Saturday, June 19, 2010

A brief summer holiday

It's vacation time! I've decided to take a week or so off the internet, starting tomorrow, to enjoy the (short) Finnish summer outdoors and recharge my batteries. My shops (Etsy, ArtFire, Dawanda) will be closed during this time and I will only answer emails after my summer vacation. This blog will also be on a break.

a white knitted and crocheted tiny mouse magnet So, if you'd like a pattern to work on over midsummer, or have your eye on something else you'd like from one of my shops (such as my latest magnetic creature, the mighty mouse on the right here), now is the time to order!

See you soon!

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Tiny Dragons - The 2nd batch

The 2nd batch of five tiny dragons is ready for introductions. From the left to the right:

#6. Rose - pink and pale beige
#7. Marigold - saffron yellow and dark brown
#8. Ash - mossy green and brown
#9. Lily - light purple and purple
#10. Hollis - beige and brown

Here's how it works: Every now and then I make a batch of 5 dragons. Each dragon will have a unique set of colours and they will get a signed hatching certificate with their name, number and date. When they're ready to list, I post an introduction on this blog like the one above. During the following few days, I'll list them in numerical order in my Etsy shop. Should you happen to spot one you must have, let me know and I can reserve it for you.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Smoothies, perfect for summer time

It's my birthday! And Mr Morrgan the sweetie woke me up with coffee in bed and made French toast with lemon curd for breakfast. Yay and yum! =)

In other news, it's warm and lovely here again, after a week or so of colder weather, and we have been trying out old and new summery drinks. My current favourites for lunch are smoothies, especially nice when made with berries from my parents' garden and enjoyed on the sunny balcony. I thought I'd share a couple of recipes.

blackcurrant banana smoothie
I use frozen berries to get a nice cool drink, but fresh ones could be used too. Making them is very easy, just mix everything together with a blender. Simple, fast and yummy! For some fun and equally easy experimenting with flavours, try using different berries and juices.

Blackcurrant-Banana Smoothie (pictured)
2 bananas
1-2 dl (~1/2-4/5 cup) blackcurrants
1 tbsp honey
2,5 dl (1 cup) water

Berry Mix Smoothie
1 banana
1 dl (~1/2 cup) raspberries
1/2 dl (~1/4 cup) blackcurrants
2 dl fruit juice of your choice

Sunday, June 06, 2010

Introducing Paulo the Charming Tiger

knitted tiger plushie toy Paulo holding a bouquet of red roses This is Paulo the charming tiger.

Mister Paulo knows how to charm the ladies. His secret? He's actually sincere.

When he says he bought these roses because their loveliness reminded him of you, that's what he did.

When he says that as lovely as they are, they pale next to your beauty, he really means it.

And the ladies know it. Oh Paulo, you charmer.


knitted tiger plushie toy Paulo holding a bouquet of red roses Paulo is my entry for this week's European Street Team challenge, hosted by Sofia-Sobeide. The theme for this week was "my favourite flower". Now, how do you get a charming tiger from favourite flowers?

To be honest, I'm not entirely sure myself.

red miniature mother's day rose However, the inspiration for Paulo and his personality came to me as I was sitting in my balcony, trying to decide on a fave flower. I looked at my red miniature rose and suddenly the choice was clear - roses. Soon after, the idea of a sweet little tiger holding a bouquet of lovely red roses came to me. How? Why? Who knows. The mental image stuck and I had to try to make Paulo. I'm very pleased that he turned out exactly as I saw him with my mind's eye.

Paulo the Charming Tiger is available as a pattern via Ravelry (or click here to buy now - no Ravelry account needed) and from my Etsy shop.

His roses are also available as a separate tutorial, suitable for beginners.

Want to see more creature introductions?

Friday, June 04, 2010

Introducing the Tiny Dragons - the first five

Here we go! The first five of the tiny dragons are ready for introductions. From the left to the right:

#1. Daisy - creamy white and grey
#2. Rupert - turquoise and teal
#3. Charles - grey and black
#4. Olivia - mossy green and dark green
#5. Elinor - pale beige and turquoise

I realized I really missed making dragons. My fingers were itching to make some. So create dragons I did. And more I shall create, because I also realized I want to make a huge collection of different ones. These five are the beginning of that collection. Each dragon will have a unique set of colours and they will get a signed hatching certificate with their name, number and date.

I have the following idea in mind. Every now and then I make a batch of 5 dragons. When they're ready to list, I post an introduction on this blog like the one above. During the following few days, I'll list them in numerical order in my Etsy shop. Should you happen to spot one you must have, let me know and I can reserve it for you.

You know, there's something very pleasing about creating a tiny dragon. There really is.

Thursday, June 03, 2010

My Creative Space: Teasers

Well, the major news of this week is that the pattern redesign I mentioned in my Creative Space post from a couple of weeks ago is finished! It was a huge chunk of work, but I'm so pleased to have it done. All redesigned patterns can be seen in my Etsy shop.

Now with that out of the way, I can put my energy towards new patterns and other designs. I have none quite ready to show you yet, but I can give you a few sneak peeks into what I've been working on.

My my, who might this mysterious, handsome stranger be...

...and what are these fine gifts he brings?

These guys might seem familiar to you from way, way back.

More pictures and info on both projects to come later! I'm very, very excited about these, as well as several more projects that are still only in the planning stage. Suddenly I keep having idea after idea and the only problem is when to find the time for them all. I like it. =)


Want to see the creative spaces of others? Head on over to Kootoyoo's blog for a look!

Tuesday, June 01, 2010

Tuesday Finds: Mad Science and World Domination

A recent tweet by Huismus linked to the global domination notebook below. This brought back memories of a running joke back from when I was still only planning to study biology, about my goal being world domination through genetically engineered, trained killer potatoes (tomatoes were sooo overdone and potatoes were better suited for the Finnish climate anyway). Ah, the dreams of youth.



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