Ideas is all about MAKING your world more beautiful. Packed with creative inspiration, fresh ideas, easy projects and step-by-step instructions, this magazine is the go-to guide for crafters, stitchcrafters, makers, cooks and DIY home decorators.
‘Tranquilla, signora! Sta tranquilla per favore,’ pleads the friendly railway guard when I burst into tears of pure frustration. But it’s half past three in the afternoon at Milan Central Station and I’d been struggling since seven that morning to get my son, Anton, to the airport and return to Sanremo before the last bus departed up the hill to my house at 18:40. By this time I have missed every possible connection and the app is refusing to change or refund my (very expensive) tickets. And now the trains are full, thanks to the chaos at the station, and one conductor after the other simply says there’s no more room. So when this poor man tried to send me in a different direction than where I was headed, he…
NEW-LOOK OLIVE OIL The award-winning Morgenster extra virgin olive oils are now available in elegant new packaging. Choose from Balanced & Subtle (produced in small batches from selected cultivars with a soft fruity flavour), Vibrant & Versatile (a blend of up to 14 Italian olive varieties, it is well balanced, fresh and fruity), Bold & Robust (a single-varietal olive oil with a very bold flavour) and Zesty & Tasty (an olive oil blend flavoured with coldpressed lemon oil). The new packaging extends to Morgenster’s balsamic vinegar as well. Available in selected stores nationwide or from www.morgenster.co.za FOLDED ART Carmen Esterhuizen calls herself a ‘jack of all trades’, from an audiologist to a speech therapist, and then also an origami artist. She makes origami jewellery that you can wear, beautiful earrings,…
‘Visual merchandising is the art and science of attracting and engaging potential retail customers by bringing merchandise alive,’ explains Rupert Smith, co-owner of VM Central & Olive Studio, South Africa’s only accredited visual merchandising school. ‘It’s all about creating a visual narrative.’ And while their portfolio includes work for such iconic international brands as Heineken and Harley Davidson, it’s hard to imagine a better demonstration of what he means than his own living space. This compact loft is so much more than the sum of its parts – in Rupert’s hands, the somewhat clinical, static industrial steel and concrete space has taken on life and vibrancy. It’s at once dramatic and nurturing, streamlined and layered; a clever balancing act in which seemingly contradictory elements find coherence and consistency and come…
AL FRESCO UNDER THE PERGOLA Why not build your own pergola? Get hold of some local stone, use weathered planks for the beams, and plant a pretty vine or creeper that will grow over it to provide the necessary shade. Bougainvillea, grapevines and wisteria are all plants that grow fast. Hang glass jars under the beams and place a candle in each one for soft light at night. A long table of raw wood and benches provide plenty of space for long, lazy summer entertaining. Make the bench cushions with ties so they can be fastened securely. And while you’re already busy outdoors, you could also build a pizza oven near the pergola, for pizza evenings. FARM-STYLE STOEP The old Karoo building style – a stoep at the front or…
craft GET THE LOOK Gather some pretty flowers, cuttings, vintage botanical drawings, whitewashed wood and garden scissors, add some splashes of light pink and get your green fingers ready… Try your hand at making seed packets or envelopes from floral illustrations. Another good idea is to make plant name cards from air-dry clay, although you will need to give them a coat of varnish to protect them. NECESSITIES FOR GETTING STARTED ✱ The perfect workbench with space for storage, to prep plants, and to display. (Even if your bench isn’t directly exposed to the weather, it’s always a good idea to seal it with a wood sealer to ensure longevity.) ✱ A place to hang your tools - we used strong string and shower curtain hooks to hang ours. ✱…
YOU WILL NEED ♥ air-dry clay ♥ board ♥ rolling pin ♥ decorative element (to press clay into) ♥ kebab skewer ♥ plastic bag Start by rolling the entire block of clay into a thin sheet about 0,5cm thick. Use the sharp end of a kebab skewer to draw the back and pocket shapes for the vase and then use the skewer again to cut out the shapes. Use your decorative item to embellish your vase. We used a vintage door handle for the pocket piece and the clay offcuts used for trimming. TIP: Before joining any elements together, make a few scratches on both surfaces and rub a bit of water over the clay, attach the elements and scratch over both pieces again to seal. Attach the pocket to…
