Boxing

We moved in the Green House at spring 2009. Since that the house has had us. Today Green Lady is over 80 years old. She was born right after the wars in Lapland, Finland. I love all her wrinkles and we have been slowly renovating her with the idea to respect her age and wisdom. 

The kitchen has gone through several updates. I have given up one full height cabinet because of the fire safety. We have changed the fire place to the iron wood-burning stove. And I gave up the center floor kitchen island which plaid the role of the dining table and cabinet and instead use a traditional style home made Dining Table. But this all has lead to the point, of which I was very aware of when doing it all, that I suffer the lack of the storage place in my kitchen. Giving up vain things is one solution and we've done so. But we can't give up all. After trying to cope with it all since 2018 we have end up to a fact we need some more storage place in our kitchen to make it all work better in practical daily life way. 

That's why I -after planning the solution for 12 months- walked into IKEA Haparanda-Tornio and bought just one Metod 40 x 40 x 60 cabinet and a door for it. All plain white.

I was very extremely proud of me and myself when putting it all up together. I am famous about it that any kind of wood work is not made for me but I have a talent reading the instructions.

But I also went into local super market and bought two packs of d-c-fix adhesive films. I placed the films on each 4 side walls of the cabinet. Then He helped me to screw 4 wheels under the cabinet. 

He helped me also with the iron latch. We bought the wheels and latch from a  local ironware store. Also the wheels are black. 

It is just perfect size for one tiny hole in my kitchen. There is wall installed electric radiator for heating but we don't need that because of our other heating systems in the kitchen so it has been switched off for couple of years by now. That's why we started to see it could be a place for an extra storage. 

I just turn the Metod cabinet upside down. The wheels are fastened there which part should be fastened to the wall. That's how it all turn out actually a box instead of cabinet! It all cost 136,20 € but was worth of trouble. But why I need it if I have given up a lot? What's in?

Ta-dah! It is full of plastic! I can't give up these if I follow the traditional Forest Sámi life style. We freeze a lot of berries and berry made food for the cold season. We hardly never buy vegetables, usually just potatoes. We get our vitamins from the berries. The easiest way in the modern times to storage and use them is just to freeze them. 😛

ChestTable

I promised to show you MyChestTable. Here it is. The whole story goes like this: Once upon a time there was a princess who wanted to have a chest in her living room. A chest to be used as a table. A chest into which she cloud put in all her important things so that no one else could see them. To find a good chest was difficult because the princess had no incomes from her kingdom. To find it was difficult despite she didn't seek the treasure, just the chest.

The princess was very determined because her prince had promised to fix what ever chest if she finds any. That's why the princess went to a recycling center where they recycle all king of vehicles. She knew they recycle also old military equipment. She knew they put items for sale in old boxes. She wanted one of those boxes.

They told her they need all the boxes and have none for sale. The princess could not give up. She offered her last 50€ for a big dirty wooden chest. The salesman could not refuse when he saw the money. So, they made a deal. The salesman emptied the chest and the princess could have the chest if she could carry it away by her own little hands, without any help.

Anyone who has met a real princess knows that they all can do a bit magic. The princess backed off her car as close the ware house door as she dares, rolled the chest to the car and rolled it up into her car.

At home, in a very small castle, the prince was very proud of his princess and filled his promise. At the very happy end the princess had her wooden ChestTable with four wheels under it so that she never needs to carry or roll it around again!

Decoupage, hearts & nails

 So here they are! Visible but unfinished.

The lids need hinges. Now they are just lids you lift away. In the original use they were just nailed to the boxes to avoid misuse.

I finished GreenHeart...

...and started with another BlueHeart.

What comes to my WoollySecret I am happy to tell that finally today I was able to cut Gynter's nails. I started yesterday and finished today. He was a bit unwilling to do it but I was smarter. He got a proper bouncing outdooring moment. He got very tired and then naughty me took the nailclipper and started the operation. Ha haa!

Jumping around had relaxed him. Training during the outdooring made him tired too. So he noticed it was just easier to let me do it. I asked a lot of respection and understanding what it means. He needed to trust in me and I needed to be worth of trusting especially on the moments he lost his faith.

I need to cut his nails often because they have got really long. I can't cut them too short because there could be some bleeding. When we shorten them little by little the veins pull back and at the end the nails will be short enough and kept in that way.

A Day Off

I had a day off; at home. It's been time since I had really honestly a day off. Even the dinner was easy, so I didn't need to bother much at all. That's why I had such wonderful relaxing crafty time with me only.

I started the day with painting.

We all have our own very special addicts. One of mine is wood boxes. People know it and I love it.

These are old bullet boxes. Just trash and would have ended up to be destroyed.

One had weird lid but that is not a problem.

I used old paints.

I painted them in...

...and out.

I need to let them dry proper.

Still my brains think it all the time. I had to go and find my old decoupage papers... We'll be back in business...

I started GreenHeart and stitched it for some time. This time I use Waste Canvas.

I did also some gardening. It is late spring time and my tulips look like this. They are in time.

This is how my BlanketNo2 looks at the moment.

I prepaired it for the next crocheting moment. New shade picked up.

Decoupage

Last days have been filled with stitching my secret project. Now it begins to look like something so it's much more fun to work with it. Soon I must order more threads for it. But it's not so fun try to keep it all hidden!

Despite of stitching and normal daily things I have started to design a book mark gift for a hunter. It should be finished at early May. I have also been decorating a bit with decoupage. Decoupage is fun and cheap method to get some different look. You can use paper napkins, any paper pictures, fabric, decoupage paper etc. for it.

This is an old wooden drawer chest which I found from the side of a trash can in a city. All I did was a good wash and decoupage -it looks great now. It is not something you just made look like old and paid a lot of money. It really is old and seen a lot life despite the wood is in perfect fit. And I must tell you, no nails are used in this drawer chest, it really is old and well done. 

This is an old bullet box that has got new life after painting and decoupage. Instead of bullets this box storages now very important horse stuff. :)

Treasure hunt

Buying an old house and land has one benefit. You never know what to find from the property. This time I found old potato boxes from a shelter. Little garneder who lives inside of me noticed immediately how great flower boxes these want to be. So I brought them inside. Dried by the iron stove (not too close of course). When they were full dried I took them outside on a sunny spring day and brushed them all over. Now I've been turning the whole place upside down and finally found old cans of paint which have few drops left. Those drops are blue. Later on I will paint the boxes and more later plant some flowers.

Ok, now these old wood boxes begin to look something different. The very first violets of the summer 2011 I have grown from the seeds have blossoms now. I covered the boxes by old plastic bags before shoveling the soil in.