Finnabair Ambassador - new team announced!

Hello there and welcome if this is your first visit here! If you are a regular visitor - welcome anyhow! So nice to see you! Yesterday Finnabair announced her new ambassador team and I'm honored to say that I'm still a part of the team. Yay! The line up is really amazing, so if you want to see them all, please visit Finnabair's blog (link) or see my instagram. 

The ambassadors are going to be introduced in a couple of posts so you get to know them all if you don't already do. The introduction is done through five objects or things that represent each ambassador. Something that's inspiring, something that we always go for, something we use to spark our ideas... So if you want to learn my five things, please see below. 

I also want to take this opportunity to tip you about a Finnabair giveaway on Facebook (link)! You still have some time to participate! 

Like I wrote in the Finnabair's blog, this was an interesting assignment! Some of the items were easy, some needed more pondering and like always, limiting to just five caused the biggest problem! I decided to go with my gut feel on this and even though I was tempted to go for mediums and such, I wanted to share somethting that might be more hidden, something that you don't see through the pieces I make. 

The first item shown here above was actually the first item that came to my mind. It doesn't look like much, but it's been a key object in my creating for almost nine years. It's a small photo folder where I store those pictures I want to or am going to scrap. There's always some photos of my girls, my husband and me, just in case I need to do a page about one of us and don't need a specific photo, but also there's the pictures with stories I need to document. Like these pictures, most of the pictures inside the folder are black and white as I then can use any color scheme to the make. 

The second item is connected to many of my projects. I'm much too impatient to let projects air dry and use a heat tool whenever possible. Quickly thinking there's only two mediums I let air dry - Modeling Paste and gel medium.

Whenever I'm doing a assemblage, I try to do it really late in the evening so I can leave it to dry overnight. Otherwise I will be poking the objects in the piece and saying "are you dry yet?" all the time.

The third item is a necklace I did some time ago (link). It represents my love for ravens or crows and also my love for black gesso and trying things. I absolutely love to push my boundaries every now and then, to experiment and try something new.

I also prefer black gesso over the white nowadays as it seems that the black background really makes the colors sing. And I guess I'm a goth of some sort, wearing only black, listening to metal and really appreciating the look of totally black ravens and crows. 

The fourth photo is a detail of an altered painter's palette I did (link). It's here to show my attraction to bibs and bobs and gathered ephemera. The big bird is a Christmas decoration, there's a clock face, bottle caps and plastic juice caps... I currently have two drawers full of items I can alter or add to assemblages. I try to go through them once a year so that the amount of stuff doesn't become overwhelming. I really should make time to do it as the drawers are almost overflowing already!

The picture also shows a clock face which represents the time. I'm a total night owl and would go to bed around 2 or 3 am and sleep until 10 am if that would be possible. Instead I try to be bed around midnight as I need to get up at 7 am. 

The fifth photo... well, that isn't an object as such. It's my creative space or a part of it. I'm crafting in our living room, near a huge window, behind the sofa. The place is so important to me as that allows me to create near my family during the day. 

Our living room is in the center of the apartment so from my craft table I'm seeing and hearing the whole home. I can start a project after dinner when kids are playing and then continue during the night. 

Nowadays my dear hobby also shows quite definitely in our home compared when I started and everything was hidden inside a fold down bureau... I guess I have gained self-confidence since then!

* * 

So there you have it, my five object or things! If you want to read the stories of other Ambassadors and see the photos, please visit Finnabair's blog on a couple of weekends to meet the team! 

Thank you for your visit today and thank you Anna so much for the honor to continue in the team! Have a great start to the week all of you! 

Sneak and first Christmas gift

Hi there! How are you today! I guess I write this every Friday, but can you believe it's Friday already?! Time is really flying by now. Which is good thing when my daughters are concerned as they are really waiting for Christmas already. But I could use with a few more hours in the day!

I'm not blogging any actual project today but instead a sneak and something I'm really excited about. Let's start with the sneak that's on top. It's of my page to Histoires de Pages magazine, issue 64. It's from an article Mixed Media Place's team did and is a part of the mixed media alphabet series. This time the theme was "faux". You see a part of my take on the theme - a brick wall. In the magazine there's also a tutorial how to create something similar yourself. 

And then to what I'm excited about - it's my first Christmas present. To myself that is. Some time ago I noticed a few of my favorite mixed media people blogging an announcement that they are part of the Wanderlust 2016 online workshop. It was a matter of minutes when I then after noticing who were on that I had bought to workshop! 

Here's what it is all about: “Wanderlust is a whole year long journey - an online event offering you videos from 24 guest teachers and 2 resident teachers (Kasia Krzyminska and Jamie Avery) one every week (each one downloadable and with PDF instructions provided), 50 amazing videos, which will run for over 50 hours in total, access to a forum with an amazing and friendly community, inspirations, challenges, discussions, galleries, workshops, giveaways and generous discounts from our partners. The perfect alternative to in-person classes!"

I really liked the idea of a year long workshop. It's something to be inspired by on weekly basis and I'm very much looking forward to it! As I typed earlier, there's many familiar names, but also those that I've only admired from far so far. For example I'm really keen on knowing what Andy Skinner will contribute! Underneath you can see all the teachers. "Amazing team of 24 guest teachers includes Finnabair, Andy Skinner, Flora Bowley, Carolyn Dube, Kate Crane, Birgit Koopsen, Nathalie Kalbach, France Papillon and many more talented artists."

Have you bought any presents yet? What about something for yourself? If you act fast, before 15th December you can buy the class in a special price. Click here for more info (link)! And if you happen to be nearby Birmingham this weekend, Everything Art (Kasia and Jaime) are showing in the Art Materials Live show in Birmingham. So say a hi from me, too, ok?

Thank you for stopping by today! Have a great start to the weekend!

Comparing Prima Oil Pastels

Hi there! Some time ago I was asked how the Prima Oil Pastels differ from Gelatos for example. As the Oil Pastels are quite unique, I decided to do a post about them, comparing them to a few other kind of similar crayons I had in my stash.

Even though I belong to the Prima team, I need to tell you that this is no way a paid add. I just fell in love with the crayons when I got them. They are really creamy and the amount of pigment is awesome! But please read further and make up your own mind!

Here's a sheet I did using the three products I had in different ways. So the first column is Gelatos, second Neocolor II crayons and the last the new Prima Oil Pastels. The consistency of the latter is in a way similar of Gelatos - they both are creamy and even lipstick like. The Prima version is even slightly creamier still than Gelatos. Consistence-wise the Neocolors differ greatly from the two as they are hard and more pen like in a way. 

Also the measurements of the first and the last are quite the same yet again differing from the Neocolors. They are thinner where as Gelatos and Prima Oil Pastels are a bit bulkier. 

But what's the biggest difference between the Gelatos and the Oil Pastels is the amount of pigment. You can maybe see this best from the first row where I colored a small patch with each crayon and then started to draw the color out with a water brush. Where the Gelatos fades quite rapidly the two others keep on going.

In this row I used the three crayons in stamping. I treated each crayon the same and colored the color straight to the stamp, added a fine mist of water and stamped. To my eye the Oil Pastels on the right performed the best. There's a couple of reasons to that. For one, there's more pigment than in Gelatos and two, the texture of the crayons is creamier than that of Neocolors. If I had added water first and crayon second the result might have been a bit different.

In this row I used the triplets for coloring. For each stamped image I colored a patch of color to my craft sheet and then picked up the color from there. Again the amount of pigment is showing but also the picture tells that the Oil Pastels have a touch of white pigment in them or at least they are more opaque than the rest of the crayons. It might also be the color I chose as it was pale blue, but still the third image has paler looking stamped lines than the other two. 

Picking up the color from the craft mat was no problem to the Oil Pastels but I guess if I had tried to color the detailed image first with the crayon and then adding water the result might have been different as the Oil Pastels are a bit bulky. But that's the way with every tool you have, each one of them have different tricks to make them perform the best!

Finally I used the crayons as pigment and colored Light Paste with them. Yet again the amount of pigment is showing. The one colored with Gelatos is paler than the rest. 

When scraping the pigment from the crayon to my craft mat I happened to break one of the Neocolors. This was because of the consistence - as the crayon is harder than the two counter parts it was a bit more difficult to get the pieces from that. The creamier ones, Oil Pastels and Gelatos, were easier to scrape and then mix into the paste. Oh, and I used ten "folds" when mixing each one - as you can see, both Neocolor and Oil Pastel version would have needed a few folds more to really get the pigment spread out evenly. 

I really like the creamy feel of the Oil Pastels and have used them more than I ever have the few Neocolors I have. The texture and the amount of pigment make them really versatile! I was demoing them some time ago and I guess most of the people that saw the demo were mesmerized by them! So try to look out for an event with Prima Educators or other possibilities to try out the Pastels yourself as I strongly believe you'll be hooked! 

If you already became mesmerized by the Oil Pastels, here's a couple of links to stores that currently have them. Not a paid add, by the way, just to make things easy for you. As the product is quite new it might not yet have reached your nearby store. But if you have other sources, please let me know and I'll link up!

Scrapbook.com

Simon Says Stamp

Mixed Media Place

Klemmarikellari (Finnish)

Thank you so much for stopping by today! If you have any questions or thoughts, please feel free to leave them here!

XOx 3 - Finnabair Team

In the beginning of the week first post in a series of new post was published in Finnabair's blog. The series is called Spread Your Wings Academy and the goal is to inspire and most of all to encourage every one to try their wings. The whole team is very keen on mixed media styled creations and we are trying to demystify mixed media and spark ideas and urge to try things yourselves. The first post in the series is filled with ideas to get started and also tips to create backgrounds. I hope you'll take a leap of faith and try out different things! Please, come and join! 

My biggest revelation in scrapbooking was when I realized one thing – it’s only paper. If I happen to ruin a 12x12" sheet while playing, so what? The memory I want to preserve is in my head, it doesn’t get thrown away. As I use mixed media in my background the photo is in that phase still safe and sound a bit further away so it doesn’t get tossed away either. So should the worst happen, the only thing that gets ruined is one paper. And the time spent when “ruining” it was well spent in play and experiment.

It was a really mind-blowing, life-changing discovery and has helped me ever since. Don’t hold back – play, try, experiment and occasionally fail as well, it’s all part of the process!

Another word of advice, too. When you add something to your piece and think that now you've ruined it, give it another change. Don’t give up on it right away but add another layer and see what happens. There’s numerous times I’ve thought that a project is beyond any repair or will never be anything but I've been keeping pushing and working on it and usually that piece ends up being a personal favorite. So be a bit thick headed and see where it takes you.

One advice still - don't be afraid to cover something up. When doing a page there's bound to be something that gets covered by the layers coming above. Keep your mind set to the over all composition and don't be scared to hide things underneath the layers.

In the post I also shared a really simple and easy background technique. It lets you to have your own hand print in the paper but doesn't need that many materials and it's only three steps long. I hope that if you haven't tried mixed media style crafts before, this tutorial might get you started. Like I said, just three steps and one of a kind background is done! Above you can see the materials needed - some mists, ink pad and stamps, a stencil and a pencil. If you are on a budget or just starting, you can substitute mists with watercolors and make a stencil of your own out of cardboard or paper or leave it out all whole together.

Underneath are the steps for the background. I hope you found this post interesting! Have a great Sunday and start to the new week!

1) First choose your color scheme and mist a few colors to your background paper. Let air-dry or use a heat tool to dry.

2) Next take a stencil and a pencil. Trace the pattern to your page a few times and mix some doodled circles in as well. You can also add bigger hand drawn pieces if you want. 

3) Finnish your background with stamping. Use one or a few stamps and mix different patterns.

Materials: Prima Marketing, Tattered Angels, Ranger, A Flair for Buttons, Design Memory Craft 

My favorite supplies

It's 15th and that's usually when I post my Inspiration post. This time I thought to do it a little different. A few months ago I already covered how paint media can inspire and this time I thought to update a post about my favorite supplies. I say update as it has been over a year when I posted about those. Here's link to my essentials back in 2013 (link) and here's a link to my favorite supplies in 2011, the post is in Finnish (link). 

It seems that a lot has changed since those lists and then again not that much. Like I typed even back in 2011 paper cutter and double sided tape are still essentials. On the other hand I don't own any Doodle Factory stamps anymore. But if I set the basic supplies like scissors, adhesive, brushes, palette knifes and paper cutter aside, what can be said of my favorites that they are different media or embellishments. I adore gesso, mists and other colorants. Underneath I listed my some of my current favorites.

1) Gesso

Gesso in different forms and especially colors. I guess white is my most favorite in the way that I use that the most but the Finnabair Art Basics have really opened my eyes when it comes to black and clear ones. What I want in gesso is coverage, great tooth and opaqueness. Two of my favorites are the Art Basics heavy body one and Talens gesso. They both give a great base for layers to come. Gesso can be used in layouts, cards and canvases. It's a versatile medium. To give you a visual example of my gesso works here's link to two previous posts - a tag using black gesso (link) and trees using white gesso (link). 

2) Mists

Due to DT commitment I use Tattered Angels mists. But even before I was in the DT and nowadays even if I wasn't in the team, that would be my go-to brand. I haven't tried all the mists available in the market but I really like the coverage and qualities in Tattered Angels mists. There's rarely a project I do where I wouldn't use mists. I can color with different mediums as well but almost always I at least add mists splashes to the project. Mists are an easy way to add color and on different surfaces they create different finishes. Again, really versatile medium. Here's a link to a previous post with 10 different mist ideas (link).

3) Pencil

If you have seen a few of my videos I guess you have seen my love for pencil swirls! I'm being a parrot but here's another really versatile medium. You can of course write and draw with it, but pencil can also do more if you need it to do more. If you want ideas, here's links to two layouts I've done mostly with pencils - "Child of Spring" and "More 2 Love". I don't have a favorite pencil as such. Previously I used to use one bought from Sodalicious which stated "I don't think, I feel" but nowadays I usually grab my General Pencil Co pencil first. The former was a normal HB pencil, the latter is soft, 6B. 

4) PITT pens

Black PITT pens are nowadays my go-to journal pens. If I'm doing journaling on my layout I use a S or M sized pen. If I'm drawing or doing journaling in a journal, I can also use the brush tipped one which gives a lovely lively line as you can make it thin or thick the way you hold the pen. As the PITT pens are made using India ink they won't smudge if I first doodle and then decide to add some wet media still. They also stuck to different surfaces. Besides the black ones I have the set called "Assorted" which has a great grey PITT pen with a brush tip. I've used the both sets for example in "My Favorite" or in "Soar High Above".

5) Archival ink

Before Wendy Vecchi designed her fabulous ink shades in Archival Ink I only used it in black. Nowadays I would say it comes to 50/50 with the oh so wonderful "Watering Can". Black and grey go in every layout and provide a great contrast to the page bring a touch of black or at least dark color to the project. The fabulous thing about Archival is that it'll stay put even if (again) I decide to use a wet media on top. The images are transferred crisp and it dries very quickly. My absolute "go to" ink. As, in the words of Julie Fei-Fan Balzer, "I'm a dirty girl" and I don't clean my stamps, it's also an awesome feature that with Achival I don't have to. The ink just dries to the stamps and in some case makes them even better!

6) Mica powders

I'm falling in love with these lovely thingies. They are versatile (yes, being a parrot again) as you can mix them with different mediums and create your own custom paints, mists and other mediums. And the shine they have! I go totally in my magpie mode when I see their shine and luster. The first thing I did with these jars of happiness was to mix them with decoupage glue and thus create a lovely paint. Nowadays I usually mix them with Soft Gloss Gel and have a lovely shiny acrylic style paint. Want an example of the mix? A few links then - to a canvas (link) and to a journal cover (link). 

7) PanPastels

Together with the Mica's these are a more recent love. I used to like to draw with pastel pencils back in the day but since then I had forgotten the medium totally. The PanPastels have a great consistence that allows you to layer and by using different tools either make big surfaces or then just tiny details. The marks are soft and dreamy or more sharper depending on the way you apply the medium. I rarely use these solely but add another mediums as well. I guess there's only one project were they were almost the only medium I used (link) but usually I use them as the top layer (link) or to soften things up (link). 

8) Gelatos

They are like candies! Yummy colors and yet again my favorite word - versatile. You can mix them to different mediums, just like Micas, you can use them in stamping or creating backgrounds or have watercolors with you in a crayon like form. The texture is smooth and lipstick like. These being the first push towards water soluble drawing thingies, I'm now growing an interest in water color pens! For Gelatos projects you could try out the label "Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft".

9) Rest of Finnabair's Art Basics

Maybe I should have just written the whole Art Basics line in the first place as they really have the basics for me as well. The line holds gessos (check), gel mediums (check) and even gels (check). Heavy bodied gel mediums are a must in the collage making or altered projects for me. That stuff just holds and molds and gives support. I also really like the Soft Gels as they work for an adhesive but even more I love to use them as the base for making my own cocktails, my own mediums.

10) Mechanicals

The title could also be metal embellishments I guess, but Mechanicals have great variety of different little nicks and nacks. The idea behind these are flea market findings but at least for me it's easier to buy a set of these metals than to go scouting in the flea markets. The metal embellishments go to most of my projects, they bring some 3 D effect to them and even without altering with paint or other media the metallic colors go to most of my projects. If I should pick just one embellishment or group of embellishments I then would have to use for the rest of my projects I would go with the metal embellishments and more over the Mechanicals.

11) Flair buttons

These are finding their way back to my layouts. There was a time when I couldn't finish a page without one but then I started to use other embellishments instead. Nowadays I once again notice more often to reach for my flair buttons as the first or second embellishment to add to a layout. Previously most of my flair buttons were from 3rd Eye but nowadays they are all almost used and I re-stock these little lovelies from another company called "A flair for buttons". The circular form of the flair and the massive amount of different patterns, sayings and styles they come almost guarantees that they go to every page. For flair inspiration I also love to browse through the DT creations of the BadgesFolie.

12) Paper clips

Modest office supply that fits to almost all projects. What more there is to say?

So, there they are - my top 12 from the top of my head! There's also other products I like, for example the Dina Wakley acrylic paints, but as the post is even with these 12 quite heavy let's leave it here. As I have been sharing links to previous projects with the favorites, here's a link to a layout with some acrylic action (link)!

What are your favorite products? What you can do is to think about your favorites and then for example do two projects - one with all your favorites and another banning all the favorites from use! I know I would be in trouble when trying to do that! You could also dedicate a page to your go-to products, using them as the topic of the page. Or then you could try to think new ways to use your favorites, mix them together and create different looks.

Underneath are the links to previous Inspiration posts if you want to take a look. Thank you for your visit today!

1) Inspiration: Music

2) Inspiration: Paintings

3) Inspiration: Magazines

4) Inspiration: You

5) Inspiration: Paint media

6) Inspiration: Instagram

Hopping around the world

Good evening! Some time ago I got a lovely mail from Natalia asking me to join a blog hop that has been traveling around the world. And just a few hours after the mail I got a message from Birgit asking me to join as Janna had already done the hop. I also had actually taken part to this before but as the post is almost 6 months old, I thought to do it again. So thank you Natalia and Birgit for inviting me to hop! Here's the link to Natalia's post (in Russian) and to Birgit's post. 

The hop consists of four questions so let's get started!

  

1. What am I working on right now?

Shorter version: I just finished my December DT projects and I'm moving to January ones. I also have a few magazine assignments that need to be done and also some guest designing to do.

Longer version: I just finished four cards for future assignments and also shot some step photos of a piece for a magazine article. Now I'm thinking what kind of project to do fro Finnabair team in January and also preparing for a small get together on Saturday. Last week the main project I had on my worktable was a princess dress for my 4-year-old. Pink and lace, on "belle epoque" style.

I try to always mix something I've done in the past and try something new. It seems that same techniques of supplies surface from time to time as I discover them again and fell in love. Not so long ago I found acrylic paints again and have been using them more. 

If you wish to see what I have on my craft table on weekly basis, please follow my Instagram feed as I try to share some sneaks there.

  

2. How does my work differ from other’s

This is almost impossible for me to answer as I'm the one doing the works. It's so hard to see your own work through the eyes of a stranger. I guess someone else would be a better judge to say how my work differs from others in the genre! 

If you think about scrapbooking in general, the thing that my layouts have now in common is the use of different mediums in them. I love to add inks, paints and mists in my pages and I love to layer different mediums. I usually do a mixed media influenced background, use just one photo and cluster all the other elements around the photo and sometimes add a balancing cluster to the other corner. I tend to use composition with the vocal point on the bottom part of the page. I also tend to use analogous color scheme.

I guess my main elements would be splashes, layering different media and minimal journaling on the front side, to be seen. 

  

3. Why do I create?

Simply because I love it. I must create. I need to create. 

And I'm not talking about deadlines here but the urge to create and have things made by me. To stick my hands to the paint and have my fingertips colored in inks. Even my husband knows that I get all grumpy if there's no time to be creative or just ink a piece of paper. To keep me going and wheels turning I just need to ink, stamp, paint or do something like that. A quick art journal spread, a tag or an ATC will do when in a hurry. 

I love to document our stories and family life, but I also love the play with materials. Scrapbooking or crafting in general is a form of self expression and it keeps me going. It's my own time and my thing.

  

4. How does my creative process work?

I love this subject! If I would be a scientist I would love to study inspiration and creative process. How the creative process varies from people to people and is there some things that are in common. I guess as we humans are individuals so are the processes to create. As my creative process is highly visual, I really would love to know if there's something similar with the creative process of musicians or choreographers as their means of expression are very different than mine. 

There's a great number of way what triggers the process for me. I've started making the series about inspiration sharing some ideas what inspires me. But usually my project starts evolving from a given theme, a photo or a supply. If I'm designing for a certain company I usually start with the products I need to use and work my way from there. 

The next step, if I'm doing a layout, is to choose the photo that goes to the theme and then work the color scheme from there or the subject itself. From there I just go with the flow - mist something or stamp or use acrylics. I differ the way I make the background from time to time. But what guides me through the creative process are the colors. If I've started the layout as green and blue I'm not going to skip to purple in the middle but stay in the blue-green range. 

I work fast when creating, even so that Marsha has started calling me "Speedy Gonzales". I guess a part of it is that I don't think much when I'm creating. Or perhaps I should say that I don't ponder much, when I'm creating. Of course I'm thinking about the design and which embellishments to use, how I place my title and such, but it all works in an instant. I can try a certain embellishment to two different places, but decide which to use in seconds. I usually finish the project at one go and would go crazy if I'd have to think about the composition for days as it's not my style of doing.

One way to see my creative process is also to watch some of my start to finish videos (link) as then you can watch how the craft takes it's shape. 

Ok, there's the answers this time! Thank you for managing to read the long post! And thank you for stopping by today!

Ps. Talking about around the world - next year marks my first workshop outside Finland! I'm overjoyed and in awe! I'm traveling to Norway to teach - here's the link to the event. See you there?

Making videos - part 2

Earlier this month I wrote a post about making videos. Or rather the post was about how I position the camera and film the videos. This part is about what happens next, about the editing. Just like in the previous post, this is just showing my way of doing things.

A horrible truth first: I'm very impatient video watcher myself. I'm guilty of jumping forward in longer videos when I've gotten the idea of the process or the technique is repeated in a larger area. So I guess that's partly the reason my videos are usually quite short. I edit all the gaps away and also shorten the long processes like doodling or drying the project with a heat tool. I usually show the start and then the finished look or then just jump straight to finished step. I'm hoping this way the viewer get the idea what I'm doing but doesn't need to watch the whole process. 

Ok, I've now recorded the video and then moved it to my computer. Next thing what I do, is to make the first edit. For that I use a program my husband bought me as a birthday present, Magix Movie Edit Pro. Before I had this program I did all the editing in the Windows Movie Maker and it kept crashing because of the large video files. 

What I then do in the first edit? Well, first of all I remove the sound, then I speed the video x3 and edit the lightness and colors if I need to. I can also rotate and crop if I need to, but usually nowadays I try to record the video so that it won't need any of that. The program also would allow me to add texts and what not, but I find Movie Maker quicker in those. Or rather I work faster with that.

When I then have the basics covered, I start the edit. I go through the whole video and edit any gaps away. Like if I'm cutting something away from the frame, I edit that out. Or if I go fetch some mists, I edit out the time the layout is just sitting there in the frame. Thinking back, it seems that I've learned how to work when I'm filming as in recent videos there has been a lot less to edit than in the first ones. I guess I've learned to stop filming if I'm rummaging through my stash for something particular or do bits and pieces off the camera so it's easier when I edit.

When the cut is done, I then save the video as MP4 and then open it in Movie Maker. In this program I do the final edit. The first thing is to rotate the frame 180 degrees. Now you want to know why I don't do that in the first program? The answer is simple - my computer can't handle that. I guess there's just too much information so the program or whole machine goes into a tilt if I try to rotate the film right way around.

Then I add the opening frame (yes sir, just a ready action from the options available), the photos of the project and start to write the texts. I've been meaning to do an opening photo to be used in the start of the video, but still haven't got that done so I'm just using the same opening I've always used. Also the structure of my videos is the same: the opening title, then a detail shot of the project, the actual video, then the photo of the project, more detail shots and the end text. 

When I have all the texts done and the video is almost finished, I add the last piece - the music. I guess most of you have noticed that there's a text in my videos stating that the music is by [ówt krì]. But who is this mystical person that allows me to use his art in my videos? Well, the truth is that I'm married to him. All the music you hear in my videos is done by my darling husband and most of the songs are done just for my use. Every time he hasn't got a deadline for another project, he makes me something new. He's a true gem. 

I have a few of songs in my computer and I try to choose the best one for the mood of the layout. Then I look through the whole video, adjust the volume of the music and also add the fade out in the end. The last phase is then just to save the video and upload it to my YouTube channel. I upload most of my videos "unlisted" and then publish them when the project has been revealed.

So there's how I do my editing. Any questions? Please either write them in the comments or mail me! Thank you for visiting today! I hope you find this post useful! 

Making videos - part 1

I've been asked how I record my videos, what programs I use to edit them and how I place my camera. To answer these questions, I decided to make a few post about making videos. Or rather how I go on about it. Please, if you have any questions, just keep them coming! It's always great to write a post that you'd like to read. Please just comment or send me a mail! 

This first post is about the way I record the videos. I'm going to make another post about the editing part later this month.

I use my Canon EOS 600D to record the videos. If I'm being smart about it, I load the battery previous night and also empty the memory card. But usually I get the idea of making a video there and then so the recording part might be interrupted by any of the two - or usually both. But when I have my camera ready, I attach it to the tripod I have and then lift the whole thing on the living room table aka my craft table. 

I tilt the camera facing down, but not totally down as then the legs of the tripod would show. If you look at the picture there you can also see that I make the hind leg of the tripod a tad longer than the front ones to get the camera tilt more without the legs showing. Usually the legs end up showing a bit anyway, but I hope that's not too distracting. Nowadays I usually keep the tripod adjusted to the video mode and store it that way too, but every now and then when I use it to other projects, I need to make the adjustments from the beginning. 

One great thing about the camera I use is it's screen that I can flip to show what I'm doing. Before I had this version of EOS, I always needed to stand on top of a chair and see that the view was right and then start working. On some occasions I didn't push the record button hard enough and then ended up missing a stage in the video. But now it's easy to maneuver the camera and get the zoom and positioning right. And to make sure that the camera is really filming when I start!

When I'm making a video, I use a big white cardstock and a see through craft mat. Well, it USED to be see through mat and cardstock was more white, but as I'm a messy crafter with all sorts of media the craft mat now has gesso stains in it and the white cardstock has turned into a multicolored one with mists. But I still prefer them to the other craft mat I have which is pink. The idea behind the white and see through is to give the video a neutral background and also bring light to the shot. 

I don't usually have a big plan when I start to record a video. Of course I have an idea about a project and what it's for and that brings some restrictions but I don't plan ahead. I have a photo and the background paper chosen before I start and then I work from there. If it's a DT work for example for 3rd Eye, I've chosen the stamps I want to use in the project. Or if it's for a GDT post I have the materials I need to showcase on the table. But I don't have a plan to use that technique and then add this embellishment - I tackle the subject as they come up. 

I store some of the materials I'm going to use to the other side of the table, like the stamps or other products I need to use. I usually also have a tea cup on the table, but that doesn't show in the video. Usually the table is quite empty when I start but quite loaded with stuff when I finish. I just gather the materials there on the side and when the video is ready, only then put them back to their place.

I make the video in parts. So I don't make one long shot, but instead use several shorter ones so I don't have to edit that much out of the final version. So what you don't see in the videos is all the gaps - when I go dry the paints with the heat tool, or when I go and fetch the pencil or tape or similar. I cut all those parts out when I edit the video. But that's a story for the other post!

Thank you for stopping by today! I hope you found this post useful! If you have any questions, please just type them in! Wishing you a lovely day!

My day

Emmo did a post about her day some time ago. I found it really interesting so I recorded my own day about a month ago. Here's one day in my life:

7ish the day starts. As the kiddies watch a few cartoons I make myself ready for the day, pack their bags and take the clothes ready. At half eight we go to eat the breakfast and then the girls put on the clothes. 

At half nine we're on the kindergarden and I give them hugs and kisses and then leave to get my buss card loaded. Just after nine I'm back home and make myself some tea. Then I check the Facebook, put the laundry to the machine and write a few blog posts. I also edit some photos and answer couple of emails. Just before leaving for work I hang some drawings the girls made the night before to the wall and get the laundry up to dry.

While travelling to work I read some blogs from my phone and also send another set of mails. Before work I do some shopping (we're almost out of tooth paste) and then I'm on work from noon to 6 pm. On my break I check a few blogs through my phone.

On my way back home I call my mom and do some grocery shopping. When I get home I change into "home clothes", grab a bite to eat and ask my hubby and daughters how the day went. I play with the kids - we build Legos together. At eight it's time to put the toys back into their places and have an evening snack. After the evening routines and reading them a book, the girls go to sleep.

I quickly get into work mode again and make a layout in an hour, being on and off the computer at the same time. The clock turns to 11 pm when I hit the bed.

- - 

Emmo kirjoitteli blogissaan jokunen aika sitten omasta päivästään. Minusta tuo postaus oli erittäin mielenkiintoinen, joten noin kuukausi sitten tallensin oman päiväni. Näin siis kulki eräs päivä: 

Seitsemän maissa päivä alkaa. Tyttöjen katsellessa muutaman aamupiirretyn laitan itseni kuntoon, pakkaan kerhoreput sekä otan vaatteet valmiiksi tirpoille. Puoli kahdeksan maissa syömme aamupalaa ja sitten tytöt pukeutuvat. 

Puoli yhdeksän paikkeilla olemme dagiksen pihalla, hyvissä ajoin ennen yhdeksää, jolloin pirpanoiden pitäisi olla paikalla. Viemme reput sisään ja annan pusut ja halit ja toivotan hyvää päivää. Kävelen läheiselle kioskille lataamaan bussikorttini. Olen takaisin kotosalla juuri yhdeksän jälkeen ja keitän itselleni pannullisen teetä. Sitten katsastan Facebookin, laitan pyykin pyörimään ja kirjoitan pari blogipostausta. Muokkaan myös kuvia ja vastaan muutamiin sähköposteihin. Juuri ennen kuin lähden töihin kiinnitän muutaman tyttöjen edellisenä iltana tekemän piirroksen seinälle ja ripustan pyykit. 

Matkalla töihin luen blogeja kännykän kautta ja lähetän uuden setin sähköposteja. Ennen töitä käväisen ostamassa hammastahnaa, joka on melkein loppu ja sitten olenkin töissä kuuteen asti. Tauollani kurkkaan pari blogia readerista. 

Kotimatkalla soitan äidilleni ja käyn ruokakaupassa. Kotona vaihdan päälle kotivaatteet, nappaan leivän ja kyselen päivän kuulumiset perheeltä. Sitten rakennan Legoja yhdessä lasten kanssa. Kahdeksan aikaan laitamme tavarat paikoilleen ja menemme iltapalalle. Iltarutiinien jälkeen luen tytöille iltasatuja ja pienet jäävät nukkumaan. 

Vaihdan nopeasti taas työmoodiin ja teen tunnissa yhden sivun, samalla kuikuillen tietokonetta. Kun kello kääntyy yhteentoista, menen nukkumaan minäkin. 

12 hours of inspiration

Tämän päivän postaus inspiraation lähteineen on vain englanniksi. Pahoitteluni.

One thing that really intrigues me is where do creative people get their inspiration. Usually the answer is everywhere. Anything and everything can inspire and that's what I think creativity really is. An ability to see beyond the actual subject and create something else out of it in one's own might. Use the elements what we see as a jumping off points. 

I wanted to provide you with a little view inside my head and made a challenge to myself. I challenged myself to take photos during one day of things that inspired me. 12 hours and one photo per hour. Just 12 photos during a relatively normal day. I chose a day when I didn't have work shift, because otherwise it would have been just a few photos before and after work. Of course there were many more things that inspired me, but I only chose to show one for every hour.

So here it comes, 12 pictures and 12 sources for inspiration.

8 am. I needed to wait some time for the post office to open so I went for a tea in Picnic cafe. The huge lamps provided me with instant inspiration of using paper cups as stamps with acrylic paint. Also the bright yellow color and the semi-see through material were inspiring. 

9 am. On my way home I saw this crane. I looove the look of it! The industrial roughness, the kaleidoscope of geometrical shapes. Absolutely gorgeous. Made me think of pencil lines or paper pieces of geometrical shapes like squares and triangles.

10 am. I was doing an assignment for a magazine using Copics. I got totally inspired by them once again and discovered a fun (new to me) technique. Sometimes it's fun to use the familiar products in a different way or to discover them after a long time. I need to experiment the possibilities of these pens more.

11 am. While going after a supply from my kid's room (don't ask), I saw these flowers I made for the Inspired by challenge some time ago. That got me into thinking of spending an evening or an afternoon making some hand-made blooms for my stash so they would be at hand to be used in projects. I've been pinning tutorial after tutorial to my Flowers board, but never experimented with any of them.

noon. I guess many of us are inspired or moved by music. Usually when I'm home alone, crafting, I always have something playing at the background. This time the album was Turisas2013. After the first listening I didn't really care for it, but it has definitely grown on me. Now I'm thinking I need to document my passion for this band.

1 pm. Grabbing a bite to eat. My husband used this herb for a dinner and some of it was left over so it's been whithering at our window sill ever since. It reminded me of the video Finnabair made for the Jump Start a year back and also my own experiments with things from the nature. I also love the texture of it and even the color. I might interpret it with calligraphy...

2 pm. Still working on the article pieces. As I don't have a craft room and work from our living room this is the scene I get to see. The moment I first saw it I fell in love. Love all those roof tops. The roof (which really could use some mending, by the way) has an inspiring texture, too. And look at those clouds - like pastels or watercolors! The color scheme is inspiring, too, like the "Domestic Goddess" line from 7 Dots Studio.

3 pm. Had to write down a new assignment and used these lovelies I got from Marsha. Of course they first reminded me about the project I did for the Inspired by challenge, but also from 3rd Eye anchor stamps. The bright colors are inspiring as well as the simple motifs in the tags. The way the different designs are positioned in the package might also inspire a design for a layout.

4 pm. The kiddies get home and start drawing. Their choise of colors, the lines they use and even proportions are really inspiring! Just look at those greens together with yellow and pink - what a fresh combination! And even the little basket with the crayons is somewhat eye candy. The bright colors, the shapes and the way they resemble confetti or remind me that I need to try to melt them on a canvas or a layout.

5 pm. Going through a few blog posts and finding this at Helen's blog. Other artists provide an endless inspiration! I just love how Helen has used the roses like a little tree. Makes my head fill with ideas doing canvas with a flower tree. 

  

6 pm. Dinner time. My hubby as well my whole family is constant source of inspiration. I think he's gorgeous. He's also the source of music in my videos and is my biggest support. He provides critique, support and a new point of view when necessary. His dedication to his own art is an inspiration to me. (Yeah, he got annoyed of me taking photos of him eating, lol)

7 pm. Spending time with the kiddies, building Legos and watching the "Grand Designs" with half an eye. The series has some awesome houses in it, like look at that combination of electric blue and white, but I also admire the way people realise their dreams. What could be more inspiring?

Hope you liked this post! What inspires you the most?