Postal Bag Origami

We are always thinking of ways to re-use the materials we use in the office so that we can limit the impact on the environment of throwing rubbish away. Since introducing our jolly new postal bags to send out our orders in we have played around with origami and the result is a lovely Ellie Ellie boat!

Our postal bags can be recycled, but if you are up for a fun activity you can make an origami boat or hat! We are on hand to help you have a go at origami, and save the planet by recycling our new postal bags!

How to make an origami boat (that actually floats) Yipee!

1. Begin by cutting our postal bags so you have one rectangle piece (you can make two boats with both sides as well)

2. Fold the rectangle piece in half

3. Partially fold it again, which will make a crease near the top. This helps line up the corners

4. Fold down the top left and right corner

5. Fold each edge of the paper upwards, and open it up into a hat

6. To continue making the boat, bring the corners of the hat brim towards each other, the edges of the brim will be pushed forward (your squashing the hat into a square)

7. Take one lower corner of the square and fold it upwards, so the same to the other side

8. Now you have a folded triangle! Open up the folded triangle and bring the corners together, again you are squashing the triangle into a square

9. Pull the outer  corners of the square, one in each hand

10. Keep pulling to fully unfold your boat, staple the sides to keep in place!

We hope you've enjoyed creating your origami boat, the next time you receive your Ellie Ellie order you know what to do!

If origami doesn't float your boat, pop it in the recycling bin!

Have Fun!

Post Christmas Deco!

Your house can always feel a little empty after you have taken down all your Christmas decorations, your Christmas tree and Christmas cards. Ellie Ellie have what you need this January to put a little bit of sparkle back in your home after the Christmas season! All it takes is a little imagination and some simple things you normally find in your home.

This is a great piece of wall art, made from used corks, just save up your corks, make a backing for the artwork and stick on your corks, you can make different shaped ones too!

A cheese grater is a family staple and can always be found in the kitchen. This light fitting is a innovative way of making use of an old cheese grater and would it perfectly in the kitchen area.

Although this lampshade looks lovely and pretty, it is actually only made from plastic bottles! This is an example of a great way to get creative and see what you can make from such an easy object, your end result may not look like this but there are many ways in could be done to look great!

An ingenious way to reuse an old rake from the garden to make a wine holder for the kitchen! If you had more time you could paint it as well to match it to the decor and colours in your kitchen!

 

This is the simplest way to refresh your home in the new year, clean your old jam jars and add some flowers for the prettiest arrangements with a vintage feel on your mantelpiece or windowsill.

 

What are you doing to your home this January?

Recycled and Upcycled Furniture!

Putting a new lease of life and redecorating is a great way to refresh
your home. There are some great ways to add something new to your home, by using something old and pre loved, which was previously used for something else!

The use of this chair for a new shelf and a place to hang towels is a great way to reuse this piece of furniture, that may have been thrown away or scraped.

There are so many ways to reinvent pieces of furniture that you would otherwise throw away! Here are some great ideas, including this way to reuse an old coffee table for a fun and unique shelf. It would also look great in a bright colour to add more of a feature in a room.

This use of an old shutter for a console table or hall table is a great way to upcycle an old shutter, which could also be used as a great room divider and feature piece for a room. It's simple yet interesting for a room!

Pallets are becoming more commonly used for furniture and storage and are a great way to get a vintage look in the home! This way of using them to display pictures is an innovative way for a feature in the home! They would also be great to store magazines or bits and bobs that would otherwise be lying around the house.

Finally the use of an old ladder, spruced up and painted is a simple way to inject colour to the home and a great addition to a bathroom for towels, or like this for shelving! If you decide to redecorate your home it is easy to paint and remodel to suit any room.

Have fun up-cycling and reusing furniture! A great way to relove a piece of furniture that would otherwise be chucked away!