28/03/2009

fabrics on paper - kankaat paperilla


I scanned some fabrics from my stash, modified the colours a bit and printed on paper. Oh, the happiness! One can never have too much pretty papers. I'm going to:


admire them and dream of all the lovely things they can be turned into



use them to cover unpleasant looking books



attach them to the wall, just to rest my eyes on them every now and then



make Easter decorations of them



become obsessive about them.

27/03/2009

easter letters - pääsiäiskirjeet




This Easter prettiness is from the Jackpot Magazine's spring issue. I'm thinking of making some simple Easter decorations in addition my old ones, the painted birds and patchwork eggs. These Easter letters are an unknown tradition to me, apparently they are something that is sent to Easter Bunny who then brings chocolate eggs on Easter Sunday. Does anyone know more about this tradition?


In the beautifully styled article the letters are made of large silk paper sheets in different colours, cut in the same manner as paper snowflakes. I want to make these, lots of these, and hang them across our living room! Oh, and look at those sweet bunny ears - I think I need to make a pair of those, too. Or maybe three pairs, for all of us to wear.



Tällaista pääsiäissuloisuutta löytyy Jackpot Magazinen kevätnumerosta. Kevätinnostuksen vallassa suunnittelen tekeväni joitakin pääsiäiskoristeita entisten seuraksi, maalattujen lintujen ja tilkkumunien siis. Ensimmäisen kuvan "pääsiäiskirjeet" ovat minulle ihan tuntematon perinne - ilmeisesti niitä lähetetään Pääsiäispupulle, joka sitten tuo suklaamunia pääsiäissunnuntaina. Tietääkös joku enemmän tästä perinteestä?


Lehden viehkosti stailatussa jutussa "kirjeet" on leikattu suurista, erivärisistä silkkipapereista samaan tapaan kuin paperilumihiutaleet tavataan meillä tehdä. Tahdon leikellä sellaisia ja ripustella ne poikki olohuoneen! Oi, ja nuo pupun korvat - luulenpa, että korvapari on pakko väsätä myös. Tai jos tekisi ihan kolmet, koko perheelle pupuiloa.

17/03/2009


Tanja of Pretty Gingham tagged me. Here are the rules:

1. Respond & rework the questions on your blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your own invention, add one more question of your own.

2. Tag eight other un-tagged people.


***

What is your current obsession? Salmiak. I seem to have a craving either for salmiak or chocolate, currently it's salmiak.

What are you wearing now? My favourite pajamas, made of soft, turquoise cotton flanel. Ready for bed!


Do you nap a lot? Yes, nowadays I do. We nap together with my little son on our huge bed. Lots of snuggling before and after is the best part of it.


Who was the last person you hugged? That would be my little boy, O.

If you were a tree, what tree that would be? A spruce.

What's for dinner? Chicken, seasoned sort of Indian style, and rice. Fruit sallad for dessert.

What was the last thing you bought? Sunglasses. I finally found a pair I really like. They are quite a necessity, I tend to get a mean headache after a while in bright sunlight. I've lost two pairs of sunglasses, have to take good care of these new ones!

What are you listening right now? My husband turning the pages of the book he's reading.

What is your favourite weather and why? Crisp, sunny autumn weather. It makes me somehow both happy and melancholic at the same time. Happy that there is still light; melancholy comes of the unavoidable nearness of winter.

What time you usually get up? When the little one awakes - lately it's been around 7 o'clock. Too early for me, I'm an evening person.

What is your most challenging goal right now? To live contentedly and purposefully in this phase of my life.

Say something to the person who tagged you: Your new home looks very beautiful!

Favourite vacation spot? Italy. Also my mother-in-law's cottage in central Finland, by a beautiful lake.

What movies can you watch over and over? I don't watch movies very often nowadays, but Fanny och Alexander, Le fabuleux destin d'Amelie Poulain and Sense and Sensibility (Ang Lee's version) are the films I seem to come back to over and over.

What is your favourite tea flavour? Good ol' Earl Grey never fails. I like black tea, green is not my thing.

What are you reading right now? Still enjoying The Bleak House by Dickens! Also, I just started to amuse myself with The Provincial Lady by E.M. Delafield. It's a quietly humorous depiction of British upper class living in the 20's to 30's. Dh's aunt sent it to me - thank you Iiris!



What is your current guilty pleasure? Interior magazines. Lately I've been buying so many I don't have time to read them properly, hence the guilt.

Where is the landscape of your mind? In a forest of birches or other deciduous trees in early spring, just when evening begins to fall. The ground is covered with dead leaves, grass and twigs in the most subtle shades of grey and brown. Trees, still bare, look like ink drawings against the sky. The air is still cold, it's calm and quiet. But buds are visible in the trees and there's a happy sound of a creek somewhere near.



What is the latest quotation which made you impressed? Uh, this is hard, I never remember any good quotations... Here's a not-so-brilliant-one: "Beauty is taking off the unnecessary" by Michelangelo Buonarroti (my lame translation from Finnish language). True, but maybe not impressive.

What ability or skill would you like to have for yourself? Conversing easily with people. I'm a bit shy.


***

I tag Happysilly, Chickpea Sewing Studio, Vintage Living, Sanctuary, Petits Détails, Vihreä talo, Janet Clare and Jikke's - come along if you wish to!

10/03/2009

mama's boy - äitinpoika

Today, lots of whining and clinging to mama's skirt. His first drawing softly swinging, hung up to the living room ceiling.



Tänään on kitisty oikein kovasti ja pidetty tiukkaan kiinni äidin helmoista. Ensimmäinen piirustus ripustettiin olohuoneen kattoon hiljakseen keinumaan.