jokeyhee

Hardware and clear plastic, delicate vs chunky. My cup of tea!
Although beads are quite a staple ingredient when you think of DIY, I honestly never really knew what to do with them as besides being decorative I didn't see a clear purpose for them. But when going through some old DIY supplies and coming across these two ice-cube lookalikes, suddenly I knew just how to put them to good use. Here's the super simple, 3 step instructions to my double beaded, rose gold choker necklace.

1/ Measure how long you want the choker to be by putting a measuring tape around your neck. keep in mind that the opening should be around as wide as your neck so you can still can take off the necklace.
2/ Cut the metal bar to the right length and bend it around something round. I used a can of paint.
3/ Fill the beads with glue and put the ends of the copper bar through them. Let them dry and you're all done!

need
/ thin copper bar
/ two beads
/ super glue (clear)
/ pair of pliers

Instead of throwing away those old CDs and DVDs, I use them as coasters. While cleaning out old and damaged discs, I didn't want to throw away these iridescent and mirrored objects. They catch the light so beautifully when they are lying on the glass table holding a glass of water and the sun shines on them through the window. It is one of those little things that I can immensely enjoy.

The instagrammers among us already know that last week I've been making little paper samples of pouches and bags. Products that allow different interpretations are always my favorites, and so was this simplistic idea for a bag. You can actually wear this clutch/pouch three ways; with your hand through the slit, holding the pouch like on picture two and the third; putting your arm through it like a sleeve.

/ 1.
The pattern of this little bag is extremely simple, by looking at the images I'm sure you'll figure it out. Decide how large you want the clutch to be. Mutliply the height of the clutch times 3, this will be the length of your pattern. Add 5 cm more cm to this length to give extra space to for the overlapping flap. Add 10 cm (5cm on each side) to the width of your clutch. Then cut off 5 cm from each side for the first two thirds of this length on both sides. It should now look like image number four.
/ 2.
You'll pattern consists of two parts; the narrow longer rectangle. And the larger front flap which will also serve as a closure with its slit. The large front flap needs to be extra stiff to keep the bag in shape, and it should look the same on the inside and out. Therefor, glue a rectangular piece of the same material on the inside of the flap. Put a couple of heavy books on top so it dries in a very flat way. Cut a slit that is exactly as wide as the narrow part of the bag 10 cm from the edge of the front flap.
/ 3.
Fold over the long narrow part and sew it together on both sides, creating a little pouch. Pull the pouch through the slit and you're done!

need/
/ superglue
/ sewing machine / needle thread
/ a stiff material, eg. leather, faux leather, neoprene, thick vinyl

I love this recipe for how minimalistic and uncomplicated it is; only four ingredients, very few steps, very little time and it is vegan (meat/dairy production wastes natural resources). Usually I like my food as colorful as possible, but these creamy vanilla coconut cubes just screamed Love Aesthetics. So here it is; my first ever food related blog post! I am not a very good cook so don't expect more recipes, but these are so easy to make and the result is so beautifully that I could not not share this with you guys.

Ingredients explained/
Agar Agar is an Malaysian/Inonesian desert, very similar to jelly pudding with a sightly more bitable texture, if made with water it is incredibly thirst quenching. Though unlike gelatin jelly which is an animal product (made out of animal bones and pig skin), Agar Agar is plant based made out of seaweed. It comes in a variety of colors and flavors but for this recipe you'll need the flavorless, colorless kind (avoiding all the artificial ingredients). You can find it at almost every Asian supermarket, it is also known as Kanten in Japan. Instead of sugar I used agave nectar, but you can use whatever sweetener you want.

1/ Prepare the Agar Agar as instructed on the package. But instead of using water, use coconut milk. Bring the coconut milk to a boil, add the powder, the agave nectar and the seeds of the vanilla bean. Stirr well and take your pan off the heat.
2/ Pour the mixture into a container. Let it cool off outside the fridge for a while to give the vanilla seeds a chance to sink to the bottom before the pudding sets.
3/ After about an hour in the fridge, cut the agar agar into cubes. If you insert your knife a little diagonally like I did, you'll get slightly inclined cubes with visually more 3D effect.
4/ Take them out, flip them over to expose the black vanilla speckles and eat!

need
/agar agar powder
/coconut milk
/a vanilla bean
/agave nectar (or sugar)

Some temporary objects to decorate your apartment with.
It is almost magical to see a flat piece of paper take on architectural shapes by adding a few well placed folds. After picking up a book on origami at the library, my kid and I got to folding some paper Christmas trees. Though the end result of these trees was quite cute, I liked them more when they were half way finished and didn't want to keep folding and cutting the paper into an obvious pine tree shape.

/ Stick the adhesive marble foil on half of your paper.(optional)
/ Fold your paper in half both ways and diagonally, creating four creases as shown on the third image. The bigger the paper, the better. I used a square of 50cm x 50cm.
/ Bring two opposite corners together and fold them inwards creating a small square as shown on the fourth image.
/ Fold the two outer corners towards the middle crease creating a kite shape, do this on both sides. It should look like image number five now.
/ Open up the entire thing and notice the architectural forms that the paper will take on (image six). It looks like a building or a tent, you could leave it as is.
/ To make the shape more triangular, pine tree-like, fold the creases that you have creating inwards and outwards, alternating.

need:
/paper
/adhesive marble printed foil

Assemble the glass squares and rectangles with a picture in between and clip together. I framed this snapshot I took of Romeo's new haircut instead of the usual taping it to the wall. Next thing I'm doing is adding more glass and one or two more pictures to have them overlapping and looking like a 3D collage.

need
/ a couple of pieces of glass
/ a clip
/ a picture

My new workspace was in need of a place to hang clothes, something a bit different from a straight forward rack, something on which garments can be displayed better and styled into little groups. So I made this rack out of white PVC tubes (as opposed to metal tubes previously here, here and here) on which you can hang clothes on two sides opposite to each other. Cool thing is, when tilted and put on its side it becomes a longer (yet lower) rack. Ah yes! Multifunctionality excites me!

how to
/01 Cut your tubes to the right lengths: 3 x 1.70 meter / 2 x 1 meter / 4 x 30 centimeter
/02 Assemble.

need:
/plastic plumbing tubes
/6 x 90° corner connection
/2 x three-way connection

Low buns and lose saggy ponytails are a daily thing for me. Made this hair wrap yesterday and love how it instantly makes my hair look 'done' while still letting it be a little saggy and slightly messy with a few lose locks.

1/ Take measurements and cut the leather (or any kind of left over fabric you've got). Decide how wide you want your wrap to be and how thick your ponytail is. Take into account that the leather will be folded in half, so your square of leather must be twice as wide as you want the wrap to be. Add about one cm to the circumference of your ponytail for the press studs.
2/ Fold it in three like shown on the second image.
3/ Make two incisions right in the middle and put the elastic through and tying it on the inside of the leather.
4/ Add a few stitches to the outer sides to keep the folds in place.
5/ Apply the press studs.

you'll need
/ (faux) leather
/ press buttons
/ elastic

Remember that almost all clothing made around the millennium seemed to have drawstrings incorporated somewhere? On the cuff of sleeves, on the bottom of trousers, around the waist, around the neck, even just randomly and functionless accross the back. Haven't seen them around in a while and kind of miss the wrongness about them, so I made this scuba drawstring top.

/01 Cut a triangle that will fit around your torso.
/02 Make a hem of a little more than a cm in width on the top and bottom of the triangle.
/03 Make two darts on the side to give the top more shape. If you don't want to make darts, use a stretchier fabric so it won't be necessary.
/04 Make a small hem on both of the sides of the top.
/05 Put a piece of elastic through the top hem. It will take a bit of picking, but with some tweezers you'll get it through eventually. Tie a knot in it and slide the knot inside the hem to make it invisible.
/06 The bottom elastic doesn't go through the hem, because it has to pull the two corners together, so sew the ends of the elastic to the corners.
/07 Add both of the stoppers to the elastics and it's ready to be worn!

need:
Fabric (I used neoprene)
elastic
2 stoppers

Hopefully, there will still be a few sunny days left this summer to wear both of these pairs, fingers crossed that it will still be warm in Paris at the end of the month! Absolutely love this chunky yet cleaner, more minimal alternative to the striped Adidas Adilettes, the buckled Birkenstocks and the furry sandals by Céline. I got this brilliant idea from Amalie, who's lovely blog I've recently discovered. It was one of those things that immediately went to the top of my to do list and which I just had to share with all you guys.

instructions (if you need any)
01/ measure the straps of your slides and cut out two pieces of leather.
02/ glue them on.

need:
A pair slide slippers
super glue
leather
scissors

What I like to do is pretend that my wardrobe is a little boutique and 'merchandise' parts of my clothes and accessories into little collections. That's why I wanted to make one of those display columns you usually see at art galleries and boutiques that showcase the most exclusive, special pieces. A very small one though for my current favorite jewelry that will fit on a shelf.

I chose for moulding plaster instead of concrete, it is whiter, lighter in weight and more delicate. It was a super nice and messy experiment. But while getting to know this material a bit better and trying out several techniques at the same time, I didn't document every single step, but I'll do my best to explain it in words.

1/ Make a mold for your column with the cardboard, it should be about 2mm wider than your perspex cube on each side.(see image 3)
2/ Cover the mold with duct tape on the inside to make it waterproof. Fold the mold into shape and on the outside cover it with duct tape as well to avoid any leakage and to keep it in shape once the plaster will start to set.
3/ Make your plaster mixture and pour it in. Tap on the sides of the mold with a pencil for a couple of minutes to create vibration in the mixture and remove air bubbles.
4/ After a couple of hours remove the mold. But let the massive block dry completely for two more days.
5/ With sandpaper smooth out your column. I made two blocks, one turned out smoother than the other, but I'm preferring this rawer one.
6/ Determine where the plexi block should be, and mark four lines with a pencil. Then with any regular old saw make the incisions about 2mm deep. Smooth out with a file and sand paper


But the first thing I did when it was done: stuff the clear box with all the flowers and leaves from my garden that I could get my hands on and laugh about this miniature Raf Simons for Jil Sander set.

you need
-plaster
-perspex (storage)cube
-cardboard
-duct tape
-file
-saw
-sandpaper

Lois saw it right away: 'you are making a candy wrapping' was what she said when it was only half done. There is no better compliment than a six year old immediately recognizing your references. I chose white felt, a bit stiffer and a lot cozier than the usual neoprene, which would also work wonderfully for these multi purpose pyramid-container-bags. For now I will be using mine like this to store my socks and tights, might also use one of them as an actual bag now and then.

Here's are the beyond easy instructions, steps correspond with the four images collaged together.
/01 Cut a rectangle out of your felt with one side that is only slightly longer than the other. The dimensions of my large pyramid are 35cm x 42cm.
/02 Sew the long sides to each other creating a tube as shown on picture two.
/03 Close the tube on the bottom with the seam in the middle as shown on picture three.
/04 Finally, fold the opening in the opposite way as the sewn part and close by adding the clip.

need:
felt or neoprene
sweing machine / needle&thread
clip
15 minutes