The start of Advent with Finn's Lanterns

These little diamond shaped lanterns will be my first Christmas gift for all the faithful paper DIY enthusiasts, who will be expecting at least a little project for the weekends, in the weeks to come. 

They are easy and fun to make, and I have named them after a friend of my son, who will sometimes get up very early in the morning, pick up a phone from his still sleeping parents, and find origami instruction videos on YouTube, and while away some quiet morning hours, folding and folding. Just my kind of kid! So thank you, Finn - I had never seen these before, and they look great. 

I made them into hanging ornaments, but they could be little gift boxes as well. And they could be hanging both ways - I just like the Chinese vibe they get in this version, with a little tassel. The string and tassel you could pull through with a needle, before you actually glue and close the form, that's a bit easier. I tied the little knots, after I had put the string in place. But check out the instructions. 

Get the PDF with the four different prints, and the folding instructions, right here.

 

2021: I have a new location for my downloads, go here for the four variants with tutorial (in Danish, but with easy-to-follow drawings)
Design 1  /  Design 2  /  Design 3  /  Design 4 

Happy first of Advent!

A few days in a parallel universe. Can't wait!

I will be ignoring the fact that December is just around the corner, for a little while longer. And I will be doing it in Marrakech, which should be very well suited for this kind of procrastination. Me and my two friends will hit the hammams and the souks and get back in a week or so, with soft, rosy feet and languid minds!!

I love Marrakech. The top photo (by Takashi Nakagawa / National Geographic) is from the Ben Yussuf Medersa (a sort of dorm and study hall for religous scholars), a place I will re-visit, certainly. Probably one of the most beautiful buildings I have ever seen!

Oh, and the food. And the colours, the smells, the slender palms and the really nice locals! And the shopping - an event in itself. Everyone in my family can anticipate sticky, black soap and loads of aromatic spices for Christmas, this year.

FindersKeepers

I'll be at FindersKeepers on the weekend 19-20 November - a really nice designers market. This time it's held in the old green grocers market hall in Valby, and it's much worth visiting: lots and lots to see (and buy) - and great food stalls too!

Proud to be included in this really great company and looking much forward to it. In my little stall, I will be selling my 24 Days Advent Calendar Gift Wrap, of course, and I hope to see you there!

Read all about it right here - and take a peak at all the great potential Christmas shopping you could do there.

FindersKeepers on Instagram (images above are from here)

Fingers crossed

Update, later on Tuesday: This is very disturbing.

Now, I will put my whole trust in the common sense and optimism that made so many people work so hard for the better option. May they - no, we - have the guts to keep on going.

November first with these babies

November first kind of marks the point where this blog begins to think about Christmas coming up, and to consider which various projects from the desk drawer, that might turn into this years fun paper DIY's. I never plan too much ahead of time, I gather a lot of ideas all year round, and sometimes work a bit on one or two. And I almost always end up doing something different than what I planned in the first place, anyway.

The paper balls from last year were a spur-of-the-moment idea that took me a few hours to make, from making my first prototype (I have not invented the principle - I saw that somewhere), trying out a whole lot of patterns, and deciding on the ones I liked the most. Then I made the finished design for the download, and a photo tutorial, just as quickly. 

Other times I have spend several evenings of experimenting with some idea, that ends up in the trash. Just so you know!

But the plopping baubles were a great hit, they have more than a thousand downloads, and have been pinned on Pinterest an unusual number of times, for this blog! So I guess I'll try not to think too hard about this years Christmas gifts for you, and just let them happen. And they will.

In November I am also working on setting up shop in some way, for my Advent Calendar Gift Wrap! Right now my Tictail shop is closed, alas, since shipping via mail from DK have has become so unreasonably expensive. But do contact me, if you want to buy some, we'll figure it out!