CHRISTMAS DAY

What a day. I barely had time to enjoy lunch from running between my family to my boyfriends family and trying to get some sort of outfit together. I think I managed in the end and I did enjoy the day. I hope Santa was good to all of you. It was a very laid back Christmas for The Bearded Lady. Santa was kind enough to bring me these really cute hippie-style brown circular sunglasses by Mink Pink. I also got loads of comments on my DIY Christmas hair wreath. I think the best compliment I received was 'Christmas Fairy'. If you missed the tutorial you can find it here. I was also wearing my DIY fishtail hem skirt and if you haven't yet read that tutorial you can read it here.

Wearing: Christmas Hair Wreath, Mink Pink top & Sunnies, Fishtail Skirt, YSL ring, Xmas present silver bracelet, Orange/brown cork wedge heels

DIY FISHTAIL HEM SKIRT

 
I've been trying to figure out what on earth I'll wear for Christmas day. I want something stylish, festive, budget-friendly and comfortable and I think I have the answer. All that needs to happen is for the skirt I want to wear to be overhauled. I am going to show you all how to sew a fishtail hem skirt from a boring old one you may have (apologies for the dodgy pictures, it was so late at night!)

You'll need:
- An old long skirt
- Scissors
- Sewing machine or needle and thread
- Iron

How to do it:

1. Try your skirt on and figure out where you want the shortest part to be at the front and make a mark. Add another 2-3 cm for hem allowance.
2. Take the skirt off and fold the skirt EXACTLY in half from the front and back. So instead of the back and front sides of the skirt next to each other the sides are next to each other. The skirt I am using has a drawstring front so I was able to determine where the fold was supposed to be.

3. Lay the skirt on the floor and cut from the front part of the skirt - cut the line fairly straight for about 30 cm as this will be the mini skirt section, then tapering down the back and bottom of the skirt. Try the skirt on once you have done this and make sure you've cut enough out. If you do need to cut more be careful not to cut away too much! (The skirt I used was quite a full maxi skirt, meaning a lot of fabric. When I cut it the section that tapers down was quite dramatic and I wanted a more subtle curve so had to play around with it a bit). I can't emphasise enough to cut out less to begin with in case you need to cut more.

4. Now fold the hem over twice and iron it down. Then pin the hem all the way around.
5. Using either your sewing machine or a needle and thread sew a small stitch around the hem.
6. Iron it once more.

Done. Instantly chic.

I promise I will do another post with my FULL Christmas outfit on in the next few days. I'm a bit busy enjoying the sun right now (which explains my bare feet!).

DIY CHRISTMAS HAIR WREATH

This year, I have admittedly been a little disheartened by Christmas. I normally love buying presents for my family, friends and the boy but I'm on a budget and haven't been able to go all out. Having said this, it doesn't mean I still can't bring a bit of style and Christmas cheer this coming Sunday.

If you love hair wreaths like daisy headbands and such then you'll love this DIY tutorial. It ain't no Christmas without a tissue paper crown from a Christmas cracker, but I'm going to don a cute DIY Christmas hair wreath.

You'll need:
- Floral wire
- Green floral tape
- Wire cutters (or some SERIOUSLY heavy duty scissors)
- Fake leaves and berries

How to:
1. Grab 2 pieces of the wire and cut them to the same length and make a circle. The wire I bought was shorter than the size of my head so no cutting was needed. Try it on and make sure it is semi-loose because all the things you attach and the tape take up room.

2. Starting at the part where the wire joins wrap one layer of floral tape around the entire circumference of the wreath.

Wrap floral tape around wire

3. Grab two leaves and cut them each about 1 inch from the stem. Cut a fairly long piece of floral tape and attach each leaf onto the wire in different directions. Then cut a small section of berries and do the same again.

To avoid looking like a Christmas decoration keep the leaves and berries very minimal. If you use too many it will look crowded and silly. I left about 3 - 5 cm space in between each leaf and berry stem attachment.
4. Once you have attached all of the pieces cut more floral tape and wrap any sections that may be loose.

And there you have it. Who said Christmas spirit couldn't be cute and trendy?

DIY MAGAZINE CHRISTMAS TREE

With Christmas quite literally around the corner I thought I'd throw together a DIY project that I remember my mum trying when I was a lot younger. While the whole idea may seem a bit naff, if you decorate it, it could make the perfect table centre piece around your turkey and ham. And I know I keep whinging about the weather in Sydney, but at the moment wearing cardigans in the thick of summer seems outrageous! This DIY is perfect for the dreary rainy days spent inside when you're NOT bathing in the sun.

You'll need:
- Old magazine. A thicker one works the best (I used an old Vogue)
- PVA glue
- Paint brush
- Spray Paint (optional)
- Glitter (optional)

How to do it:
1. Get your old magazine and rip off the front and back covers. A thicker magazine works best because it thickens the tree once its finished.
2. Starting from the front, fold the the page diagonally inwards to the spine and flatten.

Step 2

3. Take the corner of the fold and fold it inwards again. To make the tree even take the corner of the fold to the bottom corner of the spine and flatten the fold. Fold the extra triangle upwards so that the bottom is flat.

Step 3

4. Repeat these steps for the entire magazine.

Fold the little flap upawards. Repeat throughout.

5. The hardest part is to get the front and back to stick together and look even. Firstly mount your tree on something (I used the spray paint lid) so that the pages don't curl or bend from the bottom. Then get your PVA glue and paint brush and paste them together. I also pasted every second or third page together around the front and back section to even it out. I then used my spray adhesive from my Glitter Heels tutorial to keep all the pages in place.

6. This step is optional but I do recommend it. Spray paint your tree. I tried neon orange first, but didn't like it because you could see the print through it. So I went over it a few times with white spray paint. You can also add a star to the top as decoration. If you add glitter just paint a light coating of PVA over the tree and sprinkle the glitter all over.
7. When placed on your table I'd again mount the tree so it looks like it is slightly raised. I used a circular cooling wire.

Lovely, right? I had these little decorative presents and scattered them underneath.