Himmeli Workshop and Tutorial
What do you get when you mix crafting, friends, pizza, wine, chocolate brownies, chit chat and hair braiding together on a Thursday night in Hamilton?
Only one of the best girly Crafternoons ever!
This time we went back to basics and made simple, quick and easy Himmeli sculptures out of humble plastic straws and wire- but what is Himmeli I hear you ask? The word is taken from the Swedish 'himmel' meaning heaven or sky, and these little geometric mobiles were originally used as Finnish Christmas decorations to be hung around the house and on the tree. Ah bless those Scandinavians and their good design sense!
These days, hipster design fans and crafty bloggers build them to house air plants, decorate fancy light bulbs and lay next to succulents- and for costing next to nothing, they look freakin' awesome!
Above are three different types I made from gold straws:
The simple prism (top right) is made with cotton instead of wire, so it ended up being a bit loosey-goosey for my liking. I tried the technique of cutting the edges at 45° to make them sit flush again each other but it turns out that's easier said than done, at least with cotton! Must try that with wire... Anyway here's a good tutorial for that baby himmeli from Vintage Revivals.com
The prism next to it on the left is my favourite- it looks like a pentagonal gem and if I can find a cheap little airplant then it will sit in there juuust right. It's made using wire and is the one I made the tutorial for below if you fancy having a go!
The lowest one looks tricky but is actually just the simple prism with four full-length straws added at the end. I added a gold bead to the top and made a hanging loop using invisible thread, which is why it looks a bit like it's levitating. Awesome stuff.
SO here's how to make your own! Feel free to print this tutorial for your own crafty needs!
The girls last night made some awesome creations in chrome, gold and copper- just look at these happy faces!
I decided to try and make a huge one to use as a light fitting, I will have a go at spray painting it and will keep you posted on the finished result :)
Tip: it's much more efficient to create your Himmeli, and then spray paint it. I wanted to have metallic straws ready to go for my Crafternoon so I did heaps beforehand, using the very professional method below:
Tape wool to a kebab skewer and thread it through many, many straws.
Hang the lines of straws up through the trees and spray paint from all angles.
Leave to dry, check if they need a touch-up, if not then snip the wool and unthread- et voila!
For more Himmeli goodness, check out these tutorials and inspiration from around the web:
Or you can always take the easy but far less satisfying route and just buy your Himmeli- here's a lush hanging planter one using leather too from handmadesammade on Etsy
Thanks guys! Stay tuned for news on May's Crafternoon (there may be succulents...) and for more tutorials and inspiration, check out our Facebook Page and find MyCrafternoons Vic on Pinterest!