5 ways to tie a scarf

Okay so today is the first day of 5 ways to... it is our new series with cute and easy tutorials made either by us or our many hours prowling through the internet and best tutorials we can find. With tutorials, it is going to be either quick and simple with 5 steps or 5 different ways of doing something most of us do every day.

Clara and I wear scarves a lot, she wears them for slightly different reasons than I do but in the end we are both scarf obsessed and it is odd to see either of us not wearing a scarf at least once in a week so I figured why not share all the wonderful ways we like wearing our scarves with you.

What do you need to follow these tutorials?

1. Square scarf preferably a smooth fabric such as silk, satin or very fine cotton.
2. Normal scarf pashminas work wonderfully
3. Superlong scarf 

PinUp Hair scarf:

I love the pinup scarf look, it is a great way for me to get my curly bob under control when the weather is rainy and my hair just won't listen to anything that I say or want. I use a silk scarf because it helps smooth my hair and doesn't dry my hair the way cotton would. 

Steps:

1. Fold scarf in half then fold till it makes a funny sort of rectangle.
2. Have the broadest part of the fabric at the back of your head, the ends facing forward.
3. Tie into a knot
4. Either tuck the ends back into the scarf or tie a bow if your scarf is long enough. 

The Bow

Is there anything that makes one feel more like mini Mouse than a bow?

Steps:

1. Using your normal scarf, drape it around your neck with the ends hanging in front of you.
2. Knot loosely more or less where you want the bow to end up (This takes practise to get the distance right).
3. Carefully tie it into a bow, wither by knotting to loops together or by doing the bunny in a burrow method. 

Too infinity: 

Sometimes your favourite scarf really just needs to be infinite for a little while.

Steps:

1. Tie the end of your scarf, again pashmina or shorter length works well.
2. Knot the one end to the other end, either both ends directly to each other or just a corner of each end, this is personal taste.
3. Be bold and wrap this around your neck a few times. 

My Favourite: 

Whether the weather is wintery or summery this is my usual go too, the perfect casual but oh so smart way to a scarf. 

Steps:

1. Fold the scarf (Longer the better the drape of the fall) in half.
2. Loop the half around your neck so the loop is on one side and the ends on the other side.
3. Push the ends through the loop and pull tight. 

The Summer Sunner:

Pretty over a basic top or dress, this one is a pure statement.

Steps: 

1. Fold a giant triangle,  out of your widest scarf.
2. Putting the triangle over a shoulder, carefully pull the ends tight so that it hangs around your neck. 
3. Tie into a simple knot and voila.
4. If your scarf is superheavy, you can use a fun broach just to secure it onto your clothes. 

I used rather bright scarfs as they are the easiest to see what I was doing on a photograph. you honestly don't have to go buy bright scarves, these look just as wonderful with more neutral scarves. 

Playing with clay

During my first year at University both Fine Arts and Textile Design students did the same foundation year that combined subjects from both courses. In the student’s second year of study they could choose either to major in Fine Arts or in Textile Design. The readers know already that I chose Textiles and never looked back, nor regretted my decision.  During this foundation year I was introduced to the joys of pottery and working with clay.

Clay was something that children played with, according to me and wheel throwing for some reason was something that did not really capture my attention. That is until I started playing with clay as an adult and actually had to work on the wheel in order to pass the subject. For the next four years I did not really pay much attention to this desire that I had to do pottery again and continued my studies as usual.

At the end of 2013 I decided to do a second take and go for some classes and learn a bit more about pottery. In March 2014 my mother joined me at our first class at Rhoda Henning’s Pottery Studio in Brooklyn, Pretoria.  These classes have become many things; a weekly break from reality, some bonding time with my mother, social interaction (which I sometimes forget to do) and an extremely exciting hobby.

Like dyeing, the outcome of your pottery is always a surprise due to how unpredictable and stubborn clay can be, the high temperatures clay is fired at and the fact that any paints or glazes applied to the object only develop their true colours once it has been fired for a second time. It took a lot of convincing before mommy dearest believed that the pink paint she is using will turn blue during its second firing.

Pottery is another hobby that I would recommend everybody try during their lifetime. This may not be suitable if one is impatient as the process takes quite a bit of time and if one does not like to get your hands dirty. When working on the wheel many are cover up to their eyebrows in clay. Nonetheless it satisfies the need to create, paint and make functional as well as ornamental artworks.

Go forth and play!

Peace and love

Clara

Dyeing to dye

When one thinks of tie-dyeing the first thing that comes to mind is hippie spiral shirts in extremely blinding colours. while doing an internship I spent two years working for Melanie Brummer, a tie-dye artist who has dyed many fabrics that have appeared on catwalks around the world and I learnt that this art form can be very stylish.

In these two years where I had learnt so much about various techniques of dyeing various fabrics I have become quite addicted to dyeing fabrics and have made it my main specialty within Textile Design. simple dyeing turned into product development and for a range in my fourth year I dyed 12 wall hangings of 2m x 1m each on pure cottons and silks using multiple processes of dyeing in different colours layered over each other and adding hand stitching to add texture and depth.

This project inspired the range of scatter pillows that I had the opportunity to sell at DecoreX and in the space of two month I dyed, stitched and made over one hundred scatter pillows. After this endeavor I thought that I am cured of my dyeing addiction, but then i saw a new technique.

Dyeing with ice has entered my world and I am dying to try it. I find myself lying  awake at night thinking of various ways to try this new technique and I cannot wait to finish my exams, buy fabric and try it.

So what is the moral of my story?

It is quite simple: I have found something that just keeps on exciting me. Dyeing fabrics is very unpredictable and even making one hundred pieces in five different patterns I was always excited to see the result. No matter how much the process is controlled and standardized, each piece looks different. Try dyeing some fabric, it really is a whole universe of possibility and you might be surprised at what you can do.

Peace and love
Clara

800 Drawings

Tshwane University of Technologys'; Fine Arts department is busy with a really great fun raiser.

It is called Every Other Day and it is this Thursday, they are hosting it at Asbos Theatre, Corner Albeth & Lynnwood rd, Die Wilgers, 0184 Pretoria, South Africa. The aim of the fundraiser is to have money for art students in need of everything from material to food money that study in the department.

There are over 800 artworks all the size of an A5 on display, the artworks will be sold for R100, though some of them are for more as they are by professional artists and worth so much more.

The varity itself that is available is rather astonishing so the chances that there is something that you won't like or want to own is pretty darn slim. There are even a few done by me, Chandre aka the Cinnamon.

Happy art buying,
Cinnamon

Breakfast of yum and chubby thighs

One thing about me and Clara is that we are both foodies, which means we spend way to much time in restaurants and a lot of our money on food. So when we or one of us finds a good place that makes us go oooh yum, we feel the need to share it with the world.

The model, since I forgot to take a selfie or have him take a picture of me, is Fluffy (Stephen).

We went to Craft in Parkhurst, they have a wonderful breakfast menu and have a few Paleo or banting options , so fairly diet friendly unless you are on an insane diet, they even have fruit and muesli. Though Fluffy and I didn't do diet friendly, we seldom do when it is the two of us.

Fluffy likes a good burger and when they had a breakfast burger including any two coffee based drinks of your choice for R90, we both decided cool deal. This was still fairly on budget since 2 cafe lattes work me out on average R45 when I go out and a decent burger is roughly R70. This means although it isn't cheap it still is fairly affordable in a weird way.

So want to see the amazing burger that tastes like 3000 calories in one bite but is so good you land up licking your fingers?
Yes?
Cool, here the breakfast burger:


Oh did I forget to add the best part of it? Scrambled eggs instead of chips, makes it feel more breakfasty.

Here is their website, address and contact number is on it.

Happy days

Open the doors of any closet in my house and mountains of clothes will fall on you, not including the mountain that is already scattered on the floor after going through fifteen outfits on what I like to call a “fat day”. No matter what I put on I don’t feel good, I feel ugly and dull.

We all know that feeling where we do not feel like we look good in anything and feel like just pulling a bag over our head or want to crawl back into bed and drown in self pity. Most of it is just in your head and the battle will be more with your overly critical brain. I have several ways that I use to combat this horrid feeling and hope that these tips can help readers overcome their “fat days”.

• ·         Style your hair properly on that day. Good hair makes for a good day.
• ·         Wear at least one item of clothing or accessory that you feel extremely comfortable in like your favourite scarf or pair of jeans.
• ·         If you are wearing a plain outfit give it flair with something daring like a bright pair of shoes, but not something that will make you feel self-conscious.
• ·         Grey, black and dark blue flatter all body types.
• ·         If, like me, you don’t really wear makeup it is a good day to apply makeup.
• ·         Designer labels don’t always make you feel that you are looking your best, so if there is an item of clothing that is a bit on the cheaper side which flatters you, wear it.
• ·         As strange as it may sound, wear your most expensive underwear. Nobody needs to know, but you will feel good.
• ·         Take time during the day to look at things that inspire you, whether it means surfing the web for gardening tips or walking through an art gallery, your mood will lift.

As tempting as it is to be sulky and stay in bed, get up and smile on your “fat days” and nobody will notice your mood and you will most probably forget that you are in a foul mood.

Peace and love

Clara