The loppis season has started

For the past 2 weekends I've visited the local Loppis with my friends and kids. So far I've managed to start a few upcycling projects with some of these favorite finds.

 

I took some vintage tea towels and sewed some pillow cases for the balcony sofa. I especially like the pillow with the M embroidered on it because my grandmothers name was Mary, and up side down it reads W which was my other grandmother Winifred's first  initial. A bit of an homage to them. 

 

This was an oil painting I found today and for 150kr I had to take it home. It is one of the small islands in Bohuslän. The painting is over 30 years old and in great shape. It really was love a first sight. 

This is a copper pot that I picked up for 20kr and now it is one of my favorite planters on the balcony. 

I feel a new weakness coming on and that's for handmade baskets. 

I found another old bicycle basket that we filled with lavender and begonias in the top one.

Last year I spray painted these planters in neon pink and green, this summer I'm falling for pastel so they got a new makeover. 

 I've looked at this print "svala" a few times but today I couldn't resist this large bowl. 💗💗💗💗

 

30 day shred

Today is
day 4 of the 30 day shred and I'm sore but determined to continue. It does seem like a lot with 26 days ahead of Jillian Michaels yelling at you, but I'm feeling resolved to finish it, and may it not be the last of my 30 day challenges. 

I've been using cans of coconut milk instead of hand weights, Gustav saw me working out and wanted to join so he ran and got his cola bottles from his toy kitchen. He was a champ! And was very bent on hydrating from my water every 2 minutes. I fear that I've awoke with a touch of his cold, but the challenge must go on! 😉

#30dayshred #shred #handweights #30daychallenge 

The Secret Lives of Bees

Today I took a first step in an idea I've had since seeing my husbands grandfather's abandoned bee hives 17 years ago.  What a shame I thought that these hives are sitting in storage just waiting for a queen to move in.  Well fast forward 17 years, and there I was in my classroom sharing a TED talk on the disappearance of bees, and how desperately they need our help.  It was only a week afterwards that I was contacted by one of my student's mother who wanted to tip me off on a beekeeping course that would be starting this spring in Karlskrona.  I thought well if I don't take this chance now, the risk is those hives will still be empty for years to come.  I've already planned to plant some clover and wild underbrush that are rich in nutrient for the hive.  I can't imagine I just might be a keeper of bees, and if I dare to dream maybe even a bee charmer.