Merry Christmas!

You might live in a place where there are places like this.... this year we have none. I'd love to just take a peaceful walk under the snow. But it seems that this year it will not be happening...

To all of you that also miss it...

Merry Christmas!

Paper lantern - THE GOOD ONE!

Yes!!! We made it! Here it comes!

It turned out to be a little more of work, but in the end it was more a matter of time... and I still have a little of that!!

This time I was not giving up, so I had a previous trial using red paper circles. I used hair spray and sprayed them all over. It had to work, and it did.

The red circle on the left side has hair spray on in, the one on the right side doesn't. It seems quite clear, doesn't it? The one on the right started to wrinkle in just a few minutes after hanging it.

So then it was time to spray them all... be careful, they fly away when you spray them, so don't do it directly. I sprayed quite far, and let the particles fell on the circles.

To make myself even more sure that they would stay straight, I ironed them (in groups, not one by one!! It could have taken me forever!)

Then it was just about sticking them on the lamp, using double sided tape. This time I bought an Ikea paper lamp by only 2,5€.

And here's the result!! Better than the previous one, huh?

Paper lantern - Trial one

...I know, I know.... Adding "trial one" to the title doesn't feel encouraging, huh??

But, c'mon people, we are real people, and some things we just do them wrong!! That's why I even think that makes it even more interesting... hopefully it will be a mistake you will  not make!!

So, here we go...

I stole this brilliant idea from the incredible Marha Stewart. But she probably never makes mistakes...
I thought it was a great idea because of its small cost (around 10 € = 13$) and because of the spectacular results obtained (that's in the case you do it properly, of course)

Stuff you'll need:

- A paper lamp (yes, one of those "demodé" paper lamps that every single one of us has had at some point of our lives)

- Double sided tape

- Scissors

- Tissue paper disks. (Here is where the problem starts... I happen to live VERY far from a staples store, or anything like it... and even though amazon.com has everything, it was far more expensive to have them sent to Barcelona, than the tissue disks itself!!. So, I used paper multilayer napkins, orange color)

- Needless to say that you will need a little patience in case you use paper napkings as I did.

It's just about sticking each paper disk in the proper location in order to make it look as fish scales. I recommend you to start from the bottom, it makes easier. Also, find a place where you can hang the lamp, so they don't get creased.

Unfortunately, I forgot a little detail... paper absorbs water, and so happens with ambient humidity, and so, disks started to fold!!

Don't worry, I think I know what to do in trial two!!
Stay tuned!!

Before and after of a Modernist Screen

This is a story of love at first sight.

I believe this screen was the first thing that I saw when I entered this house, more than 3 years ago. It had a cruel, forgotten and very dirty life at the basement. Actually, because of this Modernist screen, I started an old furniture restoration course.

Luckily it wasn't broken, it was only dirt. As you can imagine, the 3 pieces of cloth were the first to go straight to the garbage can. They were also the most complicated thing to substitute.
After a little looking, I found the most gorgeous piece of cloth ever, embroidered by hand.

You're probably thinking when does the "but" appear... alright... it's right now!! Of course, the price!! Only 205€/m  (266$/meter)!! ... and of course I had to find a B Plan!!

I went to the finest cloth store in Catalonia, which is without any doubt Ribes & Casals, downtown Barcelona, and I bought a piece of pink silk. I used my mum's advice and I had it hand painted, similar to the first cloth I had found.
Don't you think it was a wonderful job?

Results? A unique and exclusive design for a unique piece of Modernist furniture.

Personalize a work lamp with washi tape

I've loved work lamps since I saw my first, at an architect desk. Back then they were just made in red, white or black... and architects used pencils for drawing instead of computers!

Nowadays, it seems that work lamps only come in light grey... what happened to reds, whites and blacks, I wonder?

My favourite is its wide variety of movements possible in each and every single direction, I find it so multipurpose!! But still I thought they use to be a little dull. So, that's what it turned out!

And this is the previous:

It was also the best excuse to finally use the first washi tape I ever had!!

In case you don't know washi tape, it's a different types of coloring tape, invented by Japs.

Once you have it place it's very easy to pull it and remove, and even to reuse it, which it makes it wonderful from my point of view.

What do you think about the results? Any suggestions?

Just finally add that the whole thing has been very cheap:

Work lamp TERTIAL (IKEA) - 7,99 € ( 10,4$)
Washi tape (2 units pack at Servei Estació, Barcelona) - 5,75 € (7.5$)

But obviously I didn't use the whole washi tape... so the whole project is probably under 10€ (13$).

Bread sticks or "palitos" (how we call them at home!)

Morning!!!

Today, a very easy recipe, a good one, that you can also work it out with your kids. They think it's clay modeling time!! (Don't let them play too much though, they get excited and then the pastry has to go to the waste!!)

Ingredients: ( it makes 30 units)

2 cups of hard wheat flour (500grs)
1 tsp of salt (10grs)
1 tbs of fresh pressed baking powder (20grs)
1 tbs of honey ( 25grs)
3 tbs of olive oil pure extra virgin (40grs)
1 and 1/5 cup of water (280grs)

To decorate:

A handful of flour
A handful of sesame seeds
A handful of oregano


Preparation:

1.- Place the flour and the salt into Thermomix bowl. Program 10 seconds, speed 5.
2.- Add the baking powder, honey, oil and water. Stir dough for 5 minutes, put the lid on the bowl. Spike speed. It will turn into a soft and elastic paste.
3.- Remove the paste and place it into a previously oil sprayed surface. Spread it properly using your own hands. Generously brush the paste with large amounts of olive oil. Let the dough settle for at least one hour.
4.- Turn on the oven. Temperature 430ºF (220ºC) and put oven use vegetal paper on the oven shelf.
5.- Now is when the fun starts!! Cut sticks about one inch thick. Now is when the kids can start playing... let them cover the sticks using flour, sesame seeds or oregano as you please. I should have tried poppy seeds, but I forgot to buy them... next time!
6.- Place them onto the oven shelf. It's fun to shape them differently, some short, some long, some thick, some thin...
7.- Cook them for 10-15 minutes. Cooking depends on the thickness but remember they have to be crunchy.

A little tip: If you like them even crunchier, place a filled with water bowl into the oven, and once in a while splash some water on the sticks.

There you go, a perfect and healthy trick to eat while watching a movie!!

Please let me know if you try to make them! Thanks!

Facade details: A truly ingenious trick

My hubs is a pretty smart person. Because the increasing volume of the facade due to the insulation, it turned that rain water could not be collected from it... so he thought about this! A silicon cord that will alter the course of the water when it rains. Therefore, it will not damage the new facade.

Isn't it great?

Maybe here you'll see it better..