Not another hanging branch clothes rail tutorial!

Branching out into DIY rustic chic.
For those of you who have wondered where I've been of late I'm now ready to break my silence on why things have been so quiet over the past month. My recent move has been a roadblock-ridden, time-consuming nightmare (though I fancy I've become quite the expert on wall fixtures and light fittings in the process) but undeniably worth it in my fabulous new 19th century maisonette flat.

I thought I'd share my method because,  while my imagination was captured by the rustic DIY hanging branch idea, I struggled to find a tutorial that gave the specifics, like the type of rope you needed (although I found plenty that used chain), so after consulting with my trusted sources, I thought I'd share the experience so that you too can get the look. For the branch, I'd recommend whitewash paint. I also threw in a few sprinklings of Fimo gold powder.

Expect many a home DIY project to come your way, as well as my usual fashion fare. In the meantime, I'll leave you with some other details from my glamorous new pad.

A photo posted by Charley H (@chiccheatcharley) on Oct 26, 2015 at 3:38pm PDT

A photo posted by Charley H (@chiccheatcharley) on Oct 17, 2015 at 5:45am PDT

A photo posted by Charley H (@chiccheatcharley) on Oct 25, 2015 at 2:48pm PDT

A photo posted by Charley H (@chiccheatcharley) on Oct 24, 2015 at 5:58pm PDT

A photo posted by Charley H (@chiccheatcharley) on Oct 17, 2015 at 10:20am PDT

A photo posted by Charley H (@chiccheatcharley) on Oct 17, 2015 at 9:33am PDT

A photo posted by Charley H (@chiccheatcharley) on Oct 17, 2015 at 5:49am PDT

The Trends on Thursday - How to upcycle a blouse 'cold-shoulder-style'

What springs to mind when one thinks of shoulder-centred fashion? The distinctive padded power-dressing silhouette? Military chic epaulettes? Bare-shouldered bandeau tops or Bardot necklines? Well, this season takes a less-is-more approach with the current cold shoulder cut, hence the inspiration behind this quick, simple DIY fix for making a tired old blouse or top on trend for 2015-2016. Here's to hoping shoulder patchwork is the next seasonal trend so your new creations can be brought up to speed once again in the near future!

What to make of the Spring 2016 Paris Fashion Week shows

The final stop of the top fashion capitals didn't disappoint in the DIY inspiration department.

Paris, where fashion's wildest dreams are famously woven gave me plenty of inspiration for my wardrobe and workshop alike - so much so that I came up with not one, not even two but three collages of DIY ideas.

First stop was at Chanel which, while it's usually among the most high-profile and talked about shows at Paris Fashion Week, this time it excelled itself in craft-worthy ideas to the point where I had to make my own DIY collage.
Elsewhere, there was plenty to work with in the way of DIY and customising ideas including dramatic lace trims at Dior and Céline, sumptuous satin bows at Lanvin, African beading and fringing at Valentino and - my personal favourite - floral cross-stitched wellies at Saint Laurent (festival season's sadly over for this year but as a sure-fire statement to get ahead of the curve for next festival season, you can't get the cross stitch kits and craft mount out too soon).
If DIY isn't your idea of fun - perchance the very sight of a sewing machine fills you with dread - there's still plenty to choose from to get the Paris Spring 2016 look, from brooches at Chanel (again) and Loewe to beady belts (i.e. a new lease of life for an old or second-hand necklace). Also, brace yourselves for some cascading cobra chain coming to many a fashionable wrist near you if the editorial endorsement of Loewe's bracelets is anything to go by for next season.

So there you have it - PFW projects for every occasion and ability level. What would you make of it all?

The Trends on Thursday - what to make of the Spring/Summer 2016 fashion weeks

Apologies again for going quiet on you. The horrific teething problems of moving into a bought flat (which included dealing with the most incompetent internet service provider on the planet) have once again got the better of me and so sadly all I have to share as of yet are some DIY ideas from the looks at London and Milan fashion week that have inspired me the most so far.

It's a Washi-out - DIY photo frame tutorial

Massive apologies for the neglect and woefully late updates. Moving house (well, flat) has been a challenge with some pitfalls and, shall we say, technical issues (when you own a place, everything about it is all yours - and your problem). I'm also not due internet access for another week so that too has had to be outsourced.

Logistical barriers aside, it thankfully hasn't stopped me from creating and customising (in preparation for when I finally have to devote less spare time to making the place functional, leaving more for making it beautiful). Expect many a project and update on my recent home décor efforts over the next few weeks. My latest project involves a pane of glass I salvaged from a second-hand picture frame (which, incidentally, I bought for £8 from a market to use for another project).

You will need...

A pane of glass or clear plastic

Sticky back plastic (N.B. It has to have a grid printed on the backing)

2-3 differently patterned rolls of Washi tape

Scissors

Tape measure (optional)

Masking tape

Difficulty

Very easy

A classic case of cut, stick 'n' colour, without the skill of colouring in required!

Time

1-2 hours, depending on how many squares you want to cut (as I'll detail later).

Get the picture(s)

Decide how many photos you want your frame to hold. I chose 12 because I had quite a big pane of glass.

Use the grid on the backing of your sticky back plastic to decide what size you would like your  photo sleeves to be before cutting them out. I made mine 12x12cm (i.e. 6x6 squares according to the grid).

Using the grid on your sticky back plastic, peel and fold back a certain amount of backing along the bottom and on the two sides.

Cut away the excess backing.

Once you have cut out all the photo sleeves, you need to plan out where you are going to put them. Try to leave an equal amount of space between the photographs and the edges. I tackled this by  placing masking tape along the bottom.

I then placed another row of masking tape directly above it and removed the tape along the bottom.

I stuck my first sleeve on the opposite side to the tape so that I could align the bottom of the tape with the bottom of the sleeve.

I also used the same masking tape process to leave an equal amount of space between the rows.

Going back to more direct instructions, you might want to measure the glass pane to calculate where to put the sleeves so that they are the same distance apart from each other.

Once you've finished sticking your sleeves down, the final step is to remove all masking tape and, on the opposite side of the pane to the sleeves, stick some Washi tape frames around the 'white' areas of your sleeves.

Turban overhaul - How to DIY a turban headband in one minute

No sew, no fuss for a summer fashion must!

A photo posted by Charley H (@chiccheatcharley) on Aug 25, 2015 at 10:38am PDT

One of my first tastes of fashion journalism came during an internship at Glamour Magazine in suitably exotic Cape Town, South Africa. It was autumn (there and summer here) 2007; I was reporting on what men (heterosexual ones, natch!) thought of the ubiquitous noughties trend of billowing tunics and tulip skirts. It provided a predictably depressing indictment of how fashion's more inventive sculptural ventures translate to the male gaze, with ample words to the effect  of "what's she trying to hide under there?" and "it looks like a maternity dress!" Also included in the arsenal of supposed femininity faux pas were turbans, not so much for being unflattering by the narrow standards and norm that govern western beauty ideals but for being a bit, well, weird. Cultural appropriation has always been a challenge in fashion, not to mention a touchy subject. What makes pastiche patronising and what sells the dream of exoticism intended by the cultural references? Sure, the turban headband fits comfortably within the context of the bohemian hippie vibe of the 70s; it also hints at the mystique of orientalism while distilling it to accessible high street level with knot and wave detailing.

And so we arrive at my take on the trend. It was a maddening irony that the item that was the quickest to make proved the slowest to publish in video form for two reasons: the editing programme I used was slow and its usage more awkward than trying to circumnavigate airport security with a genital piercing; and while the initial plan was to publish it on Instagram, that appeared to come with a myriad of requirements that I had to teach myself. For this, I could include a tutorial within a tutorial, of sorts but, spoiler: it only accepts MP4 videos! Knowing that is half the battle - or seven eighths if we're talking in terms of time! The conspiracy theorist in me (along with a fair few of my more objective deduction faculties) wonders if the omission of this simple explanation as to why one's phone isn't 'seeing' the video when it comes to uploading it is Instagram's way of saying "dear PC users and anyone else too miserly or impecunious to afford a Mac, sucks to be you, trololol!" Rantings aside, this beginners-level tutorial came out a little too frenetic in Instagram form, despite my best efforts.

A video posted by Charley H (@chiccheatcharley) on Aug 25, 2015 at 1:37pm PDT

I made a video which I hope describes the process a little more clearly of how you can turn a second-hand scarf - or, you know, a new one - into a turban headband without even needing to thread a sewing machine.

Fancy a quickie? - 5 projects to do in 5 minutes

Being the busy lady that I am, time has been a little tight for writing tutorials. Still, even in my haste I reasoned that, rather than letting my work suffer, I would use my initiative to share some DIY fashion ideas for those of you who are as busy as I am. And so, here are five ideas for giving an outfit an instant statement - in every sense - with a versatile black and metallic colour palette, as well as details aplenty.