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Showing posts from July, 2014

Rosy Letter in the Garden

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I got this pretty letter from Hong Kong yesterday. One of the decorations on the letter is a quote from Audrey Hepburn:  "To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow" The weather's been so hot lately, about +30 degrees Celsius and no wind. All the walks with the dog have to be short and lead to the river so he can cool off.  Kukikas kirje Hongkongista ja lenkki joen rannalle koiran kanssa.   

Hop on a Ladder

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Kokeilin istuttaa koristetikkaiden juureen humalaa, koska sitä sattuu esiintymään mökillä paljon luonnonvaraisena. Seuraavalla mökkireissulla näkee viihtyikö kasvi siinä vai ei. Muita mahdollisia köynnöstäviä kasveja tikkaita pitkin kiipeämään olisivat esimerkiksi hiirenvirna, villiviini ja kärhö.  I had a go at planting hops to climb on the decorative ladder since there were a lot of those plants growing at the summer cottage anyway. I'll see later whether they like their new home or not.

Plant Babies

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The warm weather of the last weeks has been good for the plants. I have four little oranges growing - or six if you count the twin oranges as separate ones. For some reason some seeds turn into two oranges instead of one. I also have a Saintpaulia baby (the little leaves in front of the big one). I put the cutting in the pot in March so it took about four or four and a half months for the new plant to appear.   Lämpimien säiden ansiosta pikkuappelsiineja on nyt kuusi kappaletta, joista osa on kaksosia. Myös maaliskuussa istuttamastani St. Paulian pistokkaasta on nyt kasvanut uusi yksilö (pienet lehdet isomman lehden edessä). 

Mail from Singapore

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I got this cute letter from my Singaporean penpal last week. Enclosed was also a holiday card from her trip to Nepal.   Sain kirjeen Singaporesta reilu viikko sitten. Mukana oli myös kortti Nepalin matkalta.

Decorative Ladder | Koristetikkaat

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I made a decorative ladder at the summer cottage. Crooked, thin (but thick enough for the nails not to break them) tree trunks for the sides and smaller branches for the steps. I might still tie them with string. The main point of this ladder is to grow some climber plant on them.  Tein koristetikapuut mökillä vanhoista, ohuista puunrungoista ja oksista. Sahasin sopivat palat ja naulasin askelmat kiinni. Askelmat voisi lisäksi sitoa luonnonnarulla. Aion käyttää tikkaita jonkin köynnöskasvin tukena. 

Leivonmäen kansallispuisto | Leivonmäki National Park

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We visited Leivonmäki National Park in Central Finland on Midsummer Day during a summer cottage weekend trip. During a couple of hours we saw only a small part of the park: a narrow and high esker, a sand beach and a swamp lake. Kuvia juhannuspäivältä Leivonmäen kansallispuistosta . Teimme lenkin Selänpohjasta Lintuniemen ohi Joutsniemeen ja takaisin osittain suolammen vieristä pitkospuureittiä ja osittain samaa reittiä, jota tulimmekin.  Lintuniemi. Joutsniemen kapean ja korkean harjun molemmin puolin näkyy järveä. Hiekkarantaa Joutsniemen kohdalla. Suolampi.

Candy Wrapper Crafts Ideas | Karkkipaperiaskartelua

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  Finally a free weekend and nice weather outside - and then I get ill. But it's ok, I stayed inside learning about and doing candy wrapper crafts.There are different things you can do with candy wrappers but I wanted to try plaiting a little basket or a bag. I'm not finished yet but I've gotten a bit further than in the photos. The wrappers I'm using are ones I've saved from past Christmases, for example. There are written instructions with photos such as these: Candy wrapper bags Candy wrapper purse But I found it easiest to follow this video tutorial (it wasn't made using candy wrappers but the idea is the same, you just may have to fold the wrappers one extra time compared to the video): Candy wrapper tote bag video tutorial by Viktor Tapok: One of the other ideas are candy wrapper beads which I want to try as well. Ensimmäinen vapaa viikonloppu pitkään aikaan ja vielä upea sää - ja sitten saan flunssan. Ulkona olemisen sijaan etsisk

Painted Stones | Summer DIY

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I painted some rocks at the summer cottage to be used as decorations (or they could be used as weights for different things). My inspiration were white lace stencil stones like these: Pitsikuvioidut kivet but I didn't have any lace. I sketched some doily and nature inspired patterns but they were easier sketched than painted. In the end, I preferred using leaves as stencils. This is a very simple summer decoration DIY: Find nicely shaped stones.  Wash them.  Paint them with acrylics either freehand or using leaves as templates (place the leaf on the stone, hold it in place and paint over it). Kuvioidut kivet : Etsi kauniin muotoisia kiviä.  Pese kivet. Maalaa kivet akryyliväreillä vapaalla kädellä tai käyttäen lehtiä sapluunoina. Halusin maalata kivistä pitsimäisen näköisiä, kuten täällä: Pitsikuvioidut kivet , mutta koska pitsiä ei ollut saatavilla, käytin pihlajan, koivun ja saniaisen lehtiä kuvioiden tekemiseen.