We are Back!

Our shops are finally back open and they are back with fresh banners and items :)

 

9 Great Ways to Recycle Cans

It has been a while since my last recycle post. Even though tin cans are not as harmful as plastic and they are easier to recycle, if they do end up in the landfill they take 50 years to decompose, that's a long time! And a lot of them end up there, much more than you want to imagine.
So here are some fun and pretty ways to recycle your cans.
Colorful ones can be used directly as they are as flower pots.

You can cut them up and turn them in to amazing flowers, or buy them from this artist directly. Cutting tin is super easy with tin scissors, we have a pair and they are really easy to use.

Make clocks and other household stuff you normally buy and are often made of plastic, this is a great alternative and you can paint them in the exact color you want.

This is a super cute lampshade, which will give lovely shadows and is super strong.

If you don't want to mess with electricity, they are also great as candle holders, either standing or hanging as lanterns.

You can paint the cans and use them as plant pots, I like how the ones on the left look like trash but are also cool :)

You can use them in many ways to organize stuff, and personalize them with your own colors and use them for a large variety of things, even for wine bottles!

Flatten the cans and turn them in to amazing pieces of decoration, like this beautiful frame.

Attach larger cans to the wall for a different way of organizing, great for toys but also scarves, socks etc.

And a bonus, use them in your art to make a statement about the environment, or buy from an artist, like these amazing pieces of Stephanie Kilgast:

New Year, New Ideas

In case you have noticed, our Etsy shops have been closed for a while, we'll be back soon but need to put some things in order first to get back to normal.

In the mean time we are re-organizing our workspaces, and our home and also finishing projects that have been waiting for a while.

These chairs have been ongoing since Summer 2016!

For some reason they waited a long time to get all the attention they needed. We did peel off the old upholstery, repaired the skeleton and sanded the woodwork back in 2016 but after that we were not sure what to do with them.

Finally at the end of last year we had enough and I painted them white to have a plainer base. We then played around with embroideries and fabrics until we were satisfied. I then painted some little flowers to match the embroideries, varnished the paint work and they were finally ready to be reupholstered.

These chairs are very different than the usual chairs we have done and were challenging but finally after 1.5 years they are ready :)

The beautiful trim was a trim we bought last year in California and it matches perfectly.

They took a while but we are happy how they (finally) turned out :)
They'll be available at StarHomeStudio as soon as we reopen (which will be soon!).

Last Pictures from Rome

Yesterday I got back home after my Rome adventure.

Rome is a gorgeous city. It has more than seven hundred monuments, but more than the monuments I enjoyed the river and its many bridges, the houses, the streets.

This is the Isola Tiberina, the island on the river Tiber, so charming.

On many places there are ruins. Also everywhere in the city there are green pockets, small lots that have never been built on, with beautiful mature trees.

This wall looks down on the ruins in the previous picture. On the tiny balcony you can read For Sale No Agencies. Isn't an intriguing piece of real estate?

Those reliefs were just on any odd facade, on houses and restaurants.

Gorgeous, gorgeous city, that deserves a much better City Hall to address its many problems. Well worth a visit, though.