Get creative!
Photo: @oregongirl_aroundtheworld
There’s one sort of paper you should have been hoarding all this time – and that’s craft paper. Here are a series of super Danish creative ideas, traditional and modern, to keep you occupied while you’re staying in. Some of them even come with a royal seal of approval…
Daisy to the rescue!
This year our dear Danish Queen Margrethe, nicknamed ‘Daisy’, turns 80. Not only is she a fantastic monarch, but she’s also one of the country’s top creatives, an accomplished painter and costume and set designer. Take a look at her making a dachshund hat right here, and be inspired. There’s plenty more on our creative queen to watch right here, including a recap of the work she has done on ballet shows at Tivoli.
The creative queen An easy make-your-own crown tutorial
Street art for your home
HuskMitNavn is a Danish graffiti / street artist living and working in Copenhagen. If you have recently travelled to Copenhagen, you might even have seen the colourful artwork in the airport. Just for this present situation, he’s created a downloadable design you can print off and colour in at home, then put in your window to show solidarity in your community.
The Gækkebreve (pronounced gae-ke-bra-ve)
Getting creative and sending a gækkebrev to your friends and family is a unique Danish tradition dating all the way back to the 18th century. A few weeks prior to Easter, young Danes will cut out elaborate shapes on paper and write small poems inside. They sign these letters anonymously by signing with the number of dots corresponding to the number of letters in their name (so, four, if you name is Erik, for example). If the recipient guesses who the sender is, the sender owes him an Easter egg. However, if the recipient can’t figure it out, the recipient owes the sender an Easter egg. If you are looking to go all out, check out the collection of H. C. Andersen’s paper cuts as a point of inspiration.
Home is where the heart is
Danish super brand Ganni has launched an international creative competition to keep everyone entertained while we’re all stuck at home. All you have to do is create something connected to the theme of ‘Home is where the heart is’ and submit it online. The brand’s creative director Ditte Reffstrup will judge the submissions and choose the very best to be featured at Copenhagen Fashion Week and awarded a €1500 gift card for the brand. The deadline is April 3.
Easter egg painting, the Danish way
During Easter, it is a big family tradition in Denmark to blow out and paint Easter eggs. All ages join in and spend hours around the table to create colourful Easter decorations to hang in their homes. Once you’ve got a clean egg to work with, you can decorate it with pens, paints, gold leaf and more, and then fix a little hook in the top so you can hang it up in your house.
Danish Christmas decorations
Is it ever too early to think about Christmas? The answer is no, not if you’re new to Danish arts and crafts. Some of the complicated twists and weaves in these pretty decorations can take a while if you’re not used to it. The most well known Christmas decoration made from paper in Denmark is the Christmas Heart or 'julehjerter', closely followed by the Christmas star.
Christmas Heart Christmas Star
Candle wax art
Candle wax art is a Danish tradition and is especially popular with families. All you need is a bowl or glass of water and a set of colourful candles to burn. Fill the bowl up with water and set the candle on fire. Drop the candle wax into creative shapes, just for fun! As the tutorial is in Danish only, you need to run this one through a translate app.
English