Apple rings and Antti Karppinen, 2013 IPA winning photographer

Just to clarify - THESE PHOTOS ARE NOT TAKEN BY ANTTI KARPPINEN :)! Some of Antti's work you can see HERE (there's a slight difference ;)).

Apple rings - Omenachipsit

After receiving only a 2 hr Skype training from Antti Karppinen, 2013 International Portrait Award winning photographer, last Thursday, I think I've accomplished best shots I've ever taken. And I want to thank Antti. Seriously, humbly thank him. Take it from me - he really knows his thing! We were planning to organize a workshop in one of the major cities in Europe during the fall, but that just didn't work out. And everyone being so busy, this was now the best alternative we had at hand before my trip to Kenya on Wednesday (Yes, I am going to see where the Kenana owls are actually being made :)))) !!) 

Apple rings - omenachipsit

Kikoi banana tree plate

Antti knows I am a visual person, and being that, sometimes forms, textures and colors just jump at you. The exceptions from the rule, they somehow glow. Afterwards you look at the photo taken with your phone or  Ixus, and feel disappointed. With me - almost never I capture the object the way I see it.  I know the camera doesn't take the photos, but perhaps it will help at least a little to have a better one to carry around.

And- you know the feeling when you have a new camera in your hand? Okay, here is the on/off and here I shoot...Antti agreed he will show me 5 things to do with the camera. I can say I have a clue of perhaps 1 so far, after 600 kind of serious shots taken during the past 3 days, but it is a start. I am not allowed to use zoom, which was bit of a challenge when there was 4 walls, a huge pile of wood and all kinds of equipment around, but I thought at least this time the best shots are of the intended objects :).

Antti - one more time, thank you! We continue...

Apple rings - Omenachipsit

And oh - about the apple rings! These are just plain. I took out the core, and cut the apples into 1-2 mm thick slices, and had them in 75 C oven for 8 hours. The scent in the house is delicious, but at least my apples sweat, so wipe the oven from inside every hour or so. If the moist is dripping on top of the apples again, the drying is kinda pointless ;).

Oat - Kauralyhde

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Blue flower power to the garden - sinistä kukkaenergiaa puutarhaan

Blue flower power - sinistä kukkaenergiaa puutarhaan

Last Friday we visited Zetas (www.zetas.se) garden shop, or I don’t know if you can call the place a shop, more a haven for all senses! They do sell flowers and plants of all kinds, as well as beautiful details for your garden, but the inspiration you get is overwhelming! Ahh.  We just kept smiling J! Last year there was lots of rust (my last year’s post here), this year it was more concrete (is it coming back, or is it actually here to stay? Hmmm..). I kinda skipped the rust trend, as I just don’t like when the rust is all over your terrace after rain and so forth. The pieces look  fantastic, but aren’t the most practical.

Blue flower power - sinistä kukkaenergiaa puutarhaan

Blue flower power - sinistä kukkaenergiaa puutarhaan

Concrete on the other hand…yum! I think you’ll see something DIY popping up to our summer house during the summer J. There are so many projects again those around me will go nuts…

Anyways, my eyes seem to be catching only blue this season, so here you go. Blue flower power!! Absolutely love these.

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Blue flower power - sinistä kukkaenergiaa puutarhaan

Viime perjantaina oli vihdoin mahdollisuus käydä puutarhakaupassa, ja valinta oli ilman epäröintiä Tukholman eteläpuolella sijaitseva Zetas (www.zetas.se). Ehdottomasti vierailun arvoinen paikka, jos käytte vaikka päiväseltään Tukholmassa! Ihan E4:n vieressä matkalla etelään, että jos vaikka Kolmårdeniin on matka, on todella helppo pysähtyä kaffelle (Kungens kurvan IKEA-liittymä!). Tämä on siis sellainen paikka, jossa huomaa huudahtelevansa jatkuvalla syötöllä ‘ihana!!’, ‘kato, mieletön!!’ , ‘mä tuun hulluksi, en osaa päättää’ ja kaikkea sen semmoista hillittyä J. Myynnissä kukkia, taimia, ja ihan ilman maksua - upeita puutarhaideoita.

Viime vuonna tarjolla oli paljon ruostetta (siitä postaus täällä), tänä vuonna enemmän betonia (onko se tulossa takaisin, tai ehkä tullut jäädäkseen? Hmmmm…) Itse vähän skippasin tuon ruostetrendin, koska vaikka jutut on aika ihania, en vaan tykkää, kun sateen jälkeen maa tai terassi on ruosteessa. Ei vaan mun juttu.

Betoni sen sijaan…namisguggelis!! Jos seurailette, luulenpa, että kesän aikana jotain tee-se-itse-juttua ilmestyy kesämökin pihaan. Voi että kun mä vähän taas säälin niitä, jotka joutuu mua ja mun kokoajan sikiäviä projekteja kestämään…

Joka tapauksessa, mun silmät ei tunnu tänä vuonna mitään muuta näkevänkään, kuin sinistä, niin tässä teille nyt vähän sinistä kukkaloista Zetaksesta!!

(oletteko muuten huomanneet, että mun piti kirjoitella vain vähän suomeksi tänne loppuun, ja nyt on käynytkin niin, että nämä suomenkieliset sepustukset on aina pidempiä kuin englanninkieliset?) Minkäs koira karvoilleen voi, vai miten sitä sanotaan…

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Avotakka article - under the apple tree - omenapuun alla

Avotakka 5/2013 (Elina Jaakkola / photos Johanna Kinnari)

Avotakka 5/2013 (Elina Jaakkola / photos Johanna Kinnari)

I don't often post anymore when I see Weranna's products in magazines, but this time I just could not resist! Aren't these photos just delicious? I can FEEL the cool grass and the warm wind...love it. Absolutely love it.  Beautiful, relaxed ideas for your garden.

Also - like you know if you've been following my blog - I am a Finland fan. And these photos make me home sick. They are so Finland! Born there, partly even raised there, but lived more or less out of the country for the past 12 years. Moving back in 1 month. HRRR...kinda scary. Starting a renovation at our old house on Monday and that kind of thing...will keep you posted on that project, for sure!!

Avotakka 5/2013 (Elina Jaakkola / photos Johanna Kinnari)

Avotakka 5/2013 (Elina Jaakkola / photos Johanna Kinnari)

Avotakka 5/2013 (Elina Jaakkola / photos Johanna Kinnari)

En ole vähään aikaan kirjoittanut näistä artikkeleista, joissa Weranna's mainitaan (Kiitos Elinalle Avotakkaan! Ja Johannalle terveisiä - upeita kuvia!!), mutta nyt oli pakko. Tuli koti-ikävä. Eikö nämä kuvat olekin aivan mielettömän herkullisia? Jotenkin tuntee sen kostean ruohikon varpaiden alla, ja lämpimän tuulen...ihania ideoita puutarhaan. Tekee heti mieli ripustaa riippukeinu omenapuun oksaan.

Mähän olen sellainen tunnustuksellinen Suomi-fani. Syntynyt siellä, osaksi kasvanut siellä, mutta asunut enemmän tai vähemmän ulkopuolella viimeiset 12 vuotta. Ja nyt pitäisi muuttaa takaisin kuukauden päästä. HRRRR....vähän pelottaa. Onhan se niin ihanaa, kun kuvitelmissani, onhan??

No mutta, rintamamiestalon pikaremppa aloitetaan maanantaina, seurataan sitä täälläkin!

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DIY seedling pots - tee-se-itse taimiruukut

DIY seedling pots - tee-se-itse taimiruukut

Remember my post about the different ideas for seedling pots (here)? Well, this is what it became last weekend :)! Today we'll be planting with the kids, so I figured I will post BEFORE photos rather than AFTER. You know, when those little dirty fingers start planting the seeds ;).

DIY seedling pots - tee-se-itse taimiruukut

For these I just used some old (dirty such!) pots, that's why the paint is already cracking a bit. I thought it would look nice, let's see! I'll post some pictures a little later when we actually have something growing in the pots!

Wouldn't they look pretty for example on the window of your summer house kitchen?

Have a beautiful, sunny day (with some flower, of course ;))!!

DIY seedling pots - tee-se-itse taimiruukut

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Keräsin tänne blogiin pari viikkoa sitten erilaisia ideoita tee-se-itse taimiruukuille (täällä)! No, tällaisiin päädyin viime viikolla! Eikö ole aika sööttejä? Ajattelin laittaa tänne nyt tällaisia ENNEN kuvia ruukuita, ennenkuin pienet multaiset sormet pääsee tänään istuttamaan siemenet.

Käytin näihin jotain vanhoja ruukkuja, savisia sellaisia, joita löysin tuolta pihavarastosta. Ajattelin, että ne näyttää hauskalta, kun tuo maali alkaa lohkeilemaan. Katsotaan, miten 'hauskaa' on sitten, kun kaikki maali on varissut pois ;). 

Mutta eikö olisi aika suloisia vaikka mökkikeittiön ikkunalla?

Kaunista aurinkoista päivää kaikille!!

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DIY seedling pots

Have you taken out the necessary seeds, and bought/prepared the little pots for this year's seedlings? Well - my mom (of course) has started this long process, and I will be happy to take those ready seedlings to my care during summer :). I wrote about this last summer http://www.werannas.blogspot.se/2012/07/herb-table-inspiration.html, and probably will have some new experiments during the coming season, as well ;).

I have to admit - I don't like those little plastic jars on your south side window, even though they are not there to stay. Rather I would be prepared to spend some time to make something cute myself, or use something recycled.

I gathered below some favorite DIY seedling pot ideas from Pinterest (you can find all these, and much more from http://pinterest.com/weranna/craft-ideas/ ). THESE ARE NOT MY IDEAS, RATHER WOULD LIKE TO SHARE THESE WITH YOU. The links to the original blog posts and photos you find in the caption:

These wonderful ideas from http://www.notjustahousewife.net/2011/08/mason-jar-wall-planter.html and http://www.flickr.com/photos/larkingabout/3842210618/

I didn't take the obvious ones, like making the little pots out of newspaper (those are really nice, as well, I just couldn't make them stand - and you will need some plastic thingy underneath, cause how will you water them? So I dropped that idea). But using baby food jars, or other glass jars you tend to recycle frequently during a year, and some hardware store stuff you can make a perfect vertical 'garden'. Or just use your old Twinings tea containers? I think I would have tens of these from my childhood if they weren't thrown away.

http://cfabbridesigns.com/craft-projects/forcing-spring-in-a-can/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/karin_a/2398146450/in/faves-64148767@N00/

How about digging out some old cans (or new, just perhaps buy some sweet corn to the little ones ;)), get a hammer and bang them to a suitable form, and afterwards paint them with your favorite colors. Or why not use a drawer for this purpose? Here used for spring flowers, but why not for herbs and seedlings? Would look as nice, and would not require so much space, either!

The white pots from ashabbymomentintime.blogspot.com and the black ones from welke.nl

 The above...my very, absolute favorites. Painting small jars with chalk coal paint...LOVE.

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taimien istutus, keittiöpuutarha, yrttitarha

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Positive Energy splash from Skogsbo Trädgårdscafe

Skogsbo gård, Bromma, Sweden

On Saturday I visited a summer wonderland - Skogsbo Gård in Skogsbo Bromma (more coordinates: Stockholm, Sweden ;)). Did you write that down? If you didn't, DO!

Skogsbo gård, Bromma, Sweden

The project that has been started only this year, and already is offering us the positive energy splash seen on their Facebook page and here, is just wonderful! It is such an interesting project that I will be following it in my blog closely, how an old old villa by a lake turns into a cafe-yoga-interior-design feel-good haven - enjoy the outdoor photos for now my beautiful readers ;). And be sure to visit Skogsbo when in Stockholm - It is absolutely gorgeous!

Skogsbo gård, Bromma, Sweden

Yes - I especially liked the chairs... ;)

Skogsbo gård, Bromma, Sweden

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Herb table inspiration

Got me a herb-table - made by my father-in-law <3. It is just gorgeous! Someone was wondering a couple of weeks ago, what kind of shop-keeper are you? Always talking about self-made and upcycled and inherited treasures.

What can I say? If you buy something, do it with good conscience. But especially for the summer house - there is so much you can make yourself or have custom made by locals. Or then you do like me - ask, very very kindly, from someone extremely handy - or ask your Mom ;)).

But this herb table and it's contents - it is a perfect sample of the values us kids were raised with, spending long summers with our stay-at-home-mom and her parents at our seaside summer place in western Finland:

DIY, if you can - you always get better quality and exactly what you want:

DIY Herb table

Herb table which can be dismantled

This one - the pieces are numbered, you can dismantle it and store it away for winter. I promise you - this baby will last for generations :).


Whatever you make or buy, it needs to be practical: knowing her daughter, mom has used 6 self-watering planters in this one. No, not the prettiest, for sure, but very handy. 

This one made me hysterical (it screams MOM!!) - she buys lettuce in the small planters, you know, if she hasn't got any from her own garden yet. Then she sticks the remains to the ground, and it actually starts producing more lettuce...NEVER throw anything away you can reuse :) :)!

The signs here come with blackboard, available from Weranna's HERE. A small hint for outdoor use: Use those kid's crayons which you've stacked away because they are hard to get off - rain don't do anything.

I am now so happy with my little garden - it even has some flower. A little flower does always good :).

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Keittiöpuutarha, yrttipöytä, yrttipöydän teko-ohje

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Rusty stuff

Inspiration on this post photographed at Zetas and Ulriksdal

One of the summer 2012 trends is definitely RUST. When I first saw the gigantic, rusty garden decorations (like horse-size grasshoppers and such) at a fair about a year ago, I must admit I was thinking - seriously...

But now - my eyes have kind of grown used to the rusty stuff, and must admit - it looks even nice. Like the rusty woven basket above. Not indoors, and not for benches (the practical me couldn't take it...), but for flower pots and other garden stuff - NICE.  I would love to have an old rusty gate like below and have some plant climbing it...okay, need to remember to pin it to my shopping list - and please don't ask what it is about the tan coloured shoes on that list...

I am still a bit hesitant how it acts with rainfall - will there be a nice rusty ring on the patio forever after, or have they done something to prevent it? Rust is nice when it doesn't act like rust does...

Rusty flower vase on a rusty flower bench in Ulriksdal

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Ruoste, kesä 2012 trendi, kukkaruukku, puutarha

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Geranium Geek

Geraniums continue to be my favorite flower during summer time. This love story began during the six years we lived in Istanbul (red ones, always), and has now continued throughout the 3 years here in Sweden.

The biggest reason, obviously, being that we sort of have made an agreement; they try to stay alive despite my not-so-systematic watering and nourishing - and I admire them every time I walk by (and promise to water them the NEXT time I walk by).

 Last year Geraniums started become fashionable in Sweden again, and now there are so many varieties available it is really hard to make your pick! So I went for white ;), despite all these beauties around me.

I can recommend all the below arrangements, as I've had them myself during the previous years, and they have bloomed, looked beautiful, and survived the annual sweden-summerhouseinfinland-sweden trip (yes, in our trailer). My husband has happily organized his management team meetings so that he is always gone the week his wife transfers the family (including the flowers) to Finland for 6-7 weeks...well, I don't enjoy it too much either, so he has my full understanding.

The below white flowers grew and grew last year, and bloomed until end of October. They did seem to get another life after we moved back from Finland in August - I don't know anything about the zones and everything, but apparently our summer house, which is located geographically about 200 km north of Stockholm, is a bit too north for these cuties.

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pelargonia, kesäkukat, puutarha, istutukset

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Ulriksdal Ultimatum

Again in Ulriksdal - impossible to stay away! (you can nicely see my reflection on that lunch tray taking the photo, ELLER HUR ;)?)

What was new this time? Well, they were out of violets, first of all. No wonder, as every single place in Stockholm and its surroundings is decorated with violets. In all possible colors :)! True 'must' this summer.

Second of all - they had made nice rustic installations in different colors.

Green.

Yellow.

Orange.

There will be 3 more posts about my visit still. Obsessed with Orchids. Geranium Geek. Pink Power. Yep, yep - true flower empowered...;)

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puutarha, puutarhaideat

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