July Happiness

Heinäkuussa olemme pitäneet lomaa
ja H on ollut kotona minun ja Eekan kanssa
Hän on tehnyt kovasti remonttihommia
Paljon on vielä työn alla, mutta asiat edistyvät mukavasti

Eeka täytti viime viikolla puoli vuotta
hän oppii uusia asioita koko ajan ja voi hyvin
Tietysti meidän arjessa on myös haasteita
Vauvan kanssa eläminen opettaa ja ohjaa meitä joka päivä

Sää on ollut kovin vaihtelevaa
ja viime aikoina on satanut paljon
Eilen illalla päätin tehdä juustokakun
ahomansikat ovat meidän takapihan satoa
Kakku maistuu oikein mainiolta!







--

We've been enjoying our vacation now in July
which means H is at home with me and Eeka
H has been doing lots of home renovation projects
many are still going on but things are proceeding pretty well

Eeka turned 6 months last week
He's learning new things all the time and doing great
of course our daily life involves challenges, too
Life with a baby teaches and guides us every day

The weather has been changing
and lately we've got a lot of rain here
Last night I baked a cheese cake
Wild strawberries are from our backyard
The cake tastes just delicious!

xx
minna

Happy Things

Hei!

Ystävä tuli eilen käymään ja toi kaksi kaunista pionia,
yhden minulle ja toisen Eekalle. Ihana ajatus!
Tänään tein pienen kirpparikierroksen ja kävin myös järjestämässä
omaa pöytääni Karisman itsepalvelukirppiksellä jonne olen vienyt
paljon Eekalle pieneksi jääneitä vaatteita.
Toivottavasti moni niistä löytää uuden omistajan.
Viime aikoina ei ole tullut itse leivottua,
mutta kaupan mokkapala ja kuppi kahvia maistui sekin hyvälle.
Ja huomenna tulee meille myös kavereita kylään, se on piristävää.

Aurinkoista viikonloppua!

ps. Eeka täytti tällä viikolla 5 kk

Hello!

A friend visited yesterday and brought two pionies,
one for me and one for Eeka. How thoughtful!
Today I went to a few local flea markets.
I do have a table booked on one place
where I sell clothes that don't fit Eeka any longer.
I haven't been baking lately
but a sweet piece from a store with a cuppa tasted good.
And tomorrow we'll get new visitors which is very nice.
Sunny weekend to everyone!

ps. Eeka turned 5 months this week

xx minna

New, Pretty Things

Hello!

I've been tinkering with some sweet new things here
fabric scrap covered button magnets,
chalkboard magnets with a ribbon (or without, too),
bambi pouches + other small pouches (no pictures of those yet).

What a great opportunity to try out some fun things
as we now have the Kimara summer shop open for August

Soon I need to get busy with a three days crafty event
I'll attend with these Kimara ladies
it's called The Culture 2011 Tall Ships Regatta
and takes place 26. – 28.8. in Turku

There hasn't really been chances for shop updates on Etsy yet,
hopefully this can happen somewhere later in August.

If you want to see pictures of Kimara shop
have a look at my Flickr and our FB page.

Have a happy week!


xx
minna

kimaraCRAFTS pop up shop

Hi dear friends,

I know it's been a while since I posted here
July was partly vacation and partly working month for me.
I guess as a one woman business you can never fully rest, ha.

A lot of things have proceeded and the news is:
We've opened a pop up shop for a month of August in Helsinki!

This is an experimental project with four other crafty ladies
and we have worked hard to make it look like us
We even named our collaboration "kimaraCRAFTS"
It's not only about this shop but we'll be attending
craft shows and other happenings together here and there.
Fun & exciting!

If you're in Helsinki in August make sure to pay a visit
We have furnished a sea container with Scandinavian style
and we're located in Hernesaari
where the sea meets the concrete in an appealing way
Read more about us here
and here is our Facebook for the most recent news.

Pictures I took just on our first day on Monday are below.
The opening party will be this Wed from 12 – 8 pm. Welcome! Tervetuloa!

Local Flea Finds

Hello, hello!

Today I visited a few flea markets
I didn't have any expectations
that's usually the best approach, I've noticed
but I found lots of lovelies!
Vintage lamps and lamp shades
large suitcase, rag rug, fabrics
glass bowl, hand crocheted table cloth

I'm planning a *fun* one month event
with 4 of my crafty friends.
It will take place in August so
cannot reveal everything just yet.
These flea finds will play a big role in our project.
It's exciting times!

Besides these sweet repurposed finds it's been
a beautiful summer day here
I had a lunch in the garden
toast and natural yoghurt with strawberries & grapes
refreshing sparkling water in a glass
couldn't ask for more, really.

I hope you're enjoying sunny days as well!


xx
minna

Monday Moodboard

Happy Monday,

The Midsummer weekend was great!
Even the weather turned out fine and
we didn't get any rain here in South.
We stayed at home
which was totally nice
We'll travel to the summer cabin
somewhere around July for sure.

I'm predicting my blog & shop will get
a little quiet in July.
I try to have some break
but it will actually be rather busy
behind the scenes because there's
one interesting project coming up in August
More about that in a bit!

earrings by pergamondo
pillow cover by earthly
fine art photography by shabbyphotographer
necklace by psarokokalo

More moodboards over staroftheeast...
Have a lovely week!


xx
minna

Flickr Favorites/Midsummer

Hello friends!

This week we'll be celebrating the Midsummer
It means many will travel to countryside
to enjoy the silence and bonfires by the lake
This is the time when the sun wont set
it's the light nights celebration.
Unfortunately the weather forecast
isn't very promising, it will be
rather rainy this year.
Usually we travel to my
parents' summer cabin but
now we might postpone our trip to July.

via miguelvirkkunencarvalho

via idhren

via wili_hybrid

via /kallu

I've been sewing new button pouches but
I'm not sure if I get them photographed until next week.
We will see...

More Flickr Favorites over Mitsy's blog...

xx
minna

Summer Cooking

Welcome Monday!

After a super hot weekend it's raining today
I'm pretty happy and the nature must love this too.
On Saturday I wanted to try something alternative
to regular cooking
For me hot meals on hot days aren't
the most desired choice so
I decided to make a layered sandwich cake instead

You might know these cold cakes are
pretty popular in Scandinavia
they are often offered at spring and summer parties
but it's just fine to make one any day
for yourself and your family!

My cake was a vegetarian one but fish and shrimps are popular fillings
Some prefer several layers, I had two on mine
I didn't follow any recipe but here is one to check out
Improvising is always accepted
For example I wanted to avoid mayonnaise
and used plain yogurt mixed with fresh cheese (such as Philadelphia)
My fillings had diced tomatoes with basil and
spring onions with parsley + grated cucumber
These cakes taste the best on the following day...

Have a happy week!


xx
minna

Happy Weekend

Happy Saturday!

Hot days are still here but soon
we will be getting thunderstorms.
Today I photographed
a whole bunch of bambi pouches *happy*
I'm spending this weekend with cats
H is taking a weekend trip to a music festival.
On hot days cooking is hard for me so
I'm eating fruits and my favorite snack
is unsweetened plain yoghurt with sliced pears
ps. basil & pineapple sage add a lovely flavor to them

I hope to get to a flea market this weekend
would be fun to score something
perhaps some pretty fabrics?!

How about your weekend?


xx
minna

Flickr Favorites/Garden Party

Hello lovelies,

It seems the heat wave has hit us
it's incredibly hot which makes me
want to make fresh drinks
such as cold lemonade
I've been eating lots of fruits
they are delicious on hot days
oh, and the roses started to bloom, too

via mallory beth

via michelle/une-deux senses

via sma_kee

via sweet scarlet designs

For more Flickr Favorites, go visit Mitsy's blog...
Thanks Mitsy for choosing my suggestion "Garden Party"
for this month's theme!

Wishing you a beautiful day!


xx
minna

Happy Sunday / Giveaway Winner

Hello Sunday,

The weekend has been just great
warm and relaxing
I've been reading
and planting the runner beans to the ground
I didn't wash the windows upstairs
but I baked a meringue cake

And I did draw the winner for my giveaway:
There were 26 participants and the lucky winner
was number 11: Evelyn
I have contacted her via email

For the cake, I made meringue with
2 egg whites + 1,5 dl sugar + 1 teaspoon white vinegar
filling is whipped cream with a bit of sugar, vanilla and lemon juice
I sliced 1/2 pear and a few strawberries, too
would serve 4-5 persons
super easy and tasty

I hope you had a wonderful weekend!


xx
minna

My Creative Space

Hi there!

Today we're having a public holiday in Finland
I've been doing things such as:
taking a riding class
editing photographs
blogging
cooking barbecue
*yeah*

Thanks again for everyone who took my survey and joined my giveaway
I'll draw the winner this weekend
will announce the winner soon!

More creative spaces at kootoyoo's...


xx
minna

Monday Moodboard

After a rainy and rather chilly weekend
the sun is back *smile*
On the weekend I visited
an organic herbal garden & a gardening fair
I purchased vanilla basil
and pineapple sage
those herbs are new to me

1. porcelain ring by laccentnou
2. vintage coffee mill by lapomme
3. antique botanical prient by slinkymalinkicat
4. polymer clay necklace by pergamondo

Now off to gardening tasks before the rain comes back
Have a great and sunny week!

More Monday Moodboards over Star Of The East...


xx
minna

Flickr Favorites

It's a windy but sunny here today
weather is constantly changing
but no matter what
I'm in summer feelings
and I associate color red with summer season
cherry red, strawberry red, red roses...
here is what I found from my Flickr contacts today

via gretchenmist

via memmu

via mespoulettes

via birribe

What are the colors you connect to summer season?

More Flickr favorites over ArtMind...
Have a happy day!


xx
minna

In a Heatwave

It's been extremely hot July all over Europe. What's your favorite activity this summer?

Here're some things I've enjoyed...
- spent time outdoors and enjoyed the warmth and sun in small doses
- made ice tea with brewed green tea, lemon and fresh mint
- cooked light meals including my favorite salads
- took care of plants and blooms in the garden
- checked a pond nearby for swimming
- continued my riding classes




We are preparing for a trekking trip in Lapland. It is the most northern part of Finland we'll be heading soon so it will be much cooler than here in south. Of course carrying one week food supplies and tools including a tent, sleeping bags and mattresses for two will put some weight on our backpacks. But still, I'm really excited!

I'm closing Karuski's Etsy shop (including the supply shoppe) on Thursday and will re-open it again once I'm back on track, somewhere late July. I hope you are enjoying your summer, on a vacation or working. See you soon!

Scandinavian Summer

Green fields
Light nights
Lovely wild blooms
Walk on smooth rocks

Midsummer is less than a week away. As always, I'm looking forward to it.
Hoping for a nice weather, we have planned a long weekend at a summer cottage.






I took these pictures two summers ago on a small island, one of those southernmost spots in Finland. But it is beautiful all over the country now! How is your summer going?