Humble Objects

Everyday objects hold so much beauty when you look closely. Like these old chopping boards, every mark on them is a note about life lived. Two of these are from thrift store so I can't say what kind of food these have served. But I could imagine that the round one has had several cheese platters in evening get togethers. Sharp knife has made it's marks on surface when blue cheese, brie, bread cheese etc. have been piled on top of crackers with marmalade. The other one looks more like it has been used to cutting strong onions when soups and sauces have been stirred to fill stomach on Mondays and Wednesdays. What comes to the big chopping board it has been in my own use. I bought it when I moved to my first own place. Apartment was in Helsinki and I had one room in a big grey house of blocks that was cold on winters. I read books and wrote uni essays under a blanket because otherwise I would have freezed. In these past 9 years I have cut lots of bread on it, minced a lorry of onions and sliced veggies and fruits. I have also grated chocolate to deserts and hammered cookies to make great bases for cakes. Past years it has every now and then worked as a surface where I have drilled some minor projects. It has worked well and been worth the money it cost (was it a package of two boards at a tenner?). So much everyday history in a humble object you might not actually even see when you use it. 

What would be the next stop for well used chopping board? To be used in the fireplace of cast to waste bin. I have no idea what has made worn out chopping boards so trendy that you can see these in every house if you browse an interiors magazine. Maybe it is part of the huge trend of wooden surfaces and natural look. We want to see authentic and used objects instead of glossy and sterile table tops that look like no one has ever used them. Life is allowed to show and it has become a matter of status to show that there is life outside the screens. That someone has luxurious time to mess around in their home preparing food. Maybe some of these status chopping boards have actually been bought as second hand to add that something to a home that lacks the natural shabbiness. 

Past weeks in many continents people have suffered from exceptional heat and the discussion about climate change has run equally hot. I presume that humble used objects will have a new deeper meaning soon. An apartment that has all new from table tops to sofas, carpets and porridge cups might not be something one wishes to show off. Second hand and upcycled items are forms to express that one knows the time we are living and respects the limits of nature. Objects that have become shabby in use are something to show with pride. We might start to compare how well we have used the stuff we have bought, how long it has lasted, how many times we have fixed it and how many years we have still to use it. Some upcycled items tell their former use in an interesting way. I think in the future upcycling is the new norm and we won't be able to tell whether an object is made out of upcycled material or not. Through creative eyes and skilled hands objects take a second form and become new again.

Repaired textiles used to be something to be ashamed of. Was it two years ago when repaired clothes became a fashion trend and patches were allowed to show? I have two design chairs I have bought from thrift store. Both had minor holes in the fabric and I repaired those. With careful inspection one can see that the chairs are not brand new. But both work well in their use and look great. Last year I visited famous Finnish design store Artek. What I saw in the stylish and beautifully curated store was old design chairs that had been painted in Finnish homes in past periods of time. Those chairs were on sale in the store among all new design furniture. It shows how objects that have been practical and beautiful when bought have not lost their value during the years they have seen. Years are allowed to show when the functionality is still the same. 

I have heard that wooden chopping boards are not used in professional kitchens because of food hygiene issues. At private homes these are practical and stand against time and knife for years. When too worn out we can lift these to the wall of fame in our kitchens and honor their part in our everyday life. Used board might take us back to the moments we have forgotten and to details of life we haven't even thought about. During that first year in my own place this chopping board did't see much knife. I mainly cooked noodles and soups that required hot water and not much else. After that I became more interested in preparing food and this board has experienced many flavors as I have tested new recipes and invented my own.

What is the story of you chopping board has to tell? Or if you just purchased a new one who knows what exciting adventures it has ahead! Art of everyday.

Inspiring wooden materials that are from thrift store. Except the one on right that has seen bread and drill as well as the early noodle period.

Sculptures how to: In the sculptures I made from my chopping boards I used metal sticks that were bought as second hand too. I sawed the biggest board to work as a stand, then drilled a hole for the metal stick. I attached the chopping board to it by drilling two pairs of very small holes to the board and then twining the board to the stick with wire. 

Wishing You the best of weeks!

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

Trendy Terracotta

We don't have to take every home decoration trend by heart. If colors currently on trend are not our favorites we don't have to go and paint a living room wall with the latest shade. Most of the trends I just let go. They might be difficult to modify to a small apartment, don't collaborate with my personal style or are just too pricey/ time consuming to produce compared to the time I estimate they will please the eye. Every now and then a trend seems perfect to my home and add's some interesting detail to the entity. For example last year I was hugely inspired by mirror trends and made a contemporary style mirror wall. Mirror wall completed the style I have in my living room and makes it look bigger.

Quite often it is possible to apply trends in small scale. I browse magazines, blogs and social media and think, now that thing looks great, how could I take part to this? Maybe I could use a trend as an inspiration for table setting, small arrangement on top of a drawer or in a new pillow pattern. Just few people have money to put away all decor and furniture and start from the beginning every season. It is not even something to go for in my opinion. Home is home and built little by little with things that please us and we think are pretty and worth having. It should be a place we can rest in comfortable and aesthetically pleasing environment. Plus it is not ecologically clever to get bored to home decor that often.

When I find a trend inspiring I evaluate on witch scale I will take a part. Will I paint my walls or one furniture? Or is it few small objects that communicate that I am aware of a current style? I go through my cabinets and collect objects that could fit the style. I love this year's terracotta trend because it is warm, earthy and inviting color. At least at the moment I don't feel I need to apply it to my home in large scale but small items fit quite nicely with my bohemian style and deep colors. I changed some winter survivor plants to terracotta pots I bought from thrift store two weeks ago. Then I examined my cupboards to collect everyday items that are in terracotta color or near that. I don't keep every set of plates, vases and candles on show. Most of the everyday stuff is in a cabinet and used when needed. It would be unpractical to have all on show even though every set of plates/ mugs/ vases would be pretty. Trends come handy in choosing what items to have on display at the moment and which ones to put inside a closet to wait for next season.

Now terracotta trend is present in my small home in two arrangements. One on top of a writing cabinet where I have my green plants waiting for spring and light. The other arrangement is inside a turquoise cabinet that has glass windows. The inside of the cabinet is painted with okra and goes perfectly to the burnt and sunny terracotta palette. Items on show are all from my own cupboards, nothing new. I also took candles out from a drawer so I would remember to burn them before light summer days.

What trend would you like to bring in this season? Do you find terracotta inspiring color?

Happy and Inspiring Week My Dear Friends!

Sannu