Your Weekly Voilà: Embracing Everyday Tasks with Sustainable Objects😉💕🇫🇷

PASSION • CREATIVITY • INSPIRATION

I love simple daily tasks. The process of making a cup of tea. Noticing the softness of vintage linen pillowcases when making the bed. The joy of wrapping my favorite shawl around my shoulders on a cool evening. Simple things that people do every day.

Since moving abroad, I have found myself being more mindful of my daily tasks. Paying attention to cultural differences and seeing ways I can make little changes that could collectively make a positive difference. One of those simple changes I made is not to use plastic wrap. What was a mainstay in my mother's kitchen has become an environmental challenge. We use a lot of it. It doesn't break down and it is made with harmful chemicals. So when I noticed these wonderful linen covers that my French aunt used for just about anything - covering food - proofing her bread dough - protecting a delicious dish when visiting a friend - I knew I wanted to add reusable bowl covers to my French kitchen essentials.

More than just being sustainable, my bowl covers are a joy to use. They make simple tasks like bringing ready-made dishes to a friend's home more special. They draw attention to the little things in one's daily life.

My philosophy behind making things by hand is that I want whatever I create to be pretty and practical. I take time to consider fabrics, ease of use, and how it can be implemented in multiple ways thereby extending its utility and lifecycle. The fact that reusable bowl covers help us to avoid single-use plastics make them a perfect addition to my online shop. They are great for covering food to be stored in the refrigerator, keeping insects out of an evening alfresco dinner, and protecting your favorite mixing bowl from dust. At their heart, linen bowl covers allow us to connsider how we can get the most use out of objects we allow into our homes.

I love vintage French linen fabrics. They're durable, beautiful, and easy to wash. They are given new life as attractive and useful kitchen essentials. I made this set of 4 bowl covers reversible using a high quality waxed linen fabric from Denmark. I find the combination of fabrics work perfectly together. Find this set in Le Shop.

You can make your own custom bowl covers. Perhaps, you want to sew one for your KitchenAid mixer bowl that coordinates with your decor. Look for fabric that is organic and has a tight weave. Make your cover by sewing right sides together and then turn and sew a casing. Insert your elastic and blind stitch the opening closed. You can also make your own custom bias tape and attach to the cover fabric. Leave an opening to insert the elastic. This technique works well if you use an oil cloth or make your own waxed linen. There is no need to have a lining fabric because the binding covers the raw edge.

Imagine being able to make any pattern of bias tape. For me, this little sewing tool was a game changer. You can purchase a bias tape maker at any sewing store and they range in sizes. Be sure when you make your purchase you take into account the finished size of the bias tape you desire. If you are looking to create 1/2 inch double-fold tape, you need to buy the 1 inch size so that you can create the single-fold tape and then fold it and press it in half.

We need to be mindful of the things we bring into our lives.

My bowl covers are washable and made with care ensuring they will last a long time and be used over and over again. I tend to wash them by hand in the sink and allow to air dry. Feel free to toss them into a gentle load of laundry. I don't use them to cover leftovers like pasta sauce that might badly stain the fabric.

I love vintage tea towels. Sometimes, I pick them up at a brocante shop and they have a stain or hole. While they are no longer serviceable as a dish towel and too pretty for the rag pile, I cut them up and make bowl covers. This towel was found in my favorite Loire Valley town - Amboise. It worked perfectly for making covers for a vintage set of enamel bowls. This one-of-a-kind set is available in Le Shop.

Collectively, we think about how we consume products. More thought is given to sustainability and the impact on the environment of what we buy and use on a daily basis. This isn't just a French cultural shift. It is an awareness shared across the globe. We have to be more mindful of what we bring into our lives.

Think about a favorite item in your home that has outlived its usefulness but that you can't bring yourself to discard. It just might have a new life as something else.

À bientôt,
Karen 😊💕✨🇫🇷