SWEDISH DALA HORSES by Tillv Olsson, Family Set of Four, Wooden Hand Painted, Orange White, Made in Sweden, Scandi Scandinavian Folk Art on the CurialVintage Etsy shop

Having stumbled across a couple of beautiful folky horse items on Etsy, I was inspired to search for others and it seems that there is a wealth of these 'Dala horses'.

A Dalecarlian or Dala horse is a small Swedish wooden horse, traditionally carved and painted as a children's toy. They have now become a symbol of Sweden. The most common style is short and bright red with added details in white, green, yellow and blue. You can read more about the history of the Dala horse here: The Swedish Wooden Horse Company.

Here is the link to the treasury of "Equine Folk Art" I have put together. Some are handmade, and some are vintage items. Some are fabric, some painted wood. I love the simple horse shape, reminiscent of cave painting style animals and the red and blue and bold patterns.

I may even be inspired to use some equine patterns in my work, maybe some red and blue colour schemes. In fact I think I feel a lino print coming on....

Check out the shops of these sellers for some more wonderful items. I have included a taste of a few of the items in the treasury:

VINTAGE HOME DECOR-Vintage Wooden Horse - Red Wooden horse- Vintage Wooden Toy - Red Handmade Pony-Folk Decor-Rustic Art-Horse Figurine on the RedChiliPeppers Etsy shop

Dala Horse Embroidered Ribbon-Blue & Orange Trim-1 in. wide-Swedish Dalahasten-Scandinavian Woven Ribbon-Folk Horse-Scandi Winter Pattern on the Couturenicole Etsy shop

Friday 4 March 2016

Ellie's Upcycled Can Art Brooches

Hello! Welcome to the new Ellie's Things blog. Here's a taste of what I've been working on...

I love to upcycle materials that other people would throw away to create new beautiful things. I have been creating metal drinks can art for a while, but have been experimenting with it more lately. I collect and clean aluminium drinks cans from the roadside or ones that have been saved for me by my family. I usually cut up the cans and sew pieces together with copper wire to create unusual, striking pieces of wall art which can be framed or displayed as they are. So far these have included cars and campervans, fish, and insects.

Recently, I have also been experimenting with 3D items. I decided to make my art wearable and functional by branching out with some brooches. I have made 3 flower brooches so far. I cut and sculpt each piece by hand to give the flower some depth. I might use a few other embellishments such as beads or resistors to finish off the fine details. The pieces are sewn together with copper wire and I back them with felt and a brooch pin.

I am bursting with ideas to take this further but there is so little time!

Daffodil brooch by Ellie's Things

Red flower brooch by Ellie's Things

Red and blue flower brooch by Ellie's Things

About Ellie's Things

I love making things. I make things as gifts, things for myself and my family, and things to sell at craft fayres and online in my Etsy shop.

When people say ‘what do you make?’ it is hard for me to know where to begin as I like to experiment with so many different materials and techniques. For me, the enjoyment is in the variety, which is why most of my items are unique. I don’t wish to mass-produce a particular item, but rather to carefully plan and lovingly create each piece and then move onto something new. I love the challenge of receiving individual commissions where I can tailor-make something special.

If I must be pinned down, my main creative interests are currently: Painting (on canvas, rocks, teapots…), doodling, card making, patchwork, sewing/ textiles (soft toys, bags, purses, hanging decorations, crazy patchwork…), and re-use / upcycled art, in particular art made from metal drinks cans.

If I had to choose one thing to focus on at the moment that is unique on the market, it would be my upcycled metal drinks can art. I cut up the cans and sew pieces together with copper wire to create unusual, striking pieces of wall art which can be framed or displayed as they are. So far these have included cars and campervans, fish, and insects. I have also been experimenting with 3D items such as brooches and tealight holders.

I also dabble in things like: jewellery making, batik, silk painting, quilling, marbling, paper-making, decoupage, paper-cutting, lino printing, woodwork, candle making, stamping, block printing, tie-dye, spinning, weaving, crochet, knitting, dress-making, Fimo/clay modelling, making dolls house miniatures, photography, and much more!

I draw my inspiration from many sources, including from nature and music. Much of my work features elephants and boats. Despite my diverse and ever-increasing creative interests, one thing that connects much of my work, whatever the medium and subject, is my love of colour and pattern. I use lots of bright rainbow colours and abstract patterns in my work.