English Landscape Sculpted

Image courtesy of Cowley Manor © Amy Murrell

This summer, make your way to Cowley Manor, a country house hotel in the Cotswolds, where eight graduate students from the Royal College of Art have temporarily installed their site-specific sculptures.

Strolling the grounds, you might see an eight-foot-tall wire tornado frozen mid-swirl on one of the lower lakes, or the word H-E-Y spelled out like a truncated version of the Hollywood sign at the foot of a grassy meadow. The latter, conceived by Wonwoo Lee, has won the juror’s prize and will permanently remain at Cowley Manor. Also, be sure to keep an eye out for Cradeaux Alexander’s amusing installation of “garden plaques with a twist” throughout the grounds. In front of a wooded trail is a sign declaring “A Path of Unusual Morals” and adjacent to a nearby shrub, “A Bush of Great Character.”

The RCA/Coutts sculpture exhibition will be on view until September 3rd and is open to hotel and restaurant guests as well as picnic goers.

ReStyle Vinyl Tablecloths

Warmer weather brings us inspiring opportunities to enjoy the great outdoors. Here are a few ideas to help spruce up garden furniture for entertaining, organize a picnic outing or take-off for a day at the beach. Go green and crafty - recycle an old vinyl tablecloth to create a new summer accessory for your earth-friendly style.

Martha suggests creating outdoor pillows, above, from easy to clean vinyl tablecloths. You can also apply a waterproof sealer to the seams for better weather resistance.

Design Sponge recommends making a double sided picnic blanket with the vinyl for the ground side and flannel on the reverse. Add a ribbon to tie it all up.

Crafty Daisies teaches us how to sew up a great sized beach bag with her choice of vinyl tablecloth fabric.

Enjoy!