24 days of Advent = Xmas tree!

Images by Muffins in my backpack.

Song for the moment.

Brilliant song by Coldplay called Christmas lights.

Yarn cuteness.

via

Some beautiful handmade pom-poms in pretty white yarn. Here's how-to.

Color palette: Winter forest.

Image sources: 1, 2, 3.

Color matching: Muffins in my backpack.

I (L) Roxy.

I've always loved Roxy. Since I was 10 or 11 years old I've had clothes of this brand (and many other brands like them) and my friends and family relate me with these brands (as so, I always get presents I love!).

I really like the philosphy about these people and I love the good vibrations they give you. So, to cheer up my laptop I've always put their wallpapers.

This was one of the first ones I put, a few years ago, and I still love it! I really like this wide stripe in magenta.

This past year I put this one below, and everytime I see it (every day!) I think of my final project, as I had it during the whole "process". It conveys tranquility to me, and gets me a really good mood.

And today I've changed it to this one, as winter is coming and I wanted a renovated background.

I really like some of the ones they haver right now online to download, they're always so cheerful :)

They're all available here and here.

All images by Roxy.

DIY: Advent calendar and Xmas tree (2 in 1).

For this year's advent calendar I wanted a "2 in 1" sort of thing, as J. didn't have any Christmas decoration (and he wasn't going to buy anything). So, I thought that I had to make a calendar that could be displayed during the holidays as well, and I wanted it as minimal as possible, in order to fit in with the whole living space.

I knew I wanted something inexpensive, maybe cardboard or paper, nothing fancy; and the most important thing, it had to be foldable as I had to carry it. I wanted to make something like in 2D that could, maybe, be hung up.

I started my research and found the perfect inspiration in this amazing blog called Weekday Carnival. I, obviously, adapted the idea to what I already had in mind but it almost had everything I was looking for: a flat surface and ornamentation.

I chose a colour scheme: black&white texture images and different red plaids. I printed them on white cardboard, put the numbers on the other side and then I cut them with my circle cutter.

To make the tree I used a large sheet of tracing paper cut it as a triangle and attached it to the wall with the transparent washi tape with black dots, and finally I put the circles on the tree with the same washi tape. I love that it seems there is no tree surface apart from the lines, and  I can have the advantage of not having to attach each circle directly to the wall.

Now, they only need to be turned around to show the texture and become a beautiful Xmas tree!

Images by Muffins in my backpack.

Project 1: Isolating ourselves. (Part III)

These are some of the photographs I took from the inside of my installation.

I like that it's wide enough to sit comfortably and I love its atmosphere.

The different tones of whites and greys, lights and shadows, makes you feel isolated as it takes you to somewhere else. I really like how it turned out.

Images by Muffins in my backpack.

Project 1: Isolating ourselves. (Part II)

After I had made the four bands I needed I made some tests to verify everything was okey, made the finishing touches and put it together.

This is the result of the isolation project.

Gif by Muffins in my backpack.

Project 1: Isolating ourselves. (Part I)

The first project of our postgraduate course was to make an isolated space for ourselves. We had to come up with "something" that could keep us isolated from the rest of the people, and that we could easily put wherever we were to get an instant little place for us. It had to be easily mountable and transportable.

Depending on what were our initial inputs, everyone thought of their perfect space. The ones I thought about were that I had to be able to sit, to have zenithal light, and not to see the outer things (because then I cannot concentrate). 

I wanted to build like a wall made of white thick paper, that could fit in a regular folder, so I had to make as many accordions (because the paper had to be folded) as height units I wanted.

I got a paper coil, I cut four bands that were 5 meters long, and I started folding the stripes in 20cm wide pieces.

Then, in three of the four bands I did a cut at the lower part to make sure they could be mounted, and made a final little triangular cut to make the assembly as easy and fast as possible.

Images by Muffins in my backpack.

Sneak peek: my studio.

Today, in one of the classes of the postgraduate course in interior design that I'm taking, we were talking about changing furniture and objects in our house, just to make it feel different and renovated. This made me think about my home studio, where I work and pass most of the day and that I recently changed.

When I finished my degree, this July, I completely redesigned my studio. For years, this room has been the place where my sister and I played and did our homework. This past course it's been almost my "home", as I was there like 16 hours a day working non-stop to finish my final project on time. It got super messy and I got plans, papers and 3d models all over the place.

So, when I finished cleaning it up, I thought I had to change it entirely because this was going to be my studio for the next few (maybe more) months. Of course, I only had a little budget so I sticked to what I already had: my beloved yellow sofa (perfect for reading), my precious wooden table and blue Fritz Hansen chair, the Metro shelving systems (the narrow and wide ones, and a little one with wheels) and the rug.

I changed the position of the table and sofa, to get a cozy little space to relax by the gorgeous and enormous window; I put the table next to one of the shelves, and I used the rug to establish the "virtual space" of the area.

I brought back home all my architecture and design books and I displayed them on the shelf. I love how they look all together. I put the plotter on the lower shelf so when the paper comes out it doesn't fall over.

It was time to visit Ikea. I bought things I wanted to get to decorate and to make it feel all united. I bought this white Malm table to put it between the window and the sofa, because I wanted a place for plants, candles, frames... that it was not to noticeable and could easily stick to the room.

I also got two work lamps, one for reading, the other one for my studio table; and some accessories as the magnetic board, round magnets, stainless steel containers, the wastepaper basket, two pen cups and a letter tray. On the wide shelf, I organised all my notes and papers from college in these white magazine files and all my craft tools and other stuff in the black boxes at the top.

All images by Muffins in my backpack.

Customized.

Wrapping my sister's birthday presents.

Nature made art.

I didn't know the artist Andy Goldsworthy and this week I watched the movie Rivers and Tides, and it explains some of his works.

I couldn't be more amazed, his land art works are trully beautiful and inspiring.

Here are some of his ephemeral and magical sculptures made from the different elements he finds wherever he is.

Image credits: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Belgian autumn.

We've travelled to Belgium this long weekend and it's been wonderful! There were fallen colorful leaves everywhere and it was a gift for the eyes.

I've really enjoyed travelling at this time of the year as we're not used to see these golden-orangish landscapes here.

Images by Muffins in my backpack.