The Mars Patrol

This week I'm crafting a set of bat sweater clips for Davina Divine, lead singer of The Mars Patrol and giving you the chance to win a personalized pair featuring your favourite animal. Scroll down to the comments for your chance to win!

Bats were at the top of the list when Davina told me all the things she loved. With Halloween just around the corner, these clips were the perfect accessory to make for her to rock on stage. Sure to spook up any outfit, you can use this same technique to make a set in your favourite design.

"Thanks so much for my lovely wee bat friends, they are really cute! I have never actually had an accessory like this before and I can see how many clothing items in my wardrobe it will help to 'jazz up'. They couldn't have come at a better time too as Halloween is approaching."

Can you tell my readers who you are and what you do?

Hello folks, I'm Davina and I sing in the band, The Mars Patrol.

When you were a kid - what did you want to be when you were older?

I have always had a creative soul, I love the Arts. My Dad is a folk singer and used to play lots of music to me from an early age. I have always wanted to sing and remember reaching for the broom handle to be my mic stand!

What are your best and worst habits?

I do spend quite a bit of money on raw chocolate. Its just so good! Tastes better than any of the shelf stuff and it's better for you :) I have been known to dabble in this experience for a significant number of days in a row ;)

How would you describe your style and who are you ultimate style icons?

When I was at art school I was forever going around the vintage and charity shops seeking anything 1960s as I really liked that look and music (I still do) although now I am more into a rockier style and I sometimes have a bit of a country vibe depending on the day. I like to mess around with my hair mostly and have had a few experimental hairstyles over the past couple of years including my bright red fringe which was fun! Fashion can be quite difficult though and expensive too. There's a lot out there and in shops but just because it's 'in fashion' doesn't mean it will always suit you and for me it's more about having some timeless key pieces in my wardrobe. Every now and then I will see something I love and that I know will make me feel good too which I think is quite important. I like the idea of making clothes also, right now I've got a sleeveless denim jacket that I am slowly but surely adding things to.

If you could be anyone else for a day, who would you choose and, if you could join any band which would it be?

I would probably rather be a creature for a day more than a person. I have always had a fascination with bats but as of recently I have a new love and appreciation for them. When we were recording our new music out in the countryside we had a bat come visit us in the studio. We discovered him late at night flying around the main control room right before we went to bed. We lost sight of him and when we woke up the next day we discovered him sleeping like a baby in a candle vase on the windowsill. We looked after him all day and released him safely back into the wild later that night as he woke up. I think seeing them so close up made me realise how amazing they are. So I'd probably be a bat for a day (or night!) so that I can see what it's like to fly, have leathery wings and try out echolocation.

As far as joining another band, I'd maybe like to rock out with someone fun like Dave Grohl or sing with Steven Tyler, he makes me feel funny.

Where is your favourite place in the world and why?

Apart from my secret treehouse on my very own private island, I don't have one specific place although I do love to travel and I think I am yet to find that perfect place to call my own. I love living in London though as there is so much going on if you need it and I also like how you can pretty much go anywhere in the World from London. It also has a great creative presence including music, film, art, design and crafts etc.

Do you do any crafts and what do you like to make?

I used to be into making handcrafted greetings cards and selling them on stalls and in shops. They would have tactile images of 3D animals, insects, people etc and I used materials like femo and fake fur. I actually have a degree in art & design. Right now I am now into baking and cooking and I love to be artistic with food. Recently I made vampire cupcakes which I was quite happy with and yesterday I made a chocolate cat cake by cutting a stencil of a cat and dusting around it with icing sugar! My friend was very happy :)

I also love fancy dress and Halloween and it's so much fun to make outfits. One of my favourites was a poisoned Snow White outfit I put together for myself. I already had the dress in my cupboard so I decided to mess it up and add some homemade accessories like poisoned apple earrings, skull tights and then paint myself very pale. It came out pretty good! Another outfit I made was for our guitarist Ross, where we put together an evil Ronald McDonald costume. We bought a white jumpsuit in Camden, cut it up and dyed it yellow, then we painted red on it and added loads of blood, that was pretty good fun and he looked awesome!

Where do you find inspiration?

What life throws at me really. I find inspiration in the people that support my music and it's especially inspiring when someone from another country buys our music or comes to a show. The fact that someone I have never met can have a connection with me through something I have written is unbelievably special and it's what keeps me going. I also love going to the Zoo and I have been a member at both Edinburgh and London Zoos for a few years. Nature is so innocent, refreshing and real which makes a change from all the greed, self-obsession and me-first-society in the World.

What would your dream day look like?

Haha, being pampered and massaged all over for an entire day. I enjoy being 'monkied'. And then some sushi for dinner!

Finally, if you could have three wishes, what would they be?

To continue to stay healthy, happy and have an interesting/prosperous life.

And if i got more wishes… - To be able to breathe under water naturally, maybe I would have gills and swim about. Perhaps there is a whole other world to discover, I remember that film The Abyss was pretty interesting. - To be able to talk with animals and creatures (Dr Doolittle style) would be pretty cool and it would be good to know how they see the World and what they think of humans.

Win a set of personalized clips!

To win your own set of sweater clips, like the ones I made for Davina but featuring your favourite animals, leave a comment telling me who you'd like to see me craft to the stars for next?

Contest closes on December 1st. Good luck!

Check out The Mars Patrol website to find out more about the band and Davina!