A Happy Sunday

I don't know how this week passed so fast again. On Friday I was living in Thursday, couldn't believe the weekend was about to start. On Saturday I did practically nothing but grocery shopping and cooked with H. Ok, I made a brooch, photographed my new handbag and got it listed in my shop but that's all, really.

Today we had such a beautiful sunny day here. I went to wander in the forest right by our house and found a bowful of chanterelles from there, it was a joyful discovery as their season is ending soon! There were still some blueberries too, I ate handfuls and picked a couple of branches to bring home.

We also walked to the lake near our home, it's one of our favorite places around here. The forest is so lovely, it's in a natural state and is very rich in flora and fauna (especially in birds). We saw a skull of some animal there but couldn't recognise it. It was bigger than cat's but the teeth wasn't sharp. And the lake was full of birds again, I could only recognise the swans but there were hundreds of birds and of several species, waiting for their long journey towards south to begin. The beautiful weather and walks in the woods really made my day. I wish every Sunday was like this one!

I love the scenery that opens up from a birdwatching tower by the lake

A stream had a green weed coat on it, there was some magic in that place

This tiny mushroom looked so cute but these are better left alone

Chanterelles fried in butter tasted so good (kitten was interested in them too!)

She wanted to see the branches of blueberries I placed in a vase. She's nosy!

Summer Memories

It looks like the summer is almost over here. Even though we're still having quite sunny days (between those rainy ones!) I can feel a bit of autumn in the air already. Last weekend I took a look at my fabrics and found some nice autumnal colors so for sure those will end up in my purses soon (actually I already started with those and the first ones will find their way to a little shop here in Finland as soon as I get them finished). But I also saw those floral prints I bought from a flea market this summer and couldn't resist making a few new clutches out of those. They will remind of lovely summer days all year around and what could be sweeter when the cold wind is blowing hard?! I also went through some of my summer photos and wanted to share a few with you as their color schemes seem to go nicely together with my new work.

Those two clutches above are now listed in my Etsy shoppe!

Weekend Deal

This weekend I'm offering -15 % off on everything in Karuski shop!

Browse around my shop, put your favorite item in the shopping cart, make the payment and I will refund you through PayPal. Simple as that! This offer is valid from Friday morning till Sunday evening.

If you are located in Finland you can choose to pay via bank transfer. Please contact me first so I will give you instructions before hand.

--> Suomalaiset asiakkaat voivat halutessaan maksaa myös pankkisiirrolla. Ota ensin yhteyttä minuun niin annan maksuohjeet. Kampanja on voimassa tämän viikonlopun perjantaista sunnuntaihin.

Wishing a happy weekend to all of you!

Flickr Favorites

1. Untitled, 2. clocks, 3. My kitchen shelf, 4. bracelet

Last two weeks I didn't have a chance to put together my Flickr favorites but here they come again. I got an invitation to a new group: granny chic... formed by Emma. I immediately felt inspired and loved browsing around pictures posted in there. I think there's a bit of autumn in the air already. Warm mustard, grape purple and chocolate brown look so nice to me after a light, breezy summer. I might be adding some earthly tones to my own designs soon as well. In fact I find autumn one of my very favorite seasons, can't wait to see trees changing colors and air turning fresh and chilly. Also, autumn has always been a start for something new to me. This year I'm looking forward to signing up for ceramics class again.

To find even more inspirational mosaics, hop over here!

Something New!

Hi friends,
Last week was such a busy one because of Lasipalatsi Design Markets. This week I tried to take it easy, I thought I would deserve few days break. It was so nice to make all relaxing stuff: baking, meeting a friend I hadn't seen since last December, visiting a small flea market for the first time, seeing interesting textile exhibitions at Design Museum in Helsinki, thinking of upcoming Christmas season (yes, it will come sooner than we expect!) etc. Besides all chilling around I made a small custom order and prepared some new bangles inspired by those I sold at the craft show.

I'm happy to tell you that there are new items on their way to my Etsy shop this weekend: bangles and clutches (made from vintage materials as usual). New earrings will follow soon after weekend too. I feel the shop has been a bit neglected just lately. It feels good to make a shop update now.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Good Luck Continues

Last week I received an email from Devi of Glasfaden. She did let me know I had won something from a guessing game she held on her blog just a little ago. I was terribly busy preparing for my craft show and didn't even have time to check her blog back then. But this Monday I got a parcel from her and what did she send me?! The sweetest necklace she had made. I love the way Devi had given a deep thought all the way making this piece. Not only the necklace is beautiful but the display as well. So when I'm not wearing this "dreamcather" I will have it as a wall decoration. And the message "fly, hope" it sends is much appreciated too. Isn't it wonderful? I hope she will make similar pieces to her shop too. I'm sure many would love to purchase a wearable dreamcatcher as a sweet gift for oneself or a loved one.

Thank you Devi!

From My Craft Show

Many of you know that I participated at a craft show Lasipalatsi Design Markets this week. It started on Wednesday and ended on Saturday evening. All I can say is that it was a great happening with lots of folk, lovely weather, like minded participants and nice sales too. I met many new labels I liked a lot along all time favorites such as Zukale & Huoviala (couldn't resist buying new mustard color stockings with birdie and owl print from them!). I do hope this event will take place next summer again, so many customers liked what they saw now.

Here's a little bit about my preparings I didn't have time to blog about before the show, maybe you get inspired of my experience. Even though this wasn't my first craft show it was the first one with my own table and one which lasted longer than two days.

I tried to think carefully how to make my booth look as much karuski as possible. I collected lacy fabrics to cover my table. I made jewelry displays by painting photo frames white I had found from a flea market, sanded them and added pieces of hand crocheted lace under the glass. For my dangling earrings I prepared another photo frame with a piece of laced table cloth but without the protective glass so that the earrings could be hang on the surface of the cloth. Another nice jewelry display came out of a apple tree branch which I placed into a big glass jar filled with sand and few rocks. As an experiment I painted a couple of vintage metal trays with a blackboard paint and lettered my label name with chalk on them. H helped by drilling the holes on one of the trays so I could hang it on a wall behind my table. The wall I covered with vintage wallpaper I found from a sales basket at our paint shop. Paper tags I had ordered from a friendly Etsy seller AsPleasedAsPunch. New visit cards I had designed to match my recently refreshed site and ordered them locally. I had made some totally new designs for this show and I was happily surprised how many of these ones were liked the most and sold out quite fast. If I only had known this in advance I could have been better prepared with more supplies. All in all I'm satisfied how everything turned out!

Ooh, and I almost forgot this: I met Kajsa of Syko and Anne of Garbagebag as they came to visit my booth. It was such fun to have a little chat with other Finnish Etsians, not to forget my friend Minna of Vietto who had a table next to me!

Sunday Love

I wish I could lay on the sofa as my kitten does! But I'm terribly busy making things for my upcoming craft show. It starts next Wednesday and lasts until Saturday, this is the longest one I have ever attended so it adds a bit of stresss I have to admit.

A couple of days ago I baked rhubarb muffins. I have lost track on how many rhubarb pies I have made this summer so I decided to give a try for muffins for a change (you might have noticed that I have an excess of rhubarb). Muffins turned out pretty good! If you want to try them, you can follow my blueberry muffin recipe I posted here. Just replace blueberries with rhubarb, add a teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon of grounded cardamom. I think I used a bit more flour on these (something like 3 dl) and added even 1/2 dl milk. I never write my recipes down so these are estimates but I don't think my experiments never failed tremendously so you should be safe too. Oh, and once you serve them you can add either whipped cream or vanilla sauce on top of them (dairy products neutralize the oxalic acid in rhubarb).

Have a lovely Sunday!