The Dragstalgia Fascinator

A few months ago a received a lovely email from burlesque and pin-up model Miss Phoenix, offering her modelling services for Off With Her Head. We got to talking and when she told me that she was going to be the official flag girl for this years Dragstalgia (http://www.santapod.co.uk/e_dragstalgia.php) I offered to make her a fascinator for the event, and what we came up with is the Dragstalgia Fascinator.

I was inspired by the idea of the chequered flag and by hot rod flames and combined them to come up with this piece. The base was constructed from heavy cotton in a chequered print with cotton interfacing ironed to the reverse side, lined with wool felt and edged in with bias (I ended up using black bias instead of the red). The flames were constructed from 3 layers of sinamay in flame colours and decorated with Swarovski crystal accents.

I was really pleased with the finished result and shipped the piece of to Miss Phoenix who, despite the windy, wet weather during the weekend, managed to wear the fascinator and get a few great shots during the day!

Miss Phoenix can be contacted at the following:

http://www.missphoenix.co.uk
http://www.modelmayhem.com/2089874
http://www.purestorm.com/profile.aspx?id...

Products I Love!

As a busy Mum, its important to me to finds beauty products that work and involve a minimum of fuss. I dye my hair, its a dark red/brown and I've been this colour for some time now. Normally I get my little sister round in an afternoon to help me dye my hair but with a one year old running around its not entirely practical. So, when I saw the adverts for the new John Freida Precision Foam Colour which promises a 'quick and easy application' I decided to give it a go.

I selected shade 5R - Medium Red Brown which is as close to what I've been previously using and decided on Monday evening to set aside half an hour to dye my hair. I have to say I was very, very impressed! It is one of the easiest and mess free products I have ever tried. In the past I have had dye all over the bathroom, on the walls, (yep, bright red too on a cream wall!) carpet, radiator and all over the sink by the time I was finished, but the non-drip foam was fantastically easy to apply. I didn't need combs or clips to separate my hair or a third arm to make sure the back got covered properly. You simply add the colour to the developer, tilt 5 times to mix and then squeeze to get a foam which you just smooth over your roots and then massage into the rest of your hair, wait for 30 mins (no longer) then rinse and apply the conditioner and you're done! Easy!

This product gets a 5 out of 5 from me, although the only downside for me personally is the limited colours available... I'd love a really vibrant bright red or purple please!

So tell me, do you feel lucky??

This summer I've been busy working on a new range of fascinators inspired by the old school style tattoos, you know the ones... cherry red hearts with scrolls that have words like 'LOVE', 'ALWAYS'  and 'MUM' written in script across them an popular tattoo imagery such as anchors, swallows and cherries! Well I've some up with a range of 6 designs, that I hope you'll love as much as I do and I thought I'd share the design process as well as the finished pieces.

Sometimes, not always, I start with a blank piece of paper and a box of coloured pencils and fine liner pens! Then from that concept drawing I produce a prototype from cotton and wool felt.

There are 6 different designs for this range (at present, but I have a few ideas for some others!) - AHOY, LUCKY, LOVE, CHERRY, SWEET and ALOHA. Cotton print fabrics for each design are selected and each heart is cut from a template. Cotton interfacing is then ironed to the reverse of the fabric. Matching or sometimes contrasting wool felt hearts are also cut from the template and matched up with the cotton pieces which are then bound together and edged with bias.

Decorative elements for each piece are then selected. Pieces such as the banners, text, swallows and cherries are hand cut from wool felt and appliquéd to create a 3D effect.

I'm really please with the finished pieces! I think my favourite one has to be LOVE!

I took these with me to London for The Roost photo shoot with photographer, Ange Harper, and they received lots of positive feedback from both the models and photographers there. The lovely Lilah, who if you've seen my website over the years you will be well acquainted with, modelled a couple of designs for me, my favourite on her is LUCKY! Would you mess with this feisty Femme Fatale, tell me punk do you feel luck, well do ya??

Tattoo Inspired Fascinators RRP £30.00, available from the website and Etsy store at www.offwithherheadmillinery.co.uk

Introductory offer - get yours now for £25.00, offer ends 31st August.

Modelling for James Corrin/Captured Light

At the start of July I popped down to London for the day to take part in the annual Roost Photoshoot organised by Ange Harper (http://www4.clikpic.com/AngeHarper/) and as well as supplying a large suitcase full of hats for the other models to use I got dressed up and modelled for a couple of the photographers too!

The first set I have to offer is by James Corrin (www.capturedlight.eu), a fantastic photographer who really put me at ease, and as you can see he produced some fantastic images!

Cherry Fascinator by Off With Her Head (www.offwithherheadmillinery.co.uk)
Clothes, Styling and Make-Up all models own.

Labyrinth

Last night, Alan and I had a baby-free evening and headed off out to the DCA to see a showing of the 1986 movie 'Labyrinth' starring David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly. 

Having loved this film for as long as I can remember and owned it in many formats (VHS, DVD and now Blu-Ray), I was excited to see it in the cinema. This was the first time I had seen it on the big screen and I was not disappointed! There were around 100 off us fans packed into the cinema at the DCA (which has some of the comfiest cinema seats I'm sat in for a while). As the movie started there were murmurs of anticipation, the now somewhat dated CGI owl flew across the screen, and the opening scene of Sarah reciting lines from the Labyrinth commenced. Throughout the movie you could here others reciting lines that we all knew and loved, not least the whole 'You remind me of the Babe' part which I did too join in with! We all laughed and the goblins and at the gratuitous crotch shots, and sang along with the songs and a few of us even applauded at the end too!

It has been, and will always remain one of my favourite movies of all time. Alan and I even had 'As the world falls down' played at our wedding this past march! I've always had a soft spot for anything Jim Henson and Brian Froud! This was a real treat for me and I highly recommend that if its coming to a cinema local to you, go and see it!

Finally... can anyone guess who this is... he was perhaps the 'star' of The Labyrinth back in the day... but my hasn't her grow up!

Fascinator Friday... How you can get involved?

Well its a little late on this Friday, but here I am after a long shift at work, seeing off the Hubby for his weekend away gaming a settling Kaylee to bed, to tell you all about just how you can get involved in Fascinator Friday!

We all know that hats and particularly fascinators are becoming more and more popular, not least thanks to the many fascinators worn in recent months by the new Duchess of Cambridge! And I'd like to create a reason for us normal folks to wear their fascinators with pride... and so I give you 'Fascinator Friday'... the one day of the week when for no other reason than because you can, you don your favourite fascinator with pride!

And I'd like to see the results of our little campaign to bring back the hat into everyday wear, so please email me with your pics... and once a week as well as showcasing some of my favourite pieces I've found on Etsy I'll also pop up a couple of pictures from my Fascinator Friday gang... so if you'd like to get involved then simply send your pics to LisaJ@offwithherhead.co.uk

Thats all for this week... its been a hectic week and I'm going to settle down with a good book and the tennis for the rest of the night... talking of tennis, pop back next week for my Fascinator Friday, with a Wimbledon theme, just in time for the finals!!

Its Fascinator Friday... Wedding Edition!

Well its now the middle of June and we're well into 'wedding season'. Having recently been a Bride myself (Alan and I we're married this past March!) I know how important those little accessories are in finishing off your wedding day look! So I've had a look through Etsy again this week and picked a couple of my favourite pieces by some more very talented milliners that are sure to add to that special day.

First up as always is my own piece... the 'Something Blue' Fascinator, hand-crafted in a crisp white cotton and lace, backed with matching wool felt, trimmed with ric-rac and three handmade white lace roses, the centre of each filled with pale blue bead stamens. This pretty little fascinator is sure to add a touch of country chic to your outfit.

Something Blue

Secondly I found this amazing piece by Boring Sidney. This piece ticks so many boxes for me, its quirky, beautifully made and Tim Burton inspired!! I adore Tim Burton and especially the movie Big Fish (I actually just treated myself to this on Blu-Ray this past week!), so a fascinator named 'Ping & Jing' after the siamese twins in the film really grabbed my attention! An amazing piece of work, custom made to order!

Ping & Jing

Finally, for the rock 'n' roll bride I came across this amazing fascinator by Janine Basil. I love all her work, especially the comic book inspired fascinators with slogans such as 'POW' and 'KABOOM' but I simply adore this little ivory heart adorned with little gold studs and lots of veiling! Certain to make a statement!

Rock-n-Roll Bridal Fascinator

Thats all for this weeks Fascinator Friday... be sure to come back next week to find out how you can get involved in Fascinator Friday, as I attempt to make Fridays a day to wear your favourite Fascinator regardless of the occasion!