Melisa's Blog

So many of you have been asking me how to wash your Glerups slippers so I created this video to help you out. 

Glerups are made of 100% pure wool and wool is self-cleaning. However, if periodic cleaning is required, your Glerups can be washed in the washing machine on the "wool", "hand wash" or "delicate" program (max 30 degrees Celsius).

It helps to vacuum your shoes clean of dust before washing. After a spin-dry put your feet into the wet shoes. Pat your Glerups into shape, remove, and leave to air dry. Your Glerups love fresh air.

Don't tumble dry and don't put them near the radiators.

I hope you find the video useful. Please feel free to leave me a comment here or email (info@mylittlewish.com) me if you have any questions,

Melisa

You can make perfect handmade Christmas gifts with scented stones. Not only they are dead easy to make, but they also look beautiful and scents last about 3-4 weeks making them perfect for a house gift or to take with you when you visit friends and family for Christmas.

Here in this video I am making scented stones for Christmas. I got very cute Christmasy silicon moulds that I got from the internet and I use essential oils to make them smell extra festive. You can also use colourings to make them in different colours, simply add the colours at the same time as the essential oil.

To make scented stones, you need:

1- Plaster of paris or equivalent for modelling. You can find this on the internet or hobby shops. I use 2:1 ratio when I make my stones but this is depending on the powder you get. It is sometimes required a little less or more water. 

2- Silicon moulds: There are various shape and types available on the internet.

3 - Essential Oils - I use Christmas Spice mixed with Sweet Orange. You can create your own scent by experimenting with the oils. Cinnamon, Clove, Bay and Rosemary are my other favourites for Christmas.

4 - Ribbons/ Ties to decorate. 

 

 I hope you enjoy this video. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Melisa

 

 

 

 Here is a fact: According to the 2016 happiness report, Denmark has been declared the happiest, most contented country on earth. Being married to a Dane myself, I think I know why.

It is what I call the “hygge factor”. It is the philosophy or the mind set of doing absolutely everything in life in a hygge way. Unfortunately, there isn’t a single word to explain what hygge or hyggelig is but here is what the dictionary says:

 

hygge [n.]  [hoo-ga]

A complete absence of anything annoying or emotionally overwhelming; taking pleasure from the presence of gentle, soothing things.

 

For me the perfect hygge is Sunday morning breakfast with family: pancakes are sizzling, my favourite jam and the smell of cinnamon, feeling of cashmere socks and cosiness of my linen robe, the smell of the beautiful flowers and my favourite candles flickering gently on the table, the radio is on in the background and the giggles of my daughter and chatting goes on until late in the morning.

 

Hygge is feeling cosy, but in every sense: for body, mind and soul. Who wouldn’t be happy?

 

Given that 90% of the hygge feeling happens at home, here is 5 ways to create instant hygge.  But don’t forget, hygge is not only about the furniture. What makes it so special is the good company of family and friends and relaxed, stress free life style that it comes with it.

 

1. Create a hygge corner

This can be anywhere at home but it has to be snug and comfy. Somewhere you can relax, read your book and have a cup of tea, perhaps by the window where you can see the leaves falling from the trees outside or squirrels playing or simply people passing by.

Checklist: A comfy chair, a table lamp, a cozy blanket, a sheep skin rug, a scented candle, a plant.

2. Candles

Did you know that an average Dane (including my husband) lights one candle at least 5 times a week? That means putting the candles on almost every night while you are watching TV, at breakfast table or while having your bath. There is nothing more relaxing and soothing than a few flickering candles in the room.

Checklist: Tea lights (lots of them), dinner candles, one big scented candle (I love the St Eval’s Rosemary and Bay)

 

3. Bring nature inside

This seems a bit strange but Danes love to bring nature inside their homes. Flowers and spring blossoms in the spring, washed out beach wood, shells and stones from the beach trip in the summer, leaves, twigs, nuts and all kinds of woody stuff in autumn. Last year, we collected pine cones from a forest trip at Christmas time and displayed them in glass jars with some fairy lights at home. Nu er det hyggeligt (Now, that's cozy!)

Checklist: Leaves, stones, twigs, branches, flowers, cones, chestnuts.

 

4. Blankets

Who wouldn’t like the feeling of a nice warm and soft blanket to snuggle up with on the sofa. Stack of different blankets, maybe a wool or a cotton one, also a sheepskin on the chairs or as a rug on the floor to create different textures, just warms up the room instantly without changing the temperatures.

Checklist: A warm wool blanket, a cotton blanket/ throw, a sheep skin or faux fur throw.

 

5. Lights

The room has to be lit just enough to see around but without any single light overpowering the others. The institutional establishment look is a no-no in a hygge concept. Denmark is famous for their lamp designs, so if you can afford it, it is definitely worth investing in a beautiful Danish lamp.  

Checklist: A lamp shade, a floor lamp, fairy lights, dimmable lights.

 

Suzani fabrics have grown from being an ancient tradition and type of textile in Central Asia (mainly Uzbekistan) dating back hundreds of years to be a focal point in modern interiors. It is not surprising to see pictures of suzanis decorating beautiful homes on the covers of magazines nowadays. But what are these suzanis and why has the world gone crazy about them?

History of the “Needle” 

The name suzani comes from the Persian word ‘suzan’ or ‘needle’. Suzani usually has a cotton or silk base for its cotton or silk embroidery, and its most common embroidery technique is the chain stitch.

In central Asia, suzanis are given to the groom as a bride’s dowry. Due to the intricate work involved in making them, it is common for the suzani maker (usually the mother of the bride) to sketch the design on to the fabric (this is why we sometimes see pencil marks on the fabric) and divide it among many women in the village or family who helps embroidered them separately. Once complete, it is sewn back together to create one large, decorative piece.

How to decorate your home with suzani?

With its bright, colourful flowery motifs, these magical fabrics are hardly subtle and that is what makes them so special and unique.

Using a suzani pillow or cushion covers is the quickest and most beautiful way to add a touch of colour to any room in the house.

For example, use them to liven up a dull sofa, scatter them on a window seat or place them on dining room chairs.

If you are lucky enough to own a bigger suzani piece, why not throw it over a bed with some matching cushions. I promise it will change the whole room instantly.

Scared of mixing patterns? 

I get it. It is not easy when it comes to buying such a bold, colourful decorative item for your house because you are afraid that it won't match with the rest of the furnishing.

So here is a tip: when it comes to mixing colours and patterns, the most important thing to keep in mind is the balance and harmony.

For example, if you are using a very bold pattern, consider using smaller patterns but similar colours to match on the other side of the room. With that said, avoid using too many different patterns all together. Don’t use a very bold wall paper or a colourful rug, if you have lots of other items in the room with strong presence. At the same time, just because you have a bold cushion on the sofa, doesn’t mean that everything else in the room has to be solid and boring.

Whether you are ready to join the suzani craze yet or not, having just looked through the autumn issues of some of the big home decoration magazines, it looks like these magical fabrics will continue to be used by many interior designers as decorative elements as the years come.

 

Melisa

 

Selection of suzani cushion covers from my little wish- starting from £40.

 

Have you ever been put off buying white towels because you are afraid they will look greyish and dirty in time?  

People always tell me they don’t want to buy white towels because they think its so difficult to keep them white.

Here is my two pennies worth on how to keep your towels whiter, softer and fluffier than ever.

 

RULE 1 - ONLY WHITES - NOTHING BUT WHITES

Although this point sounds very simple and widely known, you would be surprised to know how many people out there wash light colours with whites (I know my husband does it behind my back)!

You would think a merely light blue t-shirt won’t do any harm, but in fact, no matter how light it is, any coloured fabric make whites look dull and greyish in time when washed together.

So no lighter grey, light blue, not even beige with the white wash.

 

RULE 2 - READ THE LABEL

In the past, I never followed instructions on labels when it came to washing towels (I washed them at 60 degrees with lots of detergent and softener) until I get into the towel business and had to produce different labels for different products.

We test wash each product in different temperatures to find the optimal washing temperature to ensure the maximum absorbance without compromising on the quality of the product. If you don’t know the meaning of the label signs, check out here.

So follow the instructions on the label, you will see the difference right away.

 

RULE 3 - MORE DETERGENT DOESN’T MEAN CLEANER TOWELS

It is very important to use the right amount of detergent when it comes to laundering towels. Excessive detergent stays on the towels and don’t get rinsed properly. This can prevent towels from absorbing water and they become hard when they dry.

And never ever use softener - softeners are designed to stick on the fibres and gives them a coating (hence the soft feeling) and therefore impacts the absorbency of your towels.

 

RULE 4 - BLEACH OR NOT TO BLEACH?

Personally I am not a big fan of bleaching. It is not only harmful to the environment but also shortens the life of your towels because it breaks the cotton fibres in the towel.

The eco-friendly alternative to bleaching (and actually works really well) is vinegar. Half a cup of white wine vinegar will remove stains and whitens your towels.

You can always use the oxy-powders for whites as an alternative but vinegar is a lot cheaper and does the job too.

 

RULE 5 - FLUFF THAT TOWEL

Always shake the towels really well before hanging them up to dry or put them in the tumble dryer. This helps get rid of the fallen threads and help separate the cotton looms in the towel which makes the towel fluffy.

For maximum fluffiness, I recommend tumble drying in low heat. High temperatures will break the cotton fibres and your towels get old quicker. Don’t fill the dryer too much as this can limit the towels movement and takes longer to dry.

It is true that white towels require a bit more TLC, but the result is brighter, whiter, and softer towels wash after wash.

 

If you ever received a mylittlewish.com parcel in the past, you probably noticed that we put a scented stone in every package as a little thank you gift. We hope that this little fresh linen scented stone not only enhance your online packaging opening experience, but also something you can use at home.

To be perfectly honest, I didn’t know what IKAT was until I visited the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul last year. Beautiful colours and floral designs on IKAT cushion covers neatly stacked on shop windows attracted me first. I was so mesmerised by these magical fabrics that I remember spending hours in one shop trying to decide which covers to buy for my house.

One year later, when I started importing them from Turkey for my little wish, I learned how amazing and intricate the IKAT fabric making is and I want to share with you this magical process.

  

So what is IKAT?

The word ‘IKAT’ is actually coming from an old Malay word ‘mengikat’, meaning to tie or to bind. So to make IKAT fabric, the threads are dyed before weaving using a kind of tie dye technique   instead of printing or painting a design on after fabric is woven.

 To do this, the thread is wrapped onto a frame and the pattern is made by tying off small sections of the thread with plastic tape that will keep the dye from penetrating at these points. When all the dyes are applied to the IKAT yarns, the threads are sent to the weaving shop where it’s tied to a loom and skilfully put together to create the designs.

 

*Images by Tim Stanley

This process gives the IKAT its blurriness to the design. I am sure you can imagine the difficulty the weaver has lining up the dyed yarns so the design appears perfectly in the finished fabric. The more colours and complicated patterns IKAT has, the more difficult it is to weave perfectly hence the blurriness. However, this gives the IKATS its characteristics and often valued more because of it.

Personally, I love the fact that none of the IKAT cushions are exactly the same and it has imperfections in the patterns. In my opinion this only shows someone put such an effort making this amazing fabric and only adds to its uniqueness.

So are you ready to join the IKAT frenzy? One word of warning though - you might love them so much that you start making other decorative decisions in your room based on your Ikat Cushions!