The Pineneedle Collective

Thursday, 8 January 2015

DIY City Skyline Tee | Make Thrift Buy #13

This particular make thrift buy challenge reminds me of a project I made way back when in 2011, when galaxy t-shirts were all the rage. Now this isn't really something I would wear myself, but that's not the point of this video series - I aim to try out pretty much anything you send me! In fact, I just made the pinterest board where I store all the suggestions that are sent in public, so that you can vote on the ones you would most like to see me try out :)

So, did this particular one work out... or not? Have a watch!

Much love,

Wednesday, 7 January 2015

DIY Cage Suspender Skirt | Make Thrift Buy #12

Hello! Last year I saw this caged suspender-style skirt EVERYWHERE on the internet. I always thought that it would be pretty easy to make, so I was super excited when not one but TWO people suggested that I try it out for a Make Thrift Buy episode!

Have a watch!

P.s. I was somehow super productive and made TWO videos today... so I'm doing a little shameless self-promotion: I'll upload the next episode when this video reaches 1000 thumbs up ;)

I hope that you're all having a beautiful day, and please keep sending me amazing suggestions!

Sunday, 4 January 2015

A Post Of Outtakes #2

I got such a positive response from posting outtakes on my blog last time that I decided to do it again (because for some reason I want to ruin the carefully-crafted internet persona I've worked on for the past 4 years, or something?)

But seriously, I'm posting these photos because although I may attempt to make you believe otherwise, I don't actually live in an always-sunny picnic-world of perfect skin and flattering angles. Nobody does. But because blogs and social media allows people to present only the very best side of themselves, it can lead to other people thinking that everyone's lives are better than their own.

I've been guilty on more than one occasion of comparing myself to other people with seemingly-perfect lives, and feeling completely flat on the other side of it. Social media sucks you into this black hole of comparison with other people that you'll never win, because other people's lives simply aren't like that.

Nobody looks good 24/7. And why would you want to? That takes all the fun out of life.

So, here's some less-than-perfect outtakes.

Every. Single. Shoot. I just get this unstoppable urge to ham it up and ruin an otherwise very nice photo. I don't know why I insist on posing like this, because I know I'm not going to end up using the photos, but I just can't help myself:

However, some of the best outtakes are when I am actually trying to look good.

Here, for example:

Sexy hair flick? FAIL.

Sultry look into the camera? FAIL.

Speaking of great accidental blinking shots:

If you realise that you've blinked in a photo, you consequently overcompensate to make sure that your eyes stay OPEN. And the resulting shot is even creepier than when you blinked:

Then there's the classic "getting grumpy at the photographer" shot:

And the "I don't know what to do with my hands - so maybe my cardigan is wings...?" shot:

I was trying to be clever in this photo. Because my ring is a heart, I was trying to photographically represent "EYE heart U" - get it?!... Needless to say, I didn't look particularly clever in the end:

And just so you all know, for every good "spinning" shot that you see on blogs, there's about 10 of these:

Katie loves to do this thing whenever we take photos together where she gets an extreme close-up of my face. Thanks, mate.

So, this is a little bit of payback - one of the best photos I think I've ever taken of Katie. GIRL POWER:

I have a question. What exactly am I doing here with my hands?? My wrist joints look completely broken:

Ahh, okay, this explains it - I think there was a creepy insect of some sort buzzing around my head.

Graceful.

And finally, I like to call this the "grumpy watering-can gremlin" pose:

This is the stuff that nightmares are made of.

Just remember, next time you start comparing your life to seemingly-perfect blogs and instagram accounts - they don't often post the outtakes of life.

I'll leave you with this photo of me, Tilde and Katie accidentally, and without prior consultation, all pulling our very best bitchfaces:

I hope that you've all had a great week,

Saturday, 3 January 2015

DIY Novelty Phone Handbag | Make Thrift Buy #11

Happy 2015! I hope that you all had a wonderful New Years and are looking forward to the year that is ahead!

Recreating this Betsey Johnson handbag was my first DIY project of 2015. I don't know why I chose something so likely to fail for my very first project for the year... but, I did, and here we are.

Have a watch, and let me know what you think! I really value your feedback because it helps me make my videos better :)

Love,

Saturday, 27 December 2014

Beach Bloomers

Blouse - Thrifted | Skirt - Thrifted | Socks - Clear It | Shoes - Naot (Kedma's) | Bloomers - old

Seasons greetings and happy end of the year! This is a simple look that I wore down to the beach last week. The blouse and the skirt are recently thrifted items - the blouse being $1 from a girl who was selling all her old clothes at a market stall. I wore my favourite ever lace bloomers underneath, which are perfect for short skirts and dresses, and look particularly cute when paired with knee-high socks. Sadly, the bloomers are so loved that they're completely falling apart at the seams. I'm going to have to learn how to make some for myself very soon!

So did I mention that I'm going to Hong Kong in 19 days time, with one of my best friends?! Well, that's a thing that's happening. We booked the trip one year ago when we found $200 on-special flights and thought "well that's cheap, why not", then kinda forgot about it all year - and it's all of a sudden snuck up on us!

Like everybody else in the world, I was also gifted with a selfie stick for Christmas - while I make fun of the people I see using selfie sticks in the street, I actually think it's going to come in really useful because I'm planning on making lots of vlogs about my time in Hong Kong! One of the things I'm definitely going to be vlogging about is my fabric shopping. There's an entire fabric and DIY district in Sham Shui Po (check out that link and DROOL), and I'm planning on devoting at least a couple of days solely to looking around that area.

If you've ever been to Hong Kong, I'd love some suggestions for places to visit!

Much love!

Monday, 22 December 2014

DIY Cat Pockets Dress - Make Thrift Buy #10

So I'm up to episode number 10 of Make Thrift Buy (!) and I've somehow managed to do 2 cat-themed things already. Well, this is the internet after all.

I've been on the lookout for loose-fitting black dresses in op-shops for months now so that I could try to make this Dolls Kill pinafore/dress! Retailing for a somewhat ridiculous $119, I thought that I could probably recreate it for somewhat cheaper. I reaaaally like how it turned out. Anyway, have a watch & enjoy! And please keep those amazing suggestions for new challenges coming!

p.s. for people without overlockers, I added a whole bunch of tips for sewing stretch fabrics to the video description.

Love,