Tiaras & Fascinators News

Special Blooms

2011-10-12T17:38:00.003+01:00

Sir Paul McCartney got married this week to the lovely Nancy Shevell and she wore a beautiful hair flower to match her wedding suit.

Nancy Shevell

Hair flowers are a great way to dress up your hair for a civil wedding, I wore one myself for my own wedding in April this year, and they look so lovely. They are usually worn without a veil, and at the side of the head. I add feathers and Swarovski crystals to mine to dress them up a bit and either attach them to a crocodile clip or a hair comb so they stay in your hair all day. I added a tiny blue crystal to my centre sprig of crystals to cover my 'something blue', which was great!

Our wedding

It's really worth considering one of these blooms if you want something less formal for your wedding. I can make these in any colour and any size you want to match your outfit and they also look great for race meets and summer outfits. If you have an off cut of your dress or suit, perhaps from the hem if you've had to have it taken up, then more than likely I can make a flower out of it for you to match, which makes it really special.

Wedding Hair Flower with Feathers and Swarovski crystals and pearls

I also make smaller flowers on hairpins which are great for everyday wear, or to dress up your outfit. This one was made from an off cut of my customer's dress material, so it matched perfectly. It is attached to a bobby pin/grip and has a sparkly Swarovski crystal in the middle.

Hand cut flower made from off cut of dress material on a bobby pin/grip

Of course, you could always go HUGE and order one of our Viktoria fascinators which are so popular!

Viktoria Fascinator £29

So, blooms can be in season all year around! If you'd like a quote for a bespoke flower, please don't hesitate to get in touch at sales@tiarasandfascinators.com and I'll be happy to help!

Have a great day!

Yooohoo! I'm Back!

2011-10-07T09:43:00.004+01:00

Hello!... Yes, after 8 weeks maternity leave with my wonderful family, T&F is back in production and I've started off the week with two beautiful fascinators, one of which is winging its way to Virginia, USA as I type via express courier as our client wanted it quick sharp!

Constructed in navy sinamay with navy and silver biot feathers, this gorgeous little Jane Fascinator is always so popular. It's small enough not to be a statement piece, but just the right size to complete your look if you want something pretty but not too large. It's flat, so suits all types of hair and is so light it sits comfortably in your hair all day without moving.

Jane Fascinator in navy

Our April Fascinator was for a lovely client in Essex in the UK. It's always fun making this piece as it's definitely a statement! It needs 2 discs of sinamay which are hand blocked to the correct shape and left overnight to dry, then edged with sinamay. The hand rolled sinamay leaves give even more height and definition to the piece, and the feathers soften it all. This client wanted her piece on hat elastic, so that's what we did for her. We made it in ivory and emperor colours as she loved the look of the ivory and black one on the website, but chose to substitute the black sinamay for the purple to match her outfit.

Our April fascinator has been our most popular design this year and has gone all over the world for weddings, race meets, bridal showers, and birthday celebration parties!

April fascinator in ivory and emperor

Remember, all of my fascinators are completely hand made and produced with love and care in the UK by myself for TiarasAndFascinators.com. I take great pride in what I do and aim to provide the best customer service to you so that you receive exactly what you want. I can send out samples of sinamay if you need to see the fabric up close to match to your outfit, and I love taking on bespoke pieces for clients, many of which you can see if you click 'Gallery' at the top of the website.

If you would like a quote for a fascinator, tiara or hair accessory, and you don't see something similar on the website, please don't hesitate to get in touch at sales@tiarasandfascinators.com and I'll do my very best to accommodate you.

I hope to work with you soon. It's great to be back! (even if I'm rocking my newbie to sleep as I type! Multitasking at its best!) :)

Have a great day!

Look What We Made!

2011-09-14T10:22:00.001+01:00

Wow, my newborn is a month old already! Where has the time gone? We had a beautiful baby boy on 12th August and it was the most amazing experience. He's doing really well and just in 4 weeks has developed so much. I'm great, but forgot how exhausting the broken nights sleep make you, but it's all definitely worth it when I look into his big blue eyes.

I'm missing my creating, so I'll be trying to make some new designs within the next few weeks in between the little one sleeping and me keeping my eyes open, so look out for those!

California Dreaming...

2011-08-02T02:31:00.000+01:00

My lovely friends Connie and Stew got married in June in Orange County, California and Connie asked me to create hairpieces for her and her 6 bridesmaids. I jumped at the chance and after lots of 'Trans-Atlantic' ideas, samples sent and chatting via Facebook, we came up with a gorgeous ivory hair flower on a comb for her with Swarovski crystals and pearls on twisted wires in the centre, and a sprinkling of fluffy ivory ostrich feathers to add texture and movement. I loved it and she did too!

For the 6 bridesmaids we went for 1 inch hair comb with a spray of wired Swarovski crystals, pearls and black rhinestones to match their black dresses for a delicate but sparkly look.

I loved making all of these and even though because of my advanced pregnancy we couldn't get to Cali, it was so lovely to know that something I'd made for Connie was with her on her wedding day. It was such a pleasure to be involved in her special day and to know that a little bit of me was there with her and Stew.

Here's to a happy and healthy married life together! xx

Maternity Leave

2011-07-08T09:32:00.002+01:00

I've decided that it's time to start my maternity leave from T&F this week. I have 3 1/2 weeks left to go until our baby is due and I think I need to make sure I don't take on any more orders or I'll be working during my labour to finish pieces off!

I'll be returning to work at the beginning of October, all being well, but hopefully I'll still be posting on the blog from time to time to keep updated with what's going on in the fascinator world!

Princess Charlene of Monaco got married last week and her absolutely stunning diamond hairpiece was a perfect accompaniment to her most beautiful dress.

Yum for the hairpiece, yak for the kiss though!

The guests included a Who's Who of celebrities and the UK ladies wore some beautiful creations.

Naomi Campbell's piece showed height and structure and looked amazing with her gorgeous silk maxi dress.

And the Countess of Wessex's piece was a large head turner worn perfectly on the side of her head and in the right position!

I'm sure there will be a lot more beautiful fascinators on show over the summer for us to swoon over, and I'll be creating a new line of smaller pieces which could be worn every day or may be perfect for those of you who want a little hair fancy but don't want a full on fascinator so please come back later in the year to see what's in the shop.

I hope you have a great summer.

Back soon!

Nicola :)

Eeep!

2011-07-01T18:11:00.000+01:00

Oh my goodness. Could this woman GET any more stylish? Again, Kate, Duchess of Cambridge wows with the most gorgeous red straw fascinator topped with maple leaves to celebrate her first Royal visit to Canada.

I am totally in love with this piece... swooooon!!

Vintage Chic

2011-06-28T17:15:00.000+01:00

Annie Lennox received her OBE from the Queen today for her charity work and wore a vintage felt hat for the occasion. I love the way that she looks so happy and her headpiece really suits her short platinum blonde hair. Vintage is a great way to make sure that you have something really different for your special occasion and if you're lucky enough to find something that's been constructed by a famous milliner of the past, then all the better!

The Duchess of Cambridge wowed us again with her beautiful choice of headwear this week when she joined Prince William to honour the Irish Guards. Wearing a beautiful rouched navy blue silk fascinator which incorporated loops and feathers, she looked so elegant.

Also in great headgear this week was Paloma Faith in an amazing feather fascinator at Beyoncé's new album launch. Not known for her shrinking personality, Paloma's feather fancy was enormous but totally in fitting with her quirky dress sense. I think that's the key to wearing a headpiece. You just have to wear something that's you and that you feel comfortable in. It's great to push the boundaries and go for something a little larger than you would usually wear, but you have to feel like it's a part of you and wear it loud and proud if it's required!

Bye for now :)

Chic or Geek?

2011-06-24T19:20:00.000+01:00

Claudia Schiffer is starring in the new Chanel advert for their designer glasses and the photos, although beautifully lit and post produced really did nothing for me style wise.

The beautiful Claudia is sporting a single hair flower in the pictures, of which there are 5 and it's the placement of these flowers in her hair which got me thinking that depending on where you wear your hairpiece the effect it can have can be very dramatic.

I supply all of my customers with cards that detail how to wear their fascinators but obviously this is only my interpretation of what looks good and how I think my pieces should be worn. I think that these photos show how a product which is placed in an unusual position can either look great, or a bit wrong. What do you think?

Chic?

Geek?

Chic?

Geek?

Chic or Geek?

(all photos courtesy of Chanel)

Royal Ascot

2011-06-20T19:29:00.002+01:00

Well, apart from being a weather washout with the awful rain, Royal Ascot once again wowed us with some amazing headwear. I love pouring over the news the next day to see what fabulous creations were worn, and this year had some memorable pieces.

HRH The Queen wore some gorgeous hats on each of the 4 days she attended, and looked incredible as ever, although I thought her Grandaughters, Beatrice and Eugenie wore some very understated pieces compared to their choices for the Royal Wedding in April.

I think one of my favourites was this fascinator, just for the beautiful structure and the way the colours work so well together. I have some really pretty butterflies which I'm hoping to work into a piece soon so this immediately caught my eye.

Here are my pick of the best from Ascot this year, including the beautiful, and the downright weird... see those birds at the bottom left? !

Here are some of our creations that have gone out in the last couple of weeks.

Jane Fascinator in Chestnut with Chocolate Feathers and Topaz Crystals

Bespoke Chocolate Fascinator with Guinea Fowl Feathers and Grossgrain wide Ribbon Bow finished with Silver Centre

Black Joanna Fascinator with Black Feathers

White Sarah Fascinator with Guinea Fowl and White Feathers

And as Wimbledon started today in the blazing sunshine, here's our contribution to it! Pick Your Own British Strawberries... yummy!! These really are the biggest strawberries I've ever seen and they were delicious as well as being fun to pick!

The Big Smoke

2011-06-07T19:49:00.001+01:00

We made a trip to London last week to celebrate the other part of our 'mini-moon' after our wedding last month, and caught a couple of shows and managed to see the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London. I've seen them before but they never cease to captivate me with their history and their amazing craftsmanship. I could literally look at them for hours... except you're on a moving walkway so it'd be pretty tiring having to keep getting off and running back to the start!

My absolute favourite piece is the Royal Sceptre. It encases the hugest diamond you've ever seen and the sparkle is just out of this world. It really is absolutely spectacular and an ideal bit of eye candy for someone like myself who is drawn to anything sparkly!

'The Royal Sceptre, part of Great Britain’s Crown Jewels, includes the 530.4 carat Cullinan I diamond, also known as 'Great Star of Africa', which was cut by the Asscher Diamond Company. The Scepter dates back to 1661 and was especially redesigned after the discovery of the Cullinan diamond. The Great Star of Africa can be removed from the Sceptre to be worn as a brooch. On the right: Queen Elizabeth II, wearing her Imperial State Crown, holds the Orb and Sceptre used at her Coronation on June 2, 1953.'
(antwerpfacets)

If you're ever in London, be sure to go and see these wonderful pieces!

We stayed right next to Big Ben and the London Eye and my camera-mad husband took some great shots when we were there. Love these colours!

We've been making fascinators too this month of course, and in keeping with the Crown Jewel experience, we made a beautiful Pearl Tiara for a client's wedding in August. The Swarovski pearls have a really lovely shimmer to them and are very high quality, making a great choice for special wedding headwear.

Pearl Tiara

Catherine Fascinator in English Rose with Old Rose feathers on a matching pink ribbon wrapped hairband

Bespoke Connie Fascinator with lilac flower, ivory veiling and a natural straw base

Reverse of Connie with gold butterfly

We were asked to create a bespoke order for a lovely client's Mom who is attending a wedding this month. This was a challenge as the colour feathers had to be very specific and goose feathers to create the right look. We searched high and low for the right shade and shape and eventually came up with the goods! This really was a pleasure to make and we're thrilled with the results, as was the client. It's always great to work with clients to create something really special and specific to their needs.

Bespoke Shrinking Violet fascinator with sinamay base and loops, Emerald and Straw feather flower and Amethyst, Violet and Crystal Swarovski crystal centre spray on a silver hairband

The other news of the week is the lovely Duchess of Cambridge wowed the public by wearing her hair up for a change with a quirky little teardrop shaped straw fascinator with curled and twisted straw strips at the Epsom Derby which she attended with Princes William and Harry and HRH The Queen. She looks as gorgeous as ever!

Looking forward to looking at all the headwear on show at Ladies' Day at Ascot next week! I love this rule:

'A hat or substantial fascinator must be worn to gain entry to the Royal Enclosure.'

Hurrah!!

Loops and Poles

2011-05-28T15:02:00.000+01:00

It's been a busy month again for T&F! We have been creating some great fascinators for clients all over the World, and shipped our first order to Poland last week! Our US customers have been busy ordering headpieces for the Derby and for weddings and it's been really lovely working with such great people for their special events.

Here are some of the gorgeous pieces we created. I really need to update the blog more frequently so there's not such a long list!

This first one was a bespoke piece which came from a design that a client showed me that was on her skirt that she was wearing for a wedding. The first picture is the skirt pattern, and the second what we created from that design. We picked out the mother of pearl buttons, and the looped pattern, and included the sheer ribbon and curled biot feathers to give texture and height. This was a really lovely piece to make and our client was really happy with the result.

Skirt pattern

Bespoke Navy looped fascinator with Royal blue ribbon and navy biot feathers with mother of pearl button centrepiece

White Lola fascinator with Jet black Swarovski crystals

Heather purple Jessica fascinator with white feathers

Black Helen fascinator with black feathers

Poppy red Claire fascinator with white and guinea fowl feathers

3 Flora hairpins in ivory Swarovski pearl

Ivory Tamara fascinator with Tea Rose flowers and copper pearl centres with ivory feathers

Bliss tiara in Crystal and Capri Blue Swarovski crystals

April fascinator in Silverlake and Black with Wine and black feathers

Helen fascinator in Poppy red with White feathers

Viktoria fascinator in Poppy red

Jessica fascinator in Black with Black and White feathers

Claire fascinator in White with Dune feathers, Bonsai green, Lipstick pink and Lagoon blue feathers - this was our Polish piece!

Ivory Tamara fascinator with Ivory feathers

Jane fascinator in Heather with white feathers

Our April fascinator is still really popular at the moment with lots of hearts on Etsy and has been included in a lot of Etsy Treasuries again this month, so thank you to all those mentions!

Have a great weekend!

:)

Royal Wedding Fever!

2011-04-30T19:32:00.002+01:00

What a fantastic Royal Wedding yesterday! There is so much to say about the fabulousness that surrounded it, that I hardly know where to start. The obvious place would be with the amazing dress designed by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen. It seemed to be perfectly suited to Kate's modern style, but with her signature twist on old fashioned glamour. We loved it! She looked every inch the fairytale princess and stood next to her Prince in his Irish Guard uniform, they made the most wonderful couple. The kiss on the balcony, eagerly awaited by millions did't disappoint, and HRHs The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge started their new life together. It was all very exciting to watch and made us very proud to be British!

Of course, we were glued to our TV looking at the amazing array of headwear that the guests were wearing. One of our favourites was that worn by Victoria Beckham. A fabulous bespoke Philip Treacy creation which comprised of a midnight blue pillbox-style piece adorned with gemstones and what looked like curled quills. So elegant when teamed with her gorgeous dress from her 2011 collection. A proper yummy mummy!

Some other amazing creations by Philip Treacy who seemed to be the milliner of choice for the wedding, creating some 36 hats for celebrities and royals were worn by Zara Phillips, The Duchess of Cornwall who both looked wonderful in their gorgeous headwear.

Some more interesting choices by the same designer were worn by Princesses Beatrice and Eugene, and Tara Palmer-Tomkinson who all opted for more cutting edge designs which definitely had everyone talking!

We can't not mention Carole Middleton's gorgeous design by Berkshire based milliner, Jane Corbett, and HRH The Queen in her gorgeous primrose yellow creation which complimented her outfit perfectly by Angela Kelly. She really did look so fabulous in her outfit and at 85 wears it well!

Last mention goes to the gorgeous chief bridesmaid and sister of the bride, Pippa Middleton who wore a beautiful floral hairpiece comprising of Lily of the Valley. So understated but so perfectly matched to her fabulous sheath dress with that exquisite button detailing down the back. Proving the fact that sometimes, less is definitely more!

A great day for hats and fascinators. We're sure that some of these pieces will be in the papers for a long time to come!

April Show-ers

2011-04-28T10:27:00.000+01:00

Well, April has proved popular with our April fascinator. We've had several orders for this piece this month and it's been featured in several Etsy Treasuries too.

Here are some of our April pieces that have gone out to various clients across the world.

Black and Ivory April Fascinator with Black and Ivory Feathers

All Black April Fascinator with Ivory Spadona Feathers (the long curled ones)

Daffodil and Chardonnay April Fascinator with Ivory and White Feathers

Other orders that have gone out all over the world this month are these beauties!

Royal Blue Mini Claire Fascinator with White Feathers

Cherry Red Jane Fascinator with Black and White Feathers

Chestnut Sarah Fascinator with White Feathers

Royal Blue Claire Fascinator with Geisha Feathers

Black Rachael Fascinator with Black and Tea Rose Feathers

We've loved all of these pieces, but maybe the package that we shipped out that caused the most excitement this month was this one that contained 250 bars of Cadbury's Dairy Milk that whizzed off to California to our good friends for their wedding favours! Choco-heaven!!

We'll be glued to our screens tomorrow to see what fabulous fascinators turn up at the Royal Wedding, but we're pretty convinced that it won't be half as good as our wedding last week!

Happy day! :D

Complete!

2011-04-11T19:12:00.001+01:00

I'm so happy that we posted our lovely client in Ohio, USA, her 3 Kate Middleton inspired fascinator creations this morning.

After LOTS of consultations, photographs, emails and sewing, these 3 gorgeous pieces have come together and I'm so pleased with each of them. Each seems to have a life of its own, and will give my client a completely different feel to her outfit depending on which one she wears.

Lots of hours and hard work went into creating these pieces from the initial query email she sent, to the final posting this morning.

I can finally show you the completed pieces in all their glory. Here they are!

Black feathers, with red pheasant tail feathers, hand cut red flower, looped black and red biot feathers and Czech glass beads, on a black fascinator base

Silverlake waved base with porcelain and whispering blue sinamay loops, and a metal flower centrepiece

Black biot feathers, black velvet and silk ribbon, black cut out velvet ribbon and a black and ivory cameo, on top of a black fascinator base

Each of these pieces is completely hand made and all our bespoke work is signed off by our client during the creation process to ensure that she receives exactly what she wants.

We absolutely love taking on bespoke orders, and love working with our clients to give them something absolutely unique for their special occasions.

If you would like a bespoke piece made, please don't hesitate to contact us at sales@tiarasandfascinators.com

:D

Red, White & Blue

2011-04-04T13:03:00.001+01:00

We've been featured in a very British Royal Wedding Etsy Treasury today which includes our Tamara Fascinator. It's surrounded, as ever, by some very talented creatives and very red, white and blue! Check it out here

Rule Britannia!

Tamara Fascinator £79 / $119

Cinderella's Wish

2011-03-27T20:49:00.000+01:00

Browsing through Etsy last week I came across these AMAZING crystal, glass and pearl embellished heels. Possibly every princess's dream footwear, a very creative and clever girl called Tess from tlccreationsuk has SERIOUS patience and eye for detail as every single stone, crystal and twinkle was painstakingly hand applied.

Just give me a minute whilst I drool.....

Cinderella's Wish $470

Check out her shop here for more fabulous footwear!

Featured

2011-03-25T11:18:00.002Z

We've been very kindly featured in a fantastic Royal Wedding blog, as recommended by a current client.

Read here to see the post and some of our latest bespoke creations!

Thanks, Amy!

:)

Tiara Or Not To Tiara??

2011-03-23T17:11:00.001Z

Will the nation's sweetheart, Kate Middleton, be wearing a tiara for her wedding day or will she break with royal tradition and go for something more modern like one of our Lola Fascinators?

Lola Fascinator $59 / £39

Read here for some fab info about royal tiaras and tradition.

The Huffington Post published a piece in February suggesting Ms. Middleton will wear an heirloom tiara on her wedding day, but this is all speculation:

“Royal insiders told me that shortly after the engagement announcement on November 16, Catherine was invited to Buckingham Palace where the Queen had instructed that every tiara, along with other dazzling jewels from the royal vaults, be laid out for inspection in a ballroom. This was when Catherine chose the tiara she will wear on her wedding day.”

Who knows? Tune in on April 29th to find out!!

:)

Kate Loves Fascinators!

2011-03-09T21:24:00.000Z

Princess in waiting, Kate Middleton is rarely seen out without a fascinator during royal duties and society weddings these days. She is single handedly raising awareness of how fabulous fascinators can look and has been wearing some beautiful creations lately. This one is a velvet base with beautful pheasant feathers. Totally gorgeous.

Our Viktoria Fascinator got voted the perfect fascinator to wear for the Royal wedding on OMG! blog! How exciting! Read it here.

We have lots of fantastic orders at the moment, including one for 5 pieces for a client in the USA who is celebrating a special birthday and attending lots of parties this spring and summer, and a big order for a very lovely friend's wedding in San Francisco which includes a beautiful bridal hair flower hand cut from a raw silk-like material and finished with Swarovski crystals, crystal rondelles and Swarovski pearls. Her 6 bridesmaids are having classic sparkly haircombs with crystal rhinestones and black rhinestone accents to match the dresses. I will post some photos when I've shipped the pieces out to clients.

It's all go at T&F headquarters!

How To Make Crystal Snowflakes

2010-11-02T11:13:00.000Z

After the amazing feedback we had for our crystal snowflake hairpin design last month, we decided to let you in on the secret and have put together a comprehensive ebook which shows you a step by step guide on wiring them up for holiday decorations.

We're selling this fab tutorial at a very reasonable $8, which allows you full access to each of the projects below.

FREE SHIPPING!

For sale is my step-by-step tutorial on how to make crystal snowflakes using simply crystals and wire. There are 3 projects in this ebook for you to make, with endless possibilities for using them.

1. 5-Point Snowflakes

2. 6-Point Snowflakes

3. Big Snowflakes

SKILL LEVEL - INTERMEDIATE (some experience with wiring crystals or beads needed)

This PDF file contains detailed instructions on how to make all 3 projects, accompanied by a full colour, clear and detailed photographic diagram to accompany each step. There are 28 pages in this ebook and I give you ideas on what to do with your finished snowflakes.

This ebook tutorial will be sent to you as an attachment in an email in PDF format, therefore shipping is free. I will send your ebook attachment within 36 hours of your payment clearing (although in most cases it will be much sooner than this). I will send this email to the email address that is on your PayPal receipt unless you clear with me before hand that you would like it sent to a different email address via a 'conversation' on Etsy.

This set of instructions is for your personal use only. It cannot be copied, shared, reproduced or distributed in any way or by any means without my prior permission. However please feel free to do anything with your creations you've learnt to make from these instructions as you wish.

THIS IS AN EMAIL ATTACHMENT IN THE FORM OF A PDF FILE. NO HARD COPY IS AVAILABLE.

As this is a PDF, there are STRICTLY NO EXCHANGES OR REFUNDS AVAILABLE. Please be sure you are certain before purchasing this ebook. I am happy to answer any questions you would like answered before you buy, should you have any, and any questions post purchase.

Please note that all rights are reserved to TiarasAndFascinators.com and it is prohibited to make commercial use of the tutorial and/or the pattern.

I hope you enjoy this ebook tutorial. There will be more ebooks coming soon from TIarasAndFascinators.com!

If you would like to buy this tutorial, and make some super sparkly snowflakes for the Christmas season, please click here

:D

Hannah

2010-10-15T15:14:00.000+01:00

My grandmother's name was Hannah. She was a big part of my life when my sisters and I were growing up and she would come over every week to help my mom out with housework and looking after us. She was the kindest lady. She'd give you her last penny, and taught me to knit when I was little. I'm sure my creativity comes partly from her genes. She passed away in 2003 and I miss her a lot. I wish she was still her so she could see what I make. I'd love to try some of my fascinators on her and get her opinion on the things I do. She was a very special person to me, so today's post is particularly poignant.

My fellow Etsy Wedding Teamer, Lynn, from Hairbowswonderworld created this gorgeous Treasury and included our large crystal and pearl haircomb.... called 'Hannah'.

It's always so exciting to be included in any Treasury, but an Etsy Wedding Team Treasury is so personal to us. For someone else in the wedding accessories industry to like one of our products enough to mention us on the same page as such other wonderful sellers is really special, and for it to be the piece that reminds me of my nan is even better. Thanks Lynn! Here's her wonderful Treasury. You can see it live here.

Lynn's Treasury

Hannah Haircomb £69

Our Hannah haircomb is really popular, with many brides choosing to wear it as an alternative tiara with their veil behind it. As always, we use the best Swarovski crystals and pearls and silver plated, or gold filled wire to ensure you receive a piece which is good enough to be treasured and handed down as an heirloom.

Don't forget to check out all the other amazingly delicious creations in the rest of the Treasury! Lynn's fascinators make me want to buy them, even though I make my own! That's how fabulous they are!

I'm off to spend some time with a memory :)

Let It Snow!

2010-10-13T18:34:00.003+01:00

Maybe a little early for my wish to come true, but a recent client in New York commissioned some bespoke hair pins and a bracelet from me which turned my life into a winter wonderland for a little while! The brief was 5 Swarovski snowflake hairpins and a matching bracelet for her wedding in December.

It took me a while to work out the design for this one. Each piece has to be wired in the correct order, delicately so as not to overwork the wire, then securely attached to a hairpin. My client wanted the pieces to measure approximately 2inches across, and the bracelet to have a woven crystal band with an identical snowflake to the pins worked into the middle of it.

I had such a great time making these. I love a challenge, and anything that uses Swarovski crystal is always a favourite of mine to make.

Here are the results. My labours of love for my wonderful client, Alyssa!

Swarovski Snowflake hairpin

Swarovski Snowflake bracelet

I'll be putting some similar snowflake designs into my shop soon in time for those wonderful winter weddings that so many people love now to bring some sparkle to the blushing bride!

The Best Red Dress

2010-09-21T21:08:00.002+01:00

We got featured this week on a fab website called The Best Red Dress. Our Viktoria fascinator was in the spotlight and the write up was great, calling us a 'one stop shop for bespoke hair accessories'

Here's the article : The Best Red Dress

Our Viktoria fascinator is always a crowd pleaser and gets lots of press. I'm not sure whether it's because of the bright red colour or because the flower is such a statement, but it's a very popular piece. This season we've introduced 3 more colours, light blue, aubergine (eggplant to our American friends) and rose pink in addition to our original poppy red. This piece is certainly a head turner! You can find it here.

Viktoria Fascinator £29.00

Hope you're having a great week! :)

Bespoke Beauty!

2010-09-12T21:43:00.001+01:00

I've just finished a bespoke piece which has tested my creativity to the limit this week!

My order was from a client who sent me a photograph of the kind of colours of feathers she wanted on her fascinator and a sketch of what she wanted it to look like. These colours were amazingly bright and totally different to the muted bridal colours I usually work with. The blue, red, green, yellow and black of these feathers really made for a 'wow' piece! My client wanted a light green birdcage veil and for it all to be attached to a silver headband.

Client's Sketch

I always send photos of every part of the design to bespoke customers so that they can see exactly what they are getting, and as this was a detailed and complex piece, my conversations with my client went on over a couple of weeks. I felt like I was making this piece for a long time!

This is the result. What do you think? My client was very happy with the final design, and I think it's pretty close to the original specification. I really love this fun, carnival-esque fascinator. I hope it's going to a very special party!

Private Lives

2010-08-16T08:35:00.002+01:00

So, Alanis Morissette let the world know she was pregnant this week by using a magazine article to announce her happy news. This made me think about how interesting other people's lives are and how we crave details about their lives and what they do outside their public persona. We watched a programme last night on Princess Anne, The Princess Royal at 60, and the interviewer asked her what she was like at home and whether she ordered in pizza. She replied that there's a line between public and private and that question crossed it. I desperately wanted to know the answer so that I could feel some association with her. I think it's human nature to want to feel a human connection to someone, however famous they may be.

Princess Anne

I'm fascinated by the private lives of celebrities and how different people are when they are around the people they love, and being themselves. I'll admit, I buy 'OK!" magazine and pour over the pictures of the latest celebrity showing off their beautiful new £3million mansion, or their new baby pictures in their wonderfully ordered and structured life. I know these pictures are staged and about as far from normality as possible, but I always secretly wish that it was me on the boat in Puerto Banus, or lounging in the Surrey garden and I imagine their lives being that way.

Fortunately for me, I live my life out of the public eye and that's the way it'll stay, so you won't be reading about me in any gossip magazine (unless Brad Pitt comes knocking on my door and I end up marrying him... )

Brad 'sharp intake of breath' Pitt

I think we read into pictures so much. You see a photograph of something and make a split second decision about what that picture tells you. It could be Rod Stewart lazing on a sunbed in Malibu, or a picture of a bride in a tiara with a huge smile on her face, but we all judge and read into other people's lives. I'd guess that our reading is totally inaccurate most of the time, but it's fun. Have you ever played that game when you sit drinking coffee and look at all the people sitting around you and guess what they do for a living? There's a dad at my daughter's school. We're convinced he's a drugs lord.... turns out he's a surgeon! Who knew!!

Can you really read into a person's life just by looking at them? I doubt it, but you can have fun trying... unless you're Gregory House?)

Hugh Laurie plays Gregory House

Lovely Liz!

2010-07-31T14:03:00.000+01:00

This week has seen 'Glorious Goodwood', the annual horse racing event held here in the UK, and our very own Liz Hurley was seen sporting a fabulous flower fascinator to the event. She looked wonderful with her floral headpiece and her gorgeous dress!

I'm currently in talks with a fantastic wedding dress designer who I will be collaborating with soon and creating some special collections for her beautiful range of bridal wear. I'm really excited about this upcoming venture and I'll post more about it soon!!

We're redesigning our website soon, so that it's more interactive and we're actually going to change the name of the business to so that we can target the wedding market more, rather than a general market. I'll keep you posted!\

Check out our Flickr album on the right to see some recent makes .......... >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Laura's So Green!

2010-07-17T18:18:00.003+01:00

We just got a spot in an amazing green themed Etsy Treasury curated by this wonderful artist... Heather Buchanan. Her Heatherfuture shop on Etsy stocks some gorgeous originals and prints.

She mentioned our Laura fascinator which is in green, and strangely enough, the piece that stood out for me straight away when I was browsing her wonderful shop was called Laura Larf Knits A Scarf... and the scarf is green! Some weird greeny Laura psychic transatlantic stuff going on for Heather and I today!!

Here's that gorgeous painting. Skip on over to her shop and have a look at the rest of her cutsie stuff!

Laura Larf Knits A Scarf $18

This is the Treasury she included us in. I'm SO into green at the moment and looking at this is like looking at a sweet shop and always so great to be included with some truly amazing artists! Thanks Heather!

Hope you're having a great weekend!

From Rabbits to Carrots

2010-07-13T10:21:00.000+01:00

So, this is my day yesterday...

Me: "oooh, I'm going to make a carrot cake today! (pictures self as Martha Stewart-type, Nigella Lawson Domestic Goddess)'
T: "Yum!"
Me: "I've read the recipe, I have all the ingredients!"
T: "Great!"
Me: "Dad, have you got any lithium batteries for my electronic scales? They're not working."
Dad: "Yes" (Dad's decorating)

I go to my parent's house and find out that they have batteries!! Yay... Except...no lithium ones.

I drive into town and spend over £3 on 2 lithium batteries.

I remember I need walnuts at the last minute as I am getting back into the car.

I run back to get walnuts.

I get back home.

Me: "These bl**dy scales don't work! I've just spent over £3 on batteries!"
Dad and T (who are decorating): "mmm"
Me: "Right, I'll use the old scales. The ones that don't work properly. Hmph."

I realise I have no sunflower oil. And I only have 2 eggs. I need 3.

I ring my Mom, she's at my Grandad's.

Me: "Mom! Has Grandad got any eggs? Can I have one? Do you have any Sunflower oil??"

Mom: "He has an egg. No oil"
Me: "Steal the egg!! Can you get me some oil on the way home?"
Mom: "erm... I have some at home, you can have that. And I have an egg"
Me: "Exellent. Leave Grandad's egg!"
Dad: "I thought you checked this recipe! (quiet male babbling about me not being organized or something)"

Me: "*&(%£* (inaudible swearing as I get back into the car)"

Drive to parents. Again. Get egg and oil.

Get home and follow recipe. All going well!!

At critical point in mixing together ingredients, mixer breaks.
Me: "NOW THE MIXER'S BROKEN!! (tantrum)"

I mix my exceptionally dense carrot cake mixture by hand. Arm hurts.

Realise I only have 1 cake tin of the right size and this is a 3 tier cake. So have to bake 3 cakes for 20 minutes each. Spend 1 hour waiting.

Me: "Aaaaaggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhh!!!"

3 hours and a hand beaten frosting later, this is the result of what's left...

My 7 year old gave it a billion out of 10. It is, actually delicious, and big enough to feed a small country! I won't however be baking it again as a 3 tier cake, unless I have some Valium on hand...

The recipe's from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook, which is absolutely brilliant! Everything I've made from there is delicious! If you have a spare day, give it a try! Just remember the eggs. And the oil. And the walnuts...

And make sure your mixer works...

:)

Rabbits and Romance

2010-07-11T17:59:00.000+01:00

This week's been an interesting one on Facebook. We did our first giveaway! The idea was that if we got 100 followers of our Fanpage, we'd give away a pair of our Swarovski crystal Romance earrings and it went down a storm! We got over 100 followers really quickly, and our lovely winner chose a pair of crystal coloured crystals for her winning earrings, and we shipped them off to the Isle of Wight. She received them the next day and was thrilled with them, so we were really happy!

Romance earrings have been popular this week! We did 2 more pairs in Rose and Capri Blue colours, and some Dream Earrings in Crystal and Light Creamrose which went off as gifts.

Below are a pair of 9mm Swarovski pearl earrings on 9ct gold posts in Rosaline which went off to Worcester. These pearl studs really look amazing on and the pinky lilac of the pearl made them extra special for the client.

We also had a bespoke order from a rabbit lover, for a silver rabbit charm bracelet with crystal beads which was really nice to make. The charms are adorable and these 5 little ones sit together perfectly!

We'll be holding another giveaway next week on Facebook, and all you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is to 'Like' our fanpage and we'll pick out the random winner! Love to see you there!

Have a great Sunday! :)

Just Peachy!

2010-07-07T21:04:00.000+01:00

My lovely Etsy friend Amy from ThePeachTree has very kindly included our April Fascinator in her blog as a guest curator on lillyella, a wonderful blog which showcases and supports the handmade community. We're thrilled to be included and sit next to some other fantastic artists and designs in this post. Thanks, Amy!

Amy herself is a jewellery artist and sells beautiful handmade earrings, bracelets and necklaces created from pearls and gemstones, in her Etsy shop. Here's a little selection of my favourites. You must go and have a look. I bet you find something you love!

Veronica Earrings $17

Centurion Bracelet $31

Daffodil Necklace $54

Gorgeous! We love The Peach Tree!! Don't forget to visit lillyella too for great fashion advice and inspirational pieces from artists worldwide.

Have a great day!

Tweet!

2010-07-05T21:38:00.000+01:00

Do any of you use Twitter? I'm new to the whole Tweet thing. but I'm actually quite enjoying making new contacts and working out how it all works. I've had a dabble with it before, but couldn't get my head around it, but this time we've added TweetDeck to our arsenal of gadgets and my other half is pretty savvy at anything gadgety, so I left him in a darkened room for an hour, and 'Bingo'! I get to see what's happening in Twit World!

The most difficult thing though was deciding which logo to put as our Twitter link on the right hand side of the blog!!

That little blue bird is way too cute! We settled on the one for the link in the end. We liked him the best. Click on us if you want to follow when we add new products to our line, or when we give discounts and giveaways! We'll be sure to follow you right back :)

Our name is @lovefascinators

We've also updated our new Facebook Fanpage, so if you want to join us for photos and updates, please do by clicking our link on the right. We'd love to see you there!

Treasured In Ruby

2010-07-04T09:30:00.004+01:00

We got a mention in 2 Etsy Treasuries this weekend, both being themed with Ruby and both absolutely gorgeously curated.

The first was by eleonoraesposito and excitingly we were up at the top! Our Anna fascinator was featured.

Eleonora makes garments out of silk and incorporates crocheted elements for a whilsical and romantic effect. I love her beautiful dresses, this one being one of my favourite:
Miss Roby Pink Crochet Chiffon / Satin Dress $100

Check out her Etsy shop for more lovely things!

We also go a beautiful feature and again we were on the top row(!) from a fab seller called BeadFloraJewels. Fen makes wonderful, wonderful things with beads and has a shop full of sparklies! It's well worth taking a trip over to have a little browse and maybe get yourself something beautiful!

My favourite is this:

Luxury silver and white, French beaded flower $45

You really have to go over and have a look at her amazing wedding bouquets, make purely from beads. They are wonderful! Such a talented lady!

Here we are in the Treasury she created, with our Viktoria fascinator taking pride of place!

Thanks both, it's such a thrill to be mentioned in these lists and we never tire of the buzz it gives us!!

Have a great week!

Moo!

2010-06-29T17:23:00.001+01:00

I excitedly got my beautiful new business cards through the post yesterday. I'd been toying with where to get them from for ages, and kept looking at the Moo.com site, and decided to go for it and I am SO pleased I did! Now I have some spangly new cards to tout around, and I love the way I could choose my own photos to be on the front! What do you think?

We also went kite flying yesterday... we flew our little butterfly for half an hour and had such fun!

Then we took some pictures of some beautiful cows... except on closer look, they were actually bulls...eek! (Mooooo...)

We fed horses...

and had a little adventure.

I love my family.

Ascot Big Hats!

2010-06-24T14:32:00.002+01:00

This year Ascot has been bigger and better than ever for fabulously enormous hats and fascinators. Away with tiny whispy hair pieces and in with gravity defying spectacles made up of flowers, flags and butterflies!

Ladies Day was also 'National Hat Day', with the winner being crowned as 24 year old Emma Yeo who made her amazing hat from a luxury japanese wood! (centre photo). All the entries to the competition were inspirational, my favourites being the HUGE red rose by Rachael Shackleton, and the amazingly detailed green sinamay swirl hat by Vladimir Straticiuc, both shown below. (Click the link above for the other entries.)

Here's the winning hat in more detail...

Which one would you wear?

It's always so interesting to see the ingenuity that goes into the enormous pieces worn on Ladies Day at Ascot. The colours and the textures and the sheer size of some of the hats and fascinators makes me want to try them all on!

If you went to Ascot this year, I hope you had a great time and wore something really special to you.

Some of my bigger pieces in the 2010 collection are perfect for race meets and other special occasions when you want to stand out from the crowd! Take a look here. I'm also very happy to work with you if you need a bespoke piece that you don't see on the site. Don't hesitate to contact me via sales@tiarasandfascinators.com

Connie Reversible Fascinator

As a closing mention, Her Majesty, The Queen looked absolutely stunning on all the days she attended Ascot this year with bets being taken on what colour her hats would be! Here she is looking radiant in turquoise.

Enjoy!

Nicola