Mini Journaling with Moodiversary and Art Marks Summer Challenges

Hi! Today I'd like to share with you couple of fun summer challenges that I can recommend for anyone who feels inspired to art/journal but maybe has just a few minutes for it daily, which was often the case for me this summer!



DeeDee Catron and Jenn Engle's Moodiversary uses the same mood board for the whole month, but there is a new link-up for prizes every week. My link is to Week 3, which will expire within a day, but you'll find Week 4 in DeeDee's blog when the time comes.

The delicious Moodiversary Board is here and the reason for the challenge is to celebrate the first year of DeeDee and Jenn's monthly inspiration posts called Mixed Media Moods. So the inspiration will continue after this month, on their blogs and YouTube channels.



I was inspired by the organic forms of the skeleton leaves and the tree on the bottom row, and the door one row up. Plus all the colours of the challenge, but particularly the yellow paint shade, Pollen, and Royal Fuchsia and Desert Turquoise.



Rae Missigman's Art Marks - A 30 Day Summer Challenge has a prompt word for each day, and the challenge encourages you to only use a set time, say 5-10 minutes, to "make your marks" each day. You can find the prompts list at Rae's blog.

I've been catching up with the prompts in no particular order - maybe some prompts felt more ready than others to emerge from the different backgrounds of each side in my mini book, actually!

Here's Day 9, Free Form:



Day 20, Scratched:



Day 16, Mirrored. This is not in the same 3 1/2x3 1/2 inches mini album as the others. I wanted to experiment with a slightly larger format so this is another junk journal, about 6x8 in size.



What could suit the Mirrored prompt better than this good old way of printing on both sides of a spread/folded paper, that many have surely have done as kids! I added some pencil and carbon on the one side of the spread to make my butterfly not completely mirrored, to reflect the idea that a mirror does not show everything there is.

Day 17 prompt of Dripped is the last for today!



I made my mini album specifically with these quick challenges in mind. It is an accordion book and the page size is 3 1/2 inches. I'll be back another day to show more of how it looked in the beginning, what different papers I used for backgrounds, and so on!

On the pages next to Free Form, you can see that some background papers are more finished than others, and I may want to keep them as they are. But more about that later.



And the covers, oh, they are such a fun idea even if I say so myself. The size of 3 1/2 inches might ring a bell to folks around my age or older, that is, those of us who already used a computer before the year 2000. Let's see if anyone can guess what I used.

Thank you for popping in and commenting, as always!

Smell the Sea and Feel the Sky: Layout for Scrap Africa

Happy February everyone!

It's sketch time again at Scrap Africa.



I always love a sketch with hexagon shapes! But if you don't, no problem. You don't have to interpret the sketch as literally as I did. Do check out what the other super inspiring DT members created here!



I wanted to use a previously Gelli printed paper for my background, and was also feeling like using a dark background to go with the dark wooden wall in my photo. So I took a dark gre/brown polka dot paper from an old Basic Grey collection, and gessoed most of it to fade the transition to the Gelli paper.



Machine stitching is a great way to attach a thick paper onto another. I placed it with small pieces of double sided tape first.



And used the stitching as an embellishment as well.



This was my first time trying the acrylic inks from Daler-Rowney that I got a while ago. The colours are very strong so I used some water not to make too dark spots. I would have wanted the blots a bit bigger, but couldn't think of a tool to try it with. I'd love to hear your favourite tools or techniques are for splashing inks and mists!



Adding some bling, flowers and old rub-ons from my stash...



I am also joining the challenges at Challenge YOUrself!, where Anything Goes this month, as long as it includes a photo of YOU. If you're quick you can still join it, as it's open until the 4th of February!

And a new challenge for me, Scrapcraft.ru from my neighboring country, Russia − their cool prompt is to combine corrugated cardboard and lace, up until February the 9th!





The photo is a selfie from our last day in California last June, before returning home to Finland. I am so grateful we got to stay whole two weeks with my sweet relatives. This is from the back yard from their almost-beach house just a few blocks from the ocean.

The title is from the Van Morrison song called Into the Mystic, and it describes so well my feelings at that moment, grateful for the unforgettable trip but knowing I'll miss all the people I met,

and the ocean.

"Smell the sea and feel the sky
Let your soul and spirit fly
into the mystic"

Van Morrison: Into the Mystic

Wonderful Things: Layout for Scrap Africa DT

Hi! It's sketch challenge time again at Scrap Africa, and here's the layout I created.



I love this sketch, with the photos and embellishments clustered in opposite corners.



Finding photos that are suitable to be cut into circles is a fun challenge. There has to be enough empty space on each side of your focal image, so that your focus fits in the center. Don't worry, it's absolutely not expected that you should take the sketches so literally - photos in all shapes are fine!

But I'm enjoying my experiments with photos in different shapes at the moment, whether they be circles, squares or completely something else. I don't think I ever tried cropping triangular photos, but maybe I should!



I was also inspired by the 7 Dots Studio September/October Challenge: Frames. I thought of many different ways to frame the photos, from layering papers to ribbon and microbeads. In the end, I also added heat embossed chipboard corners to frame the whole layout, kind of.





For my layout, I used two patterned papers from the 9th Wave collection from 7 Dots Studio, and alpha stickers from two sets in the All I Ever line.



Do pop in at the Scrap Africa blog and see the gorgeous pieces the DT members and Guest Designers did - and participate in the challenge yourself, of course!



Thanks for your visit and have a nice week!

Skräppää samoista materiaaleista 4/4

Hello, and happy Sunday! Today I'm posting part 4 of 4 in Scrap with the Same Materials, a group project organized by Taru Jehkonen. She invited three of her Finnish scrapbooking colleagues to exchange material kits, and now for this whole month we've been Scrapping with the same Materials!

Here's how we worked: Each of us made four identical kits, kept one and mailed one to each of the others. They were all pretty and so different from what I normally choose, so it's been a really fun challenge! Here are the links to what I made from the previous kits: week 1, week 2, week 3 (my own kit) and below are the links to the other three ladies' blogs!

Taru * * * Maikkis * * * Merkku

Moi! Tänään on vuorossa neljäs Skräppää samoista materiaaleista -rinkiin tekemistäni leiskoista. Viimeisenä pääsi työstettäväksi Merkun paketti, joka näytti tältä:


Kuva/photo by Taru Jehkonen

Tarun koolle kutsumalla neljän naisen porukalla kokosimme kukin ensin neljä samanlaista tarvikepakettia. Yksi jäi itselle ja kolmelle muulle postitettiin omansa. Näistä on nyt syntynyt neljä leiskaa kultakin tekijältä. Täältä voit kurkata, millaiset sivut tein Tarun, Maikkiksen ja omista kiteistäni. Ja alla olevista linkeistä pääset heidän blogeihinsa ihailemaan jokaisen rinkiläisen tuotoksia!

Taru * * * Maikkis * * * Merkku

Tällainen leiska mulla syntyi tällä kertaa!



Kaipasin hempeän sävyiseen pakettiin vähän lisäväriä ja päätin maalata koristeet neonkeltaisella, joka sopi tuohon otsikoksi keksimääni Happy together -tarraan. Nauhoja olisi ollut kiva ommella ompelukoneellakin, mutta se ei vaan mahtunut askartelupöydälleni tällä viikolla. Onneksi olin vihdoin ja viimein löytänyt niittejä tuohon mininitojaan, sillä tuli myös kivaa jälkeä.



Niitteihin liittyy sellainen hauska tarina, että olin etsinyt niitä koko kesän, muun muassa Yhdysvaltojen reissullamme useasta paikkaa, mukaan lukien jopa Los Angelesin esikaupungin jätti-Michaelsista ja ties mistä.

Vihdoin oikeankokoisia mininiittejä löytyi, usko tai älä, kun pistäydyimme mökiltä päiväretkellä Taalintehtaalla, kaupasta nimeltä Wahlsten, joka on aika pikkuinen vaikka kutsuu itseään tavarataloksi. Kesälomalla tekee kyllä niin hyviä löytöjä askarteluihin, muualtakin kuin varsinaisista askartelukaupoista!



Puukoristeisiin ihastuin kovasti tämän Skräppää samoista materiaaleista -vaihdon myötä. Niitä en ollut tullut juuri käyttäneeksi aiemmin, mutta nyt täytyy saada niitä lisää! Etenkin tykkään tuosta Hello -tekstikuplasta, joten täytyypi ottaa selvää, mistä niitä saa.



Oletko sinä koskaan kokeillut vaihdella tarvikkeita askarteluystävien kanssa? Se on kyllä hauskaa, suosittelen!

What about you, have you ever tried to swap materials with your crafting friends? I really recommend it, it's a lot of fun to get to try different products than what you yourself typically like to buy! Sharing can also save you a bit when many packages have more than you need.





Hyvää sunnuntain jatkoa ja tervetuloa taas parin päivän päästä uuden Scrap Africa -haasteen pariin!

Bye for now, and hopefully see you again in a couple of days for the mid-month Scrap Africa Challenge!

Little House Mixed Media Cards

Hello! Here are a couple of Christmas cards that are very easy to do even in the last minute.



I wanted to experiment with white finger paint, because I might want to use it for teaching workshops where also children can participate. I was happy to see that it looks fairly opaque, which means it covers even a dark background easily. Some other brands of finger paint I've tried before have been too watery or transparent.

Squeeze Punches by Fiskars are easy for kids to use and they usually love them! Here I've used the Scalloped Heart one.



These cards were made with the following challenges in mind:

In Berry71bleu's Winter Chill Mood Board, I was inspired by the colour palette of white with some blues, browns and a pop of red, and also the Fair Isle knits.



At Paperdvizhnik, the theme is My New Year or Christmas Time. Note that you can join until January the 12th!



And last but not least, the Mixed Media Card Challenge had the theme of Home this month, with Lace as an optional element.



There's still time to join all of these challenges. That or any other craft that inspires you. Enjoy your weekend!

Vintage Winter Wonderland Arches

Hello to you all, and happy Monday! I love the Gothic Arch shape and I also think it's fun to make cards in a different format every now and then. Today and tomorrow I'm posting two different sets of wintery Gothic Arches.

The images are from napkins decoupaged on mixed media background. I added some almost invisible vellum snowflakes and structure paste for snow effect on the borders, and gave the finishing touch with red Stickles and some tartan patterned ribbon. The size of these is 4x6 inches, as in postcards, but with the arch shape.





I'm linking to the following challenges:
Take a Word (Winter)
The Three Muses (Vintage Gothic Arch) and
P*skarteluhaaste #257 (Vellum) *en osallistu arvontaan!



Last weekend I got to enjoy the most beautiful snowy scenery, visiting my cousin just two hours north of metropolitan Helsinki, where I live. Here by the sea it's plain ugly, dark, wet and windy at the moment, but I'm confident there'll be a turn to better winter weather once we have passed Christmas. Or the sooner the better, of course!

Mixed Media Hearts for Design Memory Craft Challenge

Happy Valentine's Day again, with one more project! This is for the Valentine's Day themed challenge at Design Memory Craft. As usually, all kinds of projects are allowed in this challenge, and I wanted to make a three-dimensional one for a change. I had these pre-made cardboard hearts to decorate, and started by painting over the kraft coloured figures with several layers of white gesso.



Välillä on hauskaa tehdä jotain kolmiulotteista, ja ajattelin, että voisihan ystävänpäivää vartenkin olla oma pieni koristeensa. Design Memory Craftin haasteet ovat avoimia kaiken sorttisille projekteille, ja päätin osallistua ystävänpäiväaiheiseen haasteeseen tekemällä koristeen valmiista pahvipohjasydämistä. Maalasin ne ensin pariin kertaan gessolla peittääkseni ruskean taustavärin.

This was the first time I tried a Stamper's Big Brush Pen for the exact purpose of stamping, and it worked out really well. The pattern did not print perfectly, though, because of the uneven surface, but I don't mind that in a background .

I coloured the corners with Art Grip Aquarelle pencils and gave one heart a bit more of a pink shade. I took some used postage stamps with flowers, mounted them on small pieces of black dot patterned paper and used a piece of washi tape behind the images.



Big Brush -tussit on tarkoitettu myös leimailukäyttöön, ja kokeilin niitä nyt ensi kertaa siihen. Hyvin toimii! Kuviota ei tullut tasaisesti kaikkialle, koska sydämen reunat ovat hieman kohollaan, mutta minua ei pieni epätasaisuus taustassa haittaa ollenkaan.

Väritin Art Grip -vesivärikynillä reunat ja toista sydäntä vähän keskeltäkin. Vesisäiliösivellin on tosi kätevä vesivärikynän jäljen levittämiseen; sitä käyttäessä ei tarvitse erillistä sivellintä ja vesiastiaa.

The hearts had brown strings too short to hang them like I wanted to, so I attached a longer black ribbon by sewing some stitches and using some Tacky Glue to make sure it sticks. Finally I glued a small red crystal bead to cover the ends of the ribbon.



Sydänten keskelle löytyi kuviksi pari kukka-aiheista postimerkkiä, joiden taustalle laitoin palaset pilkullista mustanruskeaa paperia ja pätkän washiteippiä. Alkuperäiset ripustusnauhat olivat liian lyhyet, joten lisäsin mustan ripustusnauhan muutamalla pistolla alkuperäiseen ripustimeen ommellen, ja varmuuden vuoksi kiinnitin vielä nauhan päät tujakalla Tacky Glue -liimalla. Lopuksi peitin nauhan päät punaisella kristallihelmellä. Ja näin ovikoriste on valmis!

Et voilá, here's the decoration ready to hang on the door!

Chunkies Again: Little Black Hen, Paris and a Ballerina

Good morning! I made some chunky 4x4 pages again. These are for a Pick-a-Theme Swap, meaning the recipients chose the themes. It's fun to make cards for this kind of swaps because you get to try themes you wouldn't have thought of otherwise. My partners asked for Chicken, Ballerina and Paris.

The images of Chicken and Ballerina are from Graphics Fairy. In the Paris page, the image is in the background, cut from a Vintage Paris calendar. The flowers are cut from napkins and collaged with beeswax on top.



Huomenta! Tein taas muutaman chunky-sivun. Pieni musta kananen, ballerina ja Pariisi -sivut menevät vaihtoon, jossa vastaanottajat ovat valinneet aiheet. Tällaisiin on hauska osallistua, sillä tulee laajennettua aihepiiriä siitä, mitä itselle olisi juolahtanut mieleen!

Kanan ja ballerinan kuvat ovat ilmaiseksi tulostettavissa Graphics Fairyn sivuilta. Pariisi-sivun pääkuva on taustapaperissa. Se on kalenterista, jossa on 1950-luvun näkymiä Pariisista. Kukat on leikattu serveteistä ja liitetty päälle sulatetulla mehiläisvahalla. Tuo kiehtova tapa käyttää servettejä on kuvailtu tarkemmin täällä.





Have a nice Sunday! // Hyvää sunnuntaipäivää kaikille!

Black & White Chunky Pages

Here are some more chunky 4x4 pages created for a swap at ATCs for All, with the charming theme of Black and White!

The images in the first two cards are stamped and heat embossed on collaged backgrounds. The vintage lady's face stamp is from Viva Las VegaStamps and the dress stamp is from Hot Off the Press.





Tein taas näitä chunky-sivuja vaihtoon ATCs for All -sivustolla. Chunky-sivuista kerron tarkemmin aiemmassa postauksessa täällä! Aiheena oli tällä kertaa kiehtova mustavalkoinen.

Kahden ensimmäisen kortin kuvat on leimattu kohojauheilla kollaasitaustoille. Naiset kasvot on tehty Viva Las VegaStampsin leimasimella , mekkoleimasin on Hot Off the Pressin.

The vintage garden urn is a free printable image from the lovely Graphics Fairy. I really recommend checking out her great selection if you are ever in need of vintage clipart!



Vanhan puutarharuukun kuva on Graphics Fairylta, jolla on mahtava valikoima vanhoja kuvia kollaasintekijöille! Niitä saa tulostaa maksutta omaan käyttöön. Kannattaa käydä kurkkaamassa, jos tykkäät tehdä kollaaseja!

Allt om Scrap Recycling Sunday: Sunflower Field Layout

Scrapbooking may not always be an economical hobby, but there are actually lots of ways to incorporate recycled items in your layout. This Sunday's theme at Allt om Scrap is Recycling, and you're welcome to check the team's tips on having fun with second hand stuff!



Skräppäystä pidetään usein tyyriinä harrastuksena, mutta toisaalta skräppäys on myös mainio tapa käyttää kierrätettyä materiaalia. Säästäminen ja vihreys ovat yksinäänkin riittäviä syitä, mutta moni tykkää myös luovasta ja persoonallisesta jäljestä, jonka kierrättämällä saa. Allt om Scrap -lehden kierrätyssunnuntaissa tiimi esittelee tänä monta kivaa tapaa kotoa löytyvän roinan käyttöön!

My main recycled element were the puzzle pieces I used for the title of the layout. I gessoed them with two layers, then sandpapered a bit and painted them with very light yellow. I then stamped some sunflowers with Distress Ink in Mustard Seed colour. The title means The Sunflower Field in English. I chose a Swedish title this time, being in a Swedish Design Team and also because it's the second language in my family.



Pääasiallinen kierrätystarvikkeeni olivat otsikossa käytetyt palapelin palat. Maalasin niihin pari kerrosta gessoa, siloitin pikkaisen hiekkapaperilla ja maalasin hyvin vaalealla keltaisella. Leimasin auringonkukkia Distress Inkin sävyllä Mustard Seed, ja lopuksi piirsin kirjaimet.

Tein tällä kertaa otsikon ruotsiksi, joka on Allt om Scrapin tiimin kieli mutta myös toinen kieli perheessäni. Solrosängen on suomeksi Auringonkukkapelto, ja tämä kiva kohde kotimme lähellä Espoossa on tullut jokasyksyiseksi pistäytymispaikaksi. Viljelijä ilahduttaa monia, sillä kukkakimpun saa poimia mukaan kotiin hyvin vaatimatonta korvausta vastaan!



In my odd bits and pieces box I also found some ribbon, a button and embroidering yarn to use as embellishments. In the very beginning of this layout, I have also recycled soda can clips and am entering this layout in the Scrap for Help challenge with this theme. Can you see where they are? That´s right, I used them as masks for spraying the green and brown mist in the background. Have a nice Sunday!

Sopivat koristeet löytyivät nappi- ja nauhalaatikon kätköistä, ja kierrätystavaraa käytin myös ihan ensi töikseni kun tätä sivua aloitin. Scrap for Help-haasteessa kuukauden kierrätystarvike oli juomatölkin avausnipsut, ja käytin niitä taustan kuvion luomiseen vihreillä ja ruskeilla misteillä. Mukavaa sunnuntain jatkoa!