Oh himmeli

At long last, my himmeli is complete. What is himmeli, you ask? It is a traditional Swedish and Finish Christmas decoration made from natural straw {as opposed to plastic}, and is assembled in amazing and intricate patterns. Ever since I saw a feature on Design*Sponge all about himmeli, I had to have them. I fell for their contemporary and simple look, and I fell hard.

I managed to find a massive bag of straws for €2, meaning this particular himmeli cost me around … €0.40. They are shockingly easy to make, and once you get the hang of it, the sky -or ceiling- is your limit. Below are my seven steps to making your own himmeli. I hope you’re as excited as I am …

What you’ll need : scissors, embroidery thread {since it’s thicker than regular thread}, an embroidery needle, a ruler and an excessive amount of straws in any colour you like.

Step 1 : for my first himmeli, I used the top section of the straws. This saved me from having to measure each piece. ULTIMATE TIP – cut the ends of the straws at a 45 degree angle – when you assemble the himmeli, I’ve found the ends align in a much schnazzier way at this saucy angle. I had made some himmeli without cutting it at this angle, and the ends didn’t match up as well. Step 2 : when cutting the other end at a 45 degree angle, make sure you don’t twist your straw, otherwise it will be wonky. Step 3 : do this until you have 12 pieces, as a standard himmeli consists of 12 pieces. 

Step 4 : thread your embroidery needle with a single piece of embroidery thread. Let the weight of the needle pass through the straw. Do this with four pieces of straw. At this point, tie a knot in the thread to close the loop, but don’t cut the thread. Knot it tight enough so the straws aren’t moving around on the string, but not so tight that the diamond shape doubles over. Step 5 : add two more pieces. Secure them {this can be done by simply looping the thread. No need to knot all the time} to the base, and add two more straws to the other side. Knot the thread here. Step 6 : in order to add the horizontal structure, pass the embroidery needle back down through one straw. From here, add one straw at a time, tightly looping around the vertical joints after each piece. 

Step 7 : once you’ve added all four horizontal straws, tie off with a knot or two, trim any extra bits of embroidery thread, and there you have it! You just need a shit-ton more of these to complete a full himmeli, simply repeat the process. At this point you may feel a heaviness in your chest, but trust me, all the fiddley effort is worth it. As stupid and poetic as it sounds, seeing my full himmeli quietly turning in the corner of my living room is pretty rewarding. I just want to make more. And make them B I G G E R. And crazier.
Consider playing with different lengths of straws to give oblong shapes, also mixing brightly coloured straws {if you’re not a colour-phobe like me} for cute rainbow infused mobiles. I’m hoping to tackle different shapes and styles after I get a little more practice. Now get up and make something wonderful to cheer up that dingy corner, that everyone will compliment you on! Go on. You’re so crafty.

That’s just like, your opinion, man

I’ll start off by stating that we are a household of regular Dude references. When it came to making something for fiance for his birthday last week, I knew I wanted to make a pop-culture/cult reference. For fiance, that would be either Star Wars, Call of Duty/Battlefield, or The Big Lebowski.

While scrawling through Honestly WTF a couple weeks back, and saw this post about the seriously talented Mark Hall-Patch and his watercolours, where he delicately paints and draws clothing. There was one particular cardigan that immediately reminded me of the Dude’s cardigan from The Big Lebowski, also known as a Pendleton Cowichan Cardigan, and I knew I had to make a Mark Hall-Patch-inspired version for fiance.
I drew up an image of the Dude’s cardigan, and for the first time in eight years, I used watercolours. A little scary, but watercolours are quite safe and very forgiving, luckily for me. I’m not madly in love with the final piece {it’s a little cartoony, I could have chosen better paper, and I should have spent more time on it; the ush}, but those with a keen movie interest shouldn’t have too much trouble deciphering it. I hope.

Image 2 image cred!

Mini makeover – attacked with tape

I’ve been attacking things around my apartment this week, and my alternative weapon of choice was electrical tape. As crazy as it sounds,  it transforms any basic shaped storage easily into a punch of stripes. And please believe me when I say the electrical tape is no way obvious. Fiance was well impressed when I showed him this mini project and couldn’t believe it was thanks to tape. 
Easy as one, two, three: all you need for this project is two contrasting shades of electrical tape, and a pair of scissors. It takes under five minutes, a steady hand, and a good eye for straight lines. It’s so simple and can update any piece you have in stead of buying a new one.

Other items I’ve covered recently were empty Pringles tins {to house my knitting needles}, empty hot chocolate containers {now home to my pens and pencils}, and this large chunky ceramic red vase, whose colour did hurt my eye balls, but it was such a handy size for storage around our apartment, so I simply took a trip to our local hardware store and attacked it with tape. Reduce, reuse, recycle!