my take on: tulle flowers

in the spirit of, lets say "fall cleaning", i've been going through some of my less stumbled upon drawers and boxes and came across these little gems. i made these about a year ago with the intention of using them in my wedding bouquet (which never happened).

let me show you how i made them...

here's what you will need:

two tulle strips (roughly 10"x 2" but i rarely measure and it won't matter too much)

a needle and thread (i used embroidery thread and separated the 6 strands)

small pearl beads or other beads, sequins or similar...

separate the embroidery thread and use one strand to thread the needle

lay out one 10"x 2" strip of tule and roll up the second piece and place it on top then fold the first piece around the middle piece almost like a hot dog.

thread the needle through the folded corner, making sure to catch both pieces of tulle and tie a knot to anchor the thread.

now, using either a loose basting stitch or whip stitch, sew along the short edge and around the corner. basically you're sewing a tube of tulle around the other piece of tulle. bunch as you go and make sure the bunching goes in a spiral pattern. that's how the flower shape is formed.

once you reach the far corner of the long side, poke the needle up through the center of the flower to the top and string a bead onto the thread. bring your needle back down through the center of the flower to the bottom of the flower.

tie a series of two or three knots to finish it off and keep everything in pace.

you're pretty much done. you can either trim the loose thread or not, depending on what you're going to use the flowers for. if i were going to tie them onto something i would leave the thread for that.

try different variations. this one was made with a length of lace in place if the inner strip of tulle.

admire your work and decide how you will use these adorable little tulle flowers!

 

i strung mine up with some gold thread

for now they're stung inside an empty frame on the mantle above my wood stove.

although they never made it much farther than my dining room table (which is also my craft desk and sewing room) i still love how they turned out and wanted to share how i made them. i ended up getting my actual wedding flowers at Safeway the day before my wedding and wrapped the stems with ribbon, akin to how a real florist would. a bouquet for me and a slightly smaller one for each of my back-up-dancers. maybe i could be a florist.

xo, pearl

liquored up: sangria

i'm kind of a lush. one of my favorite things to live by is the time-and-a-place rule. there's a time and a place for everything. like vodka redbulls... the time was seven years ago and the place was any given night club where the volume of the music alone could make you feel buzzed. i'm a lot older now but i still like that buzz. kinda like how if you get drunk off wine you're worldly and tasteful and if your guilty pleasure is a well-whiskey drink, or two, you're as good as the local hobo... 

so, i bring to you SANGRIA!

classy people drink sangria, in large sunglasses and maxi dresses on patios downtown during the day.

this is a first for me, i don't make things in the kitchen. bear with me. the cool thing about sangria is you can't really go wrong. i wasn't following an exact recipe. i came up with this after chatting up a couple bartenders and some quick google searches...

ingredients:

750ml bottle of dry white wine (i am NOT a wine drinker, i just grabbed the highest alc %)

6oz. cheap vodka (cause i'm cheap)

random fruit of your choice - i used peaches, pineapple and ginger

1/4 cup simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water, bring to boil, let cool)

soda water, lemon-lime pop, ginger ale or other fizzy drink of your preference

after adding all the ingredients, let it sit in your fridge for a night or two. remember: patience is a virtue.

the idea is for the fruit to ooze it's flavor into the booze. we added the vodka for two reasons 1) because it makes the sangria stronger, and 2) because it actually acts as a type of preservative to keep the fruit from spoiling. i mean i don't know how long you plan on this lasting but if you had to keep it for a week or so you would probably be pretty fine.

once you've let it sit and do its thing for a day or so serve it over some ice and top it off with some soda water or even lemon-lime soda or ginger ale if you like it more sweet. my intention was to garnish it with a skewered piece of candied ginger and a mint leaf, but i ate it all before the sangria was ready. so, i topped it off with a slice of lemon, just cause it needed something. we're going classy, remember?

i tried this recipe because i want to take a jar of it to a friend's birthday party. how cute would this giant mason jar look with some pretty fabric tucked under the lid and a little packet of candied ginger tied around the neck with a sweet little bow?

i'll try and take a photo to share with you before i give it away.

cheers!

xo, pearl