Off On Holidays!

Hello hello!

Boy, do we have some exciting news for you :B With only 8 sleeps left till we go on our big adventure, we thought we should let you know... we're going on holiday! There has been much planning about this secret trip and we can't believe it's almost time to go...

Whilst we wont be around from the 19th April till the 9th of May, we've scheduled lots of awesome posts for you whilst we're gone so you can still get your Vivid Please blog fix. Phew!

Our shop will remain open during this period but there will only be a limited amount of products and availability. If you've got your eye on something special, order before the 18th to make sure you get it before we go :)

Too late for our last date? Don't worry, we're very lucky to have a lovely helper who will be posting all other orders for us whilst we're away...

Etsy orders placed between the 19th April till the 9th May will be shipped on Saturdays only 

(20th April, 27th April & 4th May) 

Thank goodness for that!

Whilst our internet access will be limited we will do our best to check in frequently ... and try not to rub it in too much ;)

Let the count down begin!
See you soon lovelies
xox

Wordless Wednesday

DIY: How To Make Geo Jewellery

There is two trends at the moment which I've fallen in love with; Geo and Ombre. Both are really simple but can instantly change everything by adding a modern edge or pop of colour. This week I thought it was time to join the party and create some necklaces that take on both trends and are ready to knock your socks off... What do you think? Pretty awesome right?!

If you're ready to get a piece of this fashionista action you don't need to rush out and spend a fortune...

In fact, all you're going to need is:

some Sculpey clay (Fimo etc)

a knife or ruler (anything hard and flat) 

toothpicks

a small pot + cupcake case

paint (acrylic is grand)

necklace chain

You can get chain online or in your local bead shops, but if you're not into that idea, you can always strip an old necklace you don't wear anymore for parts. Thrifty!

Start by making round balls out of the clay. You can make as many or few as you like, but make each one the size you want your beads to be. I have one larger and two smaller to work with. Bare in mind their shape is going to change so don't worry if they're not perfect.

To get your flat edges, use your ruler / knife and gently push down on the clay balls. As you'll see, when you do this you leave a great smooth mark. The harder you press the longer / wider the edge. Have fun and experiment with this part as the more you work with the clay the more interesting shapes you'll get!

Remember that no two piece will be the same, but each will have it's own beauty. Pretty great if you're a little bit lazy like me! 

If you have a sharp knife you can try cutting in your flat sides, but you'll find that (our) method leaves you with smoother clay. If you do find you've gouged a little out as you've been working, you can gently smooth it over with your thumb. 

Make sure not to press too hard with your fingers when you're working here as you'll leave your finger prints!

Once you're happy with the geo pieces you've created, you'll need to add holes for your chain to thread through. Gently push a toothpick through each piece where you want the chain to go. Be careful not to go too close to the top as you don't want it to break. 

Give the toothpick a good wiggle whilst its in the clay to widen the hole. If you're not sure how thick your chain is, pull out the toothpick and try threading it through. If it doesn't go you'll need to make it a little larger by doing the same thing again.

Once you're done, smooth out the sides again. Only use your flat edge again if you have to as you'll need to double check your hole is wide enough before you bake 'em.

When you're happy with your geo beads, harden them by popping them in the oven. 

I'm using Sculpey so mine go in the oven at 130 degrees Celsius for 20 mins. Be sure to check your packet for the right temperature and time as you don't want to burn them!

Ready for the fun part? Me too!

Once your geo pieces have *fully* cooled down (I hate waiting!!), you are ready to make them ombre!

Fill a small jar / pot with the paint. Bare in mind that it needs to be deep enough to be able to dip your beads into. If you're not mixing colours, you can pour the paint you don't use back into the pot when your done. Perfect!

Carefully hold the bead at the top end (the part that's not going to get covered in paint), and steadily sink it into the paint. This will cover it in paint really evenly and give you a lovely sharp line. Awesome, right? 

You can do it as deep or shallow as you like, dip the piece into several colours (once it's dried in-between stages), dip them in angles... anything is possible! 

Again, each bead will come out differently, but trust me, they're going to look great when you're done!

When you're finished you need to let them dry fully. You don't want them to stick to anything so the best way to do this is to pop them back on their toothpicks and hang them over something you don't mind getting covered in paint. A cupcake case is perfect for this!

*Ta*Da*
Once your geo beads are fully dried, thread them onto your necklace chain and take them out on the town :D With jewellery this pretty you need to show it off - everyone will want a custom geo necklace once you let them in on your awesome secret. The best part is, no one will be able to make what you've got. Get in!

We'd love to hear how you rock this project! Thinking about making them into a bracelet or headband? Going to stitch them onto your dress? I bet you've got some pretty inspiring ideas and we'd love to hear them :)

Happy Making lovelies!
xox

I Love You A Latte: The Fine Art Of Coffee Portraiture

STORYBOARD: The Fine Art of Coffee Portraiture from Tumblr on Vimeo.

Mike Breach is the Willy Wonka of coffee! Check out this awesomely inspiring short video of him making the most incredible portraits out of a fresh cup of Joe.... We love it a latte!

DIY: How To Make Sequin Heart Patches

I don't know about you, but I have fallen in love with heart patches! Not only are they super adorable, but they are really cheap and easy to make too. I can't think of a quicker way to give an old top a new lease of life and they pretty much go with absolutely everything! 

All you need to make them is some felt, glue... and sequins! 

Start by using some sharp scissors to cut out your patch shape. Here I've gone for hearts, but you may want to spice things up even more :) Using cookie cutters and a little bit of chalk is a great way to get matching shapes and sizes, but you can always use a paper template if you don't have any.

Once you've cut both pieces out, get everything ready to go as you will need to work reasonably quickly once you've started. 

Begin by covering your felt heart in a thin layer of glue. You need to get good coverage without getting too many globs of glue, because when you press down the sequins it'll splurge out everywhere and make a bit of a mess...

The plan is to 'snake' your sequins together like above. It's a good idea to practice this a couple of times before you start so you get an idea of how the sequins will bend and sit. 

When you're ready to begin, start at the point of the heart. Don't worry about the ends right now as we'll come back to them. Make sure to overlap each row as you go along and be careful to make sure they're lying flat and not getting trapped etc. 

It's actually really easy when you get going, I promise!

Once the whole thing is covered, add a little bit of glue all the way around the edge. Starting from the point again, add a row of sequins all the way around to hide all those messy edges. Lovely!

Then, use some spare sequins to cover up any bald parts. Just add a little dot of glue to the piece and stick it down. No one will notice a thing :)

Good work so far! Now all you need to do is to stitch it onto your clothes...

The best way to start is to pop your top on (etc) and work out where you want to place the heart. Then, take it off and mark in chalk or pencil where you're going to sew it. Once you've done that, try it on again to make sure it's correct (fabric moves a lot!) Using a ruler, measure out where to place the heart on the other side. Take your time here as you don't want it lop-sided! 

To attach the patch to your clothes, start your first stitch on the inside of the top so it can't be seen. The best place to sew and keep your thread hidden is around the inside of the 'edging' sequins. There is a little bit of space there as these sequins are being used to cover up the gaps, and we know that none of that can be seen :) This is the trickiest part but it's important to take your time and persevere as you want it to hang tough! Once your first one down, the second is much easier as you've got a better idea of how it's going to work...

*Ta*Da*
How cute is that? Boring top be gone, that's what I say!

The best thing about these is that they can be attached anywhere! 

Elbow patches are adorable if you're not worried about loosing a piece or two. It's a good idea to hold onto some loose sequins so you can glue them on later if any fall off. 

 If you'd rather not permanently attach them onto your clothes, you could even turn yours into a brooch or a burlesque style fascinator for your hair.

To do this you will need to stiffen the material to attach a brooch / hair clasp so it holds its shape better. Start by cutting out another felt heart and stitch on your accessory. Then glue the two felt backs together and Bob's your uncle! Hidden stitching and a pretty new piece for your wardrobe :)

C'est adorable!

We hope you have fun playing around with this tutorial.  We'd love to hear how you wear yours ... or send us a pic when they're done :D We'd love to see your take on things!

Happy Making

xx

Wordless Wednesday

March Round Up! DIY's, Giveaways, Awards...

Whilst things may have been quieter than usual here on our blog, March has been our busiest month so far! We've been working hard on expanding our product range and are very excited about a couple of projects we've got going on behind the scenes. We hope to share more of that news with you in the next month :) Every moment of March seems to have been invested into something a little special. Thank goodness we've got plenty of chocolate to take us into April! Ready for a cuppa and a catch up? Us too...

DIY's & Tutorials:

Posca Pen tutorial (we made Pac Man pillowcases!)

no sew teacup pin cushion tutorial

pastel coloured Peppermint Creams

News:

We are delighted to have launched some new products and a whole new fantastical range of wooden brooches! We can even custom paint them so you can even personalize each piece. Cute or what?

We're also incredibly excited to have taken Vivid Please on the road for the first time ever as we participated in a vintage and design fare in Glasgow. We hope this will be the first of many! Let us know if there is a market you'd like to have us at :) Anythings possible!

We shared our picks for style me friday and our favorite sweet treat of the month as well as this beautiful video on how the artwork for the "Born And Raised" album cover was made. Totally worth the watch if you're looking for some inspiration!

Peaches and Pebbles is giving you a chance to win a gift card for her awesome Etsy shop and the lucky winner will also get one of our Spectacular prints in this month's giveaway - it's ending in a few days time so you'd better get in there sharp to win!

Last, but certainly not least we are beyond excited to share that we won an award! How awesome is that?! `We couldn't have done it without your support, so thanks so much and we hope you're having as much fun as we are :) 

Happy Easter lovelies!

Vicky & David

xox