DIY macrame bracelet

The other day I broke one of my favourite beaded bracelets, so today I set about putting it back together again, I thought about re-stringing it but instead I decided to use the beads to create a macrame bracelet. Here’s how I did it………

I used.

400cm of Chinese knotting cord

A cross charm

4 Beads (wide enough for the cord)

Scissors

Tape

I started by cutting the Chinese knotting cord into four 100cm lengths. I then looped two of the lengths at either end of the charm by folding the cord in half and feeding the folded ends through the charm holes. I then fed the rest of the cord trough the loop and pulled tight. 

I anchored the strands down with a bit of tape to hold the cord in place. To create the knot I then took another strand of cord and centred it under the anchored cord. Next I folded the right piece of cord over the middle strands and under the left cord. I then pulled the left cord under the right and middle strands and fed it through the loop. I then pulled tightly and slide the knot up to the cross charm.

To create the rest of the knot I repeated this step but instead I folded the left piece of the cord over the middle strands and under the right cord. I then fed the right cord under the left and middle strands and fed it through the loop. Pulling tightly to create the macrame knot.

 I repeated the above steps until I was happy with the length of knots.  I then repeated the above steps again on the other side so both sides of the bracelet were knotted. To keep the knots from coming undone I threaded the outside strands through the back of 2 knots and cut of the excess leaving a millimetre of cord.

To make the sliding closure, so the bracelet is easy to take on and off, I shaped the bracelet into a circle and overlapped the middle strands, tying them in place with left over scraps of cord.

In the centre of the two knots, I used another piece of scrap cord to macrame the closure, again threading the outside cord through the backside of 2 knots to stop it from untying. I then removed the scrap cord.

Next I adjusted the bracelet to fit my wrist and cut away excess cord. Before tying of the ends of the cord I fed a bead through each end. And my macrame bracelet was done.

My Wardrobe and most loved.

Last week I invested in a new wardrobe, the old one was falling apart and was way too small for all my clothes. I’m a pretty tidy and organised person so I couldn’t wait to have a sort out and finally have a decent amount of wardrobe space. Through organising my clothes I managed to find a lot of things that I forgot I had and I got rid of a few items too, most of which my sisters nabbed and what was left is going to charity.

I thought I would give you a little look at my wardrobe and show you a few of my most loved items. I am a massive fan of plaid at the moment; I think it looks really wintery and cosy. I bought this plaid shirt from new look a few months ago. Its really soft and is just about long enough to wear with leggings on days where I want to be comfortable, I also wear this shirt with blue wash denim or black skinny jeans, black boots or converses.

I purchased this short sleeve blouse from warehouse last summer for my graduation outfit. I love the patterned jacquard yoke and zip detail at the front of the blouse. I wear this with black jeans or tucked in to a skirt for a less causal look.

Last year I bought this playsuit from Miss Selfridge. The cinched in waist and frill edging at the front give me a curvy figure. If you have even worn a playsuit you will know they are really inconvenient to undo especially when you’re desperate for the loo so I really love that this one has a zip at the front. I usually wear this on nights out with wedges and it can be worn in both summer and winter.

Everyone needs a go to pair of denim jeans. These skinny ‘Baxter’ denim jeans from Topshop fit perfectly. I’ve had them for a few years now and they seem to get better with more wear. I find it really annoying when I buy a pair of jeans that fit perfectly but then stretch after a little wear, but these don’t do that at all. I only wish that I had bought a couple more pairs in different washes as I struggle to find decent pairs of jeans.  

Last year zatchels had their second birthday and to celebrate they had a 50% sale on their satchels. I love pastel colours so when I saw this pastel blue one I couldn’t resist a bargain. I got this one in 15 inches as at the time of purchase I was studying at Uni, so I needed space for my sketchbooks. I really can’t wait for summer so I can use it again.

Like most girls I own a lot of shoes so choosing my favourite pair of shoes was a bit difficult. I managed to narrow it down to two pairs of shoes, a pair of black peep toe wedges and a one of my latest purchases, a pair of boots, which I wrote about in one of my earlier blog posts. The wedges are from New Look; they are so comfy and really easy to walk in. The boots are from Miss Selfridge, I really needed a pair of smart heeled boots for both casual and smart wear and these are perfect for just that.

I hope you enjoyed having a look inside my wardrobe.

Laura x

What I got for christmas

Apologises for not blogging for a little while, I’ve been really busy working and spending time with my family over the Christmas period. I had an amazing Christmas and have been thoroughly spoilt. I am incredibly grateful for the time spent with my family and for all the presents I have received. I thought I would share a few of them with all of you.

A while ago when I went shopping for Christmas presents, I visited the Pandora store in West Quay, Southampton. I’ve never been a massive fan of Pandora but I spotted a silver bracelet from their new collection ‘Essence’, and fell in love with the charms so brought it as a Christmas present for myself.  For Christmas my parents gave me the ‘Loyalty’ charm and my sisters gave me the ‘Respect’ charm.

My parents also gave me a Ted Baker make up bag. I’ve accumulated a lot of make up recently and have been using a box to store all my make up and brushes in so I can finally have a mass sort out and have somewhere practical to store my make up. My main present (also from my parents) is something that was on the top of my Christmas list as soon as it came out. Foreo Luna mini is pretty much a clarisonaic but without all the interchange heads and hefty price tag. It’s simply a compact, silicone, and skincare device to help cleanse your face. I’ve used it twice everyday since Christmas and so far my skin feels amazing. At this stage its pretty hard to measure how much of an improvement it has made, so at the end of the month I’ll write a review and let you all know how I’ve got on with the device.

I hope everyone had an amazing Christmas and have a Happy New Year.

Laura x 

Beauty and Fashion Haul

Over the past couple of months while doing my Christmas shopping there have been a lot of sales on, including a price match event at John Lewis and Black Friday sales, so as hard as I have tried not to buy myself anything there were various buys that I ‘needed’.

This month I’ve been a bit naughty and purchased three pairs of shoes.

1. Converse Chuck Taylor All Star Low Sneakers - £45 - John Lewis.
2. Amy Black Chelsea Boots - £49 - Miss Selfridge.
3. Ace Biker Boots - £42 - Miss Selfridge
(Current prices)

1.I wanted a pair of converse for ages but I originally wanted them in white but because they were on price match in John Lewis all of the white pairs where sold out so instead I brought these. Thinking about it the white ones would probably go grubby and would never stay white so I decided the black ones were a better choice. I can wear these any time of year too so I’m definitely going to get my moneys worth. 

2.These boots are my latest purchase; I wanted some winter boots that had a chunky heel. They are perfect for both day and evening wear, and because they have chunky heels they are really comfortable and are easy to walk in. I wore these with black skinny jeans but they could be worn with leggings, thick tights and denim jeans.

3.I got these Biker style boots from Miss Selfridge, I brought these because I didn’t have any slouchy winter boots, the majority of footwear I own aren’t very practical for winter weather and are pretty cheap so are pretty much falling apart, so these boots keep my feet warm and dry plus they look really stylish too.

4. Pro palette large and Pro palette eyeshadow x15 insert - MAC Cosmetics.
5. Taaj Micellar water - £21.52 - Amazon (Current price)
6. Clinique Anti- Blemish Solutions Cleansing Foam, 125ml.
7. Clinique Anti- Blemish Solutions Cleansing Bar For Face and Body.

4.John Lewis, Southampton, has recently opened a MAC cosmetics concession in their beauty department. I fell in love with the brand a few months ago and I was so excited to see the  mac in one of my favourite department stores. It looks amazing and the staff are so friendly and helpful. I purchased a large empty eye-shadow palette and an eye-shadow refill in the shade omega, to use on my eyebrows, along with a 208 Brow brush.

5.For a while now I’ve been using micellar water by B.Pure from Superdrug to take off my make up. I’ve not been 100% happy with using it to take off my eye make up as my eyes are a  little sensitive and it stings, I also found that the bottle was way too small, so when I read a review online recommending Taaj micellar water , I brought a big bottle from amazon for £21.52 for 100ml. I love this product, it takes off all make up, including my eye makeup and its delicate on my eyes. It smells amazing too and leaves my skin feeling clean and soft.

6 & 7. These two products are pretty much the same product except one is in a pump bottle with a foam wash and the other is in the form of a bar of soap. I buy the bottle of foam wash on a regular basis and it is the only face wash that prevents my skin from breaking out and helps to get rid of any blemishes I do have.  The bar of soap has been out of stock for ages so as soon as it came in I brought a bar as again it was on price match, I wont use it all the time as previously it as dried out my skin but sometimes I get spots on my arms and back and it again it’s the only soap that sorts those blemishes out.

8. Madame Crop Tee - £18 Miss selfridge (Current price)

8. When I brought my biker boots I was determined to not buy any clothes as I have so many but I saw this crop top on my way to the till and couldn’t resist. I don’t often buy t-shirts but I really liked the material and design on this one and thought it would be really nice to wear with high waisted denim jeans and my biker boots.