Vintage style for the jubilee

I am a shameless monarchist and therefore very excited about going to wave at the Queen tomorrow as she passes by on the massive floatilla that is going to be passing down the Thames. Just as exciting (pour moi) is I finally got some time to sew! Whooppeee! And this is what I created....

It is red ready to go with my dark blue and white dress I'm wearing tomorrow and along with my red nails readily adorned. I will be a walking Union Jack.

If you want to create a similar (if less patriotic version of the headband) here is how....

You will need:

• Fabric
• Sewing machine
• Paper for creating a pattern
• Pins
• Fabric scissors
• Paper scissors
• Thread
• Needle
• Ruler

1) Draw and cut out a rectangle of paper 50cmx22cm. Fold the paper in half lengthways. Measure 21cm down the long side of the pattern and make sure you mark this point. Join this point to the corner on the fold and cut along this line. If you open this up you now have your template.

2) Put your template onto your fabric (which should be folded) with the shorter straight end of the template on the fold of the fabric. Pin the pattern down and cut it out. Repeat to make the second piece of your headband.

3) Pin the two pieces of fabric (wrong side to wrong side) together and stitch all the way round with a 1cm seam though ensure you leave at least a 10-11cm gap in order to be able to turn your headband the right way out.

4) Now your headband should be starting to look like a headband though you now need to turn it to the right side out. At this point press your headband ensuring you also press the open edges in to the wrong side. Slipstich these edges closed.

5) If you wish you can then topstich round the edges of your headband. If you wish to make this a decorative topstitch use a contrasting colour of thread (I did topstitch but didn't use a contrasting colour). Et voila- you have your finished handband to adorn your lovely locks!

Tomorrow's the big day....

Phew! It's been far too long! I'm on my teaching practice at the moment which has meant barely time to breathe let alone blog. However I'm back though maybe sporadically for a while.
Anyway, it's the Royal Wedding tomorrow and I've been so excited about it this week. Every programme about Royal Weddings or Kate and Wills long romance has been watched on TV, every article in the newspaper we read about the preparations has been read, and everytime anything about the Royal Wedding has come up on the news I've grabbed the remote to turn the volume up. Tomorrow I will be with a small group drinking bucks fizz out of commemorative (and very cheesy) paper cups, eating home made jam tarts, watching coverage of the wedding from 8 a.m. in the morning tilllate in the afternoon and no doubt shedding a tear or two.

Taken from MamaPop

My (slight) obsession with the Wedding is to the annoyance of my poor hubby who is so unexcited about the prospect of the Wedding has escaped to Scotland on a walking holiday with another male friend. I'm sure there are many like him but the country, and it seems the world with two billion watchers estimated to be tuning in, are ready to party. The flags are up in London, street parties have been organised across the country and the bank holiday has now started! The British Royal family despite much bad press in recent years are still loved by many, and after all we all love a good wedding to shed a tear over and raise a smile. The country is still realing from the recession, some say this is precisely why we should not be bothered about the wedding tomorrow as it's a drain on tax payers money. However, it's a good excuse for a knees up and if it brings a smile across the country tomorrow I say cheers to Wills and Kate! I just wonder why my invite got lost in the post....

Be back soon.....

Sorry I've been away for a while but I've been off getting married/being on honeymoon and I may be gone a while longer till we get internet in our new flat, so for now will give you a preview of our big day...

A beautiful end to single life

So in just over three weeks my single life ends, and I go from being a Miss to a Mrs. On the 3rd of July I get to celebrate the becoming a Mrs, but last weekend I got to celebrate how much fun life as a single gal has been. The day was so wonderful I felt I had to do it justice by blogging about it.

To fill you in the whole day was a complete surprise for me. All I was told was that I needed to be ready by 11.20 a.m. and I should dress 'Sex and the City' stylee.

So we started off the day with a gorgeous champagne bruch at a gorgeous restaurant called The Walnut Club. The food was so beautifully presented, and it tasted as delicious as it looked.

We then a some time before the next part of my hen (which I still had no idea about), so we ventured into Sheffield's Botanical Gardens which in the warm summer sunshine, looked gorgeous. We spent the whole afternoon bathing in the sun, looking round the greenhouses, drinking beautiful white wine and chatting. My 'hens' had also bought me some lovely little gifts including some treats for my honeymoon :) and some herb labels (eek I'm becoming a housewife before I know it! Ha ha!)

The main treat of the day was to come next at the most amazing little shop that I had never heard about (and it's perhaps a good job I hadn't for my bridal diet's sake) called Fancie. My hen's had arranged a champagne afternoon tea and cupcake decorating....talk about being in heaven! The shop was decked in cute china, ornaments and trinkets which I could have spent all my savings on if anyone had let me. The tables were also decorated to perfection with vintage looking china, Cath Kidston tablecloths, cake stands of cupcakes ready to decorate and to top it off, little Babysham glasses, which were so uncool and retro they became quaint and oh so cool (especially when filled with champagne). So we spent the next 3 hours supping champagne, decorating cupcakes, and eating cupcakes, sandwiches with the crusts cut off and scones with jam and cream! Bliss! To top it all off this was with the company of some of my oldest and closest friends and family, who made me feel so special.

Next comes the less quaint part of the night which all started with a quiz which was sent to my fiance first, for me to then guess his answers. This left me rather rosy cheeked at times in front of my mother. I was then presented with a naughty nurses outfit to wear for the rest of the evening which I dutifully did, and apparently absolutely pulled off! With our tummys full of champagne and delicious treats we headed back to The Walnut Club which at night was terribly glamarous and chic, and ridiculously fabulous with Cosmolitans galore and the most fantastic live jazz band.

Needless to say I went home very merry, and woke up the next day beaming.

If any of my hens read this, thank you for what I can only describe as a perfect day.