Stamping Day

A page for the deco "Layered Stamped"

After reading The Stamper's Sampler, I just had to take my stamps and make something layered and romantic. Luckily I just had a deco booklet to sign of the similar subject. And I had a day off, so I had the time too!

Long Ago And Far Away

Mixed media collage "I am here at last"

Here's my entry for the week's Three Muses Challenge, themed "Long Ago And Far Away".

I started with my husband's photograph, taken at Barcelona in Sagrada Familia last summer. Then I picked one of the prints I have got with Somerset Studio magazine. I worked several layers using stamps, acrylics, patterned papers etc. I also attached two self made polymer clay buttons. I love using my horrible polymer clay buttons as they are not symmetric, nor pretty but blend so well in everything I make.

For me, my life has been "I am here at last" for the last years. I have been able to do so much what I really love: be creative, achieve the things I value the most. I am very grateful for that.

18 Years Guinea Pigs

A page for the deco booklet "Unthemed".

I wanted to make a page to honor the guinea pigs that I have had as pets for 18 years. The page came out quite busy and bright but perhaps it suits with the theme.

I bought an issue of Scrapbooks etc. magazine this week. I have listened to many podcasts that have mentioned the magazine lately. It is a great magazine, even if you are not 100 % scrapbooker. If I had to choose between Scrapbooks etc and Somerset Studio, I would choose Somerset but I can understand if someone else chose otherwise. They are both great value for money anyway.

Felted Hair

Collage "Felted Hair"

Here's my entry for The Three Muses Challenge. This collage is approximately A4 size and made by cutting papers and adding acrylic paint. The idea of felted hair came from the last weekend's felting course.

Wool Weekend

I attended a felting course at Röykkälä's organic sheep farm in Central Finland. I had lovely time with four of my colleagues from my day job. In the picture there's my first ever felted work.
In the picture below is the actual project I was working for the weekend. It's a bag, of course, but still a bit unfinished. The needle felting motifs will fill the surface and I am going to add fabric lining and fabric strap to the bag.
There are more pictures about the farm in my finnish sock knitting blog Sukanvarsi. I really enjoyed the weekend!

Patterned Paper Talk

I just received my order from Two Peas in a Bucket. Mostly patterned scrapbooking papers. I try to make my own papers but still, I cannot resist the products of these two companies: Basic Grey and Bo-Bunny Press. In the picture, my new Basic Grey papers are in the upper row and Bo-Bunny's wonderful two sided papers are in the lower row.

As you can see, I find dark colors very useful. They make great backgrounds for photos and I am pretty obsessed using my gelly roll pens to make decoration on them. I also like papers that imitate hand painting, Basic Grey has a lot of these.

To be honest, the best of these kind of papers are made with real paints. And I do love to make my own papers. The only bad thing in them is that I have to use quite thick paper with watercolors and acrylics. Sometimes I just need to use thinner papers to make the page fit the booklet.

Puppy Memories

A page for the deco booklet "Summer".

Here's my younger beagle Cosmo in summer 2005. He is lying on a hammock enjoying the summer and all the extra attention. I added some cuts from another summer photo to the background showing the flowers in the back garden.

Even if there's a summery photo of this post, it's getting darker and darker in Finland. This morning there was ice on the roads. Of all the four seasons I would gladly skip the winter. Luckily, in papercrafts everything is possible. It's very consolating to glue these summer photos while there's freezing outside!

Four Seasons, finished

The beginning is often difficult. It is hard to believe in something that is just about hundred stitches on a circular needle. I try to make sketches before I actually begin because it gives some hope that there will be a final product in the end. This time I had a lot to do. Lining, flaps and all. I know designing should be simplifying but this time I just had to put all the ideas in the one bag!

At my day job I do simplify, simplify, simplify. But this bag just needed all these details! And, because making these bags is not my day job, I can be as crazy as I want, eh?

I am so inspired by the queens of the 18th and 19th century. I pictured some noble women in their grand gardens carrying their treasures. They would be surrounded by the trees ... Trees! Why not make a bag showing all four seasons using the forms of a tree!

That's how this started.

I have been learning a new skill: spinning! My new spinning wheel is a beauty and truly wonderful. The yarn is not the prettiest possible but it's very dear to me! I am excited about the possibilities spinning can offer! Being close to fibers is just uplifting.

Zlightly Zetti challenge

A page for the deco booklet "Red And Black".

I am participating The Three Muses Challenge, this week's theme is Zlightly Zetti. This means you have to make something similar to Teesha Moore's style. I LOVE her style, of course, as I love everything that is overwhelming in details.

If you like Teesha's style and are looking for a great book, get Mixed -Media Collage by Holly Harrison. Great book, including Teesha Moore and other great collage artists, plus lots of reading and ideas.

Back to the little collage I made for the challenge. I wanted to include some humor in it, the woman in the collage looks a lot like me and well, aren't we all bit selfish at times! It's actually my aunt's face there, it's amazing how I never realized I look so much like her.

The upper body is from a print received with Somerset Studio magazine. The triangles in the left are motifs cut from Basic Gray scrapbooking papers. All the other elements are my own creation including the painted background.