Tuesday, July 27, 2010

New Postcards and Enjoying Summer

I have a couple of new cards for sale in my Etsy store Kukkilintu. The first one is called Always Together and I was thinking about summer weddings, true friendships and everything so positive! The second one is called Sit Here and was inspired by interior magazines. I love to read them and imagine myself having like 8 different houses for suiting different occasions and moods!

Even if I have been crafting like mad, I have had also some time to enjoy the summer which has been particularly hot in Finland this year. I love to see my pets enjoying it too, here's my guinea pig Pepe. He thinks our small garden is like a huge superstore filled with snacks!

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Changes in Blogs

I have had a little crisis for a quite a long time with my blogs. I want to blog both in English and in Finnish. Using them in the same blog seemed like a good idea first, but really, it's not. I think it makes the blog difficult to read. I also want to blog about all the crafts I make, not only knitting or papercrafts. So I have deciced to reduce my three blogs into two. This one will be only in English but it will have not only paper projects but also textile arts. ou can find this blog using the short address www.peonyandparakeet.com. The other one is in finnish, called Pioni ja Parakiitti, and it will have the same concept of covering all areas of crafting that I do.

What about Kukkilintu? I have imported the blog posts of Kukkilintu blog here and labeled them for easy browsing. Kukkilintu blog will not be updated and I kindly ask you to follow this blog instead! I will continue Kukkilintu shop and Kukkilintu Moments newsletter. For clarity, I have changed my Twitter account to PeonyParakeet. If you follow me on Twitter, please follow PeonyParakeet in the future! I have also founded a new Etsy shop called Peony and Parakeet and will move Blythe doll clothing there. Folk bags, fabrics and cards will remain in Kukkilintu shop, at least for a while.

I hope this is not all too confusing. I really came to a point where maintaining three different blogs was too much. I also needed a unique name that I can register in most of the services and can be remembered easier.
With these paper flowers I wish you welcomed to Peony and Parakeet whether you are interested in knitting, spinning, papercrafting, dyeing, buying my crafts, even soap making as I reveal a secret: I have made my own soaps for many years and love it!

Friday, July 16, 2010

Jewelry Inspired

In my imaginative world I can be as rich as I want!

Mielikuvitus ei tunne rajoja rikkaudelle!
I really enjoyed making these cards, thinking about jewelry and adding stamped images all over the place. This first card has strong colors and that makes it look a bit asian to me.

Näitä kortteja oli kiva tehdä, haaveilla koruista ja lisäillä leimasimella kuvia kerros kerrokselta. Ekassa kortissa on aika voimakkaat värit ja siinä näyttää ehkä siksi olevan aasialaisvaikutteita.
The second card is not only about jewelry but also about buttons. I love buttons, both stamped and real ones! I made this one to look like a charm bracelet.

Tämä toinen kortti on paitsi korujen, myös nappien ystäville. Olen itse ihan nappifani ja tässä olen yhdistellyt sekä nappileimoja, että oikeita nappeja tarkoituksenani kuvata rannekorua, jossa roikkuu riipuksia.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Summer Stamping

We have a great hot weather in Finland. Almost too hot to do anything but simple stamping.

Kuumalla säällä ei oikein voi tehdä paljoa, mutta leimailla aina voi!

I made this card using a collection of stamps and butterfly stickers. Somehow I find stamping almost as relaxing as knitting and spinning!

Tein tämän kortin erilaisia leimasimia ja perhostarroja käyttäen. Leimailu on uskomattoman rentouttavaa, melkein yhtä rentouttavaa kuin neulominen tai kehrääminen!

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Swedish Wedding and Finnish Summer

Here in Scandinavia the biggest news in July has been Swedish Princess Viktoria's wedding. I watched them on television as most of the women in Finland certainly did. So romantic! I could not help making a few folk bags inspired by the celebration.
Here are Silvia (the queen mother), Viktoria (the bride) and Madeleine (the sister of the bride)!
After all the silk and chiffon I went back to Finnish culture and visited Visavuori, a finnish sculptor's Emil Wikström's summer cottage and studio. Very Arts and Crafts, my favorite style!
I have a summer holiday and a lot of going on with my craft projects. It is so tempting to be awake late when Finnish summer is so unique and wonderful. The sun hardly goes down, it's so much light and the weather has been warm, almost hot. I hope all those who have planned to visit Finland are here right now as it's now as good as it can get!