Italy display

I love creating little areas around my home that are themed around somewhere I have travelled. When I got back from Italy I immediately cleared the radiator shelf in the hall in preparation for creating just such a display.

I started off by getting together all the decorative souvenirs I’d bought when I was there – some pottery bowls and plaques and a pottery boat, a few of the postcards, some of the stones, sea glass and pottery I’d gathered in Sestri Levante, 

Then I went around my home in search of anything Italian themed. I found a few books, a mosaic dish (which I’d created with Peru in mind but it works just as well with an Italian theme). Then I remembered the pottery cicada, ink bottle and glass nib that my brother and sister-in-law had given me when they visited Italy, so I added these to the display. The cicada was particularly relevant as I’d seen my first ever cicada when I was in Tuscany.

Finally I had a look round the charity shops for anything I could add. I found a lovely Denby mug in colours that reminded me of olive trees, which I may put flowers in (I also got a book about Italian wines in the same shop, which mentioned Artimino where I stayed!).

I used a small easel to display one of the postcards, and this, along with the mug, gave a little height to the display as most of the items were shorter.