DIY Project 1: Design Your Own Dishware

DIY Project 1: Design Your Own Dishware

In a world full mass produced, cheap, white dishes why not take the chance on customizing your own unique dinnerware. Since my total immersion in to the Fika culture I have grown a little tired of all my old coffee mugs because I drink from them so many more times during the day. Although I love to keep and use old things, I also need change and newness in my life. In short, I want it all.

 

It's lucky that making your own signature dinnerware, as many times as you want is not difficult or expensive. You can usually find these Glass and Porcelain pens for about $3.00 at most good craft stores. The one pictured here is from Panduro Hobby in Malmo, but when I did this project in the States I used pens from a company called Pebeo . All you really need to get started in a cheap piece of dinnerware of your choice (I got these mugs at the grocery store for about 50 cents each), your paint pen and a plan for how you want your dinnerware to look. I suggest looking for inspiration online or your favorite magazine and drawing with a regular pen on paper first just to get your creative juices flowing. Make sure you have cleaned and dried the dish you are drawing on beforehand. Also keep a cloth handy to wipe away any mistakes made on your way to perfection.

After you are happy with your design follow the drying directions on which ever Glass and Porcelain pen you have. Some say you have to just let it stand and dry for 72 hours, while others require that you let it sit to dry for a period of time and then cook it in the oven to seal. I have used them all and I think the pens that require the baking make a better quality product. Also, the pen companies all claim that items painted with their products are dishwasher safe....it's just not true! Hand wash your item and care for it like the piece of art it is.

 

Unconditional Love

Unconditional Love

               Every creative person has one individual that inspires them to do great things. Right now my muse is my dog Peete. He makes me so happy that I feel more open to new ideas and as a result great things have been happening. I know it's a fact that all the exercise he requires produces endorphins for me as well.

               However, my muse Peete does not appreciate all this great inspiration that he fuels. He continues to nibble on my prototypes (for a new accessories and housewares product line I am launching.....) right in front of my face, clearly on purpose. Good thing he is devastatingly cute.

Swedish Skinny Dip

                 So I did my usual run around the lake today and I could not help but notice how hot it was for being fall in Sweden. For some reason there was a break in the cool down, and since I had not run into a single soul the whole workout I took advantage of the opportunity that you see in the photo; I went for a swim.

                 I grew up swimming in the Pacific Ocean on a beach right down the street from my house. I think that this was when water became such calming element for me. I never thought I could live so far away from the ocean as I do now. And even though I do miss the sound of the tides moving in and out on top on the sand, I have found almost equal, however different qualities in my experiences with life on the lake. The stillness of the water while you are swimming in a lake gives the body a different weightlessness that it has when you are struggling to stay above water in the oceans ever-changing surf. The other thing about this particular lake is that it has a particular algae that does great things for my skin. When you get out of the lake it feels like your whole body just got a facial.

                I think if the weather was nice enough I could take a swim in the lake every day until it freezes over, which will happen soon enough.