Creative juices flowing in Sardinia

Have just been to Sardinia for a week. Italy is weird. It's very Catholic which reminds me of my very odd Polish upbringing. Italians really, really like their dogs which is good but the downside is that there are a lot of stray dogs and cats wondering around the streets. They actually look fairly well kept for strays so I reckon they must be fed by people occasionally.

Annoyingly, Italians do siestas which is a big problem for tourists because after getting up (late!), showering and breakfasting you want to go around all the shops and museums. That's precisely the time when everything closes until 4-5pm. Seriously!

The other thing I found difficult is that they have no concept of vegetarianism/veganism. I ordered a veggie sandwich which had tuna in it! Apparently that's as close as it gets. They are also very wasteful. Bottled water is as common as tap water in Sardinia. Just think of all that plastic! On the plus side many of their carrier bags seem to be biodegradable which is a step ahead of Britain. We just re-use our bags. Which is better I wonder, use fewer bags or continue using just as many but most are biodegradable. Hmmmm.... I have serious doubts whether the biodegradable bags are actually composted by the user. I suspect they're probably thrown away with normal rubbish. I think we should all be using less.

But, enough of the moaning because the weather was perfect, the beaches were amazing and the little sightseeing I did was all good fun, including a speed boat trip on the Mediterranean sea. And, to top it all off, much of my trip was sponsored by my fiancé's grant and his parent's spare euros.

Anyway, every city I go to I am always on the lookout for new craft ideas. I also bring back something natural I can craft with. It's always something I find, rather than buy. This time I brought back some palm tree bark and beach stones. Thankfully customs didn't stop me! I shall put up photos of the final creations later but for now here's what I did with my finds. I used them to decorate our table at a fish restaurant in Alghero. Very tasteful I think.

Here are some of my favourite craft ideas from Sardinia:

Hessian (burlap) figures. I have lots of spare hessian fabric so will give this a little try. They also had animal figures.

Owl bag. These were really cute. I've been meaning to make a fabric owl bag for ages. No excuses now!

Shell mice. I collect shells found on various beaches so I have tons of them in different sizes. Shell animals seems like a fun craft project.

 Another owl, this time made from shells. Cute.

 I have been working with wood for about 10 years and have lots of scraps. I am sure I could construct an owl from bits and bobs.  I also have lots of tin lids, perfect for eyes.

Perfect example of upcycling tins into plant pots. Cute with buttons.

 A gourd shaped bottle made from cork board shavings. Italians like their cork board ornaments. I think I'll have to start working with cork board. Until this trip, I didn't know that cork board comes from cork oak. I thought it was mashed up and re-constituted bits of tree!

 My friend was wearing this lovely necklace made from recycled tin. Brilliant! I have tons of scrap metal mainly from tin lids.

Zip stud earrings, another upcycling idea.