Happy Halloween!

To those of you who celebrate it.
To those of you that don't...cheer up, we only have one month to go til the most sparkling time of the year :)

In the Mood for ... Autumn

I must admit this autumn has not been unkind yet. It gave me time to realize it's a sweet season, after all. I owe a lot to my daughter for making me see the beauty of autumn even if I was a sceptic at first. Here are a few snapshots I took while walking with her through the park.

How To Improve Your Plain Jacket?

I love basic pieces. I generally buy basic pieces because I like to focus on the more complicated models to make myself. I've never actually made a shirt from the collar to the sleeves, just pieces of it. It's also true for jackets or undergarments. No point in reinventing the wheel when there are so many beautiful items to choose from.

However, sometimes I feel that a basic piece that I bought is a little too...basic. And then I start thinking what I can do to make it look better.

So here's what I did with a Mango short jacket that I got a little while ago. Oh don't get me wrong, I could have worn it just the same without the embellishment but I got bored and needed a change.

You need:
- a piece of veil (black, white, whatever colour of contrast you can think of)
- tinsel and beads (I worked with black, white and nuances of grey)
- black thread and an embroidery needle (that's a normal needle with a small hole for those of you not familiar with this)
- your garment (it can be a jacket, a sweater, a dress, a handbag, whatever you like)

Step 1:
Tear a 3 cm piece of veil from an old shirt or a piece of fabric you have around the house. You can also use organza ribbons that you can find at a local dry goods store.

Step 2:

Place your veil band around the collar so that you make tiny overlapping pleats 

Step 3:
Sew the veil band as arranged before onto the garment without breaking through the casing

In the end it should look like this:

You can leave it this way or go further to step 4 and embellish it with tinsel and beads and make it look like this:

Here's the final result. Like?

Enjoy!

P.S. You can wear it with a veil asymmetric skirt, a colourful tutu (find the here), skinny jeans and long shirt.

How To Make an Autumnal Arrangement?

Because summer is long gone we need to find some other reason to live :) Just kidding, I know many of you adore the colours of autumn, the celebrations of winter, or the discreet scents of spring. I for one prefer the warm hugs of the summer sun no matter how warm and dry they are :)

Here's something that made my dark autumn days happier - an arrangement made from chestnuts, acorns, dried up leaves and cones, each of them handpicked when I was out walking my 6 month old baby girl. We had loads of fun gathering the most beautiful items and then shopping for some more decorations such as orange paper, straws and tiny mushrooms.

To make a similar arrangement, you need:
- a few chestnuts, acorns, leaves and cones
- a small basket (or you can make your own out of felt - I will show you that in my next posts)
- colourful wrapping paper (I chose orange because it feels very autumnish)
- decorative straws and tiny mushrooms bought from your local flower shop

Step 1:
Take your colourful paper and cut it so it fits your container

Step 2:
Place your "ingredients" carefully in the container

Step 3:
Cut the straws and ad them as well

There you have it: 

Place it wherever it makes you smile and don't throw it away. You might need it for the winter arrangements as well!

Have a happy autumn!