A few months ago, I was invited to my beloved Castle In The Air for an afternoon of pajaki making. What’s a pajaki, you ask? Pajakis are traditional Polish paper chandeliers, made from straw and pieces of colored paper. Though they vary in shape and size, these mobiles are always incredibly colorful and festive. I had so much fun making my first pajaki, I knew it was a tutorial I had to share with you. They are definitely time consuming to make (but oh so worth it) so I asked creative geniuses, John McRae and Karima Cammell, of Castle In The Air to come up with a simpler tutorial just for you!
You’ll need:
- 2 pieces of florist crepe paper 23″ x 7″ (cut across the grain line)
- 6 pieces of florist crepe paper 12″ x 5.5″ (cut across the grain line)
- 2 pieces of 9′ twine
- 3 short paper straws
- assorted spun cotton balls
- assorted dresden medallions
- 3 pieces of floral wire
- 1 bone ring
- ribbon cockades
- craft glue
- scissors
Start by creating crepe paper cockades. Cut fringe into each piece of crepe paper. Cut lengthwise along the grain and stop halfway. Then twist each piece of fringe between the fingers.
Continue twisting!
Glue the edges of each rectangular strip into individual circular tubes. Allow to dry and then accordion fold the circle into a tight bunch.
Take the floral wire and wrap and twist it around the middle of the bunch. Open the solid side and fan out.
Then open the fringed side and fan out. Trim away any excess wire. Repeat the same steps to the rest of the crepe paper. There should be 2 large cockades and 6 small ones.
Tie the two pieces of twine into a cow hitch knot around the bone ring so that 4 even strands are hanging from the ring. Spun cotton balls are used not only to hold pieces in place but also to add a bit of texture and ornamentation. Take a wooden skewer to open up some of the holes in the cotton balls.
Thread all four strands of twine through a large cotton ball.
Thread a single strand through a medium sized ball. Push the ball against the larger ball and tie the knot to secure it. This will be the strand that will hand down the middle of the pajaki. The other three strands will help create the chandelier-like shape. Before creating the shape however, add cotton balls or dresden medallions on each of the three strands. Remember to create a knot after each embellishment to hold them in place.
Now for the shape. Take one piece of twine and insert it into a paper straw. Take a neighboring strand and insert it through the other side of the straw.
One side of the triangle is complete. Repeat the steps on the other strands to create the other 2 sides of the triangle.
Add a few more cotton balls or other embellishments before adding on the smaller crepe paper cockades. Centering a cotton ball helps hold the cockade in place. Sandwich the twine between two cockades with a dollop of glue, fringe side facing in. Press firmly and allow to dry completely.
Add a few more embellishments and finish with some dresden medallions and/or ribbon cockades.
Glue on a small dresden medallion to the center of the crepe paper cockades. Repeat on the other three strands. They should be uniform in length. Then add balls, ribbon and dresden to the center strand, making it longer the other three strands.
Add the larger cockade.
Finish off with more embellishments.
And your mini pajaki is finished!! The best part about this project is that there is no right or wrong way to do this. You can always add crepe pom poms in place of cockades or any other embellishment or beads in place of cotton balls or dresden. Make it your own and have fun!
How incredible are the larger pajakis . . . perhaps we’ll tackle that tutorial next?
(images by HonestlyWTF; tutorial courtesy of Castle In The Air)
Honestly this doesn’t look so simple but the pajakis are really beautiful 😀
GIVEAWAY ON MY BLOG. WIN A PAIR OF SHOES
XX
glamdevils
Your DIY are always so beautiful!!
xoxo
LEATHER & ICE CREAM
I’ve never seen anything like this!
It’s very beautiful, thanks for sharing!
xoxo Iren
http://www.liakw.com
These are absolutely gorgeous! Perfect to freshen up a room for summer, or even on a porch!
xx
http://thescreensiren.com
looks quite easy and nice! xo, Alma
http://www.soulofashopper.com
Amazing diy, it’s so original and beautiful
http://www.thestelstyle.com
That is so cool, love it.
xo
http://pinksole.com
I loved it!
I’m posting looks from Los Angeles and accessories:
http://www.thegavlaks.com
These are gorgeous. I’d love to know the history behind them. Are pajakis only made at certain times of the year or for celebration?
Loving the large one. Both would work as a children’s mobile as well.
xo Quinn
Quinn Cooper Style
This is so neat!
Just when I think Honestly WTF has found something amazing they out do themselves with a new DIY. Simply Awesome!
CreationbyKiskis.etsy.com
They look so cute!
ps. what do think of these shoes…
http://shoptravelfood.blogspot.hu/2013/05/champagne-shoes.html
This is so so cool! So fun! Thanks for sharing such a one-of-a-kind DIY!
xoxo
Juliette Laura
juliettelaura.blogspot.com
Those are so cute. Never heard of them before. Great photos.
Great DIY. that looks so nice.
http://www.fashiondenis.com/
Pająk is a traditional decoration of main room in willage houses in Łowicz region.
More info you can find here: http://www.interklasa.pl/portal/dokumenty/034/plast2.html
And one more in english pająk means spider 🙂
and one more with beatiful photos: http://agatamapiec.blogspot.com/2011/01/poznan-i-love-youpajak.html
The tutorial turned out beautifully! The photos are gorgeous. So fun to put together with you!
wow these are beautiful! definitely going to make one of these!
Hi. I’m from Polad and pajaki are very popular in my home town.
that looks really cute!
http://pilisstyle.blogspot.com/
I love doing arts and crafts. This looks a little difficult, but I am sure it is worth it. I am going to try to have some of my friends attempt it with me, and I will keep you posted:)
BEAUTIFUL IDEA!
I LOVE YOUR DIYS!
http://whatkrissydidnext.wordpress.com/
http://whatkrissydidnext.wordpress.com/
Very nice job 🙂
thanks for that DIY !
International Beauty Giveaway :
http://fashioneiric.blogspot.fr/2013/05/giveaway-inside-benefit-neutral-kit.html
Coline ♡
Very ornate, and unique.
I always love the DIYs from this site, but this is breathtaking. Looks like I found something to do this weekend. :3
Aunt Peaches made a badass Christmas pajaki: http://www.auntpeaches.com/2012/12/the-pajaki-has-landed.html
Those are really cool!
Thank you for you for this tutorial, it really looks beautiful!
It’s really amazing, I like it very much:)
http://www.ccchinachic.com/products/health-and-beauty/skin-care/zino-series/instant-smooth-cream-no-make-up-diminish-fine-lines-wrinkles-enlarged-pores-hollows-4216.html
that’s really pretty!
I linked to your tutorial on my blog – thanks for sharing!
♥, doro von Hand zu Hand
Actually I am from Poland, and pająki nowadays can be seen mostly in rural areas, though I remember my great-grandmother had some :>
I’m from Mexico, your blog is amazing ☼
This looks amazing. Spun cotton balls deserve to be better known.
Learnt a new word today 🙂 Love how multi cultural this site is! 🙂
I`m absolutely fascinated about folk especially those one from Poland. Brilliant design!
I have been reading interesting web portal, recently http://www.ogloszenia.informacje.co.uk, where you can find interesting articles, tips, news about life in UK and Ireland.
Take care
Krzysiek z Londynu
This is amazing ! http://www.szkolenia-integracyjne.pl/HRdzieciom
I love doing arts and crafts ! http://www.sprzatanie-grobow-lodz.pl
This is amazing ! http://dental-expert.com.pl/
Nice blog ! http://www.dorodent.com.pl/
This is really pretty ! http://olejowaniewlosow.org
This is very pretty ! http://limuzynwynajem.pl
This is a simple way to do something by yourself at home, and thus decorate the room. http://softhis.co.uk/
Good job! I hope more such films. http://bramygarazowe.net/
Very great ! https://www.aasapolska.pl/ your blog is amazing !
I love spiders. I’m impressed that so many people are interested.
Spider’s ration is great. I love feeding them too!
i was just browsing along and came upon your blog.
Goodness, this is truly fascinating perusing. I am happy I discovered this and got the chance to peruse it.
Nice good portal ! http://osobistypamietnik.bloggg.pl/o-mnie/
Helpfull stuff
Well-written article, you see that the blog on a good level .. http://dekoracjeciast.pl
These are absolutely gorgeous. I’ve never seen anything like this.
This whole blog is very interesting and will definitely interest a lot of people.
It’s nice to read. Thank you for the large portions of interesting informations.