5 Amazing Things We Loved At Hogsozzle 2018

What an incredible time we had at Hogsozzle this year, I must try not to gush too hard in this post because even two weeks later I'm still buzzing from the fun and frolics.

I definitely over packed for this one...

We arrived in convoy late on Friday afternoon, much later than my plan-loving brain had reckoned on. This meant we didn't have our pick of the pitches, and with 7 tents in our group we needed a large area to spread out. We eventually had to camp right at the entrance, which I was pretty miffed about at first but it turned out swell, we could see and hear everything that was going on and felt right in the action.

And the weekend began! There were so many amazing things at this years Hogsozzle, I honestly believe it was the most fun I've had at a festival for several years, the food, music and company was all spot on. Instead of the usual run down of what we did every second of every day, I want to change up my review style and I'm going to instead share 5 of the best things about Hogsozzle this year.

1. The Once In A Blue Moon Cafe

You have no idea the actual joy I had in my heart as I rounded the corner in the hidden wooded area and saw the first peeks of a tent I recognised from Curious Yellow last year. The Blue Moon cafe people really know how to run a festival chill-out zone. They they sell amazing vegan and vegetarian hot food that has actual nutrients in, they open early for breakfast and they take debit cards - in addition to a fab line up of smaller musical and comedy acts and I believe an open mic. The tent is beautiful too, I found out from them last year that it was custom made for them in India with a wonderful starry ceiling and lots of soft seating.

Late on Saturday we headed over to their fire pit and had a lovely vegan curry full of vegetables and for pretty good price of £7 for the 'deluxe' version with yoghurt and a flatbread. I also have to thank the guys for finding and keeping hold of my phone at one point in the festival! I can't wait to spend more time snuggled up in a corner with a rum, listening to music and chatting with friends at Curious Yellow in a few weeks time! If you want to find out more about the Once In A Blue Moon cafe, they have a website here.

2. Costumes and Crowns 

As always, the fancy dress at Hogsozzle was on point! I spent most of the morning before we set up fixing up my LED crown, my first light-up festival piece that I'd made myself and it was a dream. I did a DIY on how to make your own which you can see by clicking here. The best thing about it was that it lit up the portaloos which were pitch black otherwise!

These photos are from In Squared Photography's album of Hogsozzle pics, click here for more.

The theme this year was Fairytales and Fantasies and people really went to town with some mega costumes! There was so many giant sequins, wonderful facepaint and men in shiny leggings. 

3.  The Curious Yellow Takeover

I can't believe how lucky we are to be involved in two festivals like this that had such a fab crossover. Saturday night in the dance tent was all about Curious Yellow, which I've posted about lots and is coming up in just a few weeks. The DJ's took over with their unique dance vibe for the whole night and went down a storm. Seeing Greg and Dan from the Curious Yellow crew at a festival so completely different to the one they run was so fun and we found out that the Hogsozzle boys  will be attended Curious Yellow in return!

I don't have any photos of the guys as it was really dark in the dance tent and everything looked drunk and blurry by then, if anyone has one of their set-up let me know :)

4. Friends

This was the first time we have been to Hogsozzle without the band playing, so it was all for fun and no stress about instruments or missing band members. It meant everyone could relax and enjoy the weekend so we took a pretty large group of friends with us, some of whom we don't get to see very often and it really made for an amazing experience. Hogsozzle is small enough that you can't really lose anyone, so every corner we turned there was a friendly face covered in glitter greeting us and we had some epic dance tent moments with our crowd. We've talked about Hogsozzle a lot at home so it was really good to show our gang all of the fun there is to be had and make some amazing memories to kick off the summer with!

5. The Paint Fight

So, four years in and I haven't actually taken part in the paint fight. Party because by the Sunday all of my clothes are already wet and muddy and I'm losing my voice, which means I don't especially want to breathe in a bunch of paint dust. This year I planted myself in a prime spot at the top of the hill, near the bar, overlooking the main arena. The incredible Rumpsteppers revved everyone up and it was one of the most epic paint fights I've ever seen, the color just kept on coming every time the beat dropped and everyone came away looking like they were from another planet - next year I promised myself I will definitely get involved, as long as the showers are working! Even though I was pretty far back most of my clothes have remnants of paint powder on them - a word of warning if you are reading this in 2019 and getting ready for your fist Sozzle - don't wear your best clothes for the paint fight!!!!

So that's it, my top 5 favourite things from Hogsozzle this year! There was so much more I could talk about but I don't want to repeat myself from previous years. If you want a fully detailed run down on everything that was Hogsozzle 2018, I found this great post by That Festival Blogger, who I didn't get to meet this time but I'm certain that our paths will cross again by the end of the summer! I want to give a shout out to the Hogsozzle boys for an epic, unforgettable party, Frosty for the paint fight photos, Hayley and Ian for driving, Patawawa for being awesome and also for bringing back the biff with me and all of my lovely friends for making it a beautiful weekend full of love and amazing memories <3

Next up, Curious Yellow in two weeks and I'm BUZZING! I'll be sharing some of our costume ideas for the fruit theme over the next few weeks, if you haven't got your ticket yet, snap one up quick because it's going to unmissable - use the code 10turner2018 on their website (click here) for a tenner off.

Photo credits: Alex Krook, Tasha Rhodes, Ian Frost and In Squared Photography

Light Up Festival Fancy Dress Crown DIY

First things first, Hogsozzle was a blast. You'll be sick of me going on about it if you follow me on any other social media but I just want to take a minute to say I have the serious post-festival blues this week - I'll be doing a full post with loads of photos and thank yous to the incredible crew and stalls early next week.

Right now I'm here to share a DIY for the crown that I made to pull together my Snow Queen costume. I didn't get a decent picture of the whole outfit, it was pretty much just a white top and a big fluffy waistcoat other than the crown anyway, but I do have a lot of pics of me loving life in my light-up headpiece!

I have to say that my usual attempts to create festival fancy dress don't tend to go this well. Right now, my crown is sitting next to me in almost perfect condition, still lighting up, ready to rock another event. This never happens to me. Usually anything I made falls apart instantly, gets lost or broken or simply begins to degrade without explanation. Not this baby. The materials are relatively easy to source with the exception of the plastic base which I was lucky enough to find behind my boyfriends sofa. The actual plastic I used is something to do with digital printing, it's about 3mm thick and matte white. I've found something similiar on Amazon as an alternative and linked in the materials list below.

The instructions below are for creating a Snow Queen crown similar to the one I've made, but you could easily change up the colours and additions to create something that suits your own costume needs!

You will need:

Heavy duty plastic sheet (try this one in 3mm or 2mm if you don't have a craft knife)
Sharp scissors or craft knife
Gluegun
Sellotape
Metal ruler
String of battery operated lights
3 meters of 1cm wide velvet ribbon
2 meters of thin silver cord
1 meter of 3cm wide binding tape
5 medium pompoms
1 large pompom

First, measure your head circumference and add two inches. Use the measurement to draw a strip on the plastic (obviously using one of the straight edges as a guide and to reduce wastage!)

Mark an inch off each end, this will be where you join the crown together.

Mark the centre point.

My centre spike was 4 inches and the spikes on either side were 3 inches. I marked them off with a metal ruler and then drew another line 3 inches higher to use as a guide for the top of the spikes.

Once everything is pencilled in, start cutting. The plastic I used was just about thin enough to cut with normal scissors but next time I'll use a craft knife for a cleaner finish.

Now it's time to decorate! Use the binding tape for the headband. I measured the width of my band so that the binding tape would fold very slightly over and conceal the white edge.

Next it's time to add the lights. I started at one end and worked out there was enough for three lights per spike. Move slowly, securing the wires away from the base of the bulb with a bit of glue. Use your metal ruler to press hard onto each glue spot, this will harden it quicker and leave a flat finish.  Leave the battery pack loose with some spare wire for now.

To wrap the spikes I secured the velvet ribbon on the bottom and slightly to the side with a blob of glue and wrapped it all the way around, covering as much white plastic as possible and making sure to wrap the wire of the lights tightly to the spike. The ribbon is secured with a tiny bit of glue at the top - use the ruler to harden and flatten as before.

Do the same with the silver ribbon, wrapping it round the spike to fill in any gaps. You could add another ribbon or thread here if you wanted but as my spikes where meant to represent icicles I didn't mind the flash of white showing through. You could also paint the plastic with acrylic paint before you start wrapping it.

Use a small pompom to conceal the joins of the ribbons, thread and binding tape.

Finally, I cut a hole in the big pompom and squirted some hot glue into the hole, wedging it hard onto my centre spike. I was most worried that this would come off but it held fast and I don't think I could get it off if I tried!!

I joined the two ends together with sellotape which I also wrapped round the battery pack. This means I could lay the crown flat if I didn't want it to get damaged on a long car journey and also makes it easier to change the batteries.

Done! I would LOVE to know if you try this method to make your own light-up festival crown and see pics of your finished piece! I'm so proud of this that I'm tempted to make some custom ones so if you don't have the time or materials get in touch on twitter or email me.

Festival Fancy Dress Inspiration for Hogsozzle 2018 - Fairytales and Fantasies

Festival season is nearly here! I'm pretty pumped about getting out and about this year and if you follow my blog on the reg you'll know that Hogsozzle in Hertford is the first festival of the year for us. For the first time in four years, the band aren't playing but that isn't going to stop us going and making some epic memories! If you haven't got your ticket yet, HURRY UP -  Click here for the link.

Aside from the free hog roast, paint fight and dancing all night, one of my top favourite things about this little festival is the fancy dress. Every year we try tell people we are bringing how much the whole site goes to town on their costumes on the Saturday night but noone really gets it until they have been - there isn't a person on the side of that hill that hasn't made some sort of fancy dress effort!

So, this year, money is a little tighter so we are going to DIY a lot of our costumes. On Wednesday, I'm hosting a craft night at my house and I'm hoping to knock up something pretty mega so I've pulled together a bunch of inspiration from around the web. The theme is Fantasies And Fairytales which leaves quite a bit of scope.

I tried and failed last year but this year it's happening, I want an LED cage skirt. Searching online led me to the discovery that these are actually called a 'Crinoline'.

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SOURCE: @desiperkins

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My plan is to whip up one of these using O-rings and some stiff metallic fabric, then to stick LED strip lights on the inside. I found some neon string LED's, these come in five colours, I might purchase just the green one but the full kit is only £9.99 - here is a link. By the looks of it, the battery pack is small enough to hide in the waist area, fingers crossed.

I've loved all the tassle bodysuits I'm seeing and I don't think it would be too hard to find a plain one to add my own ribbons or tassles to. I've been browsing Jaded London and Boohoo for inspiration, here are some of the fab ready made pieces that I've found ...

I've looked and looked but I haven't found a DIY for making these kind of bodysuits at home so I'm hoping to photograph my efforts, I'm thinking jewel coloured ribbons and potentially some dip-dying.

Primark have a fab festival range this year too, with everything under £20 and some great dupes of the giant disc sequin pieces that were all over Coachella. Obviously, the hassle here is going to be finding the pieces in store, because if your local Primark is anything like mine then hunting down individual things you've seen online is a bit of nightmare. Still worth it if you can pick up these bits...

No festival fancy dress outfit is complete without a crown, tiara or headdress of some description and they are definitely one of the most fun and interesting things to craft up yourself.

A few years ago I made a crown for the Cosmic Disco themed Hogsozzle, click here to see how.

This year, I'm hoping to go bigger and better with my headwear - I've been in love with Aurora Moon Headwear since I discovered her a few years ago, just look at this total beauty;

I don't think the budget is going to stretch that far (although I think for the work and energy that goes into her pieces, the price is amazing!) so I've been rounding up lots of DIY's and I'm going to have to do my best to construct something that doesn't hurt to wear or fall apart.

Here are some of the DIY's I've found but there are millions out there and obviously, head over to Pinterest for ultimate festival crown inspo.

• This DIY shows you how to make a great base out of twigs and a glue gun

• Such a cute feather DIY from Paige Joanna here

• Make a pompom hairband super easy with this DIY from Brit & Co

• Super easy and cheap mermaid tiara video here

• Here is a great DIY for making a light-up flower crown

I'll be posting about the craft night and sharing the successes and disasters that we whip up over on my Instagram, I'd love if you would give me a follow - @katyclouds. I can't believe it's so close to the May Bank Holiday already. Let me know in the comments below if you are coming along to Hogsozzle and links, hints or hacks for making amazing fancy dress costumes that can withstand festival shenanigans.

Katy x

Ultimate Festival Inspiration - Tassels, Sequins & Metallics

All I want in life is sequins, biodegradable glitter and my friends in a field - four weeks until HOGSOZZLE!! (buy your ticket here)

We can't wait and I'm starting to try and put together some outfits for the occasion that I can add to the ridiculous amount of festival clothes I bought last year and create some super-memorable ensembles. I've put together a wishlist which I'll add to and edit over the next month and hopefully beyond - I hope you will find something that you love...

Amazing right?  Bookmark this page as I'll be adding lots more items as I find them online and these sell out.  I'd love to know what you think, if you make a purchase from my list or your favourite online destinations for festival garms, please leave a comment below, or hook up with me on Instagram here.

Katy xx

- This post contains affiliate links

First Festival Of The Year - Hogsozzle 2018

Does anyone else feel like this winter has gone on for several hundred years? I've forgotten what sunshine feels like on my skin and I can't remember the last time I drank rum out of a grass-filled plastic cup. Honestly, these last few weeks of Arctic weather and cloudy skies has kind of taken it out of me.

So, finally, the Eternal Winter is over and SPRING is on the horizon. That means it's time for the band to start booking up festivals, yay! For the last three years I've been lucky enough to go to Hogsozzle in Hertford during the last bank holiday in May with our friends, an 11-piece band called The Turner Brothers - all my posts about the band and their gigs are linked here.  This year the fun starts on the 25th of May and goes on until 27th - get your ticket by clicking here!

I've shared so many pictures of Hogsozzle over the last few years that some of these may be familiar if you have ever read one of my festival roundups, but I've grouped my all time favourite pics by year throughout this post anyway, because you can't have enough festival throwback pics on freezing Spring days, right?

Hogsozzle 2015...

...more 2015

As the band have played the festival for the last four years running, they aren't on the line-up this year, but I'm hoping this won't stop us heading over yonder hill to the custom built festival site (the guys run Wilkestock from the same site later in the Summer!) and getting ridiculous - we've seen several of the same people year in, year out so I'm looking forward to reconnecting with all the friends we've met over the years.

Hogsozzle is a small festival with a friendly vibe and a serious focus on looking and being as silly as possible. My favourite thing to do there is to sit on one of the huge torn sofas perched on top of the hill and just watch the craziness happening all around.

 ...2016 continued

 Every year the staples of what makes this a joyful start to the festival season stay the same. A glorious powdered paint fight, a couple of huge sizzling Hogs (included in your ticket price) and a line-up of some seriously awesome dance and entertainment acts as well as some of the best fancy dress we've seen in the last few years - and it's one of the cheapest around too. You can snap up tickets on their official site by clicking here.

Hogsozzle 2017...

...more 2017

I would love to try out their luxury camping this time round, each year we've have created our own little campsite area with gazebos and lights but I think trying the luxury camping would be super fun - there's bell tents for hire and the whole thing is set up ready when you get there. I'll be doing some camping and festival essential guides in the coming weeks as we dig our kit out from under the Christmas tree and everything else we've piled on top and I'm always looking for recommendations and gadgets to take camping. This year my essentials are going to include a solar powered fan, some kind of non-heavy, easy to carry chair situation and a battery charger that doesn't blow my phone battery with two uses - please do pop your recommendations below.

The line-up is looking pretty sweet too, no word yet on whether our dance tent favourites Mirrored Theory are going to be playing a set but I do know that Scratch Perverts have a slot and there's a DJ set by Dub Pistols which I can't wait to get down to but the biggest draw for me is the fancy dress. This years theme is pretty generic and I think you could probably dress up as basically whatever you wanted if you put a bit of thought into your backstory - Fantasies & Fairytales. Don't forget my shopping and inspiration guides if you are stuck for fancy dress ideas, just click the images below.

Will you be coming to Hogsozzle this year, or any other boutique festivals? Buy your Hogsozzle ticket here and let me know you are coming, I'd love to join you for a dance in the Pig Pen! I'd be interested to hear about more small, friendly weekends we can get booked in for the summer. After the last few months of snow, ice and staying in I'm definitely ready to start planning an epic summer. Don't forget to drop a comment down below if you've read this far, it really means a lot to me when people comment on my blog posts :)

Last Minute DIY Cosmic Festival Fancy Dress Ideas

This piece refers to Hogsozzle 2017 - long gone but the Cosmic DIY's are still awesome! If you are looking for Hogsozzle 2018, check out this link.

The countdown is on and it's only 4 sleeps until Hogsozzle. I've realised that I am no where near as far along with my costume as I was this time last year, so I thought it would be fun to put together a whole bunch of last minute,  or super simple DIY costume ideas for everyone else that hasn't finalised their Cosmic Disco outfits yet!

If you haven't grabbed a ticket yet and this post inspires you to get your intergalactic garbs out, pop over to their ticket site by click here and snap one up, I don't think there is many left!

Let me know if you plan to give any of these a try, would love to see them on Instagram if you do - just tag my account so I can see - @katyclouds

Click here for this cute sparkly shorts DIY

Click here for an easy holographic tee DIY

Click here for this cosmic printed shirt DIY - you can use the same technique in any shape, so effective! 

Click here for the easiet Galaxy mani you ever did try 

Click for a super easy DIY that will turn your boobs into discoballs

Click here for a (slightly more time-consuming) discoball helmet by the same gal (she's a wiz!)

Click here for the original link - it's a closed etsy store though. 

I feel like this would be an easy-medium project if you had a few spare hours and a bunch of pompoms! I'm kind of tempted to recreate this myself actually in a last minute crafting frenzy!

Can't find the original source of this but looks super easy, yellow dye, green dye and some iron-on fabric. Make it more festival appropriate by using glow in the dark or sparkly eyes! 

(From Pinterest)

Click here for my cosmic crown DIY for last years Hogsozzle

Click here if you have a bunch of these in your Christmas decs that could be upcycled

Click here for this beautiful star crown DIY

Click here for this simple skirt DIY - this fabric is SO cheap and sold at most fabric shops

A super easy guys costume - green morph suit from your nearest party shop and a DIY alien headband!

I hope you have found a little inspiration here, if not, here's a link to Cosmic costume on Pinterest that will keep you set for festivals from here until next century. 

The next post you read here will be the rundown of the festival and how much amazing fun we had – check out my previous posts here for more information on the festival and here for my plans for the weekend – keep an eye on the Instagram feed of @theturnerbrothers and me, @katyclouds for all the action over the weekend, see you at the Sozzle!