For The Love of Tulle*

T he inspiration for this blog came from my Lil (understatement of the decade!) dress collection. I have one dress with a tulle skirt and I am so surprised that I don not in fact have more! I have only worn it once and am reserving it for future 'special' occasions. Why? Because theres something about it that make me feel like a little girl playing dress-up, magical, whimsical. But that's just what Tulle does. She wraps you up, with an airlessness that shouts: "I'm as light as a fairy"! Two of the most beautiful things a girl can wear are made from Tulle: The wedding dress and the Ballerina's tutu :) This fabric transports one to a world of make-believe, girlyness and utter fabulousity!

Tulle is a lightweight, extremely fine netting that is often starched. Some of the various fibres that usually make up this fabric include silk, nylon and rayon. It comes in a wide array of colours and can also be dyed to suit your taste to any colour you would like! The name comes from Tulle, a city in the southern central region of France (we LOVE everything France*).

The majority of the fabric is made up from Bobbinet which is made by wrapping the weft thread around the warp thred thus creating a strong hexagonal design which tends to keep its shape. The result is tulle netting which is lightweight and surprisingly very durable and strong for its weight.

Coming soon: Uses for Tulle, Tell it with Tulle
















I {LOVE} the contrast of the soft and hard in this photo!



pictures: weheartit

Look What I Found: Beautifull Umbrella's!

S o I am in the {lovely} city of Cape-Town and it is rainy and wet (as it always seems to be)* I need to go out and buy myslef a cute lil umbrella! Here are a few pretty ones that made me smile***



When the sun shines, we'll sing together

Told you I'd be here forever

Said I'll always be your friend

Took an oath and I'ma stick it out

till the end

Now it's raining more than ever,

Know that we'll be here together...

You can stand under my umbrella,

You can stand under my umbrella

--ella ella eh....* (Rhianna)

Pictures: weheartit

Happy Fathers Day

Happy Fathers day to my amazing father!

 My dad is a truly amazing dad in way many more ways than one!

 He is brave and strong, yet gentle and soft at the same time.

He is clever and knows {almost} everything (but of course i know more)..

He has a way of looking at you from the other side of the room, without saying a word and you just KNOW you are in trouble:)

From the same side of the room he can simply wink and your heart hears an "i love you"

Things I remember about my dad when I was little:

He was the tallest dad of them all

He could fix an eina by simply picking you up and putting you on his lap

We would go for drives, just me and daddy:)

He was my  absoulte hero

My dad was never late.to anything.

My dad tried to teach me  a lot of things but I was too clever for that and didn't need he's advice because I was never going to make the same mistakes as him*

He had the biggest shoes EVER and I loved it when he let me stand in them!

Things abut my dad now:

He has shaved his mustache and now we can talk about alot more things because he doesn't look so scary anymore (or because i'm older-but i think its the mustache?)

Now I listen to everything my dadda tries to teach me because I know the pain that my {tiny} heart has been through from trying to do things "my way"

My dad is a Christian*

My dad phones me, everyday and talks to me about the dumbest stuff for like an hour------when all he really wants to say is he misses me:)

My daddy, Lukas Cornelius Nel, is **still**

and ALWAYS will be...

my

hero.

Happy Birthday Lisa*

H appy Birthday to my lil friend Lisa,

I know that The Lord has BIG plans for this lil girlie:)



A Royal Affair...

Millions of people, especially girlys watched the Royal wedding on Friday! You know you're a girl when you are sitting sipping tea and eating delicious goodies while marvelling at Kate's wedding dress! And what a pretty dress it was! mmmmmmmmm, what did you do for the lil Royal Wedding?

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Picture 1{weheartit}

mmmmmmm...{hot cross buns}*

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A  definate favourite of mine come Easter time is the scrumptious hot cross bun!I absolutely LOVE them! You can eat them warmed up with a bit of syrup or custard or you can simply eat them cold with a spread of butter!Here's how to make your own:

For the buns:

*450g {3 1/2 cups} flour

*1  Teaspoon salt
*1 Teaspoon spice {mixed from ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves)
*1/2 Teaspoon ground cinnamon
*1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
*12g  active dry yeast
*50 g {1/4 cup} sugar
*100 g raisins
*150 mL {1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons} lukewarm milk
*50 mL {3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon} lukewarm water
*1 egg, lightly beaten
*50 g (1/4 cup) softened butter

For the crosses & glaze:
*3 Tablespoons flour
*1 to 2 Tablespoons water
*1 egg yolk, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon water

This recipe makes 12 buns***

Notes:
*This recipe has been halved to make six buns, and used the remaining half of the egg for the glaze.
*In addition to or in place of raisins, you can use orange rind, diced, or a bit of lemon or orange peel would be lovely too.
Step 1:Combine the flour, salt, spices, yeast, sugar, and raisins in a large mixing-bowl.
Step 2:Form a well in the center, and pour in the milk and water.
Step 3: Stir with a wooden spoon in small circular movements from the center, to gradually mix the liquids into the dry ingredients.
Step 4: When the liquids are just mixed, add in the butter, and keep stirring until the dough has "swallowed" it up.
Step 5: Gather the dough into a ball, add a little flour if it feels sticky, a little water if it feels dry.
Knead the dough (inside the mixing-bowl or on a lightly floured surface) for ten minutes -- after a minute or two, the dough will start to get stickier than it was at first, but it will become smooth and elastic again as you keep kneading.
Step 6: Lightly sprinkle the mixing bowl with flour, put the dough in, cover with a kitchen towel, and let rise in a warm spot for an hour -- it should double in volume. Punch the dough down, divide it into twelve squarish buns, and arrange the buns on two lined baking sheets, leaving about 5 centimeters of space between them. Step 7:Cover with kitchen towels, and let rise again in the same warm spot for 30 minutes to an hour.
Step 8:In the meantime, prepare the crosses: combine 3 tablespoons flour with enough water to form a ball of dough (start with one tablespoon, and add just a little more water to reach the desired consistency).
Step 9:Spread it out thinly on a lightly floured surface, and cut 24 thin strips, about 15 centimeters in length.
Step 10: Pour two tablespoons water into a shallow plate, and set aside.
Step 11:Preheat the oven to 200° C.
Step 12: When the buns have completed their second rise, top each one with two strips of dough, lightly dipped in the prepared plate of water, and arranged crosswise.
Step 13: Brush with the eggwash, and slip into the oven for 15 to 18 minutes, until browned and beautiful (they should make a hollow sound if you tap the bottom lightly with the back of a spoon).
Step 14: Let them cool and yummmmmmmmm.....you have your hot cross buns!

{DIY Teusday}Fabric Easter Eggs!

W e have all recieved an easter egg or two in our day but look how special these fabric easter eggs look in their lil egg boxes! It's unique, something different and will add a sparkle to anyone's heart this easter! Once again the choice of fabric is all yours!Here's how to make them:

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You will need:

*An Egg shaped cardboard template
*Fabric of {your} choice
*Thread that matches your fabric
*Sewing machine
*Needle
*Scissors
*Pins
*Wadding/Toy stuffing
*Pencil

Step 1: Draw an egg shaped(oval) template onto the cardboard and cut it out.
Step 2: Draw around the egg template onto the reverse side of your chosen fabric, four times.
Step 3: Cut out the four fabric egg shapes, they will make one complete stuffed egg.
Step 4: Place two of the fabric egg templates face to face (the correct side of the fabric facing in) and pin them together. Repeat this step with the other two egg templates.
Step 5: Machine stitch one side of each of the pinned eggs together. Remove the pins and slot one of the machined eggs inside the other so that both seams butt up to one another, the eggs should still be inside out.
Step 6: Use a pin to secure the eggs and to ensure that the open seams stay straight while you sew them up, leaving an opening of about 3cm on one seam to stuff with filling.
Step 7: When all four sides of the easter egg have been sewed together use the opening and turn the eggs the correct way (the right side of the fabric facing outwards.
Step 8: Stuff the egg with toy filling/wadding until firm and hand sew the opening of the egg closed.
 
This makes the perfect lil easter pressie***

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Pictures: 1.{cherrymenlove} 2.{flickr.com}  3. {hyggenook}