These are a few of my favourite things...

SCANDINAVIAN INSPIRATION

I grew up with IKEA. My family would dedicate an entire day to wandering the carefully mapped out layout of the store searching for ridiculously cheap home wares, or just purely window shopping for the fun of it. 

I was obsessed with words like SVÄRTA, FRÄKEN and KVISSLE. But it extends to so much more than cool words and hours spent in a Swedish chain-store. Childish games pretending all the displays were our actual houses. Stuffing our faces with all the Swedish meatballs a few dollars can buy, and coming home with a stolen treasure of tiny wooden pencils.  

These days I appreciate all the Scandinavian countries and their simplistic, functional and aesthetically pleasing designs. I fantasize about the day I will come home to natural wood furniture and white washed floorboards. An oversize knitted chevron blanket draped effortlessly over my Borge Morgensen sofa. My two pups are greeting me dressed in their matching fair isle reindeer sweaters.  

So today I'm dedicating this blog post to my favourite Scandinavian inspired things on Etsy that make this fantasy so much fun to waste time on. Conveniently they are all available for purchase, so perhaps this will one day become a reality...

Fork, spoon, knife minimalist print by "Re-Style Graphic"

Wooden tree ornaments by "to . tem"

Set of six white porcelain drinking glasses by "Stuck In The Mud Pottery"

Geometric Polygon Jewellery by "Shlomit Ofir Jewellery Design"

Handmade red 100% cotton throw by "Sophie Home"

Scandinavian kitchen potholders by "Red Stitch"

Vintage Enamel Cooking Pot by "Thrift Machine"

Figgjo wall hanging by "The Scandi Shop"

Vintage Jen Risom Chairs by "Den Modern Shop"

Swedish vintage woven rug by "Fox Box Market"

DIY Recycled Pillow Boxes

Working out how to package someones jewellery has been an interesting task. There are plenty of suppliers online that can send you out ready to go gift boxes and bags however I really wanted to use something else that would otherwise be discarded. I liked the idea of small pillow boxes the best and after fossicking around the net I discovered a few tutorials on making them out of toilet roll inserts. Those little cardboard tubes that always seem to pile up in the corner of the bathroom.

It sure doesn't sound classy wrapping someones gift in anything containing the word toilet however once I gave it a go I was pleasently surprised with the result. To make it look less "trash" and more "panache" I fashioned my own stamp out of some felt letters and an ink pad I'd been hoarding for this perfect moment. The finished product was really not too bad.

If you were more crafty with making your own stamps as I am clearly not you could  really come up with something great. The surface is perfect for drawing or sticking anything on when flat so really the possibilities are endless. Kept simple like this they are still just as recyclable once the giftee has finished with them.

This is how I did mine:

Step 1: Squish your toilet roll insert flat. Feel free to run something flat and heavy along the edges to strengthen the folds, like a paper weight. Or a small child. (Jokes.)

Step 2: Grab something round like the rim of a glass and line it up with the corners of one side. Holding it firmly down against the insert. Use the glass as a guide to score the edge of the insert with something like the back of a butter knife. Repeat for the other side and flip and do the same on the back so you have 4 scored edges.

Step 3: Create your pillow box by using the scored edges as guides to push down and fold the edges over. You now have your very own recycled gift box! To add your embellishments simply open it up flat again and go for your life. Hot tip - let any ink or paint dry before folding it back up again! I learnt this the hard way. So impatient...

If you need more instruction just type "toilet roll gift box" or "toilet roll pillow box" into the youtubes for endless inspiration. 

Enjoy!

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep" - Scott Adams

Hello world,

As the first post I suppose I should say a little about me. I'm 27 and I live by the beach on the beautiful east coast of Australia. It's hard not to feel inspired everyday with the sound of waves crashing and the fresh sea air. The great thing about the beach here is that it is all vast open ocean. It gives you an amazing sense of freedom to be able to look out onto that vast horizon.

One of my many doodles

My free time is mainly spent doodling in my sketchbooks, sewing bits of scrap fabric into some pretty disappointing outfits and coming up with designs for my jewellery and dolls. I have recently decided to give Etsy another go with great gusto. With new found confidence in the world of silversmithing I think I have found what I truly love to do. What I love about making jewellery is that I am able to source 100% recycled sterling silver for my creations and that makes it all the more nicer.

Delicate delta formation bangle made out of 100% recycled sterling silver

I hate the thought of bringing more waste into the world so whenever I create I make every effort to ensure the materials I use promote a healthier planet. I suppose by making this blog I would love to reach out to other like minded artists and creators and share their thoughts on how they minimise waste with their projects.

I struggled with the thought of waste a while back when I was getting back into my drawing. As a self taught artist I am definitely no Renoir or Picasso. Most of my art takes the form of quirky little illustrations. Alas my paper of choice for drawing just doesn't seem the most eco friendly. Since I have not yet completely broken into being a professional illustrator, over the years I have also collected piles and piles of old artwork. I love to draw but the paper I go through really irks me. I once heard a line in the movie "It's kind of a Funny Story" which described abstract art as bourgeois decadence. In the end I think the character decided he like drawing anyway and all was well. The line made me laugh but it also stuck with me. If I am not a professional artist making illustrations for a living then is my hobby a wasteful one? And what do I do with the ever growing pile of art collecting dust in the hallway linen closet?

I don't really have an answer and I'm definitely not passing judgement but it's just something that plays on my mind. Of course I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't love to turn my hobby of illustrating into a business, but how to do that ethically? It just seems there is so much art in the world and all the paper and ink and pencils have to be created somehow. I've definitely rambled on but I would love if I eventually do get some followers, to hear your points of view. There's definitely worse contributers of pollution in the world, but on my quest to become a less wasteful person I would love to find a solution. Hopefully one where I can continue to draw guilt free.

In the meantime a few ideas I had for all those illustrations I have lying around were:

- Cut out the nicest illustrations and make a giant decopage canvas of art to display as a memento. Recycle the scraps.

- Recycle the whole lot in one big cleansing ritual.

- Make my own paper out of the pieces I don't really like, and use that paper to create other works of art.

I probably prefer options 1 and 3. Hopefully I will attempt those in the future. Recycling and making my own paper is definitely on my bucket list of things to explore. In the meantime I have already found a few great etsy stores who do sell handmade paper. ThePulparazzi being one which features beautiful colours and textures.

One of the beautiful handmade paper products sold at ThePulparazzi

With that in mind I'm off to tackle that linen closet!