How to make Fabric Bunting

I recently began making fabric bunting for decorative purposes. If you have a sewing machine it can be extremely simple to make and can be used for any occasion. You can use it for weddings, birthday parties, photoshoots or as decor in your home.

What you will need:

• 1m Fabric
• Cotton
• Rotary Cutter
• Bunting Template
• Bias Tape
• Chopstick or any small tip stick

How to do this:

1. Double your fabric and cut out your flags using the rotary cutter and template. *flags need to be double.
   
2. Stitch your double flags together, inside out.
   
3. Once all flags have been stitched, turn them outside in (the right way around) and use a chopstick to push out the tip.
   
4. Iron all flags.
   
5. Attached flags to the bias tape.

Tips for making bunting:

• Use non stretch cotton fabric 
• Mix and match your fabric - use multiple different fabrics in one string of bunting
• Use a bunting template and rotary cutter when cutting your triangles
• Attached fun elements such as fabric balls on a string on various flags
• Cut out fabric letters and sew onto triangles to make sayings or names.

How to throw a geeky birthday party

I recently planned a surprise birthday party for my boyfriend Jacques. We both are complete geeks and I knew that a geeky birthday party was definitely on the cards. Apart from the usual party stuff such as snacks, food and drinks I went above and beyond to make this party extra geeky.

I ordered him a geeky cake from Chef Sam. She wowed us with a Commodore VIC 20 cake with Pacman decoration and a Rubicks cube cake topper. The cake was breathtaking and the attention to detail simply astounded me. 

I also order periodic table biscuits from Chef Sam. The biscuits looked simply amazing and tasted just as amazing too.

This geeky birthday party had very geeky decorations too. There were Angry Bird DIY balloons floating around which I created myself from Angry Bird template cut outs. It was simple to stick on to helium balloons and looked like the real deal.

A geeky birthday party needed a geeky birthday banner as no ordinary banner was going to do. I wanted an iPhone banner that said “Happy Birthday Jacques,” as I knew this would look amazing. Luckily for me, I found a “Happy Birthday” iPhone banner template online and simply had to make the “Jacques” part.

The food needed little notes indicating which foods were what. So I used geeky images to describe this which I printed out and fixated onto skewers using tape. Robot chicken to indicate chicken, computer chips to indicate potato chips and Star Wars “Force” images to indicate the cutting of the cake were just some of the ideas I came up with.

There were also Dilbert cartoons placed around the house for guests to read in-between eating and mingling. Dilbert is one of Jacques favourite comic strips to read. I knew once this geeky party had come to an end that it would be a disappointment, similar to the disappointment of a game being over. So, I came up with the idea of creating a “Game Over” poster that was placed at the exit. This definitely “geeked” up the ending of the party.

The party was and overall success and Jacques loved his geek birthday party idea!!!

Cooking with my signed Gordon Ramsay cookbook

During the Good Food and Wine Show in Cape Town, Samsung South Africa began a campaign to promote the event and the fact that Samsung appliances were being used at the show. They ran a competition on their Twitter account and this is how I entered:

So I sent this awesome image of me preparing breakfast whilst checking out recipes on a Samsung tablet courtesy of Snapplify.

 To which they replied:

 

My signed Gordon Ramsay Great Escape South East Asia cookbook arrived this morning and it is amazing. Thank you Samsung South Africa!

 

May GlamBox worth over R300

I just received my May GlamBox after subscribing once again. I have been going back and forth and trying various boxes but I think I can safely say I am happy to stick to GlamBox.

This month's box was great and contained two full size products. The mascara is retailed at R145 and the Lip Ice is R26.99. Paying R100 for a box that gives me products valued close to R400 (including the R150 vouchers) is definitely what I call a great return on investment. GlamBox has been amazing in providing excellent full size products, making your decision to purchase absolutely worth it.

What was in my box?

• Acqua di Gioia by Giorgio Armani - Sample size | I love this perfume. It has a very fresh and serene smell yet its very sophisticated.
• Crabtree & Evelyn Citron, Honey and Coriander skin smoothing body scrub - 2 Sachets | I have not tried this product as yet but I am sure it is going to be amazing. The variations of smells from the honey and coriander are going to provide a unique but decadent bathing experience.
  
• Revlon Photoready 3D Mascara - Full Size | This two coat mascara definitely guarantees volume and and magnified lashes. Perfect for a night on the town.
  
  
• Avon Effortless Chic Necklace and Earring Set - I was not too fond of the earrings but I simply loved the chain. Because of my darker Indian skin, gold looks great on me and this chain paired with a black dress is going to look dashing.
  
• Lip Ice Seductions - Alluring Pearl - Full Size - I have never been a fan of Lip Ice but nevertheless this a great full size product. I am definitely keeping it in my bag for emergency situations.
  
  
• Voucher for 5Rooms.com - I love online shopping. Thank you GlamBox for helping me stay addicted to spending online. I am definitely using this for something nice towards my house. If you subscribe to the 5Rooms newsletter, you will receive a R50 voucher towards their online store. Great idea so make sure you sign up.
  
  
• Voucher for Revlon - Highly doubt I will use this but a great one anyway.
  
  
  
  

Facebook Cards from Moo

I recently discovered Moo. An online printing company with a passion for creativity and printing. Moo prints items ranging from business cards, stickers and photobooks. One of their latest innovations are Facebook Cards. The Moo Facebook card generator tool aggregate images, information and quotes from your Facebook Profile onto cards. You can have fun playing around with different images and information and have the option to choose what you want displayed on your cards. My cards arrived last week and I was very impressed. The quality of the images were awesome and the paper used was of a great quality. These are definitely worth getting.

The name of my blog

My family

 

Girl Geek Dinners

 

 Fun Cards

 

 When I meet strangers

 

When I meet geeky strangers

The quote I chose

2 days in Cappadocia; Central Anatolia

After a first great day in Istanbul we flew to Cappadocia for two days. Cappadocia is a small town that is famous for its rock formations and caves. Many centuries ago the region had three active volcanoes. Their lava with a combination of natural substances such as sand and stone formed amazing rocks that people carved into caves where they dwelled including royalty.

The shapes of these rocks are great and some are called fairy chimneys.

On day 1 we wandered around the quaint town and met some locals. We then hired some quad bikes and toured the Goreme Valleys and caves.

 

After a dusty afternoon we headed off to the local Goreme Eli's Hamam for what was said to be a magical experience. We started of with a face mask, 15 min of relaxing in the sauna and then a quick shower. We then entered the Hamam where our designated ladies were waiting. 

First you are scrubbed and exfoliated till all your skin peels next you receive a soap massage with millions of soapy bubbles...literally millions. Afterwards we were asked to take shower to rinse of all the soap, we then headed into a warm pool to relax. The last treatment was an oil massage. This was a stunning experience. I now have a whole new perspective on bathing.

The night ended of with a traditional Turkish folk evening. There was tons of food and we were treated to an amazing 5 course meal. Whilst the meals were being served traditional dancers entertained us with their incredible talent.

The second day in Cappadocia saw us awake at 5am for a Hot Air Balloon ride. It was something we were all waiting for for a very long time. Arriving at the hot air balloon take off point was amazing as I had no idea how big the balloons actually are. The view from the balloon was simply out of this world. Reaching over 2000 feet in a balloon is such an amazing experience. 

 

The rest of the day was spent on a tour which continued to highlight the various rock formations and caves. We then had lunch at Kazan Restaurant. A 5 course meal was included in our tour and we really took advantage of it. After a tiring long day we headed to Cappadocia airport to board our flight back to Istanbul. With only one travel belt, Cappadocia has the smallest airport I have seen in the world.

 

Just another day in Istanbul

Day 1 in Istanbul has been everything I thought it would be and more. I anticipated this holiday and judging from today, I know it's going to be a fabulous one. We arrived at our hotel last night, My Dora is located in Kadikoy, the Asian side of Turkey. Our room is whimsical and charming and definitely something that I wont forget.

Although it was quite late when we arrived, we still wandered outside our hotel and found a Doner Kebab cafe and indulged in a midnight snack.

This morning we explored the surroundings of our hotel and visited the famous Kadikoy balloon.

Most of Istanbul's attractions are located on the European side. We had to catch the ferry across The Bosphorus which only costs 2TL (approx R9) and takes about 5 min.

The views from the ferry ride are absolutely amazing. Istanbul is a city rich in history and culture and this is clearly visible when one glances at the buildings.

The first half of the morning was spent at the Spice Bazaar. It is too beautiful to explain, from saffron to Viagra tea, the bazaar has it all.

The latter half was spent at the Grand Bazaar. The worlds largest covered market. I shopped till my hearts content and managed to get a great few deals thanks to my excellent haggling skills.

An afternoon is not complete in Turkey without a great cup of coffee and some baklava. So, that is what we had to do before catching the ferry back to Kadikoy.

I am in love with this Istanbul and its culture. The streets are full of amazing people (who don't speak any English) and the buildings tell stories from many centuries back. I am definitely looking forward to the upcoming days here.