For my friend Niko, it means reading Style.com and calling it work.
For my cousin Siiri, it means going to school.
For my cousin Kati, it means being young, fabulous and care free.
For my yet another cousin Jani, it means taking care of this.
And for me…It means trying to make sense of this mess. Called life. The other everyday life photos can be found here.
Can’t believe nearly two months has passed since my trip to Tampere. I promised a posting about my thrifty shopping there and here it is. At last!
Shopping in Tampere is really nice. Even with my wobbly knees, everything is within walking distance. They say it about Helsinki too but that’s just not true. Well, if you only shop for cheap clothes, then it is. If you haven’t noticed, I have an issue with Helsinki. Has something to do with Finnish politics. But now back to Tampere:
Our first stop was Fida on Tammelan puistokatu 37. The items I bought here were: vintage cardboard freezer boxes and butter knives.
My next stop was Bonuskirppis which is located right around the corner from Fida, on Itsenäisyydenkatu 11-13. Tip: if you walk couple of blocks ahead, there’s a Salvation Army charity shop on Itsenäisyydenkatu. Keep your eyes peeled though. The shop is on second floor and the sign leading there is very small.
Items bought at Bonuskirppis: a vintage sheet and rockabilly jersey yardage.
Items from Salvation Army: retro Minnie Mouse shoulder bag.
After the flea markets, Kati and I met up with our cousin at Stockmann (a department store) and we continued our way towards Belles, a scrapbook store. My cousins weren’t too thrilled about this but I reminded that I was there on holiday so to Belles we went. The store is quite small but everything is beautifully presented. My only wish is that they had larger selection but I ended up buying some papers by Crate Paper and alphabet stickers by American Crafts. After I finished my crafty shopping, we walked to:
Radiokirppis is not far from Belles and is located on Laukontori, a market square. The official adress is Laukontori 12. Here you can find a lot of booths but beware, lot of the sellers haven’t realized that they are selling used goods at a flea market. 60 euros for H&M designer collection shoes? I think not. I did make some finds but I got lucky. My cousins who go there often told me that it’s always the same. Lots of overpricing and some finds here and there.
Items bought: vintage tea towels, an olive green Pyrex mixing bowl and a picture frame.
After all this thrifting and shopping, we got hungry and decided to have lunch at the market. My cousins tried to tempt me with mustamakkara, black pudding sausage, to which I responded, very maturely, with a very loud yuck and bullied one of them to go and get me a hotdog. Guess where this is heading? After taking few complimentary bites from their serving, I declared the hotdog disgusting and the black sausage insanely delicious. FYI, the red sauce is lingonberry sauce. The same you get with Ikea meatballs.
Random shot I took when waiting for the food. That day the weather was very nice, not too hot, little breeze…The best! I didn’t even burn even though I wasn’t wearing sun screen! A miracle by itself.
That’s my cousin Essi showing off her nails. When I say she showed off, I really mean I made her keep her hand like that until I got one decent shot. My argument was that nail art is a craft too and as a family member, she should be supporting my bloggy endeavours. But I think I said it nicer than that.
This is my loot from that day. I can see I forgot to mention couple of items. A russian children’s game, an apron and some plastic “paper” dolls. The sheet I already sold on Facebook market but some of these are still on my “to photograph and write a description” list. Over all my trip to Tampere was very nice. I might have to give a call to Kati and ask if she’d like to have me over some time soon, I feel my thrifty fingers itching…
Over and out. Thrifty Finn.
Yeah, yeah. I know I’m a week late with this. I had one idea but didn’t have the chance to execute so I decided to skip it. Today, when I began browsing through my Paris photos for the Urban theme, I actually got inspired to do Merge. No worries, I’m still doing this week’s challenge, I’m just going to get the previous one out-of-the-way first.
Ooh, Notre Dame! To achieve this look I used layers, selective magic wand, pattern I got from Deviant Art and Pioneer Woman Action “Quick Edge Burn”. The photo itself is SOOC and was shot on some random setting accidentally, which gave the photo its bluish tone. Then to finish things off, I merged the layers together. Here’s the original:
Sigh. I miss Paris. If only I could be there! No wait. I will be! In couple of months! Yay!
Photo via Lonely Planet by Mark Read
I think I have advertised plenty enough that I’m from Lapland. I live in Espoo (next to Helsinki), have lived for 6 years but I want to return back home. Although right now, financially a move is impossible, I’m keeping hopeful. Anyhoo, every time there’s good press about Lapland, I rejoice, as I think more people should travel there and this time the good press came from Lonely Planet!!!
Here’s the link to the online article and apparently there’s a longer one on Lonely Planet Traveller- magazine for those interested. And you should be! Last year, when I was selling my crafts at Hillamarkkinat (Cloudberry Festival, also mentioned in the article) I heard that the reporter was there and it was so exciting! (I didn’t see him or meet him but still, the Lonely Planet! OMG. OMG. OMG.)
I’m a dork but don’t let that deter you from travelling to Lapland. Till next time!
There’s an advantages in having your internet connection down. Yesterday, I managed to sort through hundreds of photographs and have them edited for eight separate posts! Yay me!
As you know, it’s already tradition for me to go to Lapland for the month of August and sell my crafts over there. My “tour” finishes on Old Market Square Carnival of Rovaniemi and last year there, I found about a vintage store called Luna Second Hand. I chatted with the owner and asked if I could drop by and take photos for my blog. She gracefully agreed and now, almost a year later, here’s the story:
I love the well-organized sales till (?). Usually in a second hand stores this area is an after thought like “oops I guess we have to charge people” kind of way. Here the shop has a brand.
This is the view when you step in. On the right you can see a small seamstress studio where you can get your items altered. Convenient!
Rows and rows of dresses? Thankyousoverymuchyesplease. There are even vintage wedding dresses and my favourite was this one:
The lace with those pearly circles is just beautiful.
Isn’t a navy dress a must for every woman? I dubbed this “Beyoncé” as I thought it looked like something she would wear and/or designed with her mother.
Luna also sells shoes and accessories. Another find from my first ever Old Market was the brand Karkkilakko which makes candy inspired jewellery. And as you know, I and candy get along like a house on fire.
If I were more dainty and lady-like, I’d rock the hell out of this dress. I mean, look at the embroidery! It’s so purrr-ty! The next dress was admired by both of us. The swirly hem and the print are gorgeous.
Another proof of my masterful photography skills ;D
If you are visiting Rovaniemi you should drop by at Luna too. Here’s the map to help you out:
Till next time!
Simply be yourself, as if it was possible, at least bite into it!
anskin askarteluja ja elämää
my novice sewing journey
A Pretty Lady Making Pretty Quilts
