The Pineneedle Collective

Sunday, 7 December 2014

DIY Pleated Skirt

Hello! So about a week ago I was inspired by Carbon Chic to learn how to make my own pleated skirt. I had always been scared of sewing pleats - but now I know that it's actually much easier than you might think! In this video, I have tried to explain how to make a style of pleats called "knife pleats" - the same type that is popular in American Apparel skirts right now - as simply as possible. Enjoy, and let me know what you think of the video!

I hope you're all having a great weekend,

Wednesday, 3 December 2014

DIY Cactus Shirt - A Simple Way to Update a Plain White Shirt

Yesterday I got bored of owning a bunch of plain white shirts, so I decided to draw cacti all over one of them. I also cropped the shirt, added ties and performed a simple alteration to make it button up to the neck.

And then I made a video!

Have a watch:

"Templates" for the cactus designs so that you can do the same on your own shirt:

Draw these shapes using green paint.

Draw the pots! Use whatever colours you want. I used three colours - blue, yellow and pinky-red - to give the pattern some consistency. Wait for the green to dry first.

Using permanent marker, draw an outline around your shapes, and then add cactus bits and spikes like in the above example (note: wait until the paint is DRY before attempting this).

If you try this out then tag your photos with #diyannika on instagram. I would love to see what interpretations you come up with. Good luck!

Tuesday, 2 December 2014

Donut Look At My Butt

Top is from Knickerocker | Bottoms c/o Knickerocker

I have desperately wanted to own a Knickerocker piece ever since discovering them on Etsy about 2 years ago. Recently, I was lucky enough to win a giftcard in an Etsy competition and on the top of my wishlist was the top half of this amazing donut-themed set from Knickerocker. After I posted an excited picture on instagram of my order, Knickerocker checked out my blog and then surprised me by sending me the other half of the set! How lucky am I?? I'd had a frustrating day of dealing with my broken sewing machine and repair technicians, so coming home and discovering not just the top but the knickers in the mail totally made my day. Handmade in the UK, Knickerocker have a focus on vintage-inspired novelty designs, and have been on my Ethical Fashion directory for over a year now! Check them out because they are amazing.

I hope that you've all been having a great day,

Monday, 1 December 2014

This S*** Is Bananas | DIY Banana Backpack

Hallo! I made a new video yesterday - episode number 9 of my Make Thrift Buy series - demonstrating a simple way to recreate this banana-print backpack. And of course, I had to pair the backpack with a banana brooch in my outift ;) I hope you like the video!

Love love love,

Sunday, 30 November 2014

Learning how to make up, thrifted red dresses and sailor hats

Hello! I'd like to introduce you all to my gorgeous friend Tilde (pronounced till-da), who runs the make up blog Powder Puff Girl. One of my goals this year has been to learn how to do make up properly - something I am embarrassingly lacking in knowledge about for a fashion blogger. As a consequence, it's never something that I've focused on on my blog before. My usual routine is: foundation, eyeliner, mascara. Maybe lipstick. Primer only if I'm feeling really adventurous. Done. What more can there be to it?

A lot more, apparently.

The make up below amounts to about half of Tilde's entire collection. 0_o

Today I learned that you can create fake shadows on your face, and that different shades of eyeshadow are reserved for different parts of the eye. You can prime your eyelids, highlight your waterline and shape your brows. This was all totally new to me.

I felt like I was exploring a totally alien world. After Tilde laid out her make up kit, I started picking things up things I didn't understand using them in totally the wrong way, having Tilde correct me: "No, Annika, that's beige eyeliner - not concealer - stop putting it on your chin" etc.

But, I still don't understand the need for all these brushes. SERIOUSLY. So. Many. Brushes. I don't even own one make up brush.

- I feel so out of my depth here.

Anyway, here's some before-and-after shots, and I'll let Tilde work her magic!

(To her credit, Tilde actually did use most of the brushes.)

And *drumroll* - our after shots!

I am wearing seventeen different products on my face. SEVENTEEN. (Tilde counted it as 16, but I am wearing 2 lipstick shades.)

Tilde has all the products applied to our faces listed on her blog if you want to know what was used!

Right now, I'm trying to convince Tilde to do some make up video tutorials with me on my youtube channel. Because not only do I think it'd be super useful for other people, I could watch them again myself, and from them learn how to do my own make up... ya'll should head over to her blog and ~~bully~~ convince her into it, if that's something you'd also find useful!

Of course, we also took some outfit photos! (see Tilde's on her blog)

Dress - thrifted | socks - Glebe Markets | hat - Tilde's | shoes - Naot

Can we please make sailor hats a thing, and like normalize them for everyday wear? I enjoyed wearing Tilde's way too much! Don't be surprised if I buy one & suddenly start wearing them in half of my outfit posts from now on...

Anyway, Tilde is giving me her Urban Decay "Naked" palette dupe, and I'm excited to start changing up my make up routine a little bit more! Please go easy on me if it doesn't look *amazing* to start off with, haha.

I hope that you're all having a gorgeous weekend,

Friday, 28 November 2014

In Bloom / Milk and Chemistry

I took these photos the day after I finished my last exam, and it was the first time that I had dressed up to go out in a lonnnng time. I matched a bunch of reds with dark red and more red, because I love matchy-matchy colours.

These pretty, pretty tights are from Tabbi Socks, and are made in Japanese city that is apparently famous for it's sock-making - Koryo-city, Nara! Included in my order was a brief history about the city and the lives of the people who live there. I wish that more companies told you the story behind their manufacturing processes - I think that it's good for you to know more about where your clothes are coming from, because it's all too easy to take them for granted. Also, Tabbi socks have the prettiest floral tights for sale right now and it's making me wish that it wasn't about to go into full-blown summer here, because I want them all!

I have to give a quick shout-out to two amazing artists, whose work I have admired for a long time, who both surprised me this week by drawing me! These artists have two very different styles, and I love them both.

The first is by Rachel, who sent me this gorgeous watercolour illustration. I just love the dress and necklace that Rachel put me in - I think that I'm going to have to recreate both somehow!

Anton Belardo (@jellyfishkisses on instagram) makes the most wonderfully creepy-cute collage-style fashion illustrations. Just as I was sitting in a doctor's surgery today feeling super nervous, scrolling through instagram, I found that I'd been tagged in this amazing illustration - which brightened my mood considerably! I'm a badass mermaid - I can get through anything (plus, the news from my doctor ended up being good, so that was even better). Thank you so much, Anton!

I am so lucky to have been connected to such creative people through the world of blogging, and honoured to be considered a worthy muse for their art!

And finally - some science.

Chemistry is ridiculous! This is what happens when you combine milk, food dye and dish soap (which is on the end of the cotton tip).

So what's happening? Milk contains a lot of water, but it also has some fat, which is a "water hating" molecule (hydrophobic) - this is why when you pour oil into water, the two don't mix.

Adding soap - a molecule that has one "water loving" (hydrophilic) and one "water hating" (hydrophobic) end - starts the chemical reaction. The hydrophilic end dissolves into the water, while the hydrophobic end attaches to the fat molecules. The hydrophobic ends of the soap try to match up with all of fat molecules they can find, causing the food colouring (which, being less dense than milk, floats on the surface) to be moved around in all different directions.

And you can do this yourself at home! I love DIY science!

I hope that you are all having a beautiful day,