Last year I was busy painting pencil boxes and practicing block printing. I started this little project, called Kuutamopaja. In Kuutamopaja, I share my craft projects for others to see in Instagram and Facebook.

I really haven't had that much time to paint and do block printing for a month or so, but I thought I could share my own personal favs here, of my last years doings.

Kuutamopaja means Moon Workshop. As a mom, there's not much time to do crafting on day time, but when the night comes and children are sleeping, this owl starts working! :D

I finally got some inspiration to renovate our old Ikea wardrobe. I used gift wrapping paper to add some color to it and I'm quite happy to the result!

- - -

Tässä vielä suomeksi pieni selonteko, miten sain siistin lopputuloksen decoupage-menetelmällä tuunattuihin vaatekaapin oviin. :) Valitettavasti en ottanut kuvia, olisi ollut helpompaa havainnollistaa!

Tarvikkeeni olivat:

• Lahjapapereita (koko 50cm x 70cm)
• Sisälakkaa
• Iso pensseli
• Hiomapaperia
• Mittausvälineet
• Kirurginveitsi
• Pari pesusientä ja vesikippo
• Suojamuovia

2. Mittasin oven päällystettävän pinnan ja leikkasin papereista hieman isommat palat niin, että reunoille tulee ylimääräistä. Koska ovet ovat melko pitkät, niin minulla meni kolme lahjapaperiarkkia / ovi. Kokeilin ennen liimaamista, että kuvio toistuu oikein.

3. Paperit olivat vähän tavallista lahjapaperia paksumpaa lajia, joten sivelin ne ensin nurjalta puolelta kostealla sienellä kauttaaltaan, että paperi olisi mukautuvampaa. Tämän jälkeen laitoin oveen lakkaa siihen kohtaan, mihin paperi oli tulossa ja lakkaa myös paperin nurjalle puolelle. Asetin ensin paperin yläreunan paikalleen ja sen jälkeen aloin pyyhkiä kädellä paperia keskeltä reunoja kohti, niin että se kiinnittyy, eikä jää ilmakuplia.

4. Kun paperit olivat paikoillaan ja lakka kuivunut, siistin kirurginveitsellä reunat ja lisäsin neljä kerrosta lakkaa vielä paperin päälle, jotta pinnasta tulee kestävämpi. Voilá!

- - -


Lovely sunlight painting our living room. And my tangled plants. They and I have a lot in common with our messy looks!

I visited a local flea market today. With confusion I approached these expensive Arabia "wall plates" that were just casually hanging on a garage door outside the flea market... and noticed them to be made out of cardboard. :'D

I found this beautiful tablecloth (!) and the plates that you can see here. Hopefully I will find more of these plates, for there's only two of them and I need six!


And then there's this. Now I know, that we are entering some kind of weird grey area of vintage goods, but even in the risk of looking like a dumb dumb, I admit that I bought this... with two euros. I feel some odd connection with this rusty, old and dented little tin. I like the colors, the typography and that it is so rustic. What I should do with this tin? I don't know. Do I absolutely love it? Yes. Like they say "another man's trash is another man's treasure"!

Maybe I will start keeping my keys in there or something!

Time to start putting together some of the figures that i have been sketching for the past few weeks and make a textile pattern out of them. I must admit i'm a bit excited!


...and here's another thing that gets me in a good mood. Tulip season! Spring is on it's way!


It's nice to wake up to this, don't you think?

School assignment is a good excuse to use A LOT of time to do something creative and fun!


At this time of year, the nature tends to be quite black and white here. Surprisingly, that colourlessness repeats on my work often too. I love it, there's some very distinct patterns rising to beholders eyes in the wintertime!

I have a treasure chest upstairs, it looks exactly the kind you would think of. Metal hinges and handles, curvy lid... all the Works! My treasure chest isn't filled with gold coins (which is too bad I have to say), but something else that I think as a treasure of one kind. At least for people like us, who love old things! It's filled with letters and all kinds of little stuff. I would like to share some of it with you.

My father is from this little place called Ala-Viirre, which is located up here in Ostrobothnia, Finland. Now if there's a middle of no where, this is it. Just to give you an image, it's in the middle of pinewoods and fields. Houses are so far apart and far from town, that some people get their groceries from a store on wheels. In the old times, my fathers uncles lived there too. They were farmers and they had this big house called Iso-Kauppila (Big Kauppila). That is the place where the chest is from.

One of the brothers moved to America in the early 20th century to make a life there for himself. He wrote to his parents and brothers letters and one of them that i took to my hand yesterday, I noticed to be 100 years old. It was dated 18th of February, 1917. This great uncle of mine clearly wasn't much of a writer, but the letter was so sympathetic and moving.


Here's some of it:

Buhl, Minnesota
February 18th, 1917

Dear parents father and mother and brothers. I'm drawing a few lines to you again and send you greetings to Finland. I shall mention that we are healthy and feel ordinarily well this time. The winter has been particularly cold. We are working hard here at the iron district. I don't know anything else especial to say, i only wish good health to you and the war to end soon and that life would get back to normal and peace on earth that would last. War is hell and a curse, said the great war general of this country.

Hyvää yötä (=good night) (which he kindly translated in brackets, as i'm doing now: Good Pey).
John Kauppila