DIY Advent Calendar: Igloo Village!

This year I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone with this DIY project: a Christmas village AND an Advent calendar. My first ideas were quite traditional, like making gingerbread houses. But after giving it a little thought, I decided to make something new and exciting: the Igloo Village! It's perfect for Christmas, since the igloos are always snowed in. And the round shapes of the ice homes are simply adorable :)

The Igloo Village is always in the mood for winter fun. It is made of origami paper, so it's light, small and easy to move around the home. Also, if it survives the holidays and the curiosity of my cats, it could be stored away in a small box, until next year. In theory, igloos are white - but mine are colorful, because when the sun shines across the endless sea of ice, the snow sparkles in soft tones of yellow, blue and even pink!

For the countdown to Christmas, I've made 24 little units: 14 origami igloos (in 2 sizes) and 10 paper trees (also in 2 sizes). Each item has its own number written on the side. The village display is random, so you need to find your next number, which adds a little to the excitement. 

The Igloo village Advent calendar also doubles as a treasure hunt. Hide little treats, small messages, tree decorations or tiny toys under each house and tree. This way, the joy of Christmas gets sweeter every day! For me, it was toys all the way, as you can see in the image above. You can also use the paper igloos and trees to decorate the Christmas tree, if you hang them by a thread :)

Last but not least, I must tell you that the Igloo village looks great at night time, too! Since it is already pitch black each evening when I come back from work, it is a pleasure to take a peek at my Advent calendar, sitting quietly under the soft glow of a small lamp! 

If you haven't got an Advent Calendar for this season yet, it's easy to replicate this one. I'm sharing the tutorial below, split in 2 parts: the igloos and the cone trees. It took me 3 hours to make the entire village, but prepare to spend a little more time if you're a novice in paper crafts in general and origami in particular.

Origami igloo tutorial

For this project you will need:

- origami igloo template: I used this great one from the talented Francesco Guarnieri.

- patterned square origami paper. I worked with two sizes: 8.5 x 8.5 cm square sheets and 10 x 10 cm square sheets.

- pencil and ruler for marking where you need to fold the paper.

How to make the origami igloo:

1. Lay the paper square on the blank side. Mark where you need to fold the paper in 5.

2. Start folding the paper in 5 equal strips horizontally, then in 4 equal strips vertically.

3. The folded paper should look like a grid.

4. Fold the extreme strips inside.

5. Fold again and make a little crease just like in the template.

6. Repeat another two times. The paper should look like this. Mark all the valley and mountain folds, for easy final assembling.

7. This is the tricky part: get the valley folds in one hand and flip it on the inside.

8. Carefully press the paper folds in order to make the final shape.

9. Repeat steps 7 and 8 on the other side of the igloo and you're done!

Paper trees tutorial

For this project you will need:

- cone tree template: I used these ones but in a smaller scale.

- patterned origami paper. The small trees fit into 8.5 x 8.5 cm square sheets and the tall ones fit into 10 x 10 cm square sheets.

- pencil and ruler for drawing the template outline and for marking where you need to fold the paper.

- scissors and glue stick.

How to make the paper tree:

1. Print the template on cardboard and cut it out. I didn't make the round base, just the cone. Lay the template on the blank side of the origami paper. Draw the outline. Be careful not to move the template during the process.

2. Cut out the origami paper, following the outline.

3. Fold the paper along the marked line.

4. Fold again on the other side. Apply glue on the patterned folded strip.

5. Turn the paper on the good side and put the edges together to make the cone shape. The long edge must overlap the glued strip. Gently press with your fingers until the glue sets in.

6. Enjoy the paper trees and the entire Igloo village!

My Fun Nightstand

Hi, Janel, this post is from me to you, girl! You know how much I like sharing colorful spaces and vignettes with people who get the same vibe :) So here's a simple Hello! from my nightstand. I was never a big fan of elegant spaces in ethereal earth tones... I say give me some color and energize my morning! So now that I'm struggling with two jobs, I need to start the day with fresh flowers and a smile by the bedside.

The nightstand is actually one of my old DIYs: the pink Lucite coffee tables have moved by the bedside. They make the prettiest nightstands - in acid colors, never the less! There are usually stacks of books by the bed... but now that I'm crawling to bed much too late every night, I just keep some light reading - a lovely book from a short film festival.

My secret to a morning smile is... not that, you naughty girl!... it's the textile mix! Traditional rug versus urban stripes, whimsical patterns versus a posh retro curtain, plus the touch of natural fibers. The more pillows, the better! And to get back to everybody's question: yes, I could repair the poor one-eyed doll. I just don't have the heart to, because I've had it since 5th grade and her current state is a reminder of how old I am now small I once was...

Goodbye, Eloise!

If you're wondering who the **** is Eloise, here she is: the blue pocket-size handmade journal on the right. She was our first order (first ever!) on our Etsy shop L'Ateliera and by the time you're reading this, she has probably already arrived in Alaska, to our first customer! This is a great occasion to post some pics of Eloise and her sisters, still available online: Miss Punk and Fiestalita.

We like to make things in a series, because this way you can see their common traits and their differences as well. All three journals are special, their covers express their personalities, as well as the colored inner cover and even the colored thread. And here it is Eloise, wrapped in brown paper and ready to fly to Alaska!

Fall Bedroom Update

I just realized that I've neglected to do a full post on the Fall version of my bedroom. Shame on you, Meeha, such a colorful bedroom and you only showed a little preview in the Fall Colors post! Mea culpa, as the Romans once said. Here is the bedroom in full splendor. Inspired by the flamboyant colors of ivy turning dark in October, I chose rich shades of purple as the main hue. The purple top sheet, the striped pillow cases and the multi-colored long pillow are all from different collections of IKEA, gathered over time. The traditional rug was bought this summer.

On the opposite wall, a sea of purple invades my eyes and makes me smile every morning. I painted the wall myself, a long time ago, in a color that reminded me of the soft velvet petals of pansies. A reminder of my favorite flowers when I was in kindergarten  as I discovered later on :) Freud was right in so many ways - the early memories of childhood leave strong influences in the adult life choices. Anyway, I just decorated the purple wall with three simple small birch hearts.

The purple wall inspired me to make a cozy corner for chilly days. I got rid of the giant leather armchair that you can spot here. Instead, I've got a beanbag with assorted pillows in grey and lavender. The first pillow with the triangle pattern is quite new, I just finished crocheting it two weeks ago. The beanbag is terribly comfortable and once you sit in it with a book or a laptop you never wanna leave again! The orange butterfly frames match the sheets - perfect for Fall decor :)

I leave the crazy Fall colors on the bed to be the focal point of the room. The rest of the bedroom is mainly white. White walls (except for the purple one), white modern lamps, white curtains for my built-in dressing. You may recognize the pink Lucite table from one of my previous DIYs, which was repurposed from coffee table to night stand. And last but not least, a large pic with the herringbone floors :)

Great news, everyone! My bedroom colors for Fall have just been featured at Sugar Bee Crafts, Just A Little Creativity and Under The Table And Dreaming! Thanks a million, this has really made my day :)
    

DIY Witch Lamp

One month left until Halloween! I don't have a mantel to decorate for the occasion and I'm not extremely fond of pumpkins. So what to do, what to do? A little witch lamp, of course!  It's black like a real witch and it's got witch stockings, too :)) I used an old Ikea lampshade for the top and a yellow base from the gay lamp for the bottom. Oh, I also drew and decoupaged the Halloween spooked cat. 

In order to decoupage the Halloween cat, I used an ironic patterned paper covered in... other cats:)) And we ate the eggplant the next day (grilled with mushrooms and onions).

September Light

The complete title for this post should read: September light with sleepy kitty and explosive fern. The weather has been very generous these days. It's the middle of September and we enjoy incredible warm weather, which I can't get enough of. The light is not so destructive as it was in August, and still it lacks that golden glow quality that makes me love Autumn so much. I think this time of the year is just perfect. 

There is an old saying in my country which claims that ferns bring happiness to the homes they live in. My fern usually lives on the small balcony. Only I felt like making it a part of the house and I invited it into the sunny living room. That was a big mistake and I remembered in a second why we only admire this lovely plant from a distance. My feline friends seem to be attracted to the gracious leaves like moths to the light. In conclusion, I don't know how many more days I will be willing to clean the little leaves of the floor (several times a day!) so I guess the fern will spread its good karma from the balcony, just like before.

On the pink coffee table you can spot two of my latest thrifty finds: a cone striped vase and a hand painted wooden stand. Their lovely blues go perfectly with my [still] summery mood and with the lighthouse painting on the wall. This one is...? A candle stand, perhaps (with a bump on the top, ha ha!)?! Never mind, it is very beautiful and the traditional decorations make me imagine it came from a Swedish home. A little bit of Scandinavian design right in my living room :)

Meanwhile, my kitty Anais is dreaming of hunting for some tasty pray, I presume. She left me rambling about Swedish design, as I do every day, and then she changed her sleeping mode with a deep, deep sigh... It's so complicated to be a spoiled pet these days! I leave you now, because this warm light is tingling the corner of my eyes and I am feeling a little sleepy myself. If any of you friends could help me with the other find which looks like a striped cone, I would really appreciate it. I thought it was a vase, but if you look carefully you will see a whole at the bottom (so there's no way it can contain any water). Please tell me what it could be! 

A Mad Tea Party

The Mad Hatter and the March Hare were sitting at the table, fighting over the marshmallows. "Why don't you just eat them?" asked Alice. "This is what I would do, in any circumstances." The March Hare answered in a pedantic voice: "There is science and method in eating these marshmallows: we must choose the toppers carefully in order to always leave on the plate an even number from each design". Alice looked closely and she saw three types of Mad Hatter's hat cupcake toppers.

"Why is the cat smiling like that, from one ear to the other?" she asked. "Because she was drawn by the talented Charles Santoso, that's why and she is famous now all over the net. Celebrity will do that to you." Alice thought the cat must be crazy, because she drank her milk first and spilled the tea on the ground.

"What are those flowers in the teapot?" wondered the little girl, because she had never seen them before. They looked like a combination of a hedgehog and a purple cloud. "Oh, those are immortal flowers, they transform into a flower mummy and stay like this forever", replied the Mad Hatter. "They are perfect for us, since The Queen beheaded Time and there is no time to grow new flowers of any kind."

"Beware of the Mushroom, it bites!" they both cried, as Alice approached the red mushroom with her hand held in the air. "There is no Mushroom here", she replied. "All I see is a lamp in drag. I bet that she can swirl and dance like no other. Let's play a cotillion!" So they all quickly gathered around, ready for the dance, but the March Hare kept glancing at the minty mints from the jar.

Update: Thank you so much, Homework, Uncommon, Tales Of A Trophy Wife, The 36th Avenue, Katie's Nesting Spot, At The Picket Fence, 5 Days...5 Ways, Little Inspiration, It's Overflowing, Destination: Craft Alderberry Hill and Cherished Bliss, for the feature, you just made my day!