Hair Plumage: Feathers

Writing about hair feathers makes it impossible not to break into "her name was Lola, she was a show girl, with yellow feathers in her hair and a dress cut down to there...."

That aside, I've always been one to put shit in my hair. When I was younger it was braids and beads, then I moved onto extensions and now it's hair feathers.

I got these from eBay for £7,99 which included the micro beads and made sure they were high grade genuine mixed feather hair extensions. If they're anything else, you're at risk of them frazzling under heat and not lasting anywhere near as long. You'll also want to make sure you get some hair extension pliers (like these) to secure them in place. I personally wouldn't recommend using normal pliers as they can crush and fold the micro rings, making them difficult to remove later on.

The easiest and most effective way to fix the feather extensions into your hair is when it's wet. If your hair is damp and the ends have begun to dry, you'll want to wet them down so the micro bead can easily slide up the hair. Another helpful tip is having someone on standby to help but you can do it yourself too just with a little more swearing involved.

Another thing to note is to use small sections of hair that are all in the same area of your head. If you have a stray hair in there it's going to pull like hell and probably rip out when you brush your barnett next! The smaller the section, the less likely your hair will become tangled and knotted too.

So, you'll want to slide the micro bead up the length of your hair and get it as close to the root as possible. From there you'll want to slide the feather into the loop and crimp it into place with your hair pliers.

You'll also want to think about the placement of your feathers. Will the microbeads show when you have your hair up? What about if you tuck your hair behind your ears? I personally like them to be noticeable but not always obvious and blend in with my hair. I tend to place them around my face and neck.

Once they're in you can style your hair as normal and enjoy the flashes or feathery plumage you have. They last around six months and after that you'll want to take them out so your hair doesn't become dreaded and matted. They're simple to remove, just use your hair pliers to crimp the micro loop open and they'll slide right out.

I'm personally quite obsessed with my hair feathers, having had them three times over the past year. It's an alternative way to mix your hair up without having to dye it and adds some interest to your fro.

Chatty Get Ready with Me: Spring Make-up look

Hello hello hello!

Are you getting sick of the winter blues? I know I am and to pep myself up I've broken out and decided to start wearing a slightly more spring lip. Out with the reds and the nudes and in with the pink! Does that sound a bit wrong? Maybe... Moving swiftly on, I decided to do a chatty get ready with me so we can all have a gossip and talk all the girly things. I hope you enjoy!

Friday's post is an outfit post squee! It's been SO LONG!!

See you then peeps.

Guest Post: Claireabellemakes Boho Hand Chain

Hello you wonderful lot. Today I have a very exciting guest post for you from the lovely Claire of Claireabellemakes! I met Claire at the #cambmeetup and fell in love with her blog DIYs and handmade beauties in her Etsy store. Todays post is a crafty DIY post so I hope you enjoy! xx

Hello! I'm super excited to be here on Kat's blog today to share a jewellery DIY. Kat's fashion posts are some of my favourites, so I hope this one fits nicely with her summer looks and gives you a chance to try some simple techniques.

Here's what you will need (all available from Craft stores, Etsy and Amazon):

·         Jewellery chain

·         Jump rings

·         Chain cutters

·         Jewellery pliers

·         Small pearl beads

·         Flower connector bead

·         Lobster clasp

·         Eye pins

For this DIY you will need to be familiar with two simple jewellery making techniques: opening and closing jump rings and making a loop. Jump rings are use to attach one component to another and are vital to jewellery making! I would recommend spending a few moments practising each of these before beginning.

If any of these instructions aren't clear, feel free to tweet me or drop me an email!

Step 1

Cut a piece of jewellery chain which just measures around your wrist. Fold this piece of chain in half and attach a jump ring at the half way point.

Step 2

On the free ends of the chain, attach a jump ring to one end and a jump ring plus lobster clasp to the other end. This forms the bracelet part of your hand chain.

Steps 3 & 4

Thread a small pearl bead onto the eye pin and make a loop with the straight end. Repeat this with two more beads so you have 3 in total.

Step 5

Now you are going to begin to make the decorative part of the hand chain and connect the components together. In between each component you will use jump rings to connect them. Your flower connector bead should have holes on each side where you can add a jump ring and then attach to the pearl bead sections.

Step 6

Repeat step 5 so your decorative section has two flower connectors with pearl bead sections either side and in between. Cut a piece of chain long enough to wrap around your middle finger and over your middle knuckle.

Step 7

Attach the finger chain to the decorative section with a jump ring. This completes the hand chain!

To wear, first place the finger chain on and then close the bracelet part around your wrist using the clasp.

 I absolutely adore this boho hand chain Claire has created. It's perfect for summer and upcoming festivals! Thank you Claire for guest posting and I hope you all enjoyed her tutorial! For more craft posts and to check out Claire's handmade gifts click the links below:

• Etsy
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Pinterest
• Instagram

Will you be making a boho hand chain?

See you again on Friday!

DIY: IT'S OK Banner Tutorial

Today I finally have another crafty post up- squee! I have been SO excited about sharing this one with you as it’s been in the making for a while and I’m absolutely in love with it!

I’ve seen these wonderful banners popping up everywhere over the past year and really wanted one but when sourcing it I’ve found it’s never in stock (nooo). However being a keen crafter and with the lack of stock available I decided it was the perfect excuse to be inspired and make my own.

You will need:

• Scissors
• A wooden dowel
• Black felt
• Cream cotton fabric
• Pins
• Black & cream thread
• Needle and/or sewing machine
• Twine
• Printed "IT'S OK" text
• Ruler
• Pencil

Step 1

Fold your fabric in half and measure 25 cm x 30 cm for the rectangle aspect of the banner. Measure an additional 9 cm down from your 30 cm mark and drawn a line across your fabric. From the centre of this line angle your ruler up to your 30 cm mark on each side of the fabric. This then creates the V of the banner.  Next cut out your banner.

Step 2

Print off your letters for the banner. I did this on Microsoft word, using the font “Arial Narrow” at size 240 and filled in white, with the letters outlined in black so they’d stand out against the black felt.

Once printed cut out each letter to create a template and pin to your felt. Once pinned, cut around your letter templates on the felt.

Step 3

Now arrange your felt letters on the bottom half of your banner and sew into place. You can either use a sewing machine or hand stitch- whatever works best for you. I opted for hand sewing as I’m a novice with a machine!

Step 4

Next fold your banner in half but this time have it inside out. Sew along the edge of your banner to marry both pieces and leave a 5 inch gap at the top of your final side. This gap is important so you can flip your banner right side out! Again you can machine stitch or hand sew dependant on your preference- I machine stitched for quickness and neatness.

Step 5

Flip your banner right side out and sew up the hole you left. To create the loop to thread your dowel through, fold your banner down on itself and sew the edge to the back of your banner.

Step 6

Thread your dowel through the loop and attach your twine to each end of the dowel, leaving the desired length of twine you require to hang your banner.

And you’re done!

I am obsessed with this banner and think it makes a really cheerful fun (and reassuring) feature to a room. It’s also so fun to make! My measurements are a bit smaller than the originals you buy online but I think mine is perfect for the little corner I've hung it.

I hope this tutorial makes sense, but if you have any questions feel free to leave them in the comments below. I’ve also done a video on this tutorial so check that out below:

 

Do you like affirmation banners? What would you have on yours?