My treasury list

Today I got my first Treasury in Etsy! If you aren't familiar with Etsy, "Treasury" means a list that Etsy users can make to show and promote other etsians. It isn't easy to get one, as there are only 333 lists available and lots of users that want to make these lists. It was fun to make one, but it took a lot more time that I would have thought - even though you can only choose 12 items of all those lovely things that there are in Etsy...

Here are my elections:



Yeah, I know, have to practice these snap shot views still... Well, if you want to see the complete list better, you can visit the list at http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=20699 . It will expire next Sunday.

Knitting, knitting... and some film making

I've been knitting like crazy these last weeks. Yes, I started a Christmas present too late again. This time it's a sweater for my boyfriend. I never learn to start any time consuming Christmas gift projects already in the summer. Well, this time I have a good excuse - it was surprisingly difficult to find woollen yarn. Mexicans just looove acrylic yarns, it seems...

In the picture you can see a lonely little moose that decorates the front of the sweater. Simple is beautiful... especially when you have a deadline coming!

Did you know you can knit and study at the same time? I noticed it last week as I had to finish some last essays for the University, and had to read some electronic texts, too. Knitting when you read an electronic book actually helps you to concentrate (not always on the book, though... ;-)

My knitting project has also accompanied me to a film making scene. On Saturday I worked as an extra in "Dragon Ball". Actually I worked (read: walked in the backround of some scenes) about 2 hours of all the 13 hours we had to be in there. The rest of the time we extras were just sitting or hanging around bored. But it's okay, as you get paid quite well. Besides, I could also knit...

Well, gotta go now - I have some serious knitting to do!

My first Etsy sale!

I'm so excited! I made my first Etsy sale today. Thank you, Valerie!

I have sold quite a lot of jewelry in Finland, but it's still nice to notice that people elsewhere are interested in my creations too. Besides, at least here in Mexico it's believed that the first sale brings good luck... Hopefully it works for my shop, too!

Here is the picture of the lucky bracelet, called "Walking in the woods", as it was inspired by my favorite forest back in Finland.



Today was also a shopping day, as I went with my friend to Ciudadela, one of the biggest crafts market here in Mexico City. Actually I only went to keep company and help my friend to choose some gifts for her family. But you just can't go to Ciudadela without buying something... Everything is so beautiful, colorful and unique and there are crafts from every corner of Mexico there. I just love the Mexican crafts!

Well, this time I only bought a bag. And I needed it! I have been thinking of buying one for a while now, as I always manage to broke my bags. The one I bought doesn't have as many pockets I would need, but it is so big that at least I can carry a lot of books to the university (that's how my bags usually break - I guess I'm always carrying too much things in them). I found also lovely watermelon-shaped plates, but they will have to wait for the next time.

About traditions

The 6th of Decembre was Finland's Independence Day, so all the Finns living in Mexico were invited to a little reception in the Embassy in the afternoon. It was nice to see other members of the community and eat some Finnish coctail snacks.

One thing I've noticed after I moved abroad is that you become more tradiotionalist and maybe a bit more patriotic too. Not that I though Finland is the best country of the world or something like that. Living abroad can make you very nostalgic sometimes, but it also helps to see the richness of other cultures. But yes, I'm proud of being Finnish and having been brough up there - my cultural heritage is part of what makes me the person I am. And yes, I also love some traditions of my home country and try to celebrate them here in Mexico too. Especially what comes to food - for example Christmas isn't Christmas without some gingerbread or glögi (spicy mulled wine, can be prepared also without alcohol). Besides, it's fun to combine traditions - my Mexican boyfriend also loves joulukalenteri (the advent calendar - I haven't seen any here in Mexico) and baking piparkakkutalo (gingerbread house).

Talking about different traditions, last week we decorated the Christmas tree in my boyfriend's house. I could also make the nacimiento (a kind of nativity scene typical for Mexican homes) all by my self. I'm not religious at all, but it was fun making the nativity scene with all the religious figures, animals, and with moss and lichen. I though it woudn't take that much time, as the scene isn't very big, but then I found myself making bridges and little palm trees out of moss and couple of sticks I found accidentaly... I wasn't totally happy with the result - need more materials!! - but it looks quite nice anyway. Maybe next year I'll be the one who buys the materials so I can make it more beautiful. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of the nacimiento for now, I'll try to add some later.

Winter creations...

So I promised to send here some photos of my crafts... Here are some photos of my "First Snow" jewelry set.

Blogging for the first time!

Hello everyone!

This will be my first blog... (well, not actually the first, as I created a test blog a while ago... It doesn't count, any way, as I never told anyone about it and never really wrote anything but couple of test messages.)

This blog will be about my life in Mexico and about the crafts I do (and sell on Etsy!). And maybe something else too - we'll see when I start to write more.

Thanks for dropping by and come back soon! I'll try to write often and put some pictures too!

Visit also my shop at www.colibridreams.etsy.com.