Xmas nails

Time for Christmas decorations...



I used Isadora Magnetic Nails "Opposites Attract" as base... looks kinda like a Christmas tree. ;) The dots were made using a toothpick and three different pastel nail polishes. Not perfect because the top coat softened the base a little and the waves are not as sharp as they looked before applying the top coat... but so what?

Merry Christmas!

Christmas preparations

I love the holiday season and start singing Santa Baby already in November, so in my world, it's Christmas already. I love wrapping presents, especially now when Pinterest is full of cool ideas. One of my favorites this year is making a fold in wrapping paper, so you can slide the card inside the fold.

Here's my most recent gift wrapping idea: Tea bag inspired gift tag. I just cut a blank gift tag shorter and drew a tea cup on it and a text "for perfect mornings". Can't tell you yet what the gift contains, sorry!

I've tried to keep decorations to minimum this year, but I couldn't resist making a ginger bread house. I think there was some miscalculation with the roof size though...

The only Christmas decoration allowed in my kitchen, polka dot hearts.

And Washi tape around the glass jar lids.

Treasures and trinkets

While visiting my parents yesterday we went through some old boxes containing stuff that used to belong to my late granparents and other relatives. My mother gave me promision to take whatever I liked... 

 

That little jewelry box actually was mine. I can't remember where I got it... I might have bought it myself when I was around 12 years, who knows...

The pocket watch used to belong to my granfather and might have something to do with WWII. It seems well worn, but still has the original winding key. There's also beautiful engraving inside the back cover: anchor and barrels. The amethyst ring was my granmothers, just like the delicate looking necklace. Not worth much, but I used to admire these as a child whenever I saw my granny wearing these.

My godmother and godfather are selling their place and wanted to get rid of some old stuff, so I got my hands on some lovely costume jewelry my godmother had. I love the collar-like pearl necklace and the vintage watch. I've been meaning to get a tiny teeny watch like this for ages. It's really simple and stylish, in need of a new wristband, and definitely something that I need to remove before going to shower or doing the dishes... Sigh. I guess this means that I have to grow up.

The oddest thing is the little pill box. It belonged to my great-granmother who died before I was born. The box was inside her handbag with some other stuff and still contained around ten pills. I got rid of the pills, but a pill box is something I've also been looking for. Not only do I have one now, but also one that has been in the family for generations. ;)

Chalkware, chalkware on the wall...

Yes, I have the occasional weakness for vintage chalkware wall plaques. And I'm still searching for those perfect oriental chalkware figures for my future mid century styled shadow boxes...

 

These two owls I've had a while now in the lobby. I really love the dark coffee brown color (against the latte colored wall) with the gold accents... they work perfectly together. Maybe I'll find a third one to keep them company someday? 

 

Here's what I got today, sunflowers! Yay!

I'm not sure where to hang these yet. These belonged to my godmother (Thank you!!!) and I know they predate 1980's, but I'm not sure whether these are from 70's or 60's. (My best bet is 1970's.) All really I know is that I've loved these ever since I first saw these when I was little.

Here comes the sun(flower)... And I say it's all right...

I need to knit something cute asap!

The weather's getting a bit chilly here in Finland. Not cold enough for proper winter hat, but just perfect for wearing a soft woolly head band. I came up with an idea to knit a head band in tube so it can be twisted and still look the same on both sides. I made it wide enough so I can hide occasional bad hair day with it.

I used some left over yarn (it matches my rubber boots!) from my stash. I've made head bands before, but this one was the first one I knitted in round. Super easy one night (or two) project while watching TV. I used 5 double pointed needles, 40 stitches, plain knit all the way. When it was long enough to go around my head, I ended it with "slip one - knit one & pass slipped stitch over". Then just twisted once and hand stitched the ends neatly together. I used less than one ball of yarn, so I still got some left for possible decorations, perhaps a crochet flower?

I think the pale pink head band would look cool on someone with darker hair. Maybe I'll make one in black too!

The latest flame...

I recently discovered Miss L Fire shoes... and their webstore. The shoes looked so fabulous I couldn't help myself. I ordered two pairs that were on sale.

Even though they are pretty, I truly fell in love after I tried them on. They're like heaven to wear! And very well made with good quality materials. I simply Need more of these. ;)



Some of my favourites.

Want to see more? Look here. ;)

Bringing Zen to my living room

I live in a late 1950's building and tend to choose 50's items and  style also in my home decoration. I like the simplicity of mid-century design but I'm not too strict with decades or styles, as long as everything looks and feels good.

Most of the furniture in my home is either inherited or bought used. Living so close to IKEA I haven't been able to avoid having something new as well. I try to keep the amount of stuff to a minimum, it's easier to clean and I think vintage furniture looks better with some space around them. I've recently developed a growing interest on minimalism and started a never ending project of decluttering the apartment.

My latest interior design project (apart from throwing stuff away) is a little zen garden/beach to the living room coffee table. I love to doodle and the fine sand makes a nice surface to draw with a stick. A zen garden is a fun alternative for coffee table books or flowers. I didn't place any plants in my mini beach since I want to be able to put the dish away to a cupboard from time to time.

I've brought the sea shells as souvenirs from my trips to Australia, Africa and India. I like to have them somewhere so I can look at them during the long cold winters and think about the warm sand on the beach.

The decoration sand I bought from a candle shop, the dish was made by my mother. The chair shown in second picture is Danish design from 1957 and the table is from local flea market, can't really tell the decade, I'm guessing it's from early 60's.

Sunday sunday...

Since we live in Finland, it's about time we write little something about vintage shopping in our home town Tampere. One of our most recent vintage shopping sprees took place in Suvi-Fintage event, held by local vintage enthusiasts. The event took place in Tallipiha stable yards, which is a tourist attraction in the centre of Tampere. Tallipiha is a nice place to visit even without any special event. Small craft shops and cafés offer a relaxing getaway from the noise of the city and the surroundings take you back in time.

At Tallipiha you can find different kinds of hand crafts and there's a chocolate shop open year round.

We had there a lovely, laid back Sunday shopping and eating ice cream...

On our way home we popped in to a giant ginger bread house in the city center.

We'll write more about vintage shopping in Tampere soon. Until next time!

Let's swap those dresses

Dress swaps are a fun way to recycle clothes and a good excuse to throw a party for girls only. Here's how I organized mine a while ago.

I sent the invitations 2-3 weeks beforehand so the guests would have time to go through their wardrobes and find items they no longer use. I knew most of my friends were planning to go to see some bands play later that evening so I figured the girls would be in the mood for a little pre party with cocktails.

Most of us wear the same sizes and have similar style, so we had plenty of stuff to swap. It doesn't matter if all guests aren't the same size though, you can always swap hats, purses, shoes and accessories.

Should there be a theme?
I think it's not necessary to have a theme, but it helps. People have so much stuff nowadays, so you might not want them to bring all their extra clothes at once. I invited friends who are all into vintage style and swing dancing so we mostly had clothing and accessories under those categories.  You could also have a summer clothes swap, or office clothes swap, anything really.

Sell it or give it?
We swapped some items and some were sold & bought. The main idea was not to make money but recycle and save money. When you invite people who know each other there shouldn't be any problems to decide on these things. It's  a great feeling to know your old favorite dresses have a good  new home in your friends wardrobe and they don't all go to strangers via drift stores.

My dress swap theme was five o'clock tea with cocktails, so we had some tea with blueberry cheesecake, home made macaroons, cucumber sandwiches etc. The cocktail was of course a martini,  but since it's summer I made it with watermelon and vodka. The recipe

I found a matching feather fashinator for my dress! I'm like a walking zoo with all the feathers and panther spots.

After swapping & cocktails we headed to the local club to dance and listen to some amazing  old school rock'n'roll bands.

I came home around 3 am, feet hurting like crazy but my heart bubbling with joy, what a perfect evening!

Shopping in Como, Italy

We wanted to write about vintage shopping in Como, but since there are just couple of shops even remotely vintage, we are going to share what we think are the must see spots in this beautiful northern Italian city.

The reason why we travel to same city every year at the same time is Swing Crash Festival, one of Europe's biggest swing dance events during summer. We usually shop during the day and dance the night away... In between we enjoy Italian cuisine with nice wines. Here are some of our top picks from our latest trip:

Vintage shops

For clothes there's a shop called Mercatino Michela on Via Francisco Benzi 13. They mostly had modern fashion but there were some vintage pieces as well. The prices are quite high from our point of view.

We've only managed to find one shop that sells vintage stuff that's not really "old antique". It's located behind the main bus station and it's called Mercatino Usato. They have loads of stuff from past decades and prices are fairly cheap.

There's a department store called COIN in the center of Como (Via Boldoni 3), you can find people selling random vintage items next to the store in a small alley on most days. Handbags, jewelry and watches would be items to look for from those tables.

Vintage reptile embossed leather purse found last summer. 

Shoe shops

Our two favourite shoe shops are Square and Black One. Square has all the shoes categorized by size and they all cost the same, this year 30 eur, but we've seen 15 eur days too. And they got Italian leather shoes!

A shop called Black One has a great selection of Italian shoes, and the prices are very competitive, you can find chic leather shoes for 40 euros or even cheaper. Blackone is located on Piazza S. Fedele. We've never left Blackone without a new pair of shoes!

Square on Via Giuseppe Rovelli

Take a break

While us girls spend an hour in each shoe shop trying everything in our size, our male companions sit down for a cold beer in Café Tropical. They have nice seating outside and very friendly and welcoming staff. Sometimes they bring a complimentary snack. Their bathroom in the back yard is also something to see. Somewhat an exotic experience, go and find out!

Cafe Tropical is located opposite to Square shoe shop on Via Giuseppe Rovelli

Rosé wine for cooling down between shoe shops

Wine & dine

There are plenty of good restaurants in Como. Our all time favorites are the Il Pomodorino on Via Cinque Giornate and La Darsena by the lake. Pomodorino has outside seating in a small courtyart, very good place for a romantic dinner. La Darsena is the place to go if you want to watch the sunset while you eat. Both places serve pizza, price approx. 8-12 euros, bottle of local wine 20-25 euros.

Dessert

Gelato is the obvious choice for dessert, snack, breakfast and for cooling down on a hot summer day. If you want something else, we recommend frozen yoghurt from the Yogurt & Co. It's delicious! 

Other stuff

If you are staying in Como for longer there are plenty of cool things to see and do. If the weather's nice (it usually is) there's a beach near the fountain. Just walk on the right hand side of the lake  (looking from the Piazza Cavour) untill you see a big fountain in the lake. There's a pizza restaurant and they've got a little private beach on their back yard. They charge for everything, but for 15 euros you'll get an entrance, towel and a sun bed.

Be a tourist

There are boats going to every little village along the banks of lago di Como. A great day trip is to visit Bellagio. It's quite touristic, but there's a chance to bump into George Clooney...

If you've already traveled along the lake, so next step is to try a bit of hiking up the hill. For beginners (like us) we recommend riding the Funicolare up to Brunate and walking the trail up to the Volta Lighthouse. the altitude is 900 meters above sea level, so remember to keep hydrated and take it easy if the weather is hot.

When you're walking up the hill and you see this sign, you're not even close. So take a break and have a cold drink, the view is great!

Wiev from Dolce Basilico

More shopping?

If you are up for some vintage shopping, hop on the train and ride to Milano. If you've rented a car and are into more modern look, there's a massive outlet mall in Switzerland side of the border, it's called FoxTown.

There's a market each Saturday next to the wall that surrounds Como from south. You'll find loads of cheap Chinese clothes from there, but also some Italian clothing and shoes. Watch your purse, it can get crowded in there!

Ice cream sticks and banana splits

I've been eating a lot of ice cream this summer and the sticks started piling up. So I got crafty and made these simple chalk board inspired labels for my herb garden on the balcony.

 

I used ordinary craft paint and white marker. Any mistakes on white marker can be fixed with a black narrow marker.

Suomeksi: Jäätelötikuista voi tehdä liitutaulu-henkisiä minikylttejä yrttiruukkuihin. Tavallista askartelumaalia kerros, pari ja teksti vedenkestävällä valkoisella tussilla. Jos tekstistä tulee sotkuinen, sitä voi korjailla päälle mustalla kapealla tussilla.

Dance proof pin curls

I like trying out different vintage inspired hairstyles on my medium length bob. Since my hair is now too short for most up do's I make curls if I want to have a vintage look for a night out dancing. The problem with curls and dancing is that usually curls won't last the whole night in humid air at the dance venues but I have come up with a solution that works really well for my hair.

I'm a big fan of LisaFreemontStreet's hair tutorials on YouTube. I'm not going to make my own video of pin curling since Ashley's video is very well made, see it here , I just add here some pointers I have found useful through trial and error of trying to make my curls last the whole night.

Pins in random pattern, top hair is more loosely curled than other parts

frizzy hair before brushing 

I try to be extra careful getting the ends to curl neatly inside the curl. To make sure all the curls are going to turn out beautifully I make a little test; I blow dry the hair when I've done all the pinning to accelerate the curling process and also to spot any ends poking out. If such appears I pin that part again.

I also randomly open one or two curls after one or two hour to see how damp the hair is and how's the curl turning out. If somethings wrong (hair's too wet, the curl's already too curly) I can still make adjustments.

If I have time I don't sleep with the pin curls but make them couple of hours before going out. My hair is so short in the neck that the pins fall out during the night even if I wear a scarf. If the short hair in the neck doesn't curl well, then I use curling iron to that part.

The most important part after pinning is brushing. The curls will last the whole night if you brush them well and add hairspray when you're finished. This way the curls will be one big section and not individual curls. Somehow it makes the curls last longer and you won't have individual straight parts if the curls start to fade. I sometimes back comb the neck hair for extra volume.

I like to use non-alcoholic hair products when ever possible. Usually they are not as effective as the regular ones but they're more gentle to the hair. I found one hold spray that works really well for hairdos like this, it's L'anza Healing Style spray gel. This time I also used Wella Stay Styled hairspray for finishing touch because of the rainy weather.
I was dancing whole night and even took part in a Jack & Jill competition and hair stayed put!

If I want to have my hair curly also the next morning, I pin it back onto curls before going to bed. A good look for the second day hair is to wear a bandanna for "Rosie the Riveter"-look

Suomeksi: Lyhyehköön polkkatukkaan saa helposti vintage-tyylisen kampauksen pinnikiharoilla. Suosittelen katsomaan tämän videon, jossa on yksityiskohtaiset ohjeet, miten hiukset kannattaa valmistella ja miten kiharat tehdään. Huolellinen pohjatyö on kaikkein tärkein vaihe pinnikiharoissa; jos joku hiustupsu jää suoraan alkuvaiheessa, sen todellakin huomaa lopputuloksessa.

Itse olen yrityksen ja erehdyksen kautta havainnut, että näin lyhyissä hiuksissa pinnit eivät välttämättä pysy paikallaan nukkuessa, joten pyrin tekemään kiharat vasta muutama tunti ennen iltaa. Noin 3 tuntia riittää jos hiukset ovat vain vähän kosteat. Prosessia voi nopeuttaa hiustenkuivaimella, samalla huomaa jos joku kihara on huonosti kierretty ja hiuksia alkaa törröttää kiharasta ulos. Mikäli niskahiukset ovat todella lyhyet, voi ne käsitellä erikseen kihartimella silllä välin kun muut hiukset on pinneillä kiinni.

Ylimmässä kuvassa näkyy, että olen kiertänyt päälimmäiset hiukset aika löysästi kiharoille.Halusin päällihiuksien kihartuvan vasta latvaa kohden, jotta saan kiharoiden painopisteen alemmaksi, ja hiukset on helpompi saada sileäksi päältä.

Pinnikiharoista saa villin näköiset jos hiuksia ei kampaa kunnolla auki, mutta jos haluaa vintage glamour-tyylisen kampauksen, kiharoiden aukiharjaaminen on tärkeää. Kun pinnit irrottaa, kiharat näyttävät usein aikamoiselta harakanpesältä. Tästä ei kannata pelästyä, vaan ottaa hiusharja kauniiseen käteen ja alkaa kärsivällisesti muotoilemaan kiharoita haluttuun muotoon. Irtohiukset voi silottaa paikalleen esimerkiksi hiusvahalla. Jotta kampaus kestää kosteutta ja tanssilattialla pyörimistä, kannattaa kiinnittää kiharat paikoilleen hyvällä hiuslakalla.

Hiukset saa pysymään kiharalla seuraavaan päivään, kun kiertää ne suurinpiirtein takaisin kiharoille ja kiinnittää pinneillä yöksi. Jos kiharat eivät ole aamulla enää parhaassa terässä, voi laittaa huivin päähän Rosie the Riveter-tyyliin.