Style Talk

A Birthday Card.

This is a birthday card that I have made for my sister. I also wrote the poem. It is in Finnish and tells about a ladybug who wishes for summer to come:

Juhlapäivänä lennähtää kädelle kerttu.

Sanoo se olevansa Kevään serkku.

Kukilta kuulleet terveiset toistaa:

ONNEA ja Kesä jo tuokaa.

Bella Blvd stamps and patterned papers look so cheerful and bright. I love Bella Blvd stuff more and more every day, it really fits my style.

Talking about style, I read Omuli's blog post and watched Stacy's video about personal scrapping style. It made me analyze my own style. First, I have questioned it only once. That was when I was in the beginning of my designer studies and thought everything has to be plain and simple and felt that my own style was too complicated. Soon after that I realized that what I design at work does not have to restrict my free expression when I am off.

My style is very detailed, colorful and well ... full. I love to add small dots and lines everywhere. I try to make good use of contrasts in colors and often have design elements that have very different origins. There are two major things in the past that have affected my style. First was icon painting course took when I was 10 years old. That introduced strong colors to me. Another was learning how to make patchwork with fabric. I was around 20 then and it really has affected the way how I like little details to match with each other. I am also fascinated by materials and get many ideas by watching materials and their relation to another.

My goal is to make balanced pages where there's a lot to look. After seeing Alfonse Mucha's exhibition some years ago I have tried to adjust elements in a way that there's a distinct path for the eye to travel.

If I had to name one supply that I cannot be without, that would be my marker pens. I think that using them really adds the necessary assymmetry and vividness to the pages. Another thing that I favor is white correction fluid. I use it to add bright white color to the page and it really works better than any artistic acrylic paint.

My latest tool: Corner Chomper

Recently I have purchased a new tool: a corner chomper. Big tool that does not do much, but really adds the finished look. It makes the corners round and it's so cool to have neatly rounded corners!