Thursday 31 July 2008

Collector's box


I have all kinds of old stuff stored in my drawers. "Good finds" from here and there, waiting for the right kind of project to be used in. This box was a nice find indeed, it made all these other stuff click together and give birth to a new story.


Initially this was a Ferreira box, I assume it had miniature wine bottles in it. I'm not sure exactly. I used some acrylic paste to cover the carved letters on the side of the box. Then I collaged it with book pages to give it some pattern. Finally I added many layers of brown acrylic paint, then smudged it and scraped it and tortured it until it looked distressed enough


The insect pictures are cut from an encyclopedia. I glued them on the back side of the old medical bottles. It gives an interesting 3-d effect, when you look at them trough the curved glass. The white egg shaped thing is a silk cocoon. The jaw bone propably once belonged to a mink or an ermine. I found it in a forrest years ago, all weathered and white. Actually I have the whole scull, but it's in pieces.

Tuesday 29 July 2008

Card with a shirt


This is a confirmation card for a young man. It was quite difficult to come up with an idea that wasn't too religious, but not too humoristic either. So, I kind of stayed with the realistic aspects... Usually confirmation is the first big celebration in a boy's life, he maybe gets his first real suit. And then, at the latest, he is forced to learn how to tie a necktie.

I found some more video tutorials on how to make origami shirts and ties, and I really liked the way they give dimension to a card.

Friday 25 July 2008

Wedding card


My friend asked me to make a card to a wedding she's attending. Only things that I know about the marrying couple is that they like the Fifties and listen to Elvis. That was enough information for me to make this card. And I had so much fun making it!

The sepia toned couple is from a 1950's magazine. Originally the man and the woman were in two different pictures, but I combined them together. The winged heart and the two little hearts are self-made embellishments. You can't really see the details in the photo, but I drew them on paper with regular markers, then applied a thick coat of Glossy Accents over them, let them dry over night and cut them out. The outcome looks like thick glossy plastic or something.

The only thing missing is Love Me Tender playing when you open the card...

Sunday 20 July 2008

Cloudy days and sunny days


One cloudy day I went to see the the great Sandcastle in Lappeenranta. This year's theme is wild west, so there are cowboys, indians, horses and other neat stuff -all made of sand, water and glue. A friend and collegue of mine was in the sculpting team, and I sure know it was a huge amount of work. It also took lots of skills and talent. You can see more pictures of the work process here.




Luckily there was one sunny day too. I spent it at the summer cottage, mostly lying on a boat and watching the clouds go by.

Tuesday 15 July 2008

Video tutorials

I just love watching these craft tutorials on YouTube. It's very enjoyable to watch someone making things and at the same time giving instructions and tips. And also doing it all with a great care on a neat and organized table, unlike mine.






I might never try these projects though, I just like watching

Friday 11 July 2008

Tuned birdhouse chime


I got my hands on a nice little project today. This wind chime was a flea market find from last week. Otherwise it was lovely, but I didn't like the winter themed decorations. Snowy trees in July? No way!

So I collaged it a little bit and added some paint. And now it's happily hanging on my balcony. Such a pity it's not windy today, I have to shake it frequently to hear the tinkle.

Brilliant!


I got this lovely badge from Ansku. What a heartwarming surprise. Kiitos Ansku!!
Now I should forward this to 7 brilliant blogs, but I find it too difficult since there are so many great ones. I must think about this very carefully. Maybe I'll return to this subject later...

Sunday 6 July 2008

A day in Vyborg, Russia

I did get a chance to go abroad this summer after all. A day in Russia is abroad isn't it? I live quite near the Russian border, and it wouldn't take more than 15 minutes to travel there. But you need to have a (relatively expensive) visa and the customs formalities take forever when you go over the border. But anyway, this time we travelled to Vyborg and had a lovely day shopping and just chilling.






There was this interesting face carved on one of the old linden trees in Torkkeli park.


These were yummy! Fried sunflower seeds.

Tuesday 1 July 2008

Yellow buddies


A little lion and a big duckie are made of same colors. Like two peas in a pot. I just can't stop crocheting, it's too addictive.