Friday January 19th, 2018

just diy | STAR WARS baby girl baptism decoration

Normally I should have taken some how-to pictures, but I was the Godmother and also the decorator! So, all the crafting happened between my regular job and dress hunting for me as well as the baby. So, thank God I had a little time to take some pictures before all the stuff was taken to church.

What I want to say is that this specific project was one of my favorite ones, not only because I love the parents and the baby, but because they let me do whatever I wanted!

For example this epic candle with Princess Leia!

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And this epic box which I made from ply wood. Find the fonts here

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And these super cute pink flags with the baby’s name. starwars_vaftisi_simaiakia1

I know I don’t explain much, but I do promise to make a video on the subject and explain everything on how to organize a DIY (Greek) baptism. Till then, you can see all other videos here

 

Saturday December 2nd, 2017

just diy | Christmas Decorations

Ah, Christmas time, yet another opportunity to stay home and make stuff. In this case I spent an entire afternoon, and almost the night, making two wooden christmas trees. All the process and lots of talking (if you speak some Greek) on the following video.

The wood I used is chipboard and is very cheap. The first of the two trees needed to be cut with the jig saw to make it into the shape I wanted. However if you don’t have a jig saw it’s not very hard to use a hand saw.

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I, then, wrapped it with some thin rope and over them I used some black spray paint. After it got dry, I unwrapped it (more accurately, I cut the rope!) I used some spray glue and glued some silver moons. Finally I wrapped it with white ribbon.

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The second one I made with nails. I drew the shape of the tree on the wood, and then used nails on it. Then, starting from the top, I wrapped red rope among the nails.

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As simple as that. The piece of wood I bought costed me one euro, while all the other materials I used, I already had. If you get an inspiration and make something, I’ll be very happy if you send it to me at [email protected]. I’ll post it here. 🙂

So, Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

Sunday November 26th, 2017

10 things to throw away without second thoughts

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illustration / collage by Thora.  Find her work on her instagram account.

Few days ago I was doing some de-cluttering at home and while doing it I was thinking about writing this post because well, I can’t fight it, I want to share the wisdom! 

  1. Old lighters. Lighters you bought on that trip you had with your friends on the “Farfaraway” country that are empty now, but you plan to fill them again (YOU’LL NEVER DO IT, ADMIT IT) and you keep them because they remind you of your youth and blah blah blah.. Emotionally connecting with a lighter is not good. You have the memories, you don’t need the lighter! You won’t forget the trip if you throw them away. YOU ARE STRONG, YOU CAN DO IT. THROW THEM AWAY. 
  2. Make up that past their expiration date million years ago. Yes, I know, these eye shadows you bought were so nice and that black pencil that was half price and so on and so forth. HOWEVER, if you continue to use them you’ll guarantee a visit to the dermatologist. Same applies for creams, hair products etc. 
  3. Outdate pills and other medicine.  Open that box you keep the home medicine. You’ ll be surprised by how many are past the expiration date. Dispose of them now! 
  4. Candle holders. Come on now, you can admit it, how often do you really light candles? And how many of the candle holders you have, you really like? It’s a sneaky thing these candle holders.. A present here, a something else there and the you end up having 25 holders that gather dust while you rarely use them! Gather them, find the ones you like TODAY and dispose of the rest. 
  5. Souvenirs from weddings / baptisms etc. It’s OK, your favorite friends got married, it’ s not like they will get a divorce if you throw away the thingy from their wedding.  You’re a strong, independent person, you can dispose of them. It’ s OK. 
  6. Plastic bags. Where do you keep them? In a drawer? In a closet? Wherever you keep them I am sure it’s chaos. Gather all the recyclable ones and take them to recycling. Buy nice reusable ones and remember to take them with when going to the super market. Keep one in your everyday bag and one in the car. 
  7. Food container lids. I really don’t know what conspiracy there is behind this whole mess, but there is one point where you look at the food containers  cabinet and half the containers are missing (or so it happens in Greece). Let it sink in. The containers are not coming back to you. So throw away the lids, you don’t need them. 
  8. That bag with the cables. Go back to the deep past and try to remember when was the last time you opened that bag and actually found the cable you were looking for. If you’re not an electrician, it’s OK to dispose of that bab. Don’t look bag, don’t question yourself. Just do it. 
  9. Pens that stopped writing.  Oh come on now, do I really need to explain why you should dispose of them? Because they don’t write. 
  10. Half way broken kitchen utensils. That mug with the broken handle, that plate that cracked and that bowl you love so much, but it’s broken in half and that you keep in store because you want to glue it back together.. If a year has past and you haven’t glued it yet, you will never do it. So you can say goodbye now. 

Ready? Go!  

Tuesday November 21st, 2017

just diy | How to make a wooden magazine holder

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On 11/11 we had the Athens Classic Marathon. Some people ran, some did DIY. Guess what I did. Well, the project wooden magazine holder is rather simple and you can watch it in the video below, however I do have some written instructions below

You will need: 2 pieces of wood, a jig saw (or a hand saw that suits you) and a ruler.

Find the center of each wooden surface by measuring the middle of the height and length. Next you need to cut from the center to one side and remove a piece as big as the thickness of the piece you have. Finally, when both pieces are cut, you put them together like a 3D puzzle. And if I am not making any sense, I think the next photo will help. The wood I used are OSB and they are 45*35 cm each. Screen Shot 2017-11-20 at 23.27.05

Cheers!

Wednesday November 1st, 2017

3 things to spray paint today!

Last Sunday, the one thing I had in mind to do is tidy up my workshop. But, as I was going up the stairs I saw this old frame that I had left for quite some time to do something with, and it was like the frame whispered in my ear… “No Elektra, Don’t tidy up now, please do something with me!” So, what was I supposed to do? I listened to it. And then I had an inspiration to create a stop – motion video, about spray paint! I had lots of fun during the project, and even though the outcome is not perfect, it makes me very happy.

So guys, this is my video, I hope you enjoy!