New Designs

I haven't posted in far too long and probably wont be able to again for quite some time unless I actually slow down and find time to actually find out what is happening in the world of fashion and beyond. :)
But I wanted to share some of my work with you that I've started to post on RedBubble and Society6

They're just a couple of old pictures and designs that have been gathering dust on my computer so thought i'd try and share them with the world and see if anyone else liked them.

Hopefully I'll have a bit more time to take some more pictures or maybe post while i'm away at the end of January. 2012 has come and gone far too quickly.
Here's to an amazing 2013!

Easy Jam Tart Recipe

Even though it's been over a week since the Jubilee, I've only just got round to looking at the pictures I took over the weekend.

Unfortunately it rained and dampened the spirit a bit but it was nice to see some people preparing for a slightly wet street party and not given into the elements. I also had a great view of hot air balloons flying over Bath and saw an amazing fireworks display from my bedroom window.
To get into the Jubilee mood, I did the tutorial for the nails (the next post below) before the weekend also baked red,white and blue cupcakes and jam tarts. 

I've made the tarts previously and they seemed to be very popular so I thought i'd share the recipe with you.

What you’ll need;

Ingredients:

- 250g plain flour
- Pinch of salt
- 100g cubed butter
- 2-3 tbsp cold water
- Strawberry jam (or any fruit jam you have. I used blueberry jam as well strawberry and it was just popular) or lemon curd.

Preheat the oven to180°C and lightly grease a 12 cupcake tin with a little butter.

For the pastry;

Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean bowl.


Once chilled;
 - Be careful not to overfill the cases as the jam will spill out when hot and burn/stick to the tin (as I found out on my first attempt)

Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs, working as quickly as possible to prevent the dough becoming warm.

Add the water to the mixture and using a cold knife stir until the dough binds together, add more cold water a teaspoon at a time if the mixture is too dry.

Wrap the dough in cling film and chill for a minimum of 15 minutes, up to 30 minutes.

The dough can also be made in a food processor by mixing the flour, butter and salt in the bowl of the processor on a pulse setting. When the mixture resembles breadcrumbs, add the water, slowly, through the funnel until the dough comes together in a ball. Wrap in Cling film and chill as above.

Unwrap the pastry onto a lightly floured work surface and roll roughly to a 0.5cm thickness. Using a tart cutter, cut circles from the pastry just slightly bigger than the holes in the prepared tart mould. Gently press one disc into each hole.

Place a heaped teaspoon of jam or lemon curd into the pastry lined tins.

Repeat until all the pastry is used up – you can squish the pastry trimmings back together and reroll several times, so don’t worry, just make sure you rest the pastry circles before cooking.

Bake in the preheated oven for 15 mins or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely.

Tips and Tricks;

If they’re looking a little empty, add a little jam towards the end or just after they’ve been taking out of the oven.

- For alternative fillings try adding Nutella, peanut butter,  different flavoured jams or experiment with cheese.

- If you don’t have a cutter use a large glass and pinch the edges once in the tin.

- They are great for British  or even Alice in Wonderland theme parties. Just add heart shaped pastry to the top and you have Queen of Hearts, Jam Tarts.

- And lastly do not eat while hot or you may burn your your mouth, (the jam stays hot for a long time).

British Nail Art - Using Scotch Tape

I've not really been fazed by the the Olympics being in London this year but this week we had the Olympic Torch pass near where I work. With it being the Diamond Jubilee next weekend and seeing the torch in the flesh, I did actually feel a little more excited and quite patriotic.

I've also been writing for a website created to help promote Jubilee events happening in Bristol and one of the posts I'd written for the website, I thought I would share here in honour of all things British.
I decided go down the popular nail route and go a bit red, white and blue with my nails and paint the Union Jack.

Now I'm not particularly good at painting in straight lines so I thought I would try a technique I've seen around on the blogosphere and try using Scotch tape.

The results actually were much better than I thought they would be, especially for a fist attempt. But i think the results are quite largely dependant on what kind of nail polish and tape you use.
But give it a go and I think it would work really well using pastel shades, neon or even try doing the American flag.
I'll post the written instructions later this week.(UPDATE: which are now below)

• Buy some tape on a dispenser –  Scotch Tape or Magic Tape seem to be the best. It’s not too clear or too thick, comes on a dispenser and I know it worked for me. However, feel free to try any kind of tape and see what results you get.
•  Paint two thick strips, one white and one red. Make the strips a tiny bit longer than your nails – you’ll be cutting them shorter.
•  While that’s drying paint your nails a shade of blue.
•  Once all nail polish has dried, cut strips of white and red from the tape (make the white strips larger than the red so you can see them beneath.)
•  If you find the tape is sticking to everything in between using it (as I did) hang each strip off the edge of a piece of grease proof paper, or anything that won’t pull apart when you take the tape off to use.
•  Once you’ve cut your strips, you can start to make your flag shape (I had a picture of the Union Jack in front of me for reference, just in case)
•  Start by making a cross with the white strips and then diagonally lay another set of white strips over the top of your first cross.
•  Then do the same with the thinner red strips.
•  Don’t worry if the strips over lay onto your fingers or the top of the nail. Just trim the sides with nail scissors then fold the top ones over the back of the nail and use a nail file, filing downwards until they come away.
•  Once you’ve done that you should have something that resembles the Union Jack and then to finish, put a clear top coat on top.

You don’t have to stick to the traditional blue, white and red. Try pastel shades, neon or match them to whatever you intend to wear.
 If you find that it looks too 3D for your liking (which will depend on what thickness of tape you used), paint the white and just use the red strips or vice versa.

Nail Art Tattoos

Things have finally calmed down after the build up from my friends wedding so I actually have time to do things, like blog. It was an amazing day and I can't believe how quickly it came and went. 
I only had a small part in the wedding but gosh that stressed me out, I can only imagine how the bride felt. As it was a close friend it felt like there was so much prep work leading up to the big day. Maybe it would of been different if we weren't as close or if it was someone I didn't know as well. But it was the first wedding from our group so it was a really important day for me and my friends so I wanted to put extra effort into everything.
Firstly was the table plan (which I'll post later this week) but also the choosing of the outfit, tanning, even the planning of what to do with the nails (I'm a devil for detail). 
My dress was quite floral (the dip back dress in my last post) and my blazer and shoes were a coral pink. I originally was going to paint my nails a matching pink but I did a trial run and they looked a bit too Barbie (especially with the fake tan and blonde hair.)

Bag - H&M
Rings - Pretaportabello
Nail Varnish - Rimmel Matte top coat & Nails Inc Elizabeth Street

So I decided to go for a nude pink and went for a matte top coat. I had also bought some Nail Tattoos from Topshop so chose some swallows, which I put on the thumb and middle finger so they weren't too plain and boring.

I really liked how they turned out and was so much easier and quicker than trying to draw something.
Only downside was I think I put on the top coat too quickly so it made the nail transfer crack a little but I left a bit more time before I did the others and they were fine.
Apologies in advanced if the next couple of blogs are all wedding related in someway. Like I said I'm all about the prep and detail.

S/S 12 Trend - Waterfall / Mullet Hemline Skirt

This has to be one of my favourite styles that has emerged this year. The waterfall hemline, also known as the 'high-low' or less attractively known as the 'mullet', has come back in style for summer.
I used to see it a lot on eBay when I was scouring for vintage pieces that had been reworked but I'm glad its gone mainstream. Seen on the  spring/summer 2012 runways at shows like Diane von Furstenberg and Alexander McQueen, it has been a popular style that's been popping up in a number of high-street shops.
I particularly like it because unlike some maxi skirts which I often find too short this combines both a mini/midi with a maxi skirt and I personally find is quite a flattering shape.

1. Pleated Dip Hem Skirt £32, Topshop

2. Bright Blossom Hem Dress £46, Topshop

(Middle image - M.K @ beware-of-my-heels.blogspot.co.uk

3. Love Rose Aysmetrical Maxi Dress £48, Love

4. Skirt with Aysymmetric Hem £22.99, Zara

 I have a few I can wear with tights at the moment but I'm particularly looking forward to wearing pastel versions when (if) the sun comes out and summer truly begins. 

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DIY - Laundry Bag

When I was doing work experience last year, I was pretty much strapped for cash all the time. Other than not having any money for clothes :) I always felt bad on friends birthdays as I couldn't give them much, which is when I started to make presents instead.
And actually from what I could tell they appreciated and liked my gift far more than if I had just bought something (though they could have been lying so as to not hurt my feelings). 
At first I started making calendars but I also ventured into printing. 
I bought a few cheap cotton laundry and make up bags from Bee Crafty and some photo printing paper and then just let my imagination run wild.

One of my friends is a dancer so I did a ballet theme make up bag and another had done a lot of travelling so I created a postcard style print creating the stamps from her images from travelling (above).

Stupidly though I forgot to take pictures of the finished products but I had two more friends birthdays coming up and actually remembered to take some photos.

The first one was for my friend who loves New York. I took a couple of her images from FaceBook and played around with them on Photoshop to create a print for the front and a collage for the back (above). 

The second one was my first attempt at using the laundry bags, which I found harder to design for as I couldn't initially find a theme that would work with the space and colour of the bag. 
I settled on using her favourite colour as the basis then created a dreamcatcher (using Photoshop again) and then found a drawing of a girl which I played around with so it matched the colour scheme and then just added a few buttons around the edge just to add a bit of detail. 

The pictures are a bit naff but it was the best I could do in a rush but overall I was pleased with the final result. I'd like to find somewhere that did relatively inexpensive screen printing as the only downside to the printing paper I used is that it came off in the corners. The best one I've used so far is from Crafty Computer Paper but I think they would look seamless if I'd used a screen printing process.
Well least i'll know if I ever go into business :)

Pintrest

I'm not sure where the time is going at the moment. One minute it's February, the next we're well into April and I'm not quite sure what I've been doing in between.
My friend asked me last year to create her wedding table plan (which I was thoroughly honoured to be asked to do) but with it less than a month away I realised I needed to get a move on and between that and working, everything else (including blogging) has taken a back seat.
Though ashamedly I should admit, that I've also been spending far too much time on Pintrest. I'm sure most of you of heard of it by now but if you haven't I wrote a short article about the basics here.

It gets pretty addictive (as you can see I've been pinning quite a bit) because it's so easy to use and it's all visual. You can pretty much pin anything.

The flaw I find is that it's often difficult to search for a specific term like 'platforms' or 'pink lipstick' as it all depends on what is put in the description by the pinner. I've typed in before looking for interior design schemes and pictures of food have come up.
However it's still a relatively new social network site in comparison to say Twitter or Facebook and they seem to be making improvements regularly.
The other sort of grey are is the copyright of images. Whatever you pin, the responsibility lies on you rather than Pintrest so if someone is going sue over copyright at the moment they would sue you.
It doesn't seem to have stopped the masses however, as it's now supposedly the third largest social networking site but it will be interesting to see what happens in the future or what will happen to the site when the first lawsuit happens (which will undoubtedly happen at some point)
Are you on Pintrest?

Rings&Tings Review

I recently bought some bits from Rings & Tings and thought i'd do a little review. I came across the site when I saw a really interesting upside down, triangle necklace on LookBook.

The necklace was really cheap and there were a few other items that I thought i'd try.

In the end I bought the triangle necklace, a thin gold, heart bracelet and white heart, silver necklace (all above).

In total the three pieces came in at under £10 (inc delivery) and they arrived really quickly (it literally arrived the next day)

The quality of the pieces are what you would expect for the price but great for costume jewellery pieces and great if you like to buy a lot for less.

The only thing I would say is that some of the pictures on the site are a bit misleading. I recognised a few images from ASOS and the heart bracelet had an image of a Dogeared bracelet and box (which isn't what your going to get)

But overall I was quite happy with what I received and would definitely go back and check out their new stock. 

Zoe Saldana

 Get the Look

One of my favourite looks from all of the Fashion shows of late is Zoe Saldanas outfit at the Prabal Gurung’s Fall 2012 show. 

Pulled straight from his Spring 2012 runway, Zoe definitely pulled of the look and stood out from the crowd (which is a hard task when sat amongst the celebrity filled front rows).

Not a look I think I could pull of in my mundane day to day world but if I ever got a chance to go to New York Fashion week, this would be amongst one of the first outfits i'd try. 

1. Top £3.99, H&M

2. Turquoise 3/4 sleeve blazer £35.00, River Island

3. Blue scarf print paper bag trousers £15.00, River Island

4. Sarah Black Suedette heels £30, Boohoo.com

Jill Sander A/W 2012

One of the most beautiful catwalk shows this year was Jill Sanders. Marking the end of Raf Simons reign and the return of Jill Sander herself to the design house the collection was particularly poignant. 

Surrounded by seven plinths of flowers in perspex boxes, marking the seven years of Simons years at Jill sander, models walked the runway in a soft colour palette and simple silhouettes. 

I think I particularly liked this collection because of the feminine and softly sweet colour palette and I bet a number of celebrities will be clamouring to get their hands on the collection first.

It will be interesting to see when Simons ends up and await to see what Jill Sander will bring to the next collection for the runway. 

St Patricks Day Recipes

With St Patricks day just around the corner, it's the time of year to celebrate all things Irish and green. Often celebrated I find world wide, more so than St George and St Davids day but any excuse for themed food and festivities gets my vote. 

If your looking for inspiration this St Paddys day, take a look at my favourites. 

Sweet and Salty Guinness Chocolate Pie with Beer Marshmallow Meringue

Shamrock Macarons with Baileys Chocolate Ganache

Shamrock Cake

Ballymaloe chocolate carrageen

Alexander McQueen A/W 2012

From all the A/W Catwalk shows, one of my favourites had to be Brit, fashion staple McQueen. Since inheriting the designer's chair, Sarah Burton's fourth catwalk show for the label had to be the best collection so far. 

Layer upon layer of frothy and fantastical pieces took centre stage and was a beautiful mix of futuristic yet feminine dresses. 

How the models balanced in heel-less shoes in the voluminous looks is beyond me but the looks were ethereal and the glowing, bubbling baubles above added to the theatrical dream. 

If you get a chance you must take a look at the whole collection. They are certainly not every day where but more, works of art. 

Oscar Dresses 2012

Only a week after the event itself, I got a chance to see the dresses worn to the oscars. I did contemplating watching them live but with it being a sunday evening with the Oscar's not happening until 3am, I thought best to give it a miss.

Equally as stunning as the Bafta's the U.S didn't disappoint. Metallics were big this year as seen by Oscar winner Meryl Streep and George Clooney's lady friend Stacey Keibler.

Red made a reappearance as it does every year in one form or another but the stand out gowns for me were the all in white on the night. Gwyneth Paltrow's sleek, caped Tom Ford number and Rooney Mara (Girl with a Dragon Tattoo) in a couture sheer lace Givenchy dress stood out from the crowd on the red carpet (which is no mean feat in a sea of famous faces).

Images: Daily Mail.

There was one dress or should I say leg that almost overshadowed the event and that was the exposed limb of Angelina Jolie.

After the infamous appearance, a twitter account called @Angiesrightleg, gained thousands of followers (the account currently has 47,613 followers and follows Bradley Coopers Moustache @CoopersMustache and @JLosNipple). The twitter account and bloggers around the world took to their computers and photoshopped said leg onto various celebrities and photographs, even the Queen got a leggy makeover, (click here for pictures gone photoshop, leg crazy). 

It seems even without a nomination, Angie can still steal the show. Maybe she felt threatened by Miss Piggy, who wore a show stopping gown to the Bafta's and felt the need to step up her game? But to be fair I would feel inferior too.  Without disappointment, Miss Piggy rocked up to the Oscar's wearing a dress by Zac Posen, jewellery from Fred Leighton and shoes by Christian Louboutin.
Ah it's a hard life being a pig. 

Fashion: Zara S/S 12

As the Autumn/ Winter 12 collections hit the runways this month, the high-street's S/S collections begin to hit the rails. 
After having some time to kill last weekend while waiting for a friend, I headed to Zara on Oxford Circus.
I don't generally shop in Zara as there isn't one near me but that's probably a good thing as I could of spent a small fortune.

Whether your after a 20's style dress, a floral print shirt or pastel accessory, Zara and TRF S/S 12 collection encapsulates the most coveted looks from the runway at a fraction of the price.






I think it's probably best for my bank balance to not shop at Zara at the moment but come pay day I may have no control over my actions :)

Pancake Day recipes

Tomorrow is Pancake Day!

Traditionally, it was the last chance for people to feast on all the fatty ingredients restricted to them during Lent. And, whether or not you're give anything up during Lent (i'm going to try and give up chocolate, try, being the optimal word) let’s not take that day away from the pancakes. They are delicious and should be celebrated.


Whether you prefer a traditional sweet crepe with lemon and sugar, savoury or even an American style pancake, tomorrow is the day to go to town on your favourite style pancake. And if you want to try something new this yea why not try one of my favourites.

This recipe is truly amazing. Simple, french style crepe with salt-butter caramel. MMmmm. No explanation needed.


For an American style pancake why not incorporate a favourite cake of mine and make Red Velvet Pancakes via IamBaker

And for those of you who haven't got a sweet tooth, why not try a Mushroom crepe cake.

What every style you choose, have pancake-alicious day. 

The Bafta's 2012

Last week was the start of the awards season in the UK starting with the Bafta awards. Now i'll admit I rarely tune in to watch and find out who wins but I do love a good dress and you can't beat the Bafta's or Oscars for stand out evening gowns.
My Favourite dress has to Miss Piggys, who wore a 50s-inspired, custom made Louis Vuitton gown. 

Now I never thought I'd say i'd be jealous of a pig but you can't knock Miss Piggy. With The Muppets film released recently, she has been the star of choice for leading magazine publications.
With one of the songs from the movie nominated for an Oscar, I wonder whether she'll make an appearance at the awards next Sunday, in another custom made gown? 
Until then i'll leave you with a glimpse of some of the other well-dressed ladies at the Bafta's.

Images: Telegraph

Click here for more.

Tilda Swinton - Celine

Penelope Cruz - Giorgio Armani Prive

Shailene Woodley - Dolce & Gabbana

Michelle Williams - H&M

Ferne Cotton - Moschino

Noemie Harris - Pucci 

I saw this picture recently and really wanted to try a reverse cuticle manicure.

As it snowed this weekend, meaning I didn't go out Saturday night I decided to give it a try. I chose to use two shades I got recently from the Daphne Guinness range for Mac. Hyperion- which is like a frosty blue/grey shade and Blueblood- a deep plum/purple.

I first tried using cuticle strips to help create a smooth line around the cuticle but they didn't curve enough and kept ruining the nail polish base.

(excuse my horrendous chapped cuticles)

In the end I went free hand style and though not perfect I quite like the effect and the colours together.  With a bit more practice I think I could make it look a bit neater and would look great with any nail colour combo.

Food: Macaroons

While in Paris, I felt like I was constantly drooling over the amazing pastries and cakes (the french certainly know how to bake). The one thing I didn't get to try were macaroons. They were everywhere and yet we never got a chance to stop and buy some. The most famous stop for amazing macaroons are ones from Ladurée. Though they are crazy expensive for such little things, the packaging and detail are enough to make you want to buy them alone.

If you don't know what a macaroon is, it's basically a light, baked meringue-style biscuit with a thin flavoured filling.
I found this recipe online and was surprised to find that you don't actually need that many ingredients.
The next occasion that arises for some baked goods I am going to definitely try making macaroons. They are so elegant and cute, perfect for a homemade present.

S/S 12 Sherbet favourites

After the brief flirtation with snow we had today, it feels like were digressing back to winter rather than Spring/Summer. But a bit of snow doesn't stop the high-street from stocking Summer staples so following on from my Spring obsession with Pastel shades,  I've rounded up my sherbet favourites from the high-street. 

1. peach dress £65, Jones&Jones
2. Lilac denim shorts £14.99, New Look
3. Drape front longsleeve top £36, Topshop
4. Light yellow lace belted skater dress £35, River Island
5. BITTEN Suede Platform Heeled Sandals with T-Bar £75, ASOS
6. PISA Platform Chunky Suede Sling Back Shoes £75, ASOS
7. Pastel Metal Keeper Super Skinny Belt £6, ASOS
8. Lemon snake twist lock bag £25, Topshop

Friday Photo: Paris

Before I went away I was really looking forward to going to Paris as I thought it would be a great photo oppertunity. However the weather was shockingly cold (so much so I could not feel my hands or feet the whole trip) and really gloomy.

So I literally took next to nothing photo wise. But I really enjoyed visiting the Louvre (though I would definitely recommend visiting the museum over two days as there is so much to see it was overwhelming). 

I would love to go back in the Summer when the whether is better and take loads of pics of the parisian restaurants and art deco architecture, speak french (after learning the language first) and pretend i'm back in the 1920's :). Au Revoir.  

Wednesday Envy: Mint Magic

Following on from my obsession of springs pastel hues, my favourite outfit of the week is Jessica's dreamy mint ensemble. 

I used to wear a lot of  all black outfits (out of pure laziness and being rushed to get ready) but this is a great example of how to get away with wearing an outfit of one colour. The slight tonal differences give it enough variation and the black adds a nice bit of contrast. I would maybe feel a bit cold wearing this at the moment (considering most of last week was minus something) but i'm definitely bookmarking this look for summer!

1. Lattice back crop £24, Topshop

2. Warehouse padlock shopper £38, ASOS

3. Retro sunglasses £12, ASOS

4. Mint green skinny trousers £30, River Island