Floating

© Dominica Ceuleers

As you might know by now (or not, so welcome to new followers) I'm a student in art school and more specific, photography school. On Mondays I work indoors and in studio, learning and working on my photography skills concerning product reproduction and exposing structure and materials in it's most favourable way.

Yesterday my 'material' was paper ; took me a while to finally find something nice and attractive to render and display it's structure apparent and clear.

I remembered this mini-bag from Hermès a couple of years ago online, giving everyone the opportunity to make it's own little Kelly bag. Did some research to find it again et voilà .. here it was .. the cutest template I've ever seen.
Trying to make it with some ordinary paper first so I would be sure it was easily crafted in this handmade rugged kind of paper too.

Have to admit, even my teacher was pretty impressed by my crafting skills and patience to make something tiny like this and so I began displaying it with my elements and lights in studio.
I think I might say I used some magic here as I am very happy with these first results of my floating DIY Kelly bag !

Maybe I still need to adjust my color management but I'm pretty pleased so far as the colors are true to reality.

Stay tuned for my next assignment ; this will be something extra special including high heels, a pigs heart and some fake blood !

items used in this shoot

rugged handmade paper found at Lucas
structured aquarel paper found at Pipoos
white backdrop paper found at Grobet 

Winter Knits {pattern)

As Winter is lurking around the corner and I'm slowly getting back into my knitting routine again, I'd like to share my latest DIY-project with you guys.

Being totally obsessed with all these beautiful bottle green colors in fashion, it did not take me long to decide what color my chunky Winter scarf would be.

When posting many of my knit-work-pics on Instagram I often get private messages in my DM box to ask if I could (#prettyplease) make something similar by demand.

As my school work gets more intense every semester,  I just can't live up to all orders I would love to do and make, but hey, I'm only human and am not an octopus with 8 arms !

So this is the perfect moment to write a blogpost with a first of many patterns to come, so you can DIY-it yourselves ! 

I'll promise, once the scarf is finished you'll be so proud ! 

So here it is, it's actually not that difficult ; beginners might even get a go at this faux-rib stitch  :

you'll need:

10mm needles {US 15}

a mix of mohair and merino yarns {I mixed 5 threads to give it that extra chunky look}

Start to set up your yarns and pick a multiple of 4 + 1 additional stitch

I got 36 + 1 for my scarf

ROW 1 : Right Side * P1 - K3 * P1 (end of row)

ROW 2 : Wrong Side (beginning of row) K1 * K1 - P1 - K2 *

Repeat rows 1 and 2 till the desired length of the scarf 

this is what it should look like

#easy

Cowgirlblues at Julija's Shop

Isn't this the most beautiful yarn you've ever seen ? I immediately fell in love the moment I saw these cute balls in store ; had to get some and make another chunky sweater for me.

And so I did ; joy oh joy .. yesterday I teamed it with my easy peasy t shirt dress I found at Pull & Bear. I got the largest size so the dress is long and a bit oversized but that's just what I want for warm Summer days. Hate it when clothes stick to your body and make you uncomfortable : I like to feel free, not being afraid of every move I make when damp and hot outside.

Also, I got my special delivery from Model's Own nail polish this week ; I went for the metallic copper one .. it matches perfectly this sweet blush pink and grey. 

Handmade Knits made by me 

T dress at Pull & Bear

Chrome Rose Metallic nail polish  

photo credit designlovefest.com

I'm totally going for a very chunky white jacket this week. I've knitted some fine mohairs and angora's lately but now I'm totally handing myself over to big loopy yarn from LN Beanies ; they opened a pop-up store a couple of months ago and if you're quick, you can still get the latest from their collection and yarns 'live' at the Nationalestraat in Antwerp.

Sunday will be their last day at the store.

So, I might pop in once again to be sure I've stashed enough yarn and maybe a hint of neon pink alpaca too.

Of course I will share my finished product with you guys and hopefully you'll all gush over it once again, just like you did with the other sweaters I made previously. 

Keep up with my knits and photography work on my Instagram account ; are we friends yet ? 

please click and get a follow back from me too ..

instagram.com/little_black_darkroom

#project

Here's an update of my latest hand knit diy project ; I started this just before the new year and finished it just yesterday. Must say I'm incredibly pleased with the result, although I still want to adjust some minor details in the pattern. 

The sweater is slightly see-through, but can be easily worn with a nude top or silky blouse .. love the combination of luxury wools with silk and lace

For those who like to knit themselves, I'm seriously considering writing patterns of all my diy projects to sell them online.

Might take a little while as I'm currently in my exam time of year .. if you guys have any questions or suggestions on this .. let me know ! 

India wearing the Chocolat Brownie sweater

Loving these in between party lazy days ; catching up on my reading, watching the DVF holiday marathon on E!, and finishing the prototype of my new knit project, the sweater.

I made the model chunky, just like I did with the jackets, but not too much and not too oversized either. I might change it to a full tricot knit later on instead of a model with border .. but it came out quite nicely.

What are you guys up to ? Just chillin' or working on something you've put on delay for the longest time ?

#knit

Finally found the time to start AND finish this wonderful mohair knit jacket.

Don't you just love the oversized fit ? When I first saw my friend Nathalie wearing her similar but VERY EXPENSIVE one last year  I knew I had to get (= make) me one some day.

And so I did. In about 3 nights, in front of the telly, I picked up my needles and wool and made this beautiful fluffy jacket. It looks a bit more pink in the picture ; IRL it's a soft lilac with a silky shine.

After I posted this on both my Instagram and FB accounts, my mailbox got bombarded by pretty pleases and if I would make another one for her and oh yeah .. her too.

Oh well, might as well enjoy it in between photoshoot assignments.

Here's the link where you can order the jacket. Currently working on a champagne colored model.

It's coming up online pretty soon.

{for orders outside the EU, please contact me first through the contact form here or in the store}

Cirkus Online Store 

so proud of my jacket 

meanwhile, made another one in champagne !