Projects for the kids

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Hello, let's start this week with two ideas for things we can make by recycling things we already have. Both are for kids.
I found the first one here.
Shoe boxes, toilet paper rolls, pill boxes, some felt and paint were turned into this fairy tale castle. I 'm sure those children enjoyed very much making it.

The second one I found here is a hanging lampshade. If you look more carefully you will realize that it is a part of those hanging storage units. A trim with crystal beads was added and a fairy - though not visible- is hanging inside. Such a lovey idea!

Have a great week!

A ray of light

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Today I found this quote on The Design Shop and thought I should post it here because it made me feel good . Of course it will take much more than the sunshine to fix this mess but it's a start. Besides the sun is a symbol of so many positive things, hope, power, inspiration, life itself.

(For those who don't understand what this is about, it refers to what is going on in Greece right now.)

Nursery painting

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Last summer one of my best friends gave birth to twin boys. Before that, she had asked me to paint their room. And so I did. We decided for a theme that wouldn't be just for babies, but one that, we hope, will look interesting to the boys until they go to school. Unfortunately the pictures are not good, but you will get an idea. The sure thing is I enjoyed it very much and hope the babies will live their first years in this room very happily.

What you probably won't see in the above pictures is that the blue clouds, the three little houses, the helicopter, and the three trees are made of thick cardboard covered with fabric, trims and fabric hardener for protection, which gives a slight three dimensional effect. As soon as I get the chance to take more detailed pictures, I will post them here, together with other kids rooms I have painted in the past.

Happy new year!

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Hello everyone and Happy 2012!

I know many of you (if there is anyone still around) have lost hope to see me here again, but as you know life is full of surprises. I won't analyze why I was away from this blog for so long nor make promises for how long I 'll stay, I just want to enjoy it for as long as it lasts.
Everybody is fed up with the bad news we hear all the time, day in, day out, here in Greece. It's not easy to keep your spirits high when everything around seems to only get worse but I will try to not panic until the catastrophe really comes. Until then I will hope it won't come eventually and try to distract my mind by trying to find little bits of beauty around me. I always did but now it seems a more important job than ever.


So let's start with some beautiful pictures.

I discovered Jane Heller on flickr when I was looking for a new picture for my Facebook profile. She very kindly gave me permission to use this one:

Many many thanks to Jane!  

Take some time to visit her flickr and website. Jane Heller's work is for sale on etsy. 

 P.S. In my last post many had asked where did I find the papers to make the birds. I couldn't find the the etsy shop because I had a problem with my account. If there is anyone still interested I bought them here.