‘Beautifully wild’ my creative idea to bring the beauty of nature into our homes!

With most of us in different places around the world now living in some form of lockdown or at least a severe curtailment of our normal freedom of movement, due to the global pandemic that has its grip on us, I have had plenty of time to think.

I realized how incredibly important being out in nature is to my health and well-being.. how I love the feel of damp grass on my bare feet on a warm summer evening, looking up at the stars on an autumn night and hearing the owls hooting in the woods or watching the blue tits popping in and out of the nesting box in spring to feed their babies.

The first lockdown in March was very hard but I felt so lucky to have my garden and field to escape into and how very difficult I would find it to be stuck in a flat or somewhere where I couldn’t get out into nature.

I have spent quite a lot of time in hospitals over the years, as I have lived with a heart condition that has caused a few emergencies and I know what it’s like to stare at walls and long for the sight of a bird or a hint of nature, so I thought I would love to try and experiment with creating my own range of nature art that could be put on walls and furniture and make it feel as though nature had come inside to add little pops of joy and colour

As Hippocrates said back in the fifth century, “Nature itself is the best physician.” And teenaged Anne Frank, in hiding from the Nazis, stuck in a couple of small rooms with her family, wrote 

‘The best remedy for those who are lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature. I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles.’

Staying true to making as much as I can myself, I managed to get to grips with some design software and to source some special paper that I could print on and I got busy designing and printing. I chose some of my favourite birds, like the Kingfishers that make me smile for the whole day when I spot them by the lake! To my chubby bumblebees and the peacock butterfly.

I hope to add more as I go along

There were plenty of mishaps! ( I have one slightly wounded swallow on my bathroom door!) quite a bit of shouting at the printer, lots of resizing and a few headaches writing the instructions but I think they have turned out rather well and I really hope they can bring the joy of nature, lots of smiles, comfort and colour to all sorts of homes and settings....

I’m hoping to persuade my Doctor that I should put some in the waiting room ,as now all magazines have gone because of COVID risk, a barn owl flying across the wall or a couple of bees , would make it much more bearable to sit there.

The transfers are great for diy projects too and upcycling bits of furniture. My fabric stickers can also go on walls and any hard surface but can be peeled off and moved, making them nice and versatile

I’m really looking forward to seeing where they fly off to and what they can add a beautifully wild touch to!