Crafting is a Philosophy of Solutions

Happy Valentine's Day to you all! It has been long since I have been posting something DIY related to my blog. In November I decided that I need to take a short break in the making and creating. The year had been hectic and I had done many quilt works as well as some DIY projects among work and studying. Dear time is limited to 24 hours per day for each and everyone of us even though it would be nice to bend the limit and do more. 

Last weekend I got my knitted scarf finished and I am looking forward to give you a picture of that soon. Relatively small knitting projects have been all that I have done during the break. My knitting projects haven't been that artistic, legwarmers, beret, and scarf become to a need. I should still knit one pair of woolen socks. I actually began that project an year ago. Knitting is not my media for self expression and I am not that fond of it. I do love knits and admire people who create and make beautiful works.

Crafter without a project is a ticking time bomb. Suddenly issues that were manageable before become huge, odd behavior and anxiety occur. At least for me all those are sings that information is not moving between the two halves of my brain. I had the papers and sequins on my table for two weeks and I had no lust to begin anything. After spending few days in a weird state were world consisted mainly on barriers and everything felt scary there was no other way out than to sit down, take the scissors and papers and craft the anxiety out. I don't remember ever in my life spending more than a month in a row without doing any craft at all. Sounds pompous but crafting is like breathing, eating and sleeping for me. It gives a concrete result that is tangible. The process of making makes the whole body work as one, hands do their task in co-operation with the brain. Problems get solved with one stitch and glue drop at a time. Afterwards the issues that caused anxiety turn out be similar in nature, possible to handle and fix if necessary.

World of concepts is endless like space. I believe it is not just me who needs concrete projects at times. Can it be that some day we people evolve into species that only lives inside of our minds, processing concepts and emotions? Or is our consciousness bound in to the physical and tangible so deeply that if the tie breaks we start to come up with problems? I have been reading a lot lately and I love bingeing books. Yet it began to feel that that surfing in the world of concepts made reality seem unrecognizable and difficult to handle. It is about balance, both reading & philosophy and creating & crafting in good doses without forgetting the other. 

Now that Valentine's Day cards have been made it is a good start to begin crafting year 2019 stitch by stitch. Today mail got me a Valentine's card from my friend who must have sensed my moods behind the 1000 kilometers. She knew to write exactly right words to the moment and I am ever grateful receiving her card. Most of the time when we ponder our problems, we don't concentrate on the visible and easy solutions. Instead of that we come up with imagined nonsense that bounds us by making things even more complicated. Maybe it is paper and scissors that help to see what is real and what is imagined.

***

I guess you will be able to make these cards just looking at the picture but I will share short instructions so you can get your hands to the reality as well.

Valentine's Cards

-cardboard boxes (from oatmeal, cereals..)

-colorful paper (from old calendar, magazine, or craft stacks)

-ribbon

-sequins

-paper glue

-pencil

-scissors

Make a model for the heart and cut three hearts from the cardboard, and three from the colorful paper. Apply glue to the patterned side of the cardboard, place the ribbon to the middle and put the colorful paper on top. Place the second heart similarly to the row. With the third heart turn the end of the ribbon so that you get a loop and then place the colorful paper on top. Decorate hearts with sequins and write lovely Valentine's wishes behind the hearts.

Batik and Wood Ornament Tablecloth

I think I have found the secret of a relaxing weekend and learned to live according to this great discovery. Whether it is weekend or some other holiday I want to use purely for relaxing and gathering energy, I won't make any plans. I don't take any meetings or book activities that are at a certain time. I might make a mind map about things that I would like to do. I try to catch the mood that I currently have but I don't make a schedule like finish that DIY project or read two books. I just want to figure out what would make me happy in that particular weekend.

What comes to blog posts I love to write and create but I have began to feel that all my weekends and free time goes to blogging. Because my blog is small, indie and gives no income, keeping it should be fun. Spending all weekends and evenings in front of the computer was not enjoyable anymore. So I made a rule that Monday-Thursday are my writing and blogging days and other days are free from blogging no matter how few posts I get published. It would be different if this was a work that I could do as my day job and if it would offer me the basic income. I haven't earned a penny from this. It has been also a conscious choice not to fill my blog with ads and sponsored posts. I have spent so much time to this that I won't sell my hard work cheaply for example advertising products that have nothing to do with this blog's focus and values. I have nothing against collaborations with people or companies that have similar ideas and values. Still I have felt it has been also a good thing that I don't have to please commercial interests. I have been able to express my own opinions more freely, create content that I hope inspires you my dear reader and choose what ever topics that come to my mind.

I have often thought about my blog and social media focus. I feel like there should be a coherent idea that can be pressed into one sentence that would express my whole blog. I know that if I would want to become successful I should concentrate more and write about DIY projects and maybe combine that with home decor. That was how I started blogging. This year I have been reading more than usual because I took 52 books challenge. Because this is a lifestyle blog I thought it sort of goes to the theme. For some it might seem like there are too many things going on. I have read some guides for bloggers and one rule has been that a good blog should answer to readers needs and try to help them. In search results blogs that have a focused theme might succeed better if I have understood correctly. There is like more hits for the word reader is looking for. But then there is the thing about inspiration and what the blogger wants to give for the world. And blogger's own need for self expression and to spell out the thoughts blogger wants to share. There are as many bloggers as there are readers so there is plenty to pick from. I have always loved blogs that have many themes, crafts, opinions, culture, art, home decor, books, movies etc. It is like the blogger opens the whole world that inspires them.

Sure in fast paced world it takes time to find these gems that really put time and effort to create, explore, write and take inspiring photos. It is against click baits and fast consumed culture. But for me nothing is better than a writer who challenges, provokes thoughts in a sophisticated manner and who seeks to inspire people to think and act differently. I don't know what the future of blogging is or if there is even a future for this. The quicker ways of consuming creative content have taken the lead. What I see as a problem is the huge workload that falls to indie content creators. There is an appetite to have more and more great texts, pictures, video, sound.. and that all should be easily achievable. Watching TV  has become rare but that doesn't mean we are not after entertainment or eduntainment anymore. We carry phones that are huge online libraries full of creative content that we are allowed to enjoy for free. We spend a minute or two browsing hundreds of interior pictures of craft ideas. It might be a micro second we spend on a single picture. But behind that picture might be an indie content creator who has spent hours creating the post without receiving a single penny.

Time used for a single blog post is enormous compared to how much attention it gets. Sure some get more attention than others and there are also professionals, solopreneurs and teams that really do content creation as their day job and get their salary from it. Still I see the culture social media has created is not based at people getting paid of their work. It is based on millions of people doing social media as their hobby or second job. The dedication these unpaid professionals have to their so called hobby is high. This really makes me wonder the earning logic and what we wait people to do for free. If there is no money transaction could there still be a good practice how much time, as readers, we give to this work. Is it possible to do against the fast consumed culture and decide that, wow this idea is amazing, I am going to read this post through, watch the pictures again, comment and share. Or do we instantly seek the next wow and take for granted what has bee spread in front of our eyes.

I have felt that concentration instead of a massive load of stimulants keeps me more relaxed, productive and creative. What comes to this blog's content it is going to be the same mosaic it has been for the past two years. I don't see a reason why books, opinions and DIY projects could not co-exist. For me making crafts and DIY projects has always been empowerment. It is a wonderful feeling to create something yourself and make a piece that is 100% what you want it to be. Using upcycled and low cost materials has been one of my main principles. Crafts and home decor is for all!

I had planned to write few words about past days atmosphere but ended up writing more about my current thoughts. It has really circled in my head lately if there is any sense of writing this blog when it would seem more clever to spent the same time on social media posting pictures and videos that get more attention than posts that take huge amount of time. That is something I need to ponder during this summer.

So with this long lead that took us to side track it is time for part 3 of how many projects can you make from one broken shade! I have already made this Nordic Style Plant Wall and Decorated a Box with Upcycled Material. Now I show you how to upcycle an old tablecloth with washing machine color and little wooden ornaments that are made of the scraps of the broken shade.

Batik and Wood Ornament Tablecloth

You will need:

An old white tablecloth

Color that is attached in washing machine 

(read from the package how much do you need to dye the tablecloth)

Strong cotton yarn

Some wood from old shade

Japanese saw

Sanding paper

Drilling machine and 2 mm drill

Scissors

Clothespins

Needle

Step 1. Use clothespins to mark the first row of batik patterns.

Step 2. Cover the tablecloth with knots: twist the fabric and bound yarn thickly around the fabric and make a firm knot. To get a pattern where there is two circles make two knots as shown in the picture.

Step 3. More patterns you want the more knots you have to do. If you want just few patterns you don't have that much work to do. It is according to your own design. Then dye the tablecloth according to the instructions given on package.

Step 4. This is a piece of an old wooden shade (pictures here!). Make one model according to the measurements shown in the picture. Using the model draw the cutting plan to the piece of wood. Saw of the pieces and sand the edges. Drill a hole in every piece with 2 mm drill.

Step 5. When the tablecloth has been dyed open the knots and let the fabric dry, then iron it properly. From the knots you get beautifully colored yarn to attach the wooden ornaments! You can use both dyed yarn and yarn that is not dyed.

Step 6. Put yarns to the ornaments so it is easy to attach the ornaments to the tablecloth.

Step 7. If there is a pattern on the fabric, like on this tablecloth there are subtle stripes, use it as a starting point when you design how to arrange the ornaments to the tablecloth. Use a needle to attach an ornament to the fabric and make a firm knot.

Inspiring New Week To You All!

Sannu

Decorate a Box with Upcycled Material

Happy new week everyone! Today I feel particularly well rested and the reason is simple. Yesterday evening I closed my phone for few hours. It is surprising how much energy an open phone can take. I tend to browse it quite often, check the weather and time, see whats happening in the social media, write messages, read some news etc. If it gives a sound I will go and see whats up, usually a new e-mail is in question and then I begin to think what ever is the subject of the message. You know how people send e-mails in weird times even though they would be living in the same time zone. Before these phones I saw the messages when I first went to computer in the morning. Now those might wake me up at 2 a.m. Also I guess that the thought of being online all the time uses our energy unconsciously. Smart phones are great for connecting and getting inspiration and support from other creatives. It saves time not to be forced to open the computer all the time. But then the opposite side  of the coin is that immediate reaction is required. And that readiness state consumes energy. 

I have been drawing and writing a special summer bullet journal. I made a mind map about things I want to do this summer. Most of the things I listed where relaxing and offline activities. I want to read books all day, bike, craft and, what really woke me up, to spend a weekend with no plans at all. These days it is challenging to have a weekend without plans in advance. Always someone sends a message and demands a meeting when you have planned to spend a day without responsibilities. I don't dream about spending the whole weekend doing nothing or meeting no one. I dream about empty space I can spend as it feels like in the moment. That in the morning when I wake up I don't have a booked calendar but possibility to read til afternoon, go to thrift stores, attend to an event, call friends, pick flowers or clean the house if I choose. These empty spaces are easily broken. First there is one meeting, then a task and another. This is a question about personality too. I am an introvert and need days when I can load batteries without a need to be social. Some might get more energy when they know they can fly from meeting and task to another. It is not being selfish or difficult if you say no when you need time to relax and go according to your own plans.

Getting inspired and doing creative work consist of stimulation (for example object, material, picture, voice, scent), time to ponder and hard work. When one of these factors is working an idea might be born but to get it finished is quite impossible. To turn a rough idea into a diamond I need all these three. This is a second DIY post where I use the same material, wooden shade I found from garbage. I have plans to make a third post too. In the first post I showed how I made a Nordic Style Plant Wall. Today I show how to use the left over material in a smaller project. Smaller just in it's physical form because this project requires more time. In the third project I will use left overs of this material. Material should be appreciated and used well even though it is upcycled and I want to provoke thought how many inspirational uses there are for a very common product when it goes broken. So the stimulation for this project was an object/material I found from garbage. Then I needed some days and empty evenings to look at the material and test it to process the ideas that occurred to my mind. I had and idea about a wooden box that could be decorated with the wooden pieces from the shade but how will I make it? Then it was hard work to go through ideas, choose one and make as neat finish as possible. I am very pleased with the end result. 

I had this wooden box that I had bought seven years ago. Back then country style was very fashionable but after the trend the box has served as storing box in the closet. I have been keeping Bullet Journal for an year now and thought it might be practical to have all markers, pencils, stickers, rulers, post-its etc. in one box that I could easily reach from table and spend few hours drawing. The box had to fit my home decor so I don't need to hide it back to a closet. Old box was perfect what came to size but it looked a bit silly with my current style. I wanted to give it a makeover and use upcycled material.

This is how the box looked before. I took the pieces apart and began to work with the box first, leaving the cover to wait. I measured the height of the box and began by sawing pieces of wood with the same size.

Then I used wood glue and glued the pieces side by side to cover the sides. When the work was dry I sanded the uneven ends.

Then I took off the framed chalkboard from the cover. I sawed a bit shorter pieces that matched to the cover better. I draw a line in the middle and glued the first line of herringbone. Then I worked the sides. Little gaps in the edges I filled with small leftover pieces. Then I let the work dry properly.

After the work was dry I sawed of the parts that went over the plate.

Almost ready. I still wanted to change the color of the frame to fit better to my home and it's colors. I used leftover coconut paint and painted three layers. Then it was time to put the pieces together. 

I am pleased how beautiful and stylish this box looks like in my living room. It hides the pile of BuJo equipment but keeps it near so I can anytime spend an hour of two drawing. Writing letters is trend these days so this box could also work as a keep for envelopes, papers and pencils. Or you could store in remote controllers, tissues, keys and all sorts of small stuff that lies on desks and on top drawers. Handy and pretty!

Hope you found this post both  inspiring and thought provoking. I wish you an inspiring summer week!

Sannu

DIY Nordic Style Plant Wall

Happy new week! After a while it is time to share some DIY inspiration. I was going for a walk when I noticed something interesting in the middle of garbage. Broken shade made of wood or bamboo catch my eye. Instead of waste I thought it as great material. It is a way of thinking to see the material and it's potential. I am very picky and I don't take any crap from garbage. For example if the piece is made of something that is difficult to work with or too dirty to bring home I will leave. But quite often I see wonderful projects. For example last week there was this pretty wooden chair that would have made a pretty stool for flowerpot in the garden. I had no space so I had to leave it. But this shade was pretty simple to clean, pile and store for further use so I took it. I didn't have to store it long though because I had an idea or two how I could use it. When breaking the shade into pieces and cleaning it I thought about all the material in the world that goes to dump or burnt as energy waste. And I also thought all that new stuff produced every day. We have limited amount of resources, global warming and trash filling our (and flora and fauna's) living space at the same time when we feel we need new things.

I would somehow understand it if the stuff we put to garbage was actually trash, something we can't use in any form. But quite often we cast away things that are, in the current form (without manipulation out of our expertise or equipment) ready to be used again. Like this shade, after cutting off the strings and washing the pieces it could have gotten a price tag and put to a shelf in some hardware or craft supply store. Get what I try to say? For example plastic is something we can recycle and it is made new products in the factory. Same with newspapers, glass, cardboard, tin. Then again: An object with wooden pieces can be broken into particles, cleaned and used again at home. Same with for example broken dress that can't work in it's original use. It can be washed, cut into pieces and pieces used as fabric. Or broken coffee mugs can be turned into mosaic material using basic home equipment. I do buy new fabric and wood too. But I try not to waste good materials. Also if you don't make mosaic, sew or do makeovers you can give clean materials to your friend who does or ask in social media groups if someone is interested. My friends and relatives have given me broken mugs, plates, empty tins, fabric etc. for my projects and all those materials have been spared from ending to garbage. In my experience upcycling saves money and gives so much inspiration. When I saw this shade in the garbage my brain started humming, how could I use this, what fun project this could turn out? I would say 40% of my ideas come from an interesting material I have found from garbage or thrift store. And it is always a win to see polished trash as a part of interior decor.

This is in what shape how I found the shade. I took it to my balcony to be broken to pieces and cleaned. It had only some dust on the surface otherwise it was clean.

Beautiful material ready to be used. You see the difference how a trash becomes something with a price tag at store? This pile of great material would be more difficult to cast to garbage than the broken shade, don't you think?

I decided to make a web to a wall where I could twine climbers that are in pots on the table. I measured the middle of two pieces to get an even start. Then I just began to weave working every side evenly.

Sitting on the ground weaving. The material is so beautiful and my head was bursting with more ideas how to use it. One could decorate doors with woven webs or glue pieces side by side to cover boxes. If it would be sawed to small particles it would make good material for mobiles or wind chimes. 

When you weave the web tight enough it will keep it's from without a need to secure the pieces with screws or staples. I attached the ready web to a wall above a table so I could easily put flowers under the web.

I had one Tradescantia albiflora and I bough new Epipremnum pinnatum. Now the plats are still watching the web made for them to climb but I am already dreaming how those will cover the whole wall :)

Wishing you all the most inspiring and creative new week! Please share this post on social media if you liked <3 I am an indie blogger and it means a lot to me that you people visit my blog, get inspired, comment and share :) 

Sannu

Timeless Lampshade with A4 Paper

It is always satisfying to make an old thrift store piece look new and interesting. The more common piece is in question the better. White lampshades are everywhere and usually white being a color that gets a bit worn out easily, cast to thrift stores. Classic white lampshade is a wonderful base for a DIY project. So many options to make it fit your style. In this project I used a material that is one of the most common materials of all, white A4 paper. Copy paper might be too thick for this so I chose a paper that is not that heavy and folds easily. A local craft store had a great paper that cost 3,5€ per package of ten papers. I needed two packages so the total cost for the lampshade is under 15€ with the lampshade, papers and glue. You don't need to do that much research to find out how expensive stylish lampshades can be. A new plain white lampshade might cost 50€ to start with. Of course making things yourself is time craving but if you are making this lampshade to yourself and enjoy it for lets say at least next ten years what is a few hours compared to that? 

Crafting is a wonderful way to relax and this simple technique lets your mind rest when making the neat folds. This took about 40 paper pieces to fold so I suggest you divide the work for one or two weeks. You could fold few pieces before going to bed of leaving to work. Also this is something you can do while watching telly or listening to audio book or radio. Some minutes to this project a day and you get it finished quite quickly in the end. 

This lampshade looks beautiful and timeless. It works as a sculpture with or without light in it. Neat folds reflect natural light giving a living surface. When there is light in it the subtle shapes come out in a new way. The look is modern and functions well with many home decor styles from colorful to all white and natural, from classic layered style to minimal. Are your ready with your papers and scissors?

You will need:

A white lampshade

White paper in size A4 (I would suggest you use a bit thinner paper than normal copy paper)

Strong glue that dries quickly

Scissors

Ruler

Pencil

Barbecue skewer (helpful in placing the decorations to the lampshade)

This is how the plain lampshade looked like before the makeover. I bought this lamp from a thrift store and it cost 4€. 

Step 1. Take a ruler and pencil and divide the paper as shown in the picture. Make five columns that are 5 cm wide. Then rule the columns to 0,5 cm stripes. Cut the columns out. Fold the papers according to the marks.

Step 2. Open the folds from both sides of the paper like shown in the picture. Begin to cover the lampshade with paper pieces from the upper side. Glue first the one side of the paper piece to the lampshade and let dry. The spread open the fold and glue the other side. Cover the whole surface with these paper decorations. Depending on the size of your lampshade you might have to cut some pieces a bit smaller to fit to the lampshade on the last row of paper decorations. A barbecue skewer might be useful in placing the decoration when attaching it. 

Lovely spring days to you all! If you are looking for more DIY projects and inspiration visit my DIY page. There you can find out how that black and white curtain makeover with tassels is done or get inspiration and tips for quilt projects! 

Sannu