How to: Umbrella cover to pencil case

Yesterday night I started to declutter my second room which I use for storing things. You can't imagine how good it feels to have a place to throw every item in you're unsure of (for instance, a jumper that doesn't belong in your closet but could be used for sth. else, maybe a skirt or bag material.... but you know that now isn't the time to figure that out). Well, now that I have enough free time, I got into the mess and started. And I found a cover from a broken cheap umbrella I already threw away. I decided to turn it into a pencil case since I desperately needed one but couldn't find a pretty one in the shops.

Cut off this part.

seam the edges

Now it looks like this.

And you're done :)

More from my de-cluttering sessions coming soon.

How to: Union Jack Heart Patch

Steps:

Print out your heart pattern and gather your materials!

Transfer onto denim

Prepare red straps

You may have to double the ribbon, just play around and try out what looks best.

sew on

After lots of patience, you now have your almost ready patch.

I recommend to reinforce it with fusible interfacing.

Cut it in shape a bit and then you're done! I sewed it on the back of my shorts ;)

I'm going to London! :)

This upcoming week will be a special week, because I'm going to London with a larger group of students! There's not much money to be spend, but there's a camera und lots of modesty (has to be), sooo.... there will be photos on here. Many photos. My highlight, probably, will be to visit Camden Market again. I couldn't make it 2 years ago during my au pair job, the last time I was there was in 2008. Woooow, time's running, god! 4 years already. But soon I'm back again in my third home. I've always felt so homely there, it's curious. I must've lived there in a former life. For sure.

We have a tight schedule and two places we will see besides London are Bath and Cambridge. I've been to Cambridge two times before, one time with the guys from the language school I visited:

Cathaline, me, Claudia (Miss Italy) & Ania (Miss Poland) :P

I love Cambridge for its awesome atmosphere, it's so inspiring. Colleges & universities everywhere, ancient buildings, young people, casual yet educated. :P I'm looking forward to see it again!

What I also find fascinating about England is the way people dress: Very creatively! There's a wide range from amazing to amazingly weird, but you rarely see someone in a normal conservative outfit unless it's a tourist... I think it's good to be able to wear anything there and don't get weird looks. And that's how trends come up!

I also prepared my nails for the trip. :D (I tried twice und it was very difficult. Don't believe this pic, I photoshopped the flag. In reality it looks a little messier. :D Hey, I'm no nail artist!

Gotta pack the rest of my stuff together now. And there are some remained problems that need to be solved...
Have a nice week, I'll be back on Sunday! ;)

How to: Union Jack shorts

As you know, I'm going to London in June and being a total UK-addict since I was sixteen, it was high time for Union Jack shorts. Last weekend I grabbed some old jeans and started painting. :)

After:

Yes, I'm very looking forward and having hopes for sunshine.
Btw., if you ask me, the british weather is just fine. Whenever I was there - blue skies, sunshine. Even in my three months when I lived there, there were only maybe 2 rainy days.