called Oddities. A show about weird and wonderful items and weird and wonderful people. 

The show began a bit late (told should be there from 7.30pm and show would start at 8pm...didn't start till around 8.40pm which was a bit of a pain). Introduction to the show was by the wonderfully moustached (we all know how much I love a good moustache) Donny Vomit. Donny is known as 'the Human Blockhead'. Throughout the show he performed magic, laughs and hammered a nail into his nose! revoltingly amazing! He also juggled using knives and swallowed a sword, which he allowed an innocent audience member to pull from his throat! I don't think I could have done it.

The next act in the show was the gorgeous Go Go Amy. Amy performed a number of wonderful burlesque acts and made me kind of want to get up there and do it myself (if only I didn't have two left feet and the body of a hippo)...a lady can dream. She is also a skilled fire eater which she performed flawlessly. 

Another act was Rachel Renegade, also known as Pain proof Princess. Rachel is a performer who, as stated is pain proof  Her acts included walking on a staircase of machetes (these were also used to chop up fruit from her bottom by their 'resident strongman known as Charlie Atlas'. Other acts were laying on a bed of nails and swallowing razorblades and regurgitating them back up attached to a piece of floss. 

The next act was the special guest La Loco or 'The Freak Exotique'. La Loco was met by the Pretty Things at last years Edinburgh Fringe and invited to join them on some of their shows. La Loco is a male burlesque and variety act whom performed with the best women burlesque acts I have seen...a bit of a shock to my dad when he realised it was a man, but enjoyable all round.

The last and final performer was the 27" tall 'Midget of Mischief' knows a Little Miss Firefly.Little Miss performed burlesque while dancing on broken glass and escaping from a straight jacket, while also 'burlesquing'.

The last and final performance involved Go Go Amy climbing into a box and Donny Vomit shoving in blades which he explained Amy would bend around as she is also a skilled contortionist, but what the audience could not see. The audience was then invited up to have a look in the box, for the fee of no less that £1. This part of the show felt (as described by the other half) as a little bit of a scam, but as rightly described by Donny, and the fact that they are 'Carnies' this is how they make their money. Unfortunately, none of us went to have a look and I'm slightly kicking myself now as I now want to know what was going on!

My only other disappointment was that Heather Holliday wasn't there, but a little Google showed she's busy doing other things at the moment.

All in all a wonderfully amazing show, one of which I have never seen before. Highly recommended and completely worth the money.

I have put some photos below, apologises for the poor quality, I was a little bit away and my camera on my phone decided it didn't want to focus when I was zooming in!



Pretty Things Peepshow (with Heather Holliday).

Donny Vomit





Go Go Amy




Rachel Renegade





La Loco




Little Miss Mischief











Monday 29 July 2013

Time Spent With Cats Is Never Wasted

Anyone who knows me, knows that I love cats. I have two 6 year old toms and as much as they drive me mad, I love them to pieces...


Say hello to Jangles and Marcucio.

As much as I love the pets...I also love cat inspired fashion. It's a growing trend just now and I love the quirky different styles that people are coming up with. Below are some kitty inspired finds which I am loving just now.



Collar tips and necklace from the Feline Fatale collection at I Love Crafty


Gorgeous Cat Ears Ring from Bobby Glam


Cat ripped tights! from Sparkipuss



Who doesn't love Charlotte Olympia Kitty Flats?


Markus Lupfer Cartoon Kitty Intarsia Jumper at Asos

And some more kitty's that I just love....





Cheshire Cat make up!



What inspired fashion do you love?



Sunday 14 July 2013

DIY Gift Tag

As it is my wonderful dad's 50th birthday tomorrow I was spending today gift wrapping his presents when I realised I didn't have any gift tags! So my obvious thought was a little DIY!


Firsty, choose your weapons...


Cardboard
String
Glue Stick
White Paper
Coloured Paper/Wrapping Paper
Scissors
Pen

Start off by cutting your piece of card into the desired size for your gift tag...snip snip...


Next, put your glue stick all over one side of your card as so...


Once you have done this, take your coloured paper (I chose the same wrapping paper which I wrapped gift with to match :)) and stick this onto you cardboard. Next, cut off your excess paper...


Repeat same process as above with your white paper... 


Your next step is to draw two diagonal lines on your white side at the top to create the 'gift tag' shape and cut off these pieces.



Take your pen, and piece a hole in the top of the tag to allow for the string to go through for attaching tag to your gift. You can also use a hole punch which would be easier but I didn't have on handy.



And there you have it, a little DIY gift tag!







P.S Sorry for the dodgy photos, I could't figure out how to flip them round!


Saturday 13 July 2013

Getting Organised on a Budget

So, yesterday myself and the other half went out shopping for some wedding supplies. I realised that we have 8 months and 23 days to go till the wedding (who's counting!?) but you can never be too organised.

We went in to the craft store armed with our list of supplies but found that on a budget, craft stores really aren't that friendly. We managed to pick up a good few things that we needed that we knew we probably wouldn't be able to get elsewhere and went on our merry way.

We decided to go and check in the pound store to see if there was anything we could pick up there...and oh the things we found...card and paper for invites, packs of 40 compared to packs of 20 for £4.95 in the craft store...I know people will say 'oh but it's better quality in the craft store'...how do you know if you haven't tried it?...just because it's more expensive, doesn't automatically make it better...I buy many a thing from the pound store (iphone charger anyone?)...my 'official apple' one was thin and broke easily (replacement is about £30), whereas the pound store one is thick and sturdy.

We spent a total of £46 in the pound store and came away with 5 bags of goodies, centre pieces, invite supplies, decorations...so much! 

If you are looking to DIY things and on a budget I highly recommend checking out pound stores...you may not getting everything you need but you'll get a good chunk.

Next stop eBay and Paper and String (awesome blog that I follow, go check it out!).








Saturday 6 July 2013

Shoe Lust

I like shoes as much as the next girl, but my biggest downfall is...I cannot walk in heels!

I try, believe me I try, but it just doesn't happen and I'd rather give up on pretty shoes than have a broken neck...

This doesn't however, stop me from lusting over some pretty numbers. My usual shoe lust is Irregular Choice and I am lucky enough to own these bad boys...

Unfortunately, I have to admit, they've been worn twice :(. 

Anyone who knows me, know that I am not a fashion follower, I wouldn't know fashion if it bit me in the ass. I've always worn what I like, a bit of eccentric mixed with old lady...which is why I fail to understand why I've never noticed Vivienne Westwood before! Just look at these wonderful creations!

 

When looking for the perfect wedding shoes, I came across the Lady Dragon Heart shoe collection...you'll have noticed these shoes popping up in my Planning a DIY Wedding post and my plan was to, of course, attempt to DIY them. As much as I found them gorgeous, I just wasn't in 'love' with them...until I discovered these...


They are just perfect! These would go with my wedding dress perfectly...but with a £130 price tag, I just can't justify purchasing them when I know fine well there is no chance I would wear them again...a girl can dream though eh?

Here's some more from the collection...if I was rich, I would definitely own them all!








What's your shoe lust?