Cristmas feeling in our house.. even that it is soon starting to be all over..

I LOVE CHRISTMAS.
I think it is starting to be clear already at this point.
I must admit that it is more of a love of atmosphere than really Christian Christmas.
I like cooking Christmas dinner.. but... I am, like my closest people know: Big lover of celebration, since life it self is something we should celebrate everyday.

Here is couple of photos to show you our Christmas elegance.

I love our fireplace..

View to my favorite place

Finally got my kitchen sorted!

Library got a reading chair..

Even coldest winter days are fine here!

Traditional Finnish Christmas elf.

What do you really need to feel Christmas?

Siiri is waiting to see Santa!

I hope you enjoyed even a little.
I loved putting house all wintery and Christmassy!

I must write one receipe for you all to try.
It is again, my grandmothers one, and I tried it first time of my life, and it was perfect!
It is very traditional Finnish Fish: Gravlax!

I have also started to get my self organized with my other hand crafts. So must show you what I have done.. but, now my pillow is calling me. I am too tiered to write more.
My deepest apologies that I have not wrote much lately.
Our little house has been like bommed.. we got tons of boxes full of everything you can , and can not imagine from Finland.. same weekend I got sick, I bought Piano, and we had quests. It was crazy.. But no one, I will be good girl and give you something to read.

Be good!

Finally our housing in Helsinki is empty.. and I have time to write again.

After a great effort we had in Helsinki, my head seems to be totally empty.. I am just waiting something big, like great idea or receipe to eventually appear so that I can share it with you all. 
I have have already (surprisingly) great Christmas ideas but, would like to be little less predictable and give you mind blowing hand craft idea... Just a little patience ( like one of my teen age years favourite band was singing) and we are about to do something fun!
So many ideas, but there is always some part that is on it´s way to London in a moving truck.. and will be here hopefully around 10th so that I have time to spread all my Christmas decorations from former years. 
It is snowing in London, everything looks very atmospheric like in Christmas... almost like in Dickens Christmas stories.. Just like in a picture below.

Royal Wedding announced!

I have been all very Christmas spirited, but I could not help my self but to get exited about big news..
I am so happy about Prince William and Kate getting married.. they are such a sweet hearts.
I have decided to celebrate big day, 29th April 2011 with my friends, and for sure, we need real royal touch for our elegance.. What could be more importent than a crown,  tiara, or diadem, if we want to be sophisticated.  I have run a thoughts and ideas in my head, how to make a cool looking Jewelry meaning crowns etc, from cheapish materials. and this is what I came up..
You need lace, starch, gold paint, fake diamonds or other decorative items you will glue to your crown.

Royal Crown made from lace

You can use any lace you want, I don´t recommend cutting your laces that grandmother maybe inheritaged for you.. fleemarkets are full of old laces or you can just buy new one. I think best lace is not too thin, and fine, so that finish actually could look real. This is similar to what I would use..

Measure size of your head, and cut slightly bigger piece of lace so that you can sew it to circle, to a shape of a crown.
Then,  I would use starch to harden my crown a little so that it stays in right shape. Remember your head is not round.. try what is fitting best for you. This is easier to do with starch than Craft Lacquer, because if you need to try it on, to see that shape is right, you can not do it with Lacquer, but with Starch you can..
When crown is dry, I will paint it with cold paint, you can use also silver if you wish.

I would like to get similar Crown what Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden used when she got married so I use gold.

You may need to paint everything in couple of times to get best result.
This is how they look after golden touch!

Now only thing I need to do is decorate. They are actually so pretty that if you feel lazy you don´t need to decorate them at all.. But I love glitter and glamor so I will add these kind of things that I found from one hand&Craft shop some years a go. I have also old plastic pearl necklace that I will put in to peaces and use single pearls to make my Crown look more authentic.

With this technique you can do anything really, if you add little red stones, and peace of red velvet in to middle it is very similar to real Crown Jewels.. I love it. 

So here is my final result! How do you like it? 

Just joking, this is original, Mine is on it´s way and I will finish it during Christmas holiday and post you photos to show how authentic I could make it look!!!

This is also great Christmas gift for a little girl , 

or bigger one, who dreams of Royal Wedding selebration 29th april 2011. 

With this same tchnique you are able to make great huge "golden" necklaces, 

bracelets, rings, what ever you wish, that is why I love it so much.

All you need really is gold paint, ribbons, 

and lace, and fake diamonds (I really mean plastic ones). 

Even making honour badge is not difficult!

Here is couple of pictures to inspire you!

Snowing in Helsinki, time to have a hot drink!

Hello all of you!
I must apologize that I have had a little pause on writing..
We are due to go to Helsinki, to pack a way our apartment there, and it has been really time consuming to arrange everything.
It will be interesting task since fresh photo from our hoods showed to me that there is real snowstorm going on, and weather forecast says that even more snow is coming.
I wonder what kind of a winter is going to be all and all, when it starts like this, already in November..
Last winter was above anything I have seen before, according official sources, it was coldest winter in 130 years in Finland!
I am happy I wont be there this year, and I really hope it is going to be easier winter here this year than it was last year..
To warm up all of you, here is delicious receipe for you to make Glögi, like we love it in Finland, and I am  sure you will too, after first taste!



Try and enjoy!

Glögi is popular Christmas time drink throughout Finland, it is hot, spiced wine, perfect for cold winter evenings. Just follow this easy Glögg recipe to make your own great-tasting spiced wine. Variations are optional and add great personalized taste to your own "Glögi"!

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 bottle of red wine
• 0.5 Liter inexpensive brandy or vodka
• 10 cardamom pods
• 1 cinnamon stick (broken down)
• 1/2 orange peel (dried or fresh)
• 1/2 lbs sugar (regular or lumps)
• Optional additions: 5 cloves, 1/2 cup raisins, 1/2 cup almonds, 5 dried figs

Preparation:

Heat the wine and brandy spices, fruit, and nuts in a pot (and any optional additions you might like.)Be careful not to boil the mixture; just let it simmer for about 45 minutes.
Then, strain through a cloth to remove all additions.
Serve your Glögi hot, over lumped sugar (or with regular granulated sugar).
Optional: You can also serve the Glögi with raisons or almonds, that is traditional way of serving it!
If you'd like the drink to be stronger, use more brandy.
This Glögi recipe makes approx 1.5 Liter

 Here is another Receipe, it is stronger, and I have made it so that it is used more like snaps.


Christmas vodka
is a winter tradition in Scandinavian countries. It is commonly made with vodka,
It can be served chilled or warmed.
Serves: 8
Ingredients:

• 1 bottle (700ml) Vodka
• 2 tbspn sugar
• 2 sticks of cinnamon
• 12 whole cloves
• 12 whole cardamon seeds
• 1 orange

Method:

1. Gently crush the cinnamon, cloves and cardamon to release the flavor.
2. Put the sugar and spices into the vodka bottle.
3. Cork the bottle and leave for at least 2 days.
4. Wash an orange and slice a long strip of peel.
5. Put this strip of peel into the bottle and leave for a further 24 hours.
6. Strain and discard spices and peel.
7. Serve chilled. (best if taken straight from freezer, icy cold) 

Try on, I hope you enjoy results!! I do, every year...

I feel like Knitting..

I have always hated knitting, really, My Grandmother knitted my knits for school, secretly, and when I had to do it on front of my teacher, my school crafts number dropped from 9 to 5 ( 4 was worst).
I think big part of me, hating knitting so much was also fact that I hated selection or yarn they had. All was synthetic, and colours where ugly.
I tried to convince my teacher to give me permission to by my own yarn, but she was not very exited about my idea, and I had to take what was given. My hands where sweating from synthetic yarn, loops where so tight that needles just griped, and I never gotta finish my baby jacked that we where forced to knit on sixth grade. I simply hated it, teacher was not very supportive, if I made mistake she land all tight loops that I slowly had done in couple of hours, even that she could have explain to me what I did wrong and helped me to fix it.  Anyway.. it took over 20 years to get back to knitting.
Again, my grandmother.. She ones said to me: as long as I live, I  can knit for you, because I know how much you hate that, and I know you can do other things, but when I die you must learn how to do it. I had no options but walk in to one of those knit stores in Helsinki last summer, and buy my first ever own needles, and lovely green woolen yarn. I must admit I felt strange, and exited. I kept my promise, one I gave to Mamma.
I could knit if I wanted or leave it, if I wanted.  I had option to do what I wanted. It kind of gave me freedom to do what ever I wanted. Girl in Knit shop was really supportive and great, she gave me very good advices, and I went home to get more of them from Internet. I of course did not have any idea how to do and what, or how to even start.
In the end, I managed to knit real shirt to my dog, it was good start, I was sitting in a car, my dear Arto was driving to Savonlinna ( we had great holiday in lake area, summer 2010 was hotter than ever in my life time) and I was knitting like maniac.
When I was finished, I was really proud of my self, Grandmother, Mamma would be proud of me too. If someone, she knew how terrible suffer it was for me, Knitting in crafts lessons in school..
I bought new yarn, bright pink Italian wool, and started a new shirt for Siiri.
That one I knitted while I was in master course in Italy, others singing, and when I did not sing, I was knitting.. I find it very calming, and I think it is easier to listen , when my hands are doing something.
Now I understand Mamma ( My grandmother) Who could sit, listen radio and knit, gentle smile on her face. She would now say: I told you so, if I could say to her that I love knitting! 
This is what I feel like doing next!

I must say, from the experiment, that we should not underestimate impact that has with right colors, and materials.. even for children, and specially for children.
It is funny what kind of things I personally find great and fun to do, things that I hated over anything when I was a child... like skiing, Knitting, etc. and now I love them.

Ayone with great knitting patterns, I need some!!

Fireplace works, and paper doilies are already in one of our windows!

Just short posting, wanted to share couple of photos, I am sorry, I seem to have never ending joy from paper doilies and our fireplace.. I do love them.

Our little House!

Window decoration brings wintery feeling!

I love light that comes from fire.

Perfect place to sit and relax

Farm life in London!

My new friend took me for a nice walk, Thank you Alan!
We visited farm, just near where we live, I loved it.
In one square kilometer size area, we have rive Thames, shopping possibilties, skyscrapers, as well as farm! Me, country girl forever went totally nuts over there like little kid!
Look how it was!  I really find it relaxing that we have this kind of oasis near by.

Mr.Lama and he´s Urban neighborhood!

Couple..

Very masculine Rooster with he´s Hens.

I like Turkey only on my plate...

Coat is somehow really friendly animal, I like them.

This was friendly fellow.

Can you believe, only 20min from central London..

Siiri loved free space and running!

Siiri is happy little Poodle!

 



City Farm London Mudchute Park and Farm Isle of Dogs

Christmas pudding.. how to do it??

This coming Christmas is going to be my first one in England. It will be fun to mix and match Christnas traditions from Finland and England all together. 

I get to use best parts of everything! 

Christmas pudding is something very new to me and I try to find inspiring recipe from somewhere, would not hurt if it would also very traditional. 
This is original recipe from Mr. George Orwell, it was published in Guardian originally, I find it very inspiring!

Like in everything.. there is little dog buried.. or should I rather say Christmas pudding silver charms.

I must take a good look to internets wonders, if I would be able to find something from there.

Tradition with Silver Charms also exists in Finnish culture but in differently. We add the almonds,  to rice porridge which is one of traditional Finnish Christmas foods.  Almond in your porridge gives you good luck! ( My mother was fair to hide several almonds in to our porridge, even then happened so, that sometimes one person found all in ones, then she started to hide them straight to our plates.. ) 

Not that Glamorous than Silver charms, but cheaper.

Here is Victorian Christmas pudding tradition, I love it. 

In Victorian times, small silver charms, wher placed within the Christmas Pudding. 

Each charm fortelling a piece of advice, luck, romance or fortune. 

Traditionally, hese charms were a Boot for travel, bell for a good luck, an wish bone granting a wish, a thimble denoting spinsterhood, a ring for a impending marriage, a horseshoe for a luck and bachelor´s button for a luck. Silver sixpences and threepenny bits were also placed in the pudding, denoting good fortune. Coins continued to be placed in puddings long after the little charms were lost, but after World War II, coins were made from copper and brass alloys which reacted during the cooking process and soon the tradition of charms and coins in Christmas puddings became rare

Inserting the Charms: Take 2m of ribbon, and cut them to 24cm pieces, fold in half over the eye or ring on each charm. Then using a small knife, push the knife a short distance in to the pudding, leaving the ribbon tails on outside of the pudding. The use of ribbon will prevent accidental choking, clearly telling you where the Charms are placed. 

I love to think it as a little Christmas game, because no one really knows what is hiding in pudding, even if you see where that little charm sits.. 

Going Crazy with Jewellery..

I did a little research from jewellery.. specially jewellery for dogs.. did not find much.

Since I love all kind of vintage things, and Jewellery, I tried to think how can I put these two things together.. ( I have done simple Jewellery already since 2003) I also have lot´s of  beads that I have never used, because they some how look too child like to do something very elegant from those.
In result, I ended up fiddling tiny Dog necklaces for Siiri and her friends. I loved it, they where so fun to do, since they where completed faster than regular ones, and I could do anything I like. Dogs do not taking them selves too seriously. Siiri at least seem to love her job as a model! 

Siiri posing like real professional!

Vintage parts, freshwater pearls Crystals, glass beads! 

 

 

 

 

Chim Chim Chimney sweep!

Chim chiminey
Chim chiminey
Chim chim cher-ee!
A sweep is as lucky
As lucky can be 

I love this view it is from our bathroom window.

 Chimneys are really busy at this time of the year..

I can hardly wait to get chimney sweep to sweep our chimneys 

that I can light a fire to our lovely Victorian fireplace.

I have always dreamed to have an open fireplace, 

and now we have it! So, for sure I am exited to use it.

I have never heard thing called smoke free zone.. 

Yep, in restaurants, hospitals, plane, you can not smoke, 

but his means totally different thing.

We need to by smokeless coal that we can use in our fireplace. 

I did not even know it exists. 

I am blessed to have a wide range of options 

when it comes to finding perfect set of coal bucket, 

storage for hot ashes, and of course poker, little shovel,

and what ever I need to take care of fire.

Cheap easy way to do it, is to by new and shiny ones.. 

...but I would love to find vintage ones.

This would be just what I would like to have!

Our little friend Siiri.

I am sure I end up writing about my dog in one point.. so why not to do it now.
I wanted to introduce her to you all. She is called Siiri.

Siiri is miniature poodle. One of the most friendliest dogs you've ever met. I know that I am a bit silly what comes to her needs and life it self.. but she is my cutie and baby. 
She sleeps these days in her own bed, but snuggles in to our bed to say good morning to us. 
She sleeps often lying on her back, revealing her soft pink tummy. Siiri loves water, she would swim and dive (yes your read it right) as long as she could. Last summer I had to carry her away from water, she was totally frozen, but still wanted to swim some more! She likes children very much, as well as other dogs. She has lot´s of friends in Finland, and already some here in London! Siiri is going to have her second birthday soon, 8th of December, we are going to have a dog parties by then!!

Siiri The real Princess

Ready to play! 

Throw it already please, I would love to chase.