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!

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!

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.

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!

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!

How to keep up?

During this year I have received several requests to send an email after I have listed new items at my store. I gladly send these emails! Over the months it has become clear to me that people who like to follow what I do and when I list my next folk bags should be able to subscribe these emails more freely. So I have set up a new service: Kukkilintu Moments email newsletter. You can subscribe and unsubscribe it whenever you want. I will post a short email after I list folk bags to my store or release new products. I will also include some personal touch in every newsletter. I excited about this! Feel free to subscribe Kukkilintu Moments!

I have a few new folk bags under work, here's a sneak peek of one of them!

Cards Are Here and About Sirkka Bag

I have my first set of cards printed out. The next ones are already being designed. These all are made to go with my folk bags and the colorful world I love and adore. I was a bit puzzled of how to sell the cards. I made mixed sets for Kukkilintu store but if you miss a certain combination, leave me a convo and I will list it for you.

I also made some Moo cards. I will include a Moo card for the next orders at Kukkilintu. Aren't they just so wonderfully rich and colorful!

In my last post I promised to write more about a very special bag I made during the spring. It was a custom order folk bag whose owner just loves Sirkka Könönen, a Finnish textile designer. Well, I am Sirkka's fans too so the project was not only challenging but very interesting! I started with the collage of Sirkka's work, then picked the colors and designed the motif. I started thinking about cranberries and cloudberries. My father used to pick these berries. One morning he left early to pick some cranberries and came back before dinner. My mother made a desert from the berries and said to me that “this desert could be served in the finest restaurants”. She appreciated the cranberries so much.

When constructing the bag I thought how memories and stories are so important in everything I make. My concept of living is a "Knit your story" thing. My inner critic has a strong, powerful voice, but it is silenced by the stories. There cannot be anything wrong in storytelling. It is so hard work to try to be a better designer and I am afraid I never will be good enough. But whatever happens, the power of stories always surprises me and makes me forget all the possibilities I might never get. Everything is possible in my imaginary world! I wish I can give a glimpse of it for you via this blog!

More photos of Sirkka at my Flickr site.