Sunday, December 21, 2014

Green X-mas - Confetti DIY

DIY confetti - Green X-mas photo by Kreetta Järvenpää www.gretchengretchen.com

Oh white X-mas where are you? We totally miss you. I decided to make my own colorful snowfall. Are you still wondering what to give for X-mas gifts...here comes a great tip for you then! DIY confetti with plants.

DIY confetti - Green X-mas photo by Kreetta Järvenpää www.gretchengretchen.com
Snow is white...I know but I could decide what color my confetti snowfall is, haha. All you need is a basic office hole buncher. That's it. I usually make quite easy DIYs but I guess it can't get any easier than this anymore. But simple ideas are the best ones and many times we think too complicated. I needed a bit X-mas decoration for my succulents and other green plants that I was planning to give as a X-mas gift. They needed a bit little extra something to be adorable X-mas present. So confetti made my day.

DIY confetti - Green X-mas photo by Kreetta Järvenpää www.gretchengretchen.com

DIY confetti - Green X-mas photo by Kreetta Järvenpää www.gretchengretchen.com
DIY confetti - Green X-mas photo by Kreetta Järvenpää www.gretchengretchen.com



DIY confetti - Green X-mas photo by Kreetta Järvenpää www.gretchengretchen.com

Of course there have to be a wow moment or at least a moment of a joy when opening a gift. That's why I made a small white paper bag, put confetti snow in the bag and used the beautiful thin twine to tie it. 

DIY confetti - Green X-mas photo by Kreetta Järvenpää www.gretchengretchen.com
The gift receivers can decide what they want to do with it. It can be sprinkled on plants or not. I guess they are pretty enough without any confetti at all...but I think confetti makes the gift a little bit more special and precious. What do you think?

DIY confetti - Green X-mas photo by Kreetta Järvenpää www.gretchengretchen.com

You can give more than one plant and build your decorated arrangement of green plants on the tray. Use some pretty paper on the tray and maybe even add different kind of things like flag garland. I used disposable Chinese chopsticks as a flag holders. A bit washi tape and some writing and that's it.

DIY confetti - Green X-mas photo by Kreetta Järvenpää www.gretchengretchen.com
Now everything is ready and it's time to make wrapping. As you noticed I love to use materials that are recycled or can be recycled. So go and find some nice paper from your boxes, magazine piles, kitchen cupboards what ever you can find as a nice wrapping paper. Use your imagination! I think it's so nice to get a very original and  gift made in personal way.

This is it. The last post before X-mas. If you are still thinking what should I buy for beloved ones - try green plants. These succulents, Tilladsias are very easy because they don't need so much care or watering. They are very stylish too and can bring joy the whole year around - not only on X-mas.

I wish you very Merry X-mas my friend! Have a peaceful and cosy time with your family and friends!

xo
Kreetta

ps. Here you can find another Christmas DIY I made last year. It's a paper flower. A simple decoration for your home for X-mas.

Saturday, December 13, 2014

Pick your favorite X-mas DIY by Anu Harkki

Anu Harkki photo by Kreetta Järvenpää for Huili magazine www.gretchengretchen.com

Today I will take you to the home of Anu Harkki. She is full of ideas and talent so you will find out few good ecological gift ideas and wrapping tips. I also photographed her animal family. She has horses, sheeps, dogs, cats, chickens, rooster and of course so adorable mini pig Bruno. Well, I don't know how mini he really is...haha. I photographed this story to Finnish ecological lifestyle magazine Huili but here you can see something that you didn't see in the magazine, so come along!

Anu Harkki photo by Kreetta Järvenpää for Huili magazine www.gretchengretchen.com

To me the best thing in X-mas is the time befre it. Why? I love the feeling of excited waiting. I use to buy a lot of things and planned my presents well but nowadays I don't do it so much any more. I think we have already too much things at our homes. When I buy something it have to be something that can be used or enjoyed or something that the person have hoped for and I prefere handmade and design by talented people. I try to avoid random somethings for X-mas present. That is not my thing anymore. Ok, two thing is what I can't resist. Vintage and handmade. 

Let's get back to DIYs. I will show you first candle present by Anu.

Anu Harkki photo by Kreetta Järvenpää for Huili magazine www.gretchengretchen.com
She has used the original box of candles - without package plastic - and made it pretty with washitape. Then she used thin natural colored silk paper and some cotton string, brown cardboard and old key with crystal. Voilá. Looks quite nice, doesn't it! And everybody use candles. 

Sunday, December 7, 2014

Flower LOVE

Cabbage flower photo by Kreetta Järvenpää by iPhone www.gretchengretchen.com

Good Sunday! Lazy morning. Lazy day. This is a bit "dagen efter" for whole Finland because yesterday we had Finland's Independence Day.  That is the day when everybody is watching the Linnanjuhlat from television. It is the Presidential Independence Day reception. It's THE big party in Presidential Palace, approximately 2000 invited guests. Everybody would like to be there even at once...so have to do something that President of the Republic of Finland Sauli Niinistö will invite us there, haha. But being honest it's fun to watch how people have dressed up for the party and of course there are many opinions about the dresses...

Cabbage flower photo by Kreetta Järvenpää by iPhone www.gretchengretchen.com
We had also planned to travel to visit our friends and celebrate but sad to say I got weird stomach flu so we missed the party. I had also planned that I will make a blog post about the flowers I bought quite cheap price this week but because I got sick I can only show you these pics taken by iPhone for Instagram by VSCO cam.

flowers photo by Kreetta Järvenpää by iPhone www.gretchengretchen.com
I think it's unbelievable what you can do with your phone nowadays. Of course you can see the grain but this time of the year we don't have so much light so it means grain. But I don't care about it. I think it makes pics even more real and grain has always been one part of the photography.

I have promised many things lately to make and show you here in blog but I have had quite a lot work - which is very good for starting businesswoman ;) I had planned that I have my web shop open before X-mas but...we'll see. I think I'm going to take a nap now.

Have a great Sunday and enjoy waiting for X-mas!

xo
Kreetta
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