Wrapping Tip : Wax Paper

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I am finally finished wrapping presents for Christmas and although mostly they are wrapped in a beautiful grey paper, I decided I needed a little bit of variation. I have been looking for brown wax paper everywhere (it is everywhere on pinterest right now) and in all unlikely places, I found it at Ellos! If you live in Oslo you can order until tomorrow and still have it before Christmas, if you are out of paper or you want a bit of variation, this waxed paper is perfect! 

As for ideas on how to wrap the presents, this year I kept it very simple, ribbons in mat colors tied in bows, and leather strings with eucalyptus for decoration ( have you seen my Eucalyptus Christmas wreath by the way?)

I tried to make a video on how I wrapped my presents , however I think the Youtube video where I learned how to do it explains it amazingly well , you can find it here. In less than 2 minutes you will learn how to wrap any box, without the need of a tape and without awkward edges with a single piece of paper, all in a perfect parcel like looking result. The video also explains how much paper is needed each time, much less than what usually is used and with an easy way to measure ( just roll your box a couple of times on the paper and you have your measurements). You can start by using tape of course, but I promise, after wrapping one or two you will find it is super easy to do without tape, it just wraps onto itself perfectly every single time! 

Have a happy holidays everyone, I will be soon be posting again from the cabin!

// Photography and Styling by Katerina Dima

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Pilea Love : How to propagate your Pilea

//Photography by Katerina Dima

I am so happy to see my little pileas grow. I propagated them from the only pilea peperomioides I have and since it was my first time I really did not know what to expect. It turns out it was quite easy : with a sharp knife cut the new pileas that naturally grow around the plant, then plant them in a new pot (I found a useful video here). Water when the dirt dries and keep in a sunny window. After a while the pilea baby will start to grow once its new roots take in the new soil. It took about two (maybe even a little more) months before the two that I propagated started to show any growth though. There are many techniques as far as I read, one suggests putting the new pilea in water until it grows roots, another that states the pot must have a drainage hole, and another that suggests using a pot without it. I used pots with and without drainage holes and the baby pileas show the same growth, in fact the pilea without the drain takes longer for its soil to dry so it needs less watering thus making it easier to maintain. 

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Scandinavian Christmas Gift Wrapping

When it comes to wrapping presents there are many ways to do it, I personally prefer the simplicity of the Scandinavian way so this years theme was very much based on that style. I used paper drop cloth (usually used for masking floors while painting), ribbons in various sizes ( mostly black, navy and white color), some string and name tags that matched the color of the paper, and for decoration I used some branches of cotton and fresh eucalyptus. I wanted the presents to also have a personal feel, so every one of them is wrapped and styled slightly different, so they are all unique.

I also wrapped a few of the smaller ones with linen napkins (mine came from Hale Merchantile & Co). This is a great way of wrapping a present in a very sustainable way for no extra waste, but also for something extra in the form of the napkin. 

There are so many more unique ways to wrap the presents using the materials I used, I also just wrapped them with big ribbons, you can see more of the presents under my early Christmas tree in this post. 

//Photography and Styling by Katerina Dima

For more posts of my home visit My Home category!

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How to cure your own olives ( from your indoors olive tree)

I think every scandinavian house has an indoor olive tree. They are easy to grow and their look is so very unique , yet it fits in almost any style.I got two myself a couple of months ago and one of them quickly filled with olives.Today I decided to take a few minutes from my day and harvest my small olive tree ( you can see how small the tree is here). I wasn't planning on doing anything with the olives , I mainly wanted to relive the tree of its fruits so it would grow during the winter. However I felt bad just throwing the olives away so I thought I would treat them so they become edible in a few months. I have done this many times while in Greece where I own my own olive trees, though we mostly gather the olives to produce olive oil. In fact the olive oil I do have at home right now comes from my own olive trees! 

I felt bad for just throwing the only olives my little indoors tree produced for the first time, so I decided to treat them. If you have indoors olive trees and you want to treat them, do read on for a full tutorial. The whole process takes less than 10 minutes so you should really try it!

Instructions :

Step 1 | Pick the olives from the branches with your hands, this should take only a few minutes if you have a small tree. If you have a bigger one then you can gather them faster with a very wide plastic hair comb.

Step 2 | Make a small incision in each olive with a sharp knife. 

Step 3 | Use a clean clear bottle ( a plastic one is recommended ) and drop all the olives inside. Add a little bit of salt but only a pinch.

Step 4 | Seal the bottle and let it rest in a cool place where the sun does not hit for a couple of months. It is important that the bottle lays flat and the water covers its neck completely so no air comes in at all.

Step 5 | Once the olives are cured (read below for tips on timing) make a brine with fresh water, some salt and vinegar. Taste the brine and make it to your liking. Some prefer it saltier, some prefer it more sour. Add more salt or vinegar to taste. Fill a container with the brine and mix in the olives. Keep in a cool place.

Depending on how big the olives are the process might take more or less than 3 months. The incision speeds up the process especially when the olives are bigger but it is not necessary. Since I already cut my olives (and due to their original size) I expect they will be ready around Christmas. 

To test if the olives need more time to mature just open the bottle and try one. If it is still too bitter to eat then empty the water from the bottle, fill it with new one, seal it and lay flat as before for a few more weeks. 

That is all it takes to cure your own olives. I am really looking forward to how mine will taste like, although they are so small there will be more stone than olive! Hopefully next year or the year after that (olive trees produce fruits every 2 years as a rule) my indoor olive tree will be big enough to give significantly more olives in a bigger size as well. For now I will let you know how this experiment turned out around Christmas! 

//Photography and Styling by Katerina Dima

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New Avocado tree

So many people have been asking me about how I manage to grow my avocado trees (you can find all posts on my DIY section of the blog and a step by step method here) , it is really very easy ! However I have note that not all stones will germinate so you might have to try stones from different avocados. I have thrown away quite a few stones myself that refused to show any growth after 4 weeks (the stone should crack as soon as one week after placed in water or soil), even have some die after I transferred them to a pot. My only advice is whatever method you might use, try a lot of stones from different avocados bought in different stores if possible, at the end you will end up with at least one healthy tree! Today I re potted the avocado you see above and to kick off with the new instagram easy snap function I have documented there how I did it. If you would like to see just find me on instagram and click on my profile image, the story should load right up!

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Avocado Tree Growth Rate

Last week I have been on vacation, though spend most my time at the summer house. Coming back home I was stunned at how much my avodaco trees have grown, and in comparison to a photo from about two weeks ago(as seen below) the growth is even more impressive! I cannot wait to see how much more they are going to grow, this is the first time I have done this so I am in constant unknown territory. I have re potted them quite a few times, as I started them in quite small pots to begin with. You see I did not anticipate how fast they would grow and that consequently they would need more space for their roots to spread. Their new medium to large sized pots will hopefully be big enough for the growing trees for the next few months. Either way, I have some pots in my wishlist I wanted to buy, change some of my old plants,if the avocados need another re potting I will be more than happy to oblige.

You can see all the posts concerning the avocado tree on my DIY section, including a full tutorial on how to grow one of your own from an avocado stone right in your home!

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The post : My Avocado Trees : A tale of growth, appeared first on Only Deco Love

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My Avocado Trees : A tale of growth

Yesterday I managed to re pot all of my plants, including my growing avocado trees and my new olive trees. I have wanted to change the pots for the avocado trees especially for some time now, they seemed always so very thirsty for water and it was no wonder when I took the big one out of its old pot, there was almost no soil left, it was filled with its roots. The two trees look very different to each other, the oldest one has its leaves curved and they are very hard to the touch, unlike the younger one whose leaves are soft,big and flowy. It might have been that the pot I originally planted it in was too small for it, either way, time will tell. I also burried its stone in the soil as well, I am not sure if I should do this or not, I left the stone outside for the other one. Regardless now it is in a big new pot, big enough for a couple of months at least. I will watch it closely and post if there is any significant change. 

I am experimenting a lot with these trees, I do not know how to raise them the proper way really. All the information I get is from internet and that is not enough to answer all my questions. In spite of my inability to sustain green life in the house however,the avocado trees seem to still be alive and somewhat healthy. For now, I am counting my blessings. 

You can see all the posts concerning the avocado tree on my DIY section, including a full tutorial on how to grow one of your own from an avocado stone right in your home!

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Q and A on my Avocado Trees Growth : When to prune?

I have been asked a lot about the progress of my Avocado tree (you can check my post about how to Successfully grow an avocado tree here) so I thought it is best to make a post about it to answer all the questions I have received so far. Lets start!

Q:When should I prune my avocado tree? I am afraid it will halt its growth if I do it wrong!

A:I know a lot of websites and blogs talk about how the avocado tree needs to be pruned, but I have not pruned mine yet and I do not intend to. If you prune it you force it into remaining small and I want my tree to be around 2 meters tall, so I will not be pruning it until it reaches the height I like it to be.However if you want to prune it just cut its very top leaves and you should be fine. If you look at the photo above you will see 3 new leaves coming out on the top of the bigger avocado tree, just cut those and a tiny bit of stem with a scissors.

Q:I have been waiting for a long time for my avocado to start growing, how long does it usually take and what are the signs I need to look for?

A: This is a little bit tricky because timing can vary due to various reasons. First of all you should know not all avocado stones will be able to produce a tree. Some are manufactured not to in fact. I suggest you buy several avocados from several markets regardless,one of them will be bound to produce a tree! When it comes to how long you might wait, if you place the avocado stone in water or well watered soil,in a warm room,then it should take no more than 6 weeks before the avocado cracks and you are able to see a small root if you pick it up.

Q:How fast does the avocado tree really grow?

A:It depends on the temperature.The warmer the climate and the more sun it gets, then the faster it will grow.I live in Norway so I chose to plant my trees early enough so they get all the summer sun and warmth when they are in the first stages. Here is how long it has taken mine to grow :

0-6th week , gestation period (from new stone to cracking and seeing a root no more than half a cm long)

6th-9th week , first signs of a stem along with more growth of the root.

9th-11th week , stem growth from 1cm to 10cm long, first photo top-left.

11th-13th week , stem growth from 10cm to 15cm long,first photo top-right.

13th-15th week, stem growth from 15cm to 17cm long,first photo bottom-left

15th-20th week,stem growth slightly halted around 30cm long, first photo bottom-right.

20th week until today , around 40cm, second photo, more leaves are sprouting every week and there is about 1cm growth every week. Also the stem of the tree changed color from brown to green.

As far as I have seen it is different for every avocado tree, my first one had less leaves but grew more in height whereas my second one sprouted bigger leaves earlier. Both appear to be healthy and show signs of continuous growth.

Q:Will my avocado tree produce avocados?

A:If you let it grow in height , yes it will. However they will not be as flavorful as the one that produced the tree itself. It takes many years before the tree is mature enough to produce fruit however even with great care so you might never see any. Either way the usual period is between 5 to 13 years.

Q:I do not have a greenhouse,you say it is best if it grows in one,what can I replace it with?

A:You can top your glass(or any container you placed your stone in) with a water cup,a vase, or a jar, anything that is made of clear glass and is big enough to cover your glass/container. It will work exactly the same as a greenhouse!

Q:How much sun does the growing tree need?

A:As much as possible. I have mine in a corner that gets sun from rise till dusk.

I hope this answered some of your questions, feel free to send me more! If you want to grow your own then check my full guide at How to plant and grow an avocado tree :Tips and tricks for 100% success. !

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The post : Q and A on my Avocado Trees Growth : When to prune?, appeared first on Only Deco Love

Styling and photography by Katerina Dima unless otherwise stated.

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Only Deco Love : My Photoshop Actions

Just a quick line to let you know that my photoshop actions are up again on my Etsy shop! The package includes several standalone actions for brightening up a photo.They also remove some of the yellowish tint that often sneaks in especially when there is no option of adjusting white balance in the camera. You can see a recent before and after above but also I thought it would be fun to share some other ones as well below! Is the before photo as seen above "bad"?I like the tone of the before but  I personally need it to be much brighter and this is where my actions come in. They are an automated process of quite a few editing steps that would usually take me more than 15min to replicate but now I only need to press the Play button and I get the same results in mere seconds. If you like the results you can find my actions here. Please be aware that these photoshop actions only work with Photoshop and not Elements or any other Adobe program.

//Photos | Styling | Editing :  by Katerina Dima

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Styling and photography by Katerina Dima unless otherwise stated.

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