Merry Christmas

It's the Christmas Eve today. We will prepare a dinner for two, indulge ourselves with hot sauna, unwrap the presents and enjoy the peace & silence. Tomorrow we will drive some hundreds of kilometers to visit H's parents, stay there for a while and keep on driving to meet my parents as well. The cats will be travelling with us. This is the first time we have two of them in a car, I hope it goes well. I wish a peaceful Christmas to you, enjoy the holiday to the fullest!

Wrapping Gifts

I got all my Christmas presents wrapped! I used only recycled materials to keep the whole package eco-friendly, I think it makes a perfect sense. Why to make and purchase lovely things with a small impact on Mother Earth and wrap them up in something that uses valuable resources and probably ends up into landfill? These papers I used are from shipping materials I have received when ordered something online, small paper bags I've got when buying post cards and so on. Labels are made from pieces of left over paper, butterfly punch gives them a cute look. A few tags are free downloadables I had printed long ago but didn't use until now. I'm sorry I can't remember where did I download these, but I know there are some beautiful freebies at Creature Comforts. That crocheted piece I found from my studio, it's from a table clotch I had repurposed when making jewelry, only one piece was left. So here it got a new purpose and can be used all over again. In fact, all these packing materials I used can be either re-used or recycled. Oh, and another idea: I placed small gifts on a glass cake display stand. It looks sweet on a living room table.

These ideas work pretty well all year around, I'd like to think. Happy gift wrapping!

Simple Home Decor

Here is a really simple idea for your home! I made this card holder by crocheting paper yarn with a big crochet hook. I made about 1 meter long string with the most simple loops. It took about 10-15 minutes from start to finish. I had these vintage clips we use to hang curtains, they have a little hook on the top which I can hang on the crocheted loops. Even without the hooks the clips would work just fine. You can make the length as you wish, my holder looks nice with six Christmas cards on it. I tied the other end of the string on a curtain holder stick (or whatever the name is, I don't know exactly!). You could also hang it on the wall, by the door way or maybe you can find another suitable place at your home.

When the holidays are over, you can still use it all year around. Switch the cards or use the clips to hold little memo notes, for example. Happy crafting!

From The Photoshoot

We had a little photoshoot session on Sunday evening at home. I'm very pleased with the pictures. They have exactly the right feel I had on my mind. Thanks H for your valuable help! Now, I plan to make a small batch of these tote bags with a couple of color options, probably a few big clutches and handbags too. They should be ready in the beginning of January. I'll show you then, right after we get the new photos taken, of course. I plan to have a shop update around that time too.

Today I baked some salty pastries, wrapped Christmas presents and placed them in the living room (I really love wrapping gifts). Christmas holiday, here we come!

Something New Soon...

On Thursday I talked about the idea of making tote bags. Sometimes, just sometimes I'm quick in my actions, this is what happened now. The first try is here, will continue making a couple of variations this weekend. Obviously photos need some improvment as well... I have pretty much figured out what kind of feel I want to have in my photos and that definitely includes having a person in a picture. It's just a bit of a challenge to arrange a model (usually myself) each time as most of my items are one of a kind. It means a lot of photo taking. But at least I have the idea what everything should look like. Improvment in progress!

Happy Weekend!
ps. Do you have any craft project going on right now?

My Creative Space

I love to play with beautiful beads, I could just collect and arrange them in bowls all day long. To tell the truth sometimes I love to look at them more than creating with them! Now, I would like to make some new earrings and bracelets out of these colorful supplies (mix of wooden beads, vintage plastic and faux pearls). As it looks like the Christmas orders are slowing down in my Etsy now there might be good chances to make something new soon.

This is a custom bracelet I made a couple of weeks ago for an Australian customer. She requested everything in turquoise and as I didn't have any papers in that color I ended up painting the detail on the brass bezel with gouache (laquer is applied on the top to protect the paper). We both agreed it was a good solution. Beads are vintage glass from Japan. Her lovely feedback inspires me to make more jewelry pieces with color in the future too!

I visited our library this week and found a couple of inspiring books about recycled and vintage fabrics. Besides jewelry I'm thinking of making some nice shopping totes, you will see soon. Also, I placed my cotton clutches on sale section. Have a look, there are few pieces available!

Are you already busy with Christmas preparations? I have shopped some handmade online so no need to stress about gifts any longer. Some baking would be nice, just to have that delicious smell around the house...

Monday Moodboard

fairytale plush by lapomme
nuno felted clutch by crafts2cherish
anemone ring by staroftheeast
nuno scarf by juliafelt

Finally we have a good layer of snow on the ground and more flakes are falling, it is looking so beautiful. Also, the thermometer is showing -10 celsius today so the chances are that this one will stick for a little while. In honour of lovely snowy day I put together a white moodboard. Enjoy!

And more Monday Moodboards on Greet's blog... have a great week everyone!

Sweet Package

Finally I got a chance to show you this: a lovely gift I won from a give-away few weeks ago. I got to choose something worth $45 from Bebe & Alice's shop and I chose this beautiful scarf made from recycled fabric circles. Also, in addition to this I was allowed to pick little something extra so I asked for a birdie ornament I had received from Heather earlier. This new one shall be a Christmas gift to someone special (so hard to give it go though!). Heather even added few fabric scraps for inspiration. Actually, we've been chatting about having a small co-operation project next year, you'll hear more about it soon, I'm sure. Yeah, and it's so funny it was me to win this give-away as we are already friends, thanks to Etsy!

If you like what you just saw, have a look around Bebe & Alice's. It's a great place, I can tell ya!

My Secret Santa

An intriguing postal note was waiting for me yesterday. It was for my Secret Santa gift from Nicole in the Netherlands. I picked up my secret parcel from PO right away. She had made a sweet lacy pouch (she obviously knew I love lace on purses), sparkling lovely earrings and a very cute birdie mobile. She even added some local candy for me. This pouch and mobile are made of fused plastic bags, I love this eco-friendly idea! You can find more of these mobiles in her home decor shoppe. Oh, and she's offering the rest of her jewelry line at very affortable prices, have a look here.

Thanks so much Nicole, you're a sweetheart!

Monday Moodboard

crocheted collar by mariannes
personality earrings by alibli
snow field photo by enchantedpond
wool wrapped bangles by mysticfibers

I'm back from the Christmas fair. It was again such a nice event, thanks for everyone who came to see me yesterday! I also made small purchases: a sweet little birdie reflector, comics, earrings and a tiny pin back. And the best of all, I got to meet other Finnish Etsians: Hanni of Vaisto and Ioulia had their tables there too, that was just great! Also thanks for Tuija of Tuuni and Elina of HappyDayDesigns for coming to say hello to me.

Today's moodboard has shades of mint, it's a lovely color for winter, I think.
More moodboards on Greet's blog...

My Creative Space

Few days ago I finished this new clutch. Design is the same as earlier except the embellishment is totally new. I made it combining reflective ribbons with ordinary ones. Here where I live it's so dark in the winter, it's important to wear reflectors so that others can see you, it's the safety matter. So I decided to try reflective materials on my clutches too. Maybe the purpose #1 here is not to be seen by others but it could be fun if the ribbons reflected some light, say having the purse in your hand on the street or sipping a drink at a bar.

I'm attending a small Christmas fair this Sunday. I'm making these reflectors to be sold separately there. These would look cool pinned to your hat or jacket, what do you think?

More creative spaces on Kootoyoo's blog...

Monday Moodboard

tweed clutch by retrospettive
sailor sweetie hairpins by glamasaurus
fortune earrings by exoticflavour
picture frame by mackenzieframes

Relaxing weekend is behind, a busy week ahead. I'll attend a small Christmas market the upcoming Sunday so this will keep me occupied all week. Besides having fun I also had to do some serious thinking last weekend. It's just something personal I can't share it on web, sorry. It can be that I might not be as much around on my blog and forums as usual, that's all.

For inspiring moodboards visit Greet's blog...
Also, free worldwide shipping still going on in my shop (until Monday night!)

Happy Weekend

Yesterday I worked on my price tags. I cut them out of paper stock, stamped and punched, designed and printed the care instructions on stickers and added a piece of fabric ribbon on them. Ribbon is torn out of recycled cotton print fabric. These are quite a lot of work but I'm happy with them now! Also, I tried to stamp the vintage wallpaper. These could become my new visit/business cards. I still need to experiment a bit on different papers and make the decision then. Somehow I'd love to find an alternate for industrially printed ones. The stamped cards could give the feel I'm looking for.

And what else I have here for you? My sales fairy I got from EuropeanStreetTeam's fairy game arrived from Italy yesterday. She is the cutest fairy I've ever seen, thanks Amy! If you haven't seen Amy's jewelry yet, please head over her Etsy shop. She also blogs, have a look here as well.

I'm now going to visit a craft venue at WeeGee in Espoo. From there we continue to Helsinki, Cirque Mechanics play starts at Savoy Theatre at 8 pm. It will be fun! Have a lovely weekend, you too!

Free Shipping

I decided to participate on Etsy's Black Friday/Cyber Monday promotion. I'm offering free worldwide shipping fro Friday 11/27 through Monday 11/30. It's a good chance to make little holiday shopping for yourself or someone special who likes girly earrings or purses. I probably wont make additional promotions before Christmas so benefit of zero shipping at my expense now! I will refund promptly after the purchase through PayPal.

ps. All Karuski items arrive beautifully giftwrapped at no extra expenses!

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Tässä tulee viimeinen Etsy-promoni ennen joulua: Ilmainen toimitus kaikille tilauksille pidennetyn viikonlopun ajan pe-ma 27. -30.11. Tämä on hyvä tilaisuus tehdä pieniä hyvän mielen ostoksia joulua silmällä pitäen. Hyvitän postikulut jälkikäteen maksun tultua PayPalin kautta. Huom. suomalaiset ostajat voivat maksaa halutessaan myös pankkisiirrolla, mutta ota minuun etukäteen yhteyttä.

ps. Kaikki Karuskin tuotteet saapuvat kotiovellesi nätissä lahjapakkauksessa ilman lisäkuluja!

Flickr Favorites

1. Holiday Line 2009, 2. pun2, 3. Sales fairy checking Hungary out, 4. For the love of horses II

Thinking about Christmas, it's only one month away. I bought a Christmas themed magazine yesterday, haven't had time to read it yet, just flipped through it and got inspired already! Are you into Christmas ornaments? I might want to make few, just to try something new out. By the way, fresh flowers in a vase with beautiful candles by the side make a nice arrangement too. It doesn't need to be all that much, if you like it simple.

I received a package of holiday cards (was it last week or so...) from modernmotive. The same as you see in my mosaic. They are lovely. Besides that they are printed on 100% post-consumer fiber. I love them!

More inspiration at Mitsy's...

Monday Moodboard

flower lariat by ayca
rosa necklace by birribe
sleevy mini by baahar
hair clip by krize

A little bit of pink and magenta on a day like this might help to raise the spirits. Nice gift ideas for girly girls for Christmas too! Are you planning to give handmade goodies for your loved ones this year? My family is very small and we don't give many presents. It's the mutual agreement between us and I like it. Of course a small package here and there is allowed but no need to sweat in a mall and try to find for the sake a buying. Make something by your own hands or support an artist or crafter whose work you like. There's lots of recycled material available so giving a gift doesn't need to mean wasting precious resources. Knit or crochet from a left over yarn, make a piece of jewelry from recycled fabrics, draw a card on a upcycled paper or card stock. You can make a difference!

More moodboards linked at Greet's blog...

Little Something New

Phew, what a week! I haven't been able to make a single blog post since Monday. I was (and still am) busy with those wholesale orders I mentioned earlier. Good that people like my stuff, of course but how come so many place their orders at the same time?! Also, I have one custom jewelry request waiting, I hope to find a moment tomorrow to think about that...

Today we had a sunny day up here and I took a chance to take few pictures of these earrings. I also listed few pairs in my Etsy, will continue soon. I have to say white color pair was difficult to photograph, maybe better use darker background next time.

I hope your weekend is not as busy as mine!
ps. I found this new cute online magazine (for children & anyone who wants to read it!)

Monday Moodboard

mini clutch by retrospettive
elf hat by vaisto
baltic sea glass by alatsupplies
sahara earrings by ioulia

Hello friends! How was your weekend? I relaxed at home as usual, enjoyed time by the fireplace, sew a bit (I'm actually quite busy with local wholesale orders at the moment), baked bread rolls, had lovely homemade meals and spent little time in garden too (as the snow melted away I could continue with raking leaves!).

If it's chilly where you live these earth toned picks in my moodboard might warm you up. I wish a creative week to all of you!

More moodboards at Greet's...

My Creative Space

First of all; sorry about somewhat dark & blurry pictures this time. The light hours are so few right now!

I'm about to complete one of my wholesale orders and the earrings will be send away in their peronalized giftboxes. I will give the final touch to the boxes by adding 'Karuski' stamp on them. Yesterday I was looking for a perfect paper punch in craft stores in Helsinki. I desperately long for one so I could make my own tags for Karuski items (until today I have used some die cuts and my business cards but I want to find a new stable solution for this purpose). Unfortunately I didn't find the one I was looking for so I need to keep on searching. Today I came across with some very nice tag ideas which inspired me even more with my own project. Please see them on Fleurfatale's aka Greet's blog!

And more creative spaces at Kootoyoo's place...

Flickr Favorites

1. moss colored field journal, 2. A geada, 3. Horses in a snowstorm, 4. Untitled

Winter is here, can't deny it and it will be several long months until we see lovely green moss again. Somehow I miss those sunny autumn days and walks in the woods. If we only got lots of snow it would be great as the snow really makes everything look so much brighter and beautiful. Right now we have plus celsius degrees so the snow we got last week has mostly melted away. I hope it will change soon. However, the winters are no longer the same as they used to be, probably due to the climate change. But I'm still happy we have four seasons here!

More flickr favorites on Mitsy's place...

Monday Moodboard

pdf pattern for crocheted hairclip by mariannes
brass filigree and fabric earrings by vadjutka
wool wrapped bangles by mysticfibers
crochet flower choker by thebroochboutique

It's a little bit foggy Monday, there's still some snow on the ground. A gray day wont let me down today, I got few lovely emails this morning which cheered me up! First, I had won a lovely buntle of lace from pikkuZAKKA's giveaway. Second, I had won a gift certificate worth 45$ to Bebe & Alice's store. This was from a giveaway on ClothPaperStiches' blog. I feel too lucky now. Go, read the article about fantastic Heather of Bebe & Alice, she's just so great.

Also, I want to thank all my latest customers who left me some praising Etsy feedback. You are all so wonderful!

More moodboards on Greet's blog...

My Creative Space

I'm making small thank you cards for my Etsy customers. I always like to include a small personal note along the order. I think it's a nice and polite way to show I really care for them.

So I cut, draw and stamp, cut, draw and stamp, cut draw and stamp. Many times! And soon I have a whole bunch of sweet cards waiting for being sent away. Then, I would like to take a nap by the fireplace, just like my lilla katten Ula.

More creative spaces are linked on Kootoyoo's place...

New Work !

Last week I got the idea of new purses, I talked about it in my creative space post on Thursday... So here they are now, made from recycled and upcycled linens, embellished with dahlia pin backs, fully lined and reinforced for body and structure. I will start listing them in my Etsy soon, probably on Wednesday evening. I'm pretty happy with this project of mine so far!

How do you like them?