The days are getting lighter (whoohoo!), flowers are popping up everywhere, and everything is starting to look and feel a lot brighter. Join us in embracing the signs of spring for this month’s motivation, with our 6 ideas for a creative March…
1. Decorate with flower pounding. Flower pounding (aka tataki-zome or hapa-zome) is the simple technique of dying fabric, or paper, by gently hammering fresh flowers and leaves to release their natural colours. Decorate t-shirts, pillow cases, napkins, and greeting cards, with gorgeous floral impressions. Flowers with higher pigments work best, so the bolder the natural colour, the better (think pansies, deep hellebores, and crocuses). And natural fabrics will absorb the colour better, like cotton, linen, and silk.
2. Make a trinket dish with natural impressions. While you’re picking some flowers and leaves for pounding, save a few (along with some twigs) to create tactile impressions into clay. Air-dry clay is perfect for making a little trinket/jewellery dish, or you could make a tile or wall-hanging if you prefer. Gently press your choice of decoration into the clay (whilst it’s still soft) to create beautiful natural impressions.
3. Sew some bunting. Bunting is a bit like spring and summer’s version of Christmas’s fairy-lights. Put some up around your home and it will instantly feel more joyful. Use up pretty scraps of fabric (either from previous projects or old clothes etc.) to make lots of little triangles, then sew them all together using bunting-tape, binding, or strong ribbon.
4. Create pressed flower bookmarks. You don’t need a proper flower-press to create beautiful pressed flowers (although, it does help speed up the process and give more even results), you can just use some heavy books. Press pretty spring flowers (thinner types are best: like violas, blackthorn blossom, little daises, and individual grape-hyacinth florets) then, in 2-3 weeks, you can decorate bookmarks… or anything else you fancy.
5. Upcycle clothes for spring. Give old clothes a new lease of life by upcycling them for your spring wardrobe. Patch up holes in a pair of jeans with pretty fabric, paint flowers on the back of a tired jacket, embroider bows over catches in a cardigan.
6. Write uplifting affirmations in calligraphy. As the seasons change, so can our mindset. Gone are thoughts of hunkering down for the winter… now we can embrace the brighter, fresher days, and focus on new and exciting things. Pick your favourite affirmations and quotes that boost your mood and energy, then write them out in gorgeous calligraphy to put up around your home (wherever you’ll see them most!).
Ta-da, that’s our 6 ideas for a creative March. We hope at least one takes your fancy and inspires you to be more creative this month (future you will thank you!).
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