hot off the press: my first wedding invitation ideas.

So far I've been doing a lot of scribbling of ideas and designs for our wedding invites, but the other day I sat down and actually took the idea from a scribble to a reality. It's quite a simple design based in warm and natural colours. I bought a stamp kit with a letter set, and a beige ink pad (as the inside of the invite is brown!), a gold pen to write what I don't stamp, and some cardboard that had been recycled from beer labels! (cool huh?). What I don't use out of the materials I've bought I'll definitely be using again later for other projects so nothings going to waste.

I was going for the homemade look (hopefully without going as far as cheap and tacky). It looks like a lot of writing (since I'm going to be making these myself!), but we're having a relatively small guest list of our closest friends, so it's not so much work.

 

For a first draft I think they're pretty cute. Also, I'm not all that caught up in having hugely detailed and perfect invitations as they only get thrown away after the wedding anyway (hopefully recycled!).

x

Volunteering at a charity store equals amazing bargains!

I volunteered at a charity store today, and totally loved it!

It was a really rewarding experience for me. Volunteering somewhere like a charity store is not only environmentally conscious (encouraging the process of recycling), but giving back to the local and international community through the donations raised by the store.
Not to mention the sheer amount of goodies I got to dig through and find some gems!

See the full story over at Second Hand Jayne!

x

Back in action!

Hey everyone, it's been a while since my last post (nearly 2 months! oh my gosh!) but the last few months have been very busy!

Not only have I had end of the year uni assessments and exams, but I've also started a new blog, Second Hand Jayne, and it's dedicated to second hand fashion! There's loads of pretty goodies up there already with outfit ideas to match, plus some beautiful vintage finds. Check it out if you're interested.

Anyhow, I will be back to posting regularly now, starting with some pictures of the first few trials at handmaking my wedding invitations, and bunting for our save the dates. It's so exciting to be making things for our wedding!

xx

the new additions to our garden

from left to right: a baby chilli plant (for the man), a ready to cut and cook up basil plant, another baby basil plant (i need two because i eat so much basil! i love it!), two cherry tomato plants and a bunch of carrots, and last but not least a full sized tomato plant.

and here they are getting comfy in their new spots :) oh and some seasol fertiliser in an old milk bottle-gone-water can (who needs a fancy watering can when you can reuse old house items??) the carrots and tomatoes aren't in as yet because i'm waiting on some more good soil and sugar cane mulch to build up the garden bed since it's sunk about a foot over winter!
(don'tcha just love my daggy-but-ever-so-slightly-cute floral gardening gloves? courtesy of mum's store... love that place)

here's my beautiful basil, close up. i've already nicked some leaves for tonights dinner :) yuuuuum!!

x

saturday seconds - vintage leather boots

the first thing i did when i got home (once i had had a good cuddle session with my kitty, my puppy and my mum... and then a shower) was go second hand shopping with my mum. seems a little odd, but i'd been hanging out for a good thrift since i came across some vintage stores in a marketplace in japan (and let's be honest, i'm totally addicted to second hand stores... it's like treasure hunting!), so it was extra satisfying to start browsing the shelves of pre-loved goodies in the thrift stores i visited.
today however, i made a vintage thrifting find that i am really extra chuffed with. a lot of the time, i just go to charity stores, so the goodies i get, while being second hand, usually aren't that old. this time, however, i took myself to a vintage store near my house which is totally reasonably priced! (considering that the 'v' word is like saying the 'w' word... once it's 'vintage', or for a 'wedding', the price tags skyrocket).

and i found these babies...

 

vintage leather calf height boots! oh how i love them!!
i love the pocket detail and the buckle at the top of the back seam. and what made it so sweet was that they cost me $25...
what is amazing is that they are in perfect condition, all i had to do was put in a pair of insoles.

 **UPDATE!**

the boots first outing :)

x

my first wedding goodies purchase (from a second hand store, of course!)

i have been keeping my eye out for goodies for the wedding, things like possible table decorations (vases, port glasses to be made into votive candles, etc), practical things (plates, glasses, cutlery) and other bits and pieces (material for decorations, table cloths, etc) in second hand stores since i got engaged. here are the first ones i've found that i had to buy. i haven't actually decided what they are going to be yet (i was thinking of maybe making a cookie stand out of them for the dessert table?) but they match the colour theme i am aiming for and really have that vintage feel :)

wow, it's kind of beginning to seriously hit home that i am getting married (you'd think that the ring on my left hand would have tipped me off, but i actually think it made it all the more fairytale-esque in my head). of course i've been doing a lot of day dreaming about all the details, but now that i have something that i can physically touch that has no other purpose than to be used on the day it's making my heart jump a little!

oh, and you'll probably also notice one of my little creatures in the top left of the picture. whenever i get the camera out they seem to do their best to be everywhere i point it!


x

i'm home!

diy wedding invitation ideas

since i'm planning on doing as much of my wedding as diy as possible, i've been trawling the internet for inspiration. at the moment i'm looking at pretty much everything as our date is still over twelve months away and i've already booked the major vendors that were the most important to me, so i don't have any need to rush or focus on anything in particular. in saying that, i came across these beautiful wedding invitations while browsing one of my favourite wedding blogs, Snippet & Ink, and had one of those "that's exactly what i want" moments.

 photo from Snippet & Ink

i think that their simplicity is what makes them so beautiful.
and the best part(s) for me are, a) i love painting, b) watercolours are one of the easiest and quickest mediums to work with, c) i can totally personalise my design and still keep this diy task as reasonable to achieve, and d) i've already got a complete artists (second hand) set of water colour pencils so i'm halfway there for materials already. i was also thinking of having a stamp made to add some fine detail to the design. however i'm still completely unsure of what design the stamp will be haha.

so far the best sources of inspiration for me have been both my and my fiance's personal interests (we both love the beach and nature/natural locations, hence our ceremony and reception venue is an acerage that looks over the ocean), themes that are relevant to us (our wedding arch is going to be japanese torii gates, to represent our meeting through karate, and also torii gates traditionally mark the entrance to a sacred space which i think is a beautiful symbolic representation of entering into marriage), and our personal values (i'm an eco freak hence i am doing as much of the wedding diy as possible, including invitations, table settings, decorations, and the materials i am using are going to be second hand or eco friendly as much as possible). when i first got engaged and started looking at all things wedding just to get an idea of what is involved in planning one, my head nearly exploded with all the details, but once i got those main ideas straight, it's all started to fall into place (and i'm freaking out a lot less about the hugeness of the process!!)

x

a rainy day in japan

it's our first while we've been here, and since we are flying home in two days we've been really lucky with the weather for most of our holiday. so instead of doing the mount mitake hike we were planning for today (it's now on tomorrow) i've been browsing through the photos that have been taken so far, updating family and friends about how awesome our trip has been, and also doing some wedding things (i can't help myself!). after all the walking, train catching (read: sardine can on a track. it's insane how many people can fit into a train carriage!), sight seeing and photo taking i have to admit that even though i've loved every minute of it, it's nice to sit down for a little bit and just relax.

i will have photos up asap, after i've dived into the (literally) thousands of pictures that we've all taken so far (there's a few of us, so that's not just me going shutterbug crazy).

in the meantime, wedding invitation ideas!


x

30 for 30 day thirty!!!

oh my gosh!! last day of my challenge! and by way of fortune (or compulsory dress regulations) i had to wear a special shirt that was embroidered for the trip, as we met the mayor of the japanese city we are staying in, and toured the city.
i stuck to the rules for the rest of my outfit!

shoes (second hand store), jeans (mum's second hand store),

invisible belt (mum's wardrobe).

but check out the traditional japanese gardens we were walking through! such amazing scenery!

x

30 for 30 day twenty nine

training in japan!!! 

(jeans, slightly invisible belt and scarf - mum's 2nd hand store, singlet - old work)

first traditional japanese meal
 

i am having the most amazing time over in japan!! as i'm over here for a martial arts based holiday (i train in karate and kobudo, which is traditional japanese weaponry) i've trained at several different dojos over here, which all focus in different styles of martial arts, it's been amazing!! anyway, back to the main point of this post (day 29) this photo is after an hour and a half of training, so i'm looking the best, and i'm slightly not yet fully dressed after getting out of my karate gear, so add a jacket (second hand store) and thongs (hand-me-down) and that was day 29!

x

30 for 30 day twenty eight

shoe cheat!! i'm so guilty! and the camera was out about 30 seconds

after we got off the plane...

it's dress weather in the daytime in japan!! we had an overnight flight, so as soon as we landed i "freshened up" and got changed for the nicer weather :)

sundress and shoes (2nd hand store), white blouse and shrug (my old work).

x

30 for 30 day twenty seven

best photo ever

in the limo on the way down to the airport :)

i had to make an outfit that was going to to comfy for ten hours on a plane, but still look half decent. so i chose....

a singlet top with a white blouse (both from my old work) over the top, over black tights (mum's 2nd hand store) with thongs (hand-me-down) for shoes, for comfort. and i finished it off with my knitted shrug because it's really cute and i love it, and a scarf for some colour (both also from my old work).

and i took my karate hoodie (cotton on) to wear if it got really cold on the plane.

x

30 for 30 day twenty six

silk blouse, clogs, and necklace-gone-bracelet (second hand store),

belt (mum's wardrobe), jeans (mum's second hand store),

singlet (old work)

so i am flying out tomorrow! i will continue my 30 for 30 (for the last 3 days), but i won't have internet to share it with you until i get back after 2 weeks! however, i will be bringing loads of beautiful photos and stories to share :)

have a lovely 2 weeks everyone!

x

30 for 30 day twenty five

five days to go!

denim long shirt and belt (old work), sundress (second hand store),

thongs (hand-me-down).

x

30 for 30 day twenty four

denim shirt jacket and waist belt (old work), playsuit (mum's 2nd hand store),

thongs (hand-me-down), assorted bangles (collected over the years),

sunnies (cotton on).

check out the atti-tood... little bit of a dorky poser :P

x

30 for 30 day twenty three

knitted shrug (old work), cossie top (target),

shorts and thongs (hand-me-down)

it was supposed to be a really warm day today (it turned out to be mild), but in preparedness for the upcoming warmth i chose to wear my bikini top under the shrug (and that's all, woowoo!) so at lunch time i could lay in the sun. it was still a good idea in the end. it wasn't boiling, so i just whipped the shrug off (i was at a friends house, not just a random strip in public!) and lay in the sun for 30 minutes. it was lush!!

and for all you clever bunnies out there, i realise i am missing two days. i don't like doing jigsaw outfits and i didn't get a photo of monday or tuesday. i promise to play dress up before i leave for the holidays on sunday and catch up!

x

m.i.a.!

sorry! it's been a pretty hectic week so far leading up to a few weeks away (getting all my uni work done while trying to juggle the rest of life). so here's a picture of a cute puppy who fell asleep on her mama's bed with her favourite teddy. as if you didn't just go "awwwwww"!

30 for 30 day twenty

although i would have loved to have spent sunday (all day) on the beach, i had a few places to be so it was time to play weekend dress up. appologies for the blurry photo. for some reason my camera seems to have been in a grumpy mood sunday!

shirt and dress (old work), pocket watch necklace (tree of life),

clogs and bangle (second hand store)

x

30 for 30 day nineteen

was spent with either my hands or feet in the dirt!! i should have taken a photo of my feet before i hopped into the shower saturday night, they were so dirty they looked like monster feet! i had lots of fun though, raking and gardening. i'm becoming a proper little gardener!

x

quick 'n' tasty!

any one else a fan of a meal with a description like that?
this one is my 'uni student fights back against 2 minute noodle malnutrition' meal. or quick 'n' tasty for short.

toss

• a handful of washed baby spinach leaves
• 3-4 big leaves of washed and roughly chopped basil
• 1/4 of chopped avocado, 
• a handful of organic chic peas 
• and two chopped and warmed tomato, onion and basil veggie sausages

in a bowl with a splash of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon.
it took 2 minutes to make, and every mouthful was like a party on my tongue :)
and SO VERY HEALTHY.
eat and be healthy! (and merry)





x

30 for 30 day eighteen

jacket (second hand store), white shirt (old work),

shorts and thongs (hand-me-down), pearl necklace-gone-bracelet (stolen from best friend :D)

i still love this jacket months and months after i bought it. i think it is so cute and unique! it really picks up a relatively boring outfit when combined with my totally stylish sunnies (haha) and the pearl necklace. however, i'll be totally honest, it was too hot to wear it most of the day but it looks good in the photo!

x

30 for 30 day seventeen

today is brought to you by the sweet and warm spring weather. dresses and 3/4 knitted shrugs, oh the femininity of it all! i felt so pretty today in this floral sun dress from one of my second hand shopping saturdays earlier this year. it's light and comfortable, while still looking lovely.

shrug and belt (old work), sun dress (second hand store),

thongs (hand-me-down)

and apparently it's going to get even warmer for the weekend. woohoo!!!

x

30 for 30 day sixteen

apologies for being a day late! but for your wait you get a double dose of dorky poses! (come on, you know that's worth waiting for :P)

white shirt (old work), playsuit (mum's 2nd hand store), 

thongs (hand-me-down)

also sorry about the dodgy photography. however i tried to make up for it with the pose :P

x

beautiful planet

there's something beautiful about sitting in the warm evening air, listening to the waves break in the distance and watching the sun setting in the leaves of eucalyptus trees. so peaceful and relaxing.

i hope you have a moment to stop, breathe and love all the wonderful things in your life :)


x

garden update: my babies are growing!!

since sunday they have grown new leaves and are looking healthy and strong after their transplant. i am so excited! (which is also due the fact that i will have fresh homegrown basil in my dinners soon!) :)

x

30 for 30 day fifteen

halfway, woohoo! wow, time goes fast!
it was so lovely and warm today, once the morning chill wore off. i'm still in my shorts now, and the sun has nearly completely set. bring on the warm nights!

scarf (mum's), beige singlet (old work), denim look t-shirt (2nd hand store), 

shorts and thongs (hand-me-down).

x

30 for 30 day fourteen

beige singlet tops (i double layered again - old work), jeans (mum's 2nd hand store), belt (mum's wardrobe), thongs (hand-me-down).

there were a few photos taken for todays post, and out of all of them, the one in which i was just goofing off looks the best (what does that say about the rest??) haha :)

x

is that an old singlet top? no, it's a shopping bag!

so, how do you make an upcycled shopping bag from an old singlet top? (i found the original idea here, at itty bitty impact). i've modified the plan a little to suit the singlet, and the style of bag i wanted.

so, to begin! i turned the singlet inside out and cut off the bottom hem.

i then turned the singlet back the right way (with the design on the outside) and folded the now un-hemmed bottom of the singlet back on itself two times.

to hold it all in place while i sewed it together, i pinned it.

i took a break mid-way, when help arrived. 

i wanted a kind of rocky/grungy feel to the bag, so i hand stitched the bottom and had the stitching on the outside. this photo doesn't really show it too well, but to start, so the end of the thread wasn't totally obvious, i pulled back the second fold then poked the needle through only one layer, just to start off.

and pull the needle through.

to keep with my theme, i wanted the stitching to be cute but rough, so i went with looping stitching.

i got excited as it started to look how i wanted it to :)

i finished the stitching the same way i started, with the end in between the two folds of the new bottom hem.

to add a bit of reinforcement to the stitching, i added a second row.

and finished it off with a few repeated loops at each end.

finished! :)

singlet bags first shopping trip!

x