League of Legends custom polymer clay earrings

Custom polymer clay earrings based on a game... 

I was asked to make earrings based on a game League of Legends. A man contacted me if it is possible to make a pair of earrings for his friend. She loves the game League of Legends and plays a character that has these skills that look like a blue fireball and a fiery heart. Based on these pictures I was asked to make a pair of earrings that fit nicely together. 

This is the end result: 

Giveaway from Finland Handcrafters Team in Etsy

Join the giveaway to win a basket of wonderful items! All items are handmade in Finland.

This is my item in the giveaway!



Finland, known for its deep clean forests and waters, midight sun and crisp winters has been an inspiration for many wholesome brands over the decennia. Marimekko, Arabia, Iittala, Pentik and Artek have all sprung from here and they have all drawn inspiration from the same source, nature.

Finland Handcrafters Team is a growing group of Artisans that live in Finland and sell on Etsy. We too have felt the same presence in our creative process and with this giveaway we wish to show how it has manifested itself in our work. Participate in this giveaway and get a chance to receive a part of Finland, handmade for you from 11 different upcoming Finnish talents. The value of the giveaway is approx. 230 euros.

1. Like the FHT page on facebook
2. Like all participating shops pages
3. Share the giveaway on your wall

ENTER THE GIVEAWAY HERE!

Astubutiikkiin.fi portal for small finnish design and craft companies

Astubutiikkiin.fi is a new portal that will be launched this autumn: At the moment they're collecting interesting companies to work with and making the design for the webpage. There are over 70 small businesses taking part in it already!

I decided to join, because I think it is a good way to get my items on the right target market: people who are interested in finnish design and crafts. Being a part of the portal costs 60 euros + vat per month and they're actually going to advertise it to get it out there in a loud way! After I joined, I got invited to a hidden facebook group full with other business owners who joined the portal. We are chatting and getting to know each other and giving our ideas about the portal to Mari Moilanen, who is the owner and maker of astubutiikkiin.fi -portal.

Here is the basic idea of the portal (sorry for it being in finnish)

The basic idea is that the businesses load their items on the astubutiikkiin.fi -portal and when a customer wants to buy an item they are redirected to a website where it is possible. For example, I would redirect the customer to buy the item from nellinshoppi.etsy.com or to contact me trough e-mail. So actual selling doesn't happen in the portal, but it collects all the small finnish design companies in one place, making them easier to access and market.

After I sent the e-mail saying that I would love to be a part of this, Mari contacted me and told me how to proceed. She answered all my questions very fast and was helpful and excited in many ways! It really shows how much she wants to get this portal up and running. The whole idea of this portal came to her when she was trying to find high quality handmade presents for her family. I think astubutiikkiin.fi -portal has all the possibilities to become big in Finland and I haven't seen anything like this done here before. It's all very exciting!

Mari makes a welcoming blog post on each company joining the site. Yesterday she made a blog post about Nellin Shoppi; you can read it here. You can also read about other businesses she wrote about here.

Anyone who would love to be a part of the portal can contact Mari easily trough her e-mail

marihilja.moilanen(a)gmail.com

Astu Butiikkiin in Facebook
Astu Butiikkiin blog 
Astubutiikkiin.fi

Check out this list of businesses taking part in Astu Butiikkiin! 

20 cats necklace, custom anniversary jewelry

I just love taking custom orders! 

I think it is so much fun to poke my brain around and wonder how to design something based on the customers needs. Usually I make 2-3 designs to get the end result that I end up with.  This spring has been good for me in the sense that quite many people have asked custom works from me. Usually the contacts come trough my Facebook page. 

A man contacted me about a custom design necklace for his wife. They have been together for 20 years, so he wanted to remember the wife with something unique. He has ordered things from me before, so he also knows my style pretty well. I suggested to make him a necklace with 20 different flowers (kind of like bouquet) made from polymer clay. His wife LOVES cats so he asked me to change the flowers into cats. So I needed to make a necklace with twenty different cats - one for each year they've been together. Absolutely  lovely idea, but proved more challenging than I first imagined!

I actually redid the idea three times before I got to the result I was happy with!

The necklace has twenty different color cat beads.
All in the shades of black, white and gray.

Life isn't straightforward, so I mixed the different
color beads and cats...

It's so much fun how the cats go up on
the other side and down on the other...

Restaurant day 18.5.2013

Cafe TriiNelli was a great experience! it was our first time to arrange a cafe on restaurant day and it was so much fun! We had quite many (50+?) people coming over for coffee and food. We will have another cafe on the next Restaurant day 18.8.2013. My overcooked pork sandwich was really loved, but we sold it for less than costs. Next time we can manage our budget better I know! Here's some pictures. 

Delicious salmon pie! Grandmas recipe.

My grandma always makes the most delicious salmon pie. It just happens I got the recipe! Today I made some because we're going to serve it during Restaurant day 18.5.2013. I needed some pictures and test it out... It's just so good I want to share it with you!

the bottom:

1,5dl wheat flour

4,5dl oats flakes

200g melted butter

mix all ingredients and spread it on a pie pan.

filling:

200g salmon

2dl cream

2,5 dl milk

3 eggs

1 bag of grated cheese

Lay the salmon on top of the bottom of the pie. Mix milk, cream and egs together, pour in the pan. Spread grated cheese on the top. Put in oven for 30 minutes in 200 degrees celcius until golden brown. Enjoy with some salad!

I also made some delicious breads with overcooked pork inside.

Custom dog necklace

I have made my first custom dog necklace! I think it turned out great.

I got given instructions, that the race is lagotto. They also sent me this picture for reference and told me the body is white and ears are orange.

If you want to order a custom dog/cat necklace from your own pet, just contact me! I mail anywhere. Here is my white and orange result!