A visit to Kosta Boda Art Hotel in Sweden

This summer I was lucky enough to visit beautiful Sweden, and I spent some time in the county of glass - a part in southern Sweden known for its glassworks and glass art. 

I ventured into the deep forests of Småland and had an overnight stay at the amazing Kosta Boda Art Hotel in the heart of the county of glass. The hotel, which was built in 2009, is a spa hotel as well as an art hotel, and all guests have access to the indoor and outdoor spas.

When entering the hotel you're met by various beautiful pieces of art in the reception, and everything you see is available to buy. Although, if your wallet can't handle the giant exhibition pieces there is a smaller glass shop for decorative and collectable pieces, as well as an impressive outlet shop just across the street.

Kosta Boda Art Hotel is also famous for its stunning glass bar, which has an underwater feeling to it. The photos don't really do it justice, but you have to visit it to experience its true atmosphere. The well-respected Swedish artist Kjell Engman has contributed to the design of the bar, and several of the art installations around the hotel. Himself, along with six other Swedish artists, have also designed the actual hotel rooms in their own unique styles - no room looks the same as another one, which makes your stay even more exciting. 

You can read about the different artists here.

The room I stayed in was designed and decorated by Kjell Engman, and his style is inspied by the animal kingdom (especially the sea), as well as music. All of his rooms have a glass guitar hung up over the bed, and the vases and other smaller glass pieces in the rooms are all from his collection - and just as with the pieces in the reception these are all for sale.

I was also lucky enough to stay in a room overlooking the outdoor pool - gorgeous!

There's was an underwater theme in my bathroom, with the sink being the same shape as the swimming pool in the spa, decorated with colourful  little glass fish.

And talking about the spa - as I mentioned before there is an indoor as well as an outdoor spa at Kosta Boda Art Hotel. The outdoor spa has a hot tub which you can use all year around, as well as a large swimming pool, and the indoor spa has a sauna, a steam room, a relaxation area, a hot pool and a normal swimming pool. Although saying that it's a "normal" swimming pool doesn't do it justice - it was designed by Kjell Engman and actually has an underwater glass art exhibition in it. Now, I'm not going to tell you what it is, but you're just going to have to visit the hotel and see for yourself ;)

I really enjoyed my stay at this hotel and found all the different areas and exhibitions really interesting. The hotel may be located out in what feels like the middle of nowhere, but I promise you you'll keep occupied, and you will definitely not be bored.

Create beautiful greeting cards with the embossing technique

This machine arrived in the post the other day. The crafty people amongst my readers will probably already know what it is, but for the rest of you I can tell you that this is an embossing machine. I had actually never used one of these before so I was quite excited to try it out straight away, although, I wasn’t exactly sure how. However, it’s actually really simple to use this machine to create stunning greeting cards, and it’s a fab addition to a crafty girl’s collection.

I’ve worked with a lot of other card making techniques before, including stamping, scrapbooking, using a heat gun to melt glitter into different patterns, etc., but not this. Just have a look at my little collage below on the few easy steps to use this embossing machine fromSizzix.

First you simply need to decide what papers you want to use. This machine actually comes with a beginner’s kit if you buy it at Hobbycraft, including great sized double cards in white and cream, as well as a bunch of different coloured mini papers, so it’s easy to mix and match as you want.

Cut the coloured piece of paper into the size you want (I’ve chosen to keep the original size for this particular card), and place it in one of the texture impression embossing folders (there are 3 to choose from with a few different patterns). You can of course emboss the actual white card as well, which you can see that I have done if you take a closer look.

Place the folder with the paper in between the two black plastic embossing pads, and place them in the machine. Simply turn the handle on the side of the machine until the pads come out on the other side, open up your folder, and…

…Tada! It’s as simple as that.

Now to the actual building of the card itself. I’ve simply used normal Pritt stick to glue the pieces of paper onto the cards. I also added a light purple satin band to the side of the card to match the purple embossed paper, which I attached with a mix of Pritt stick and super glue.

Now all you have to do is sign the card, pop it in one of the accompanying envelopes, and give it to one of your loved ones.

What do you think? Would you be up for trying the embossing technique for yourself

Creative DIY with mason jars

One thing that’s become really popular amongst DIYers in the last couple of years are antique mason jars. These old jars that were used to preserve food back in the days are now being used for all kinds of things – from tableware to decorations. With the jars having such a simple design they are very versatile, and if you fancy doing some mason jar DIY of your own, simply look at the ideas below to get inspired.

Decorative

The most common use for old mason jars is the decorative candle holder. Only your imagination is the limit! If you cover the jar in lace and pretty details, as in the picture, it would be perfect for a wedding reception table decoration, or for a shabby chic room.

         For the home

Mason jars are great for storing things in as well, and not just food – like they were designed for initially. Why not use your jar for a kitchen utensils, pens, makeup brushes, bathroom items such as cotton pads, sewing tools, or other small things that otherwise are easy to misplace.

       Lighting

Since mason jars are made of glass they’re perfect for using as lamps or lanterns, as the material can deal with high temperatures. Hang up a few mason jars with tea lights outside for a cosy source of light at your BBQ or garden party, or stick a light bulb or some fairy lights in one for a hanging window lamp.

     Food & drink

You can obviously use the mason jars as intended to initially as well – for food. But rather than preserving food in them, use them as serving dishes. A well-made dessert will look really pretty and appetising in a mason jar when you see all the layers. Or simply use the jars for yummy cocktails that you decorate with fresh fruit.