colour and shape

We spend a lot of time trying to think of different things to make with ecopapershapes.
 

But sometimes it's nice to keep things simple.

And appreciate shape alone...

... with the aid of a bit of colour.

I could play around with these combinations of shape and colour for hours.

Haven't quite decided what to do with these yet. Maybe put them in a picture frame?

Maybe just spend a few more hours arranging them on coloured paper...

Satisfying. 

happy birthday Dharma!

your ecopapershapes

Oscar (aged 4) from Occold in Suffolk made these two fantastic dolls. Oscar tells us that the one on the left wearing a metallic jumpsuit, cowboy boots, deelyboppers and a tie is his dad. We think it's fantastic.

And Oscar's sister Elsa (aged 6) made these dolls. We love the detail in their outfits, especially the contrast-coloured sleeves and trims.

Thanks for sharing these with us, Oscar and Elsa!

back soon

We're taking a short Easter break. Normal service will be resumed on Tues 22 April, so if you place any orders with us in the meantime we'll send them out as soon as we get back on the 22nd.

Have a lovely Easter!

bunny vs bird

This is a true story. In my husband's family they don't have the Easter Bunny. This is because my husband's grandparents were both biologists who objected to the idea of an egg-bearing rabbit on the grounds that "rabbits don't lay eggs".

Instead, they were visited by the Easter Bird, whose anatomy was more suited to the production of egg-shaped chocolate. On Easter Sunday, Grandfather would go out into the garden to search for signs of this shy but reliable creature and sure enough, the gruff caws of the Easter Bird would soon be heard echoing around the house. And when the children went out into the garden the trusty bird would have laid little clutches of chocolate eggs for them.

This tradition continues to the present day, so now when we stay with my in-laws at Easter the kids listen out for the cries of the Easter Bird (which always seems to arrive just as my husband is out looking for him in the garden) early on Easter Sunday. I think my children quite like having a different chocolate courier to everyone else – although I suspect mainly they like getting the chocolate and don't really care who delivers it.

Fortunately, our Papercharms pack contains both bunny AND bird shapes to satisfy every degree of Easter pedantry. And whoever delivers your chocolate, have a happy Easter.

dangly decorations

We made these Spring dangly decorations with our Papercharms.

First we painted them with macaroon-inspired pastel shades...

... and then dangled them from some budding twigs.

The perfect centrepiece for your Easter feast? Queenie the cat certainly approves.

diy easter eggs

Suggesting you make your own Easter Eggs sounds pretty painfully pious – but its actually as simple as it is economical...

We bought these empty egg-shaped boxes from Ikea, but you can find similar ones online.

Stick on a few ecopapershapes (we used our Alphabet and Papercharms) and fill them with chocolate and you've got yourself some pretty personalised Easter Eggs that even the snootiest Easter Bunny would be proud to place in their basket.

Paws off 'til Easter!

sold out!

Our Dress Up Dolls are all sold out! But they will be back in stock very soon and we'll keep you posted.

In the meantime, if you need an ecopapershapes fix, check out our Alphabet, Tea Set, Papercharms and Specs...

easter goggles

We made some Easter goggles this week...

First we painted a pair of our Specs and some Papercharms for additional Easter decoration:

Then, for extra effect...

... we coloured in some polythene wrapping with red permanent marker and cut out two pieces for lenses.

Here's how they looked when we'd stuck the lenses on with sellotape and added our bunny and bird.

And here's what they looked like on (held on with a piece of taped-on elastic). You can tell it's the holidays and brushing hair is not high up on our list of priorities...

Perfect for hunting down Easter eggs.

just for kicks

It has not escaped our notice that shoelace accessories are having a bit of a moment. So we decided to diy, using our Papercharms.
 

We decorated our chosen shapes (moustache - natch, bird, cat and leaf) and gave them an extra coat of PVA glue to make them a bit more durable. Not entirely waterproof, but up to the odd drop of rain.

Then we punched two holes in each shape...

 ... so they could be threaded onto shoelaces.

Time out for obligatory moustache shot...

... before lacing them into place.

Best foot forward. 

Not just for kicks, as you can see, but great for stout boots also.

What shapes are your shoes sporting?

gift wrapped

Minna made me a really lovely present for Mother's Day. The way it was wrapped up was just as lovely as the present itself.

april fool

Did you get caught out today?