Vintage Treasures!: 2010

I Bake Stuff Part One: Earl Grey Cupcakes

BlueSo it's Boxing Day, 2010, and as the year draws to a close, I thought I should share a recipe for some super cute, very pretty cupcakes. For these, I used Earl Grey, but if there's a particular type of tea you really like, do feel free to use your favourite blend instead :D
So, this will make about 12 regular sized cupcakes.
125ml Semi-skimmed milk, at room temperature
4 Earl Grey teabags
110g unsalted butter, at room temperature
225g granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
2 large eggs, free range or organic
125g self-raising flour, sifted
120g plain flour, sifted
To decorate:
110g unsalted butter, at room temperature
60ml semi-skimmed milk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
500g icing sugar, sifted
Blue and red food colouring, to make lilac
Sugar flowers

1. Preheat the oven to 160oC (fan), 180oC/ 350oF/ gas mark 4, and line a 12-hole muffin tray with the appropriate size cupcake cases.
2. Heat the milk in a saucepan over a medium heat until it just begins to boil. Remove from the heat and add the teabags. Cover with clingfilm and leave to infuse for about 30 minutes, then discard the teabags.
3. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and the sugar until the mixture is pale and smoot, which should take 3-5 minutes using an electric hand mixer. Add the almond extract, if you are using it, and the eggs, one at a time, mixing for a few minutes after each addition.
4. Combine the two flours in a separate bowl. Add one-third of the flours to the creamed mixture and beat well. Pour in one-third of the infused milk and beat again. Repeat these steps until all the flour and milk have been added
5. Carefully spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases, filling them to about two-thirds full. Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes until slightly raised and golden brown. To check they are cooked, insert a skewer in the centre of one of the cakes - it should come out clean.
6. Remove from the oven, and leave the cakes in their tins for about 10 minutes, before carefully placing on a wire rack to cool. To create the buttercream icing, beat the butter, milk, vanilla extract and half the icing sugar until smooth in a large mixing bowl. Gradually add the remainder of the icing sugar and beat again until the buttercream is smooth and creamy. Add literally one drop of each food colour, and beat thoroughly until the icing turns a pale lilac colour. Ice your cupcakes in a swirling motion, and add sugar flowers if desired
Et voila! :D

Sweetheart Rolls: How To

I'm back again, and with another beauty how-to tutorial!
I learned from the experts how to put my hair up in a beautiful 1940s/1950s Sweetheart Roll, special thanks to Lady Lace and Candice De Ville (Super Kawaii Mama). So I wanted to share this lovely hairstyle with you all.

You will need:
U-shaped hairpins
Hairgrips (Flat, if possible)
One hairband
Corsage/decorative slide/headscarf (See Rosie The Riverter post)
Firm hold hairspray

Step One:
Part your hair down the middle, and, starting with the right hand side, take a section about a palm-width into the air. Wind the ends downwards, going back on the hair, around two fingers, then remove your fingers and continue to wind down.

Step Two:
Once you've created a tube-shaped roll that meets the top of the head, hold in place and secure with about two flat hairgrips through the centre of the roll. Fix with plenty of hairspray, and lightly pin down any stray sections of hair. Repeat with the left hand side, making sure that both the rolls "meet" in the middle, and are as even as possible. Fix with lots of hairspray, to ensure that this stays as neat as possible

Step Three:
Brush out the rest of the hair as thoroughly as possible, but take care not to tug at the rolls. Now, this step requires you to be a little dextrous, but don't worry too much, it's still fairly simple. Gather the hair into a low ponytail, and secure reasonably tightly with the hairband, however, leave some slack.

Step Four:
Reaching above the hairband, gently pull the hair above the hairband apart, creating a small hole. Twist the ponytail a couple of times, and then gently feed through the hole around three or four times until no hair remains dangling down. Secure with both grips and U-shaped pins. You may need quite a few of these, as this is the only support this part of the roll will have. As before, fix with plenty of hairspray.

Step Five:
Now, this is the fun part - the decoration! If you are using a corsage, gently push it into your hair just above your ear, so it lightly sits in line with your eye. If you are using a decorative slide, gently push it down into the top of the bottom roll, taking care not to dislodge it. If you are using a headscarf, roll the scarf into a sausage shape, and gently tie at one side of the head in a small, neat bow. Use hairgrips to secure any loose sections, and this will help to keep the scarf in place.

And there you go! A simple, beautiful hairstyle that takes virtually no time! It's so versatile, all you have to do is vary the decoration to fit the event.

You can't really see the corsage here, but this photo demonstrates how flattering the hairstyle can be

Better view of the corsage (:

Tie A Headscarf "Rosie The Riverter" Style! (Hair Tutorial No.1)

Right then, my lovely ladies, today I'm going to teach you how to tie a headscarf in the style of the lovely Rosie The Riverter, face of many 1940s propaganda posters. It can be a little fiddly if you choose a silk scarf, but, in the words of the riveting Rosie; "We Can Do It!"

You will need:
One large headscarf, preferably cotton
Some hairgrips, the same colour as your hair

Step one:
Hold out your headscarf in front of you, so it's a large square of cotton. Then, fold it in half diagonally, until you're left with a triangle of fabric. This will give you your basic headscarf shape.

Step two:
Place the scarf over your shoulders, with the point facing downwards. Then, taking either end in each hand, bring the edges up to the top of your head, and tie in a knot in the middle, about where your parting is.

Step three:
Take the point originally facing downwards in your fingertips, and pull it upwards until the very end of the point sits just on top of the knot you've just made. Make sure all your excess hair is caught in the pouch that this creates, and re-tie the ends, trapping the pouch into the bow.

Step four:
Now that you've got your basic Rosie The Riverter updo, all you need to do is make sure that any excess scarf is pinned into place with hairgrips. For best results, let a small amount of hair peek out of the front of the scarf, creating a cute, retro, peek-a-boo look. Ta-Da!
Photos will be up shortly to ensure a good visual tutorial!

Presents!

So I was in Exeter a little while ago with Piers, and we were looking in this lovely little shop full of second-hand stuff called N.E.Tings, and they had a sale on of old piggy banks, all for 20p each! They were all so cute, but none had stoppers in the bottoms. This didn't matter though, and Piers got me a cute little pink one! I thought I should share this, since Percy the Piggy's so very cute and lovely :)

"Let's get you a piggy bank then" :) It made me very, very happy :)

Coin slot!

I love how delighted he looks! :)

Cafe Cabaret - Circus/Freakshow Themed!

Hello there! Many apologies for not posting sooner, but I'm glad to report that there's a very good reason behind this! On Tuesday night (14th September 2010!) I went out to a wonderful event in Exeter called Cafe Cabaret! It's held monthly, and each month has a different theme. This month, it was Circus/Freakshow, which was much more fun than it sounds! I took Piers with me, who didn't dress up too much, so I felt overdressed in a HellBunny rockabilly tattoo print dress with a nautical cardigan, seamed fishnet tights and nude heels, butI felt very pretty with my hair in a neat sweetheart roll with a headscarf on, looking very 1950's housewife apparently! No complaints there, then!

Pretty much as soon as we got there, I was in love with the evening! Becca Blush, one of the fabulous performers, was dressed as a clown handing out sweets. As I bought a bag, I was told "You look lovely! Would you like some sweeties? They're made of babies!"

Then, of course, we had to go and see the fire jugglers out the back, which were totally awesome, even if it WAS most likely fuelled by drunkeness! The first act of the evening involved Lady Lace as a wooden doll and The Ringmaster singing to her "You are my Dolly, my only Dolly! You make me happy with your legs open! You'll never know, Dolly, how much I want to fuck you! So don't take my Dolly away!", which recieved raucous laughs all round, especially when Lady Lace tried to escape only to discover that her skirt was caught under his leg. The next act, and my personal favourite, involved "Boylesque", and a performer dressed up as "Pig Boy", in a pig mask, four bras and a petticoat. His routine involved removing the bras one by one to reveal pasties to cover "teats" and cutting away strips of bacon from his thigh! It was very, very surreal to watch, but really quite fun, in a crazy, it's-breaking-boundaries sort of way!

Then the next two acts involved Minky Rae and Trixie Topaz, with Minky Rae dressed as a nurse, tending to Trixie Topaz, her poor, insane psychiatric patient. Being bound with a straightjacket looked kind of fun! Plus the routine was all done to Marilyn Manson's "Freak On A Leash", so that just set the performance off perfectly!

By this point Piers and I were both fairly drunk, but I sure as hell remember the evening finishing brilliantly with a wonderful, balloon-popping-with-a-hat-pin routine by the lovely Lady Lace, all done to "I've Got A Lovely Bunch Of Coconuts" by Monty Python, which was so fun and cute! But my favourite part of the evening was the RingMaster's finale of dancing round the stage, shouting "I'm the best, I'm the best, I'm the fuckin' best!"
Oh mega lol.

Photos will be up for the next one as soon as possible, the next one will be early October and is themed "Twisted Disney"! I will go as murdered Alice In Wonderland! Costume photos soon!

Hmm...

Hello hello!
I thought I should probably update, since I haven't in a little while, and I was looking through all the saved pictures on my old laptop while I waited for my netbook to work, and found a photo of a top I'd seen a while back which I thought might be worth uploading. I can't decide if I like it or not, there's kind of two sides to the top!

Dorothy Perkins Gingham Knot Top

I love the gingham, and I think that the knot inbetween the cleavage is super-cute, and kind of hot! But it could only really go with skinny jeans... If paired with a pair of shorts or a mini-skirt, I have a feeling that this might look more Daisy Dukes than anything, which isn't usually a good look! So, it's probably time to find a cute alternative which can be paired with skinny jeans and a skirt, or could also be thrown over a dress as a casual light jacket! And then I came across this! Now, normally I'm not too keen on Superdry, it's a very generic label, but I do totally love the colours in this shirt, the blues and greens are suited to Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter! It's a shirt to see you through all the seasons! Enjoy!

Apologies for no photo, the website was being lame and not letting me take it! BUT have a link! http://www.cult.co.uk/women/shop/shirts/details/23622/lumber-twill-shirt

Vintage Shopping In Exeter :)

So, yesterday I went into Exeter to see Piers once again. We weren't really planning on doing all that much with our day, and decided to have a walk along the Exeter Quay, which can be very pretty at times. On our way, we noticed a little Retro shop (Can't remember the actual name, I'll look it up later!), and decided to take a peek, since Piers was looking for a new umbrella for his flatmate Charles, whose umbrella he had broken. Naughy Piers. Turned out that the only umbrellas they had were very girly, very old, and apparently not "manly" enough to be a "man's umbrella". BUT the shop was absolutely amazing, featuring a particular chair which you could totally sink into, it was incredible! Plus everything was so cheap, it was awesome! I can hardly wait for my next pay-day now, since I saw so many pretty little knick-knacks which certainly took this Vintage girl's fancy! We even found two old deckchairs for £25, which Piers seemed very tempted by!

BUT this wasn't enough, I was dragged around a vintage clothing shop, where I was almost overwhelmed by an abundance of corsets, dresses and suitcases just begging to be bought! If only I'd been paid...Sigh. AND an antique shop, too, featuring comical postcards and some rainbow and Chezch crystal jewelery which took my fancy, since my Nanan often wore pieces like this, so we left feeling nostalgic!

All in all, I'd certainly reccommend going antique/vintage clothing shopping in Exeter! There's a wide variety of items to choose from, and the shops in question don't dissappoint! I will upload photos very soon, on my next trip! :)

Baking Time!

So today I had nothing to do, I went into work only to discover I wasn't actually supposed to be working! SO, I looked through all the books on our family bookshelf, and found a book called Cakes and Cookies For Beginners, which we've had since I was little. I looked through it and found Gingerbread Shapes, so I decided to make up a batch!
The first batch was pretty disastrous, turns out I misread the ingreidients and put in too little butter, which meant it didn't stick together like dough should! However, as soon as my mother was on hand to help, I was away, and I now have a massive batch of about 40 small butterfly, chick, bat and pumpkin shaped cookies! So I've been feeling like kind of the domestic goddess! I felt as though I should have been dressed more appropriately for the occasion though, perhaps in a patterned tea dress, stockings, some plain black heels and a frilly white pinny, just to look ever so cute and pretty! But never mind, there's always next time!

New Thoughts...

So, recently I've been thinking more and more about reinventing my own style and way of dressing, and I'm finally beginning to come up with some pretty cute ideas! For example, I went shopping in Exeter's lovely Topshop the other day, and came out with a pair of lovely taupe socks with a cream ribbon threaded through the tops. They're knee-high, so they can be worn with boots or shoes, I plan to wear them with my Doc Marten Mary-Janes, and the ribbons tie at super-cute little bows on either outside edge of the leg. I find them so comfortable, and excellent value for only £7, and I think that they will go very well indeed with my cream swallow print skirt! While I was there I also collected a deliciously vintage gold typewriter pendant, which has a piece of faux paper emerging from the top! However, it IS quite a long pendant, so should probably be worn with caution, perhaps with another shorter necklace.

Also, recently I've discovered rather a love for headscarves! However, these seem to be very difficult to come across, and the only one I currently own is from H&M and has lipstick print on it, with "Love Your Lips" printed on the border. A slight drawback of this scarf, however, is that it is made of silk, which is a totally acceptable, fun material to use, but can be a little slippery and tricky to use easily, so have hairpins at the ready! A tutorial will be up soon!

Things I Like...

Wellington boots, stars, colouring books, skirts, rainbows, unicorns,emeralds, moonstones, amber, petticoats, cupcakes, lollipops, pinafore dresses, kits, crafts, sewing and making things, books, corsets, frilly knickers, burlesque shows, tease, ice creams, cake, bows, glitter, roses, daisies, faeries, coloured paper, floral prints, dresses, ballerina slippers, fashion, style, ducklings, picnics, blueberries, strawberries, cherries, rockabilly, burlesque, the 1940's, vintage clothing, old postcards, secrets, diaries, notebooks, pearl earrings, cameo brooches, bronzed jewelery, swallows, tattoos, piercings, Sailor Jerry, handbags, purses, snowflakes, mini top hats, beads, cardigans, jeans, Hello Kitty, pencils, Miffy, Clinique, eyeliner, lipstick, straighteners, Victory Rolls, hairspray, my shoes, buttons, ribbons, stockings, grammaphones, teacups, teapots, cocktails, Steampunk, lace, gloves, tea parties, photographs, scrapbooks, my iPod.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes!

So lately, I've been going through a lot of changes in my life. In late March, my boyfriend of ten months and I split up, due to falling out of love with each other, and I've only just really come to terms with it all. So I guess now I've really been finding myself a lot more than before, and I've got to say, I love the person that's gradually coming out.

My views on fashion and style have changed a lot recently too. My style's changed a fair bit. Now, I'm very much into Vintage, secondhand clothes, and I shop in second-hand shops a lot more than I used to. I'm starting to realise that you can usually find really pretty, unique pieces for really low prices, most of the time. For example, I now have 1940s and 1950s dresses for every day of the week, with some to spare, each one costing no more than £8.50, at the most. The only slight buggeration is that my favourite waist belt broke beyond repair the other day, which made me want to cry. Other than that, I've started shopping in places that I'd neglected before. Like, a lot of my accessories and things come from Topshop right now. In total I've spent £65 on two bags, one large black ruched one and one small black floral print box satchel, which, a few months ago, I never would have dreamt of doing!
Photos will be up soon!
Bye bye for now! :)

Craft It, I Say! Craft It Good!

So recently I've gotten myself into crafting... SO I thought I should share this rare creative streak with you, while it still lasts :)

My friend Emily's 18th birthday is coming up, and for ages I've been so stuck on what to get her. And really, I only thought of this a moment ago, but I know EXACTLY what I'm going to do. I'm going to take a sourjourn into The Real McCoys when I'm next in Exeter on Thursday, and I'm going to buy a plain beret second-hand. Then I will go to Bunyip Beads and pick up some cute buttons, and sew them onto the beret for ultimate cuteness.

I've also rediscovered my love of knitting, recently, and realised that I could make a bag suitable for everyday use, with little effort. I mentioned this to my friend Jess, and asked her if she wanted one making. She said yes, yes she would, so here's how I'm going about it :)

Materials;
2 skeins wool colour one (Yellow)
1 skein wool colour two (Gray)
6 false roses, two yellow, two white and two blue
1 metre of cream ribbon to thread through top
Assortment of yellow, gray, cream and blue buttons.
Yarn needle.
Knitting needles, size 4mm

Instructions;
Cast on 64 stitches in Colour One
Work approximately 150 rows in Colour One, using a shopper bag for size guidance
Cast Off
Repeat previous steps
Using Colour Two, stitch your two peices together at the sides and bottom, turn inside out to disguise stitching.
Cast on 15 stitches in Colour Two
Work approximately 165 rows in Colour Two, until long enough to create a strap.
Cast Off
Repeat.
Stitch handles onto top of bag carefully.
Using Colour Two, attatch roses, buttons etc randomly around the "body" of the bag.

Happy crafting!

Birmingham Purchases!

Wow, I haven't updated this in a while...

So recently I went to Birmingham with my Mum, Aunt and Couin, which was super-awesome, but I managed to spend all my money within about two days! So this was around about £120 gone in two days, which I personally find pretty impressive! Sooo I guess it's about time to list those purchases!

- 1 black/navy blue (can't really tell) straight wool miniskirt, from Kookai
- 1 pink and white polka-dot holdall
- 1 white floral bag
- 1 pair of black and pink floral tights
- 2 pairs of black seamed stockings
- 1 Snow White natural shopper bag
- 1 navy blue ribbed cardigan
- 1 2in1 dress, black top and red and black floral skirt
- 1 pair of AWESOME beige Kimono Sash boots
- 2 sets of pearl bracelets, 1 pink, 1 cream
- 1 cream graduated pearl necklace
- 1 bronze hummingbird and pearl flower necklace
- 1 gray woolen dress with rose print
- 1 peach casual button-panel shirt
- 1 silver ribbed ring
- 2 birthday cards, Paperchase "Yip-Pea, It's Your Birthday!" and Happy Sushi "Miso Happy It's your birthday!"

So all in all, money well spent, I think!
Worth it
I'll put up photos of my new purchases whenever a camera's around and I happen to be wearing them. It's not the same when they're jut laid out...

A Few Of My Favourite Things...

Just a list of things I love

-My wonderful boyfriend, Joe :)
-Teapots
-Teacups
-Tea
-Daisies
-Roses
-Origami stars
- Bows
-Pearls
-1940's dresses
-Swallows
-Sailor tattoos
-Buttons
-Berets
-Any kind of jewelery
-Sundresses

A Wonderful Day...

Well, this has been such a good day!
The weather picked up a fair bit from being snowy and cold, so I figured it was high time for a trip into Exeter, since I haven't been for some time! So I got up bright and early and headed into Exeter for a good old fashioned look around.

Took a while for Joe, my boyfriend, to meet me, so I killed some time by looking at graphic novels in Waterstones, contemplating whether or not to buy any. I decided against it for the time being, but I will undoubtedly be picking up a couple on my trip to Birmingham next month!

So then we had a look in Topshop. Lots of Sale items casually tossed everywhere, which were tempting, but in the end I settled for some sweet yellow plastic bow earrings with a diamante middle and some gold owl earrings, setting me back a comfortable £9 out of the £80 I'd taken out for the day. Then it was straight onto The Shopper's Secret Weapon, Primark, where I managed to pick up a quilted chain bag for £6, some matching shoes for £6 and a boyfriend-fit nautical sweater for £9, adding up to a lovely £21. So only £30 gone so far, not too shabby! We had a coffee each in Costa Coffee, one of the best coffee franchises around if you ignore Starbucks, which is kind of too expensive but SO worth it. Then finally, a quick trip to New Look, where I picked up a 3/4 sleeve bodycon black and red floral print dress for £9 and a gorgeous black wait belt with a gold knot in the middle for £2. So I made my money go quite a long way, really.

I'll put up photos of my purchases ASAP :D

So that's it, pretty much! :)

Beginnings :)

So I'm pretty new to this whole "blog" thing. I guess my friend Hannah inspired me to start it up, after constantly seeing updates all over Facebook and Twitter about her blogs, so I thought that maybe this was something I could have a go at.

I guess my life is pretty boring in comparison to a lot of peoples'. I guess to sum myself and my life up, my name's Ellie, I'm seventeen, I study English, Law and History, I'll listen to pretty much any genre of music and I love style. Oh, and you'd be most likely to find me curled up somewhere comfy with a book and my iPod.

My iPod is my child, I love the thing. I have a few artists I listen to a lot, which are mainly Imogen Heap, Tori Amos, The Dresden Dolls, Emilie Autumn, Amanda Palmer, Counting Crows, Horrorpopz, R.E.M and The World/Inferno Friendship Society. Liking similar music to me is always a plus.

My style is pretty varied, though I have a slight penchant for historical fashion, particular the War period and for some reason I love Victorian and Tudor fashion too. Depending on the weather, I tend to wear dresses over jeans or skirts with shirts and sweaters or cardigans. I usually prefer ballet flats to most other shoes, and I pretty much live in cardigans.

Well, that's about it for now, I have work soon, then I need sleep.
Peace and love :)

Vintage Treasures!