Wishes: for a Fantastic Easter

Howdy All! Apologies for the absence, busy times, but that's no excuse so I'm back and wishing everyone a fantastic, choc-tastic Easter. I hope the Easter Bunny has made it round to everyone and that you're having a wonderful weekend full of family, friends and fun.
 

I'll be back shortly with my next diy. It's been a LONG time in the making, so watch this space! :)

The start of something?

A couple of weekends ago I had the chance to indulge in one of my favourite pastimes ever - a trip to the car boot sale!!! Now, I say a 'chance' but what I really mean is that I was able to drag my sorry little self out of bed early enough, as well as convince a couple of others to do the same, to grab some bargains! :)

These two little gems were the fruits of our labours and aren't they adorable?! Maps were our bread and butter growing up, quite literally! Dad was a cartographer who had the enviable job of climbing mountains, taking measurement and then drawing it all up once back in the office. As kids we'd always argue over who would be chief map reader on a journey and not just because the map reader got to sit in the front seat, although that naturally had it's own appeal! Anyway, suffice to say I'm a map fanatic so when I spotted these two there was no stopping me!

Mr Fantastic has been doing some detective work on these bad boys to try and date them. Based on countries that don't quite exist we've got it down to sometime before '79 (ish)!

They were garnered from opposite ends of the car boot and after some hardened haggling! This is definitely going to be the start of something - either a brand new collection or a maybe even a round the world trip! So, where to guys?!

Knicker Elastic Everywhere!

We're experimenting in all corners of social media over here. Apparently, this is what all discerning bloggers must do! Though we never expect to achieve that status, we can give it our best shot! So, we are now fully up and running on various social media apps all over the t'interweb. If you're enjoying our musings on this blog be sure to check out knicker elastic elsewhere...

I am constantly experimenting with Instagram, I love how instant it is and how you're forced to select a single shot rather than a whole album - it means only the very best photos make the cut!

You can follow here to get directly to the snapwidget of my instagram account or simply follow @knickerelasticfantastic in your app. Happy instagramming!

But that's not it - we also have a facebook page. This is great for keeping folks updated when we've posted to the blog or got any gossip to share! Give us a little 'like' if you like what you see! :p

And last but not least is my Pinterest account. I love Pintrest, having a place where you can save all your favourite images, neatly categorised by subject or moods, to browse for inspiration when you're on the move. Nothing beats it! Have a little browse through my latest inspirations...

DIY fantastic: Star Bunting

I wish I'd come up with this idea years ago - it would have been perfect for my first room in halls or to decorate my bedroom at home. Ah well, better late than never and Mr Fantastic will just have to lump it! This is a super simple diy, it takes forever, but that's just due to the tricky shapes of the stars - once they're all cut out putting it together was pip-squeak. So lets get to it! 

What you'll need: 

1. Coloured card in any colours you fancy

2. A template of the shape for your bunting, I went for stars but other cute ideas could be clouds, circles, hearts etc.

3. Scissors

4. Glue (I used a glue stick)

5. Strong thread in a matching or contrasting colour

The first step is to cut out your shapes, simply draw around the template on the back of the card out and cut out twice as many stars as you want on your bunting. I just kept going until I got bored!

Then it's simply a matter of gluing the stars back to back with the thread going through the middle. You can measure out the distance between stars if you want to keep it consistent or if you want to mix it up a little bit then go freestyle!

And that's it! Then you can go and hang it wherever you fancy, perfect for parties, special days or just everydays! 

Or for garden parties...

Knicker Elastic Slope Style!

So although our ski trip consisted of primarily white-outs, the snow and cloud all seamlessly merging into one, I did manage to snap away on my i-phone once or twice in the brief sunny interludes! So here is our series of postcards from Meribel:

We snuck off piste for some fun back route adventures, we danced to the beats of La Folie Douce, we cheered on the Meribel ice hockey team and at the end of the day we flopped on to the bed exhausted and just looked at that view!

The Grand Tour

Okay, it's hardly a grand tour - we only have two rooms for starters! But we have been in our flat for coming up to three years, and I love it! It was the first place we have shared together and for that reason I shaIl always treasury the memories we have made here. However, despite the best intentions I know it's far too easy to forget so I am making it my mission to document everything about our little haven called home before we leave.

We live in a cute flat in a Victorian terraced house with high ceilings, bay windows and quirky original features. I shall pop up a few of my favourite photos and thoughts every so often over the next couple of months before we have to pack up our belongings and make a new place home for the next few years.

First up are a couple of vignettes from our living room...

A few things to mention about the little tit-bits we've cobbled together over the years in our living area. The blue chest was inherited from my folks, it was varnished wood before, but I'm afraid I couldn't resist turning into a funky blue colour (sorry to the purists out there, Izzwhizz). I kept the original hardware and I love how it contrasts with the bright blue colour.

The large poster print above the fireplace we picked up in Riva Torbole on Lake Garda, Italy on a family holiday last year. It reminds me of my Grandmother's Italian heritage and her time growing up in Italy. It's massive and it was a real mission finding a red frame big enough to hold it! 

The canvas bag is sort of matching as I picked it up on the same holiday and mostly holds my plethora of magazines these days. On the other side of the fireplace are my prized red cowboy boots. These were a hand me down from a family friend and are my go-to gig footwear (they can take a beating and just keep looking better and better for it!).

The bits and pieces on the mantelpiece are constantly changing. But they are usually a collection of bric and brac I have collected or that hold sentimental value and are nestled in and amongst photos of family and friends that I switch up every now and then. 

p.s. please excuse the monstrosity of a tv, that's all down to Mr Fantastic. And yes, that was the tennis he was watching as I scuttled around him snapping away! My saving grace was the fact that I did a massive tidy-up job in order to get the place looking spic and span for the shots!

DIY fantastic: Feather print vest top

We're back! Ha, I'm sure you didn't even know I was gone! ;) Anyway, we're launching straight back into some new sewing projects over here, no messing around!

First off the starting post is this feather print vest top. I found the fantastic feather print cotton in my local fabric shop and it immediately appealed to the inner cowgirl in me, so in the shopping basket it went! Printed vests are a staple round here, I can't have too many of them! So I pulled out an old fave to use as a pattern and got to work...

What you'll need:

• Some fun fabric, I chose 'Geronimo' a feather print cotton
• Pen and paper to make your pattern (I used newspaper and a felt tip pen. Keeping it real!)
• Needle and thread / sewing machine
• Scissors

The steps:
1. Lay out your existing top on the paper and draw around each component (mine was just the front and back) leaving a 1/2 inch excess for seams etc. Cut this out and you now have your pattern!

2. Pin your pattern over the material - take note of how the print will lie once it's cut and sewn and pin the pattern on accordingly.

3. Cut around your pattern and pin the two pieces together.

4. Sew the two pieces together to create the seams on either side. Then fold over the edges around the neck, arm holes and along the bottom and pin. I folder them over twice, each fold was about 5mm. Then sew along these too.

5. I also added a small dart under the arms, as per the top I was copying. The easiest thing with this is to try it on as you decide on the size and placement of the darts so it fits well

And hey presto you have your finished top!