STILL LIFE SERIES 3

GARDEN FLOWERS IN JULY

This year summer has surprised us. It begun in May and flowers have been blooming quite early and rapidly. In spring I decided to try grow anemones, because they are one of my favorites. I did it as I could and I am so happy I have few blooming at the moment. White, blue and fuchia. 

I gathered flowers from our garden this evening. I also borrowed few from our upstairs neighbour's flower bed. I just wish summer would stay longer with us and these flowers too. The vase is from my mom's home and I remember it from my childhood. I remember huge garden with strawberries, different kind of berries like red currant, apple and plum trees with lines of carrots, peas and potatoes. Lots of flowers. I remember I said that I never will have a garden because it is so huge work! We use to help our mom with garden - she paid us a little money for it. But never say never - now I have a garden and I love it.

xoxo

Kreetta

STILL LIFE SERIES 2

GARDEN FLOWERS IN JUNE

I'm totally in love with these beauties. The scents, the way they look, how they show their nature. I planted a lot of anemones in spring and finally I have one blooming and you can find it from this arrangement. So happy about it. This is second post of my summer still life series. I will make flower arrangements from the flowers and plants in our garden. 

On Wednesday I will travel to Gotland. My dream comes true and I will take part in Dietlind Wolf's workshop. I love her work. She is THE stylist I've been following and I just can't wait to meet her and be her student. This is something I have waited for so long. If you don't know her work, please go and see it - right now ;) 

I will be posting IG pics from the workshop. You will find me @kreettakreetta

Have a lovely week! 

xoxo 

Kreetta

STILL LIFE SERIES 1

GARDEN FLOWERS IN MAY

Flowers are in my heart more deeply. 

I love all the things they are and what they give to us. Yesterday when I walked in our garden and smelled the scent of lilacs I felt I need to photograph all these beauties before they are gone. This is how I decided to make my summer series: still life series. 

Have a lovely beginning of the week!

xo

Kreetta

HANAMI HOT DOG

WELCOME TO OUR GARDEN

I love this our tradition. Hanami Hot Dogs. We started 2014 so it's not so old tradition at all but I can already see how we will make these hot dogs year after year every spring when cherry and plum trees are blooming. My husband made them today - that makes it perfect :) Maybe it's my turn next year. We had gluten free bread, tasty wiener, chili mayonnaise, fresh cucumber salad and coriander, red onion, salad from our own garden, mustard and coleslaw to go with hot dogs. 

It's now. Important thing to remember. All the beutiful spring flowers are around us and I already miss them. I know, I should not think so but still can't avoid it. But year after year I enjoy them even more. I'm happy with the day we are living - not the day we are waiting to come.

I will save some flowers for later use. I will freeze some of these beauties in ice cubes. They will be waiting for a hot sunny summer day and then we will use them in cooling drinks. 

Have a lovely week, I hope the sun and warmth will stay with us! 

xo

Kreetta 

ps. Here you can find our Hanami Hot Dog from the year 2014.

MOSAIC TABLE DIY

MAKE A FACELIFT TO AN OLD GARDEN TABLE

This is a good way to reuse your old garden table or redesign other surface. Last year we promised to our neighbour that we will make a facelift to their old garden table. (It only took one year!) I like the idea of using things what you already have and if you can give a new life to old and used - it's even better. Story continues.

First of all you need the mosaic material that can be old random tiles. Maybe there are some tiles left from your kitchen or toilet renovation. Maybe you have found couple nice ones in flea market or recycling center. Remember that you get a better result and easier project if the tiles are same thickness. You can also use broken china. But they are often a bit convex so you have to play with that issue too but it's not impossible. It just takes a bit more time. I have made a flower pot and vase decoration with broken old china and ceramic plates. But now we make a beautiful mosaic table. Remember it doesn't have to be perfect. It's ok to have a bit handmade look because that's what it is.

Here's a list what you need

1. tiles/broken china

2. hammer

3. old newspaper/cloth

4. glue that works indoor/outdoor

5. glowes

6. grout indoor/outdoor

7. tools to mix the grout, spread the grout, wipe the excess grout, clean the tiles from grout

How to do it?

First it is good to plan a bit what kind of design you want to make. Maybe draw some sketches. When you break the tiles you get different kind of shapes so keep that in mind when designing your table top. If you want to make very precise patterns - it will be a challenge with this technique. But of course you can do it!

1. Clean the surface.

2. Break tiles/plates etc. with hammer under the paper or cloth that you don't get any small pieces in your eyes. I enjoyed a lot of breaking the tiles. It's crazy, I know haha!

3. Start to make your design on the table. I took iPhone pics to make more clearer what kind of design I'm getting because somehow it is much easier to see how it really looks in the pic.

4. Glue the pieces on the surface. Let it dry for 24 hours or less depends on your glue. It's worth to find out what kind of glue you need if you use your table outside.  

5. Mix your grout. Read the instruction on the package how to do it. Usually it's mixed with clean water. I think a good thickness was then when the grout was like thick nut spread. Spread the grout on the tiles. Fill the gabs and edges. Remember the grout dries quite fast so maybe it's easier to start with smaller areas until the whole table top is done. Clean the excess of grout. Let it dry. Remember to clean the tile pieces before the grout is too dry. It's much easier to clean after few hours than next day. 

I had so big gabs between the tiles so I needed quite a lot of grout. I used about 1,5 kg.When choosing the grout's color remember that it is part of the design. You can make a big difference with it. 
 


Done.  

Ready to drink your coffee in the garden? I am. I photographed these photos by iPhone. Amazing what you can do with it.  
xo
Kreetta

ps. This project waited us for over one year so take your time...planning can take few months ;) but of course it is easier to make this kind of project outside. You can easily make one during the weekend. If you have any questions about this - just ask! There are also a lot of How to do mosaic in Pinterest if you need to see step by step version.

Delicious Food - Summer Trout

I love photographing food. These photos are taken last summer.

Flower Garland Workshop

In our daily life it is very fashionable to say that I've been soooo busy. I don't want to say it but this time - I have to say it. So many things have been going on lately and so many wonderful things!

In The Beautiful Garden

Hello hello! How are you? We made a one week trip to our relatives and friends and we had so much fun. Weather has also been very warm - this doesn't happen so often in our country. Most of the summer it has been too cold and now some say it's been too warm, haha. 

Gluten Free Strawberry Cake

Who wouldn't love strawberries? 

I totally do and I'm so happy I had time to make this cake today full of strawberries. Once again I find myself baking on the day when I should be packing for summer trip and planning my business...

Well, we already got some strawberries in freezer - hooray for that! Blueberries are next on the list...

One thing more, this cake is gluten free and dairy free. I used potato starch in baking and used soya cream in filling and of course made some meringue with almond and pecan topping. Voilà...now we can eat it, yay! 

Tomorrow we are going to celebrate our dear lovely friend by going to Pori Jazz together to see Pet Shop Boys and it's not a sin to eat a half of the cake tonight, nope sure not...Have a lovely summer weekend!

xo

Kreetta

Precious Wild Flowers

Today I have time to make my precious wild flower post as I promised you. I have to say that we collected them in the last minute because next day they were gone from the field. They were cut down - like every year.

Dinner in the Garden

Today we decided to go with mexican food. In the summer the best thing at home is to have a dinner in the garden. You get an extra room for whole summer. Of course we wanted to have an extra cool dinner because we have a guest - our godchild.

Nothing wins homemade salsa. 

Something from the shop too...

Coriander makes a very good twist to guacamole, have you tried?
 

Dinner was lovely. It's a good start to fine weekend. Now we are listening Thriller and buying tickets to movie called American Hustle. I hope it's good. Have you seen it? Did you like it?

Have a lovely weekend!

xo
Kreetta
 

Do you like raku, herbs or gardening?

The weekend has been busy - again. Raku glazing in Friday. Saturday I tried to find a dress and did find.  Ah, I was so happy. I never find anything when there is a must in sentence...haha. 

Sunday evening. Gardening. First harvest. Oregano. Going to dry these and cherish tomato sauce with oregano in the winter time. People who has a garden knows how time flies and you just forget everything else. That's good I think...but time runs always out and there's always something to do.

Finally I get to raku ware. We started today at 10 am and finished about 5 pm. A lot of wonderful work of different kind of people and different art by people. This one is my vase or pen holder depends on a day... Raku ware aren't watertight so I guess later one will be the right purpose.

Have you ever tried raku?

It is so nice to shoot in the evening too because here we have a lot of light - finally!

Have a lovely week!

 

xo

Kreetta

The First Summer Day

Finally it came. The first summer day. We celebrated it with grilling of course and eating ice cream. I was also at Raku workshop yesterday, made some small bowls and other things. It was so relaxing once again with clay. 

This morning I decided that I have to clean up a little bit this our chaos. You can see a bit of it in my fb.

My little seeds are also growing in my DIY greenhouse. You can see it in my instagram. 

I wish you sunny and creative Sunday! I will have one more cup of coffee and try to get inspired by cleaning. It's hard I admit, haha.

xo

Kreetta

The Best Christmas Recipe Ever

Enjoy and relax.

I wish you a very merry Christmas! I hope you enjoy with your family and have beautiful moments. I also want to remember people who now stays with us in our hearts and memories. Let's light a candle for them too.

I also want to thank You very much for coming over and for reading my blog. I sure have been very happy when you have left a comment for me or liked my blog in fb or followed me in Pinterest. 

The year 2014 is just behind the corner. What shall I do - what plans I have? Some I say. New things. New ideas. Do you have wishes for me? I hope I can offer even more enjoyable moments for you in the year 2014!

Merry Christmas and Beautiful New Year 2014! 


xoxo
Kreetta

ps. I photographed dried sage - grown in our own garden.

Slow living - A snail mail card to your friend or family?

Nowadays we hear things about our friends and family through different kind of social media. You also know a lot of things about people you hardly know through social media or you meet new great people with same interests through social media and that can be also a beginning to great friendship. 

But somehow I miss so much old-fashioned letters and cards. Do you?  They are more intimate.

I've been thinking that I could make a series of cards from my pics in my blog. What do you think? Which pic would work for you and when you would send it? Could it also work as a small art piece somewhere at your workspace? It would be great to hear if you have time go through my blog and choose one or two and leave a comment here or in fb. 

Tip about my blog posts - you can find vintage related here, art related here or inspiration related here. But you can also just scroll through quite easily. Have fun and very beautiful Sunday!

xo
Kreetta

Lucky Lazy Gardener

That's me. I should be working in the garden but I have to admit that I like staying on our cosy sofa...totally slow living at the moment. Lazy woman. Few weeks ago I brought our chili in. Actually I think they aren't chili at all if we are talking about the taste. It's more bell pepperish. 

Even you don't do anything you still have to eat, don't you? We decided to make filled bell peppers. We cooked lentils and made hummus and filled peppers with this combination. They were about 10-15 minutes in oven and ready to eat with fresh salad. Easy lunch or dinner and I just love hummus and there are so many ways to make it.

Does it sound good?

xo

Kreetta

Hello Autumn!

Hello hello!

How are you? I've been a little bit busy with my work and a little bit lazy with my blogging. There have been new things to learn and new timetable to hold on. I have to admit that work takes a huge piece of my creativity.

In our little garden we've been harvesting as you can see from the photos. I have still some work left there like herbs should be collected and dried. I also should dry tomato seeds to be used next year.

We have beautiful and very colored trees at the moment so I hope I can make a post about those gorgeous ones. It's getting also colder so one really have to start to make a new woolly hat. I've made also another test with natural dye - avocado - with help of India Flint's tips and got much more color from those fruits. I'll blog about it in near future. I have also few DIY ideas growing up in my brain, haha. So as you see - I like to tell you of so many great things! But time is limited.

And if you are wondering what is the last picture, I can tell you that it is roots of tomato. Those roots made my day by bringing me a lot of beautiful red tomatoes, so thank you goes for them!

How is your life at the moment? New things - old favorites?

I hope you have a beautiful weekend!

xo

Kreetta

Slow living - good food for everyone vol. 2

It is sometimes hard to decide what to eat. Expecially when you are travelling and trying to find a good restaurant a little bit too late - when you are already too hungry. You find yourself eating just something. Been there done that. But talking seriously, it is nowadays also a little bit difficult to decide where and what kind of food I should buy and why. There are so many point of views to consider. How to make a right decision? 

I guess you just have to start from somewhere. I've tried to remember few things when I go to grocery store. First of all I try to keep my shopping list seasonal. I don't try to buy strawberries in the middle of the winter. We have picked up our strawberries in summer - we have them in freezer for our winter mornings. But you know also freezing has it problems. It takes a lot of energy. So what is the final truth of this? Do you know? 

I also try to buy local food as much as I can find. In summer time it is much easier. You can grow your own vegetables. We don't have so much time or space to grow everything...but this summer I chose to grow salads. That is one thing I'm very happy about. But you do as you feel and you are comfortable with. I know not everybody like gardening or don't have place to grow. Then the market is great place to buy vegetables and fruits from local producers.

There is also lot to eat in our nature. Wild edibles have been coming to our kithens and even to fine dining restaurants. If you haven't tried foraging yet, I recommend. I blogged about it about year ago. Last year I also wrote another post about nettle.

The newest foraging experience is from beginning of June. I was in food photography workshop in Sweden. It was Aran Goyoaga's workshop and it was suberb! There we had beautiful days with good food and great people. One day we went to foraging with Ola Rudin from Saltimporten restaurant.

Ok, let's get back to garden. I bought a chili plant in spring and it is producing wonderfully. I'm also growing tomatoes and waiting them to turn red. It's not perfect - you know - this gardening of mine. Everything doesn't go like I have planned like tomatoes...they grow too slow...but still I really hope that they produce me new good seeds this year. But one thing is for sure. Every year you learn something new about gardening by doing it.

Respecting nature with right choises concerning about food is something I really hope we could all do. It's not so clear always what is right and what is wrong but you can always ask a friend or try to find the answer from internet or even read a book about it. Have to admit that I and maybe you too feel this question about food overwhelming time to time. But you know what? I think the good start is to learn more step by step and try to make a good habit of it.  What do you think? 

We had a great party at our house this weekend and if you haven't already seen, go here and see my party look! It was a fun evening!


And now I wish you a great beginning of the week!

xo
Kreetta

Party Party - Summer Summer

Summer is the best time to celebrate different kind of things. I've been in few parties already and there are more to come and in between them a summer trip and then again party party. Can I complain? No. Do I enjoy myself? Yes. I hope you have also great time where ever you are and when ever you have your holiday. I'll go offline for the rest of the July.

But there might still be some updates in the facebook on my blog page. I like you to go and visit there. Or go to see how I'm doing in Pinterest. If you have time. I also would be so so happy if you can like my Gretchen Gretchen blog page in facebook...but only if you do. 

If you have some ideas or thoughts about my blog what you like the most please tell me...because in autumn I will make some decisions about the content of my blog. Thank you for your precious feedback!  I'm really really happy that you read my blog. I'm making and writing things that are close to my heart but it is always lovely to hear your point of views too. Have a wonderful summer days and see you!

xoxo

Kreetta

Garden party DIY

Hello my reader - how are you? Yesterday I made a post even though it's not my "blogging" day but as I have promised one Photography Concept and Styling in month...I hope you have time to check out the photo essee of my word recollection.

Today I give you a garden hint. In my little garden I have had problems with snails and birds. My 3 strawberry plants has produced some but birds has eaten them all. I have seen people using reflecting cd's above strawberries so as you see I made a little bit more stylish version of it. There's no proof that it works but doesn't it look so cute! It's fun decoration for garden also. Do you have great or fun ideas to decorate the garden? I like to hear if you do!

All you need is

* string

* wooden sticks

* 2 nails and hammer or just pins

* x-mas lametta

I guess you can see how it's done from the picture. You can also make differently this is only a starting point. Have a happy week!

xo

Kreetta