COUNTING TREES, A GIFT LIST OF DECEMBER

These streets and views in different weather became very familiar to me during November, a month in a residency in Reykjavík. My Travelogue grew in wind, in snowy days and in sunshine and frost pinching nose. With dear new friends and so many shared teacups and cakes, songs of ravens. The lighthouse was twinkling, the Aurora Borealis danced on the sky. Swimming water was warm, the mountains snowy. The paintings were done with the support from Arts Promotion Centre Finland.

If you are looking something to give to your dearest, these are some items available with my illustrations:
Breathe and Be, A Book About Mindfulness Poems illustrated book, also available here
Blue Skies umbrella
Red Cap Cards stationary
In Flight temporary tattoos
Mon Herbier herbarium book
Casa di fiaba illustrated book
L'ours et le soleil illustrated book
Spring Allotment poster
Garden of A Moon Gazer poster
Dandelion Fields Box of Labels
Dandelion Fields Notecards

Kisses, warmth, long walks and snowy peaks!

MERRY DAYS!

Very puffy snowflakes, long walks in forests and warmth of hot cups and bonfires! Merry winter days to you!

Thank you for this happy year full of memories, thank you for your warming words, orders and commissions!

♥♥♥

The last orders from my small online shop will be shipped on the 19th of December, this Saturday. The next shipping will be on the 2nd of January, 2016.

FLOWERS, NO WAR

Grey and wet outside, but so fresh and lovely. Lights appearing here and there in dusk, wonderful scent of firewood in stoves. Frost greeting on some mornings, the snow still feels like far away thought.

Special magazine, Mollie Makes Colouring, available in UK and with worldwide shipping from Mollie Makes online store. 66 exclusive illustrations, five of mine, to you to colour, colour pencils included.

Hearts!

WINTER MAGIC TO YOU

Wishing you warmth, smiles, a few kindly hugging snowflakes and peace! Lots of winter magic and many many happy melodies for the New Year! Let's take it easy now and enjoy the silent moments. Let's remember the small animals in the forests and the ones who might be lonely. Thanking you for visiting here! Many many smiles to you! See you soon again! ♥ ♥ ♥

WILD PEONIES, A PRINT, ONLINE SHOP UPDATE

Some snowflakes are floating in sunshine and the lake was a little bit frozen from the shore this morning. Waking up with candle light, pouring an extra cup of tea, watching as jackdaws visit the rowan tree, berry by berry. Welcome winter!

Wild Peonies, for the arriving dim times, to brighten up a little. An A3-sized poster available now in my small online shop.

Pink, orange, yellow, green, turquoise, small details collected from my late summer walks on my soft watercolour paper.

I Dream, a few detail photos added.

The shop is updated with more posters and books, for the winter's sake. The first ten orderers receive an extra winter greeting card as a thank you for the coming celebrations.

  ♥  ♥  ♥

I´m over the Moon because of this week's newspaper article about the book that has a cover with my illustration. So rarely the book cover illustrator is mentioned, but this time the work was seen. And liked. Thank you!

Red-cheeked winter greetings!

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Kauniita sanoja Helsingin Sanomissa Marja-Leena Mikkolan Helmenkantaja-kirjasta ja sen kannesta. Hurjasti kiitos!

HIDING FOX, JACADI F/W 2014, PART II

The one who is hiding in colourful leaves and winter flowers walks so silently with its soft paws. The winter flowers are covered in frost, shining in golden sunshine. The forests have turned to yellow, orange and red with their leaves. The sound of forests is rustling of fallen leaves under feet steps. Or paws.

For the ones who are adventurous little nature expeditors.

And for the ones who endlessly see interesting things.

And for even smaller ones that see every little detail.

And for the ones whose paws go from story to story.

For the ones who eagerly learn everyday something new.

For the ones with special occasions.

And for the ones that need to stay very warm, to expedite a little longer.

Winter Bouquet Collection is now available at Jacadi Paris with the Feather Collection with my illustrations. It was very lovely to get your messages and hear that you like the little owl. Hopefully you enjoy this little fox cub too!

Here the days are very colourful in the afternoons and misty in the mornings with frost. Wishing this moment would last a little longer and then the snow would already float and cover everything with its softness and brightness.

Stay warm in the weekend winds!


(All the photos are by Jacadi Paris, the illustration by me.)

IN SHADOWS OF TREES

Under tree shadows, on forest paths, on city streets with Canadian jugglers, swimming and reading.

Helmenkantaja by Marja-Leena Mikkola is a sweet but adventurous story about a girl and her journey under summery shiny waters. Cover illustration by me, design by Päivi Puustinen, published by Otava in Finnish. So grateful to illustrate this cover for my own childhood favourite author.

Tickling sun beams!

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Heippa!

"Klassikko tekijän suloinen mutta jännittävä saturomaani ammentaa taitavasti vanhasta suomalaisesta tarinaperinteestä.

Eräänä aamuna Reetta näkee kesäpaikan rannassa suuren pyrstön välähdyksen vedessä. Hän saa viimein varmistuksen sille minkä on aavistanut aina: veden pinnan alla on kokonainen toinen todellisuus salaisuuksineen, aarteineen ja vaaroineen.

Veden väki on ahdingossa. Joku on vienyt Veden emännän kauniin pienokaisen. Reetan on aika täyttää oma osuutensa ikivanhasta ennustuksesta."  Otava

Oman lapsuudensuosikkini Marja-Leena Mikkolan Helmenkantaja-kirja kuvittamallani kannella on ilmestynyt! Design: Päivi Puustinen, julkaisija: Otava.

Leppoisia hellepäiviä!

LITTLE WINTERY SUNSHINES

So golden the light when it appears.

So sweet the little people on the covers of Babee Magazine of Korea. With my paintings on the backgrounds. (14th anniversary issue of October with Forest Cuckoo, November issue with Under Ice detail and September issue with In Meadows.)

It has been some stormy nights, and a few rainy days, but mainly the weather is a non-weather. All stays silent and grey. The peeks of sun today here are very shy, but still they colour everything they reach to colour gold. For a little moment.

The weather has been somewhere else. Thinking how much is lost in the Philippines.

Little smiles!

NOVEMBER WINDS

Hello November and the disappearing peeks of sun rays! Hello Monday and grey weather with the warmth of the weekend of jazz concerts still caressing. Hello end of the year with still so many possibilities, chances. 

A calendar for the coming year is published by Frankie Magazine, month of October with my Morning Frost Meadow.

The new issue 56 of Frankie includes The Scribble Club to keep hands busy. Five pretty much grown-up illustrations to colour-in. Strawberry Path next to a wild person's portrait by Irana Douer, happy to be in the same publication with her again.

The cover image of little lullabying cat in the girl's arms is by Anke. Loving it so much. ♥

Some days the little lake behind my windows has forest islands floating across after very blowy nights. The other days they are gone. Today they are gone.

The small online shop is updated with some copies of the Casa di Fiaba book, a few postcard sets and prints.

Sweet melodies of raindrops!


(In the second photo illustration on the left is by Ilana Douer, on the third photo the magazine cover illustration is by Anke Weckmann.)

FIRST WINTER BITES

Last winter, I had the honour to paint winter stories for Jacadi Paris. The collection for little ones is now available. There are a frosty forest all-over pattern and many small little winter animals to accompany the long dark winter months.

The little hedgehog who still is searching for a perfect pile of dried leaves to get cozy for the winter's sleep.

There are four different blouses or dresses with Frost Forest pattern.

One and two.

A little bit of small accessories.

Soft warm sleeves with little forest animals.

The hedgehog walking tiny steps through a forest of rustling leaves.

And the leaves that rustle also on branches. And on someone's antlers.

More soft and warm to wrap around when the colder winds blow.

And a little peek to the future with mountains and snow.

Three and four. Hopefully all the little dancing feet are ready to celebrate the arrival of winter.

You can find the whole collection in the French online shop and partly also in the US online shop.

Can you believe, that it was already snowing here last week? It was such a sunny and cold day. And one moment there were the most beautiful snowflakes floating in the air. It lasted just a little moment. Always magical moment.

Happy October, stay warm!

(The photos by Jacadi Paris.)

CASA DI FIABA, HOUSE OF FABLE

Home is where your heart is. Or your heart is where your home is. Fire burns where your home is, so your home is also where the fire burns. Home is filled with dreams and magic. Home is where it is nice to leave from, but even better to get back to. Sometimes a home is carried with you. A home on wheels.

It is my pleasure to show the first children's book that I illustrated: a poem about homes and different kinds of houses by Giovanna Zopoli, published by lovely Topipittori.

Home, hem, hjem, heim, Haus, casa, kodu, koti, domicile. All so different, but protecting and comforting. Such a big sorrow to loose a home. Such a force to build a new one. All the history of one house and its tenants. Our nests.

Maybe not such a big surprise anymore which kind is my dream home. Friends know it best: "You indeed would be a high and narrow, wooden one!" What kind of house you would like to be?

Thank you, grazie, Giovanna and Paolo for this wonderful journey through homes! 

The book, in Italian, is available here. Hopefully you enjoy!

Sunday, jazz playing in my radio. Sunny rain shower caressing windows. Candles burning, no hurry anywhere. Autumn favourite, pea soup boiling. Home is today filled with a light that has the hues of autumn. Brush strokes with the colour of warm orange and book reading moments on the sofa, wrapped in wool.

Calm autumn coloured Sunday wishes!

P.s. Almost one year ago.

THE KALEVALA, A MUSICAL TOY

In 1835 was published the first version of the Finnish national epic, Kalevala. It is a story about the creation of the world and adventure of witches and nature, collected and compiled from oral folklore by physician and philologist Elias Lönnrot.

He made eleven field trips to collect the stories from people. Väinämöinen is one of the main characters of the epic, singing magically and playing a kantele that he built of the jawbones of a pike. There are also a bear, a swan, boats, the god of the sky Ukko, singing contests, a magical talisman and many great journeys.

In 2010 my friends Oliver Blank and Kalle Karjalainen had the idea about making a small musical toy and interactive painting about this great story. It took a little while. This summer we received a small fund for it, thank you for that Kalevala Korun Kulttuurisäätiö! Today you can finally see the app and download it for free for your iPhone or iPad.

Hopefully you enjoy it! 

Happy melodies of a rainy day. ♥

The Kalevala, an interactive painting and musical toy

Concept and music by Oliver Blank

Illustrations by Anna Emilia Laitinen

Programming by Kalle Karjalainen

(The photos are by Mr. Oliver Blank.)

...

Heippa! 

Pieni sovelmamme, The Kalevala, on viimein saatavilla täältä.

Onnellista sateenropinaa!