2012

I'll leave that as a sum for this year, and hope that all the bad news this year - will in fact, lead to good new. Or maybe it already has, I just don't know it yet. I had a lot of setbacks this year. But the fact that I got a ring on my finger, makes it a very good year. So I see the potential of good news for the rest of my life! ;)

Happy New Year!!

Growing a Tree..Maybe?

Rose 'Match Point'

I've got a new favourite rose, definitely on the Top Five List. The rose is called Match Point, or that's what I've been told. So correct me if I'm wrong! It's light purple, big and perfect. Especially for New Year's decorations!

Holiday Greetings in a Flash ;)

Sorry, I know this isn't the best animation you've seen... But I'm finally figuring it out. Now it can only get better, now that I know a bit about the basics. 

Although on every lesson we have really little time to finish each task, so the drawing is poorly, oh so poorly done in this one.. But the lack of time is no excuse! I really need to improve my digital drawing. But I felt proud about this one, and it seemed to fit the occasion today. Maybe it'll put a smile on your face too.

So Merry Christmas everyone out there, I hope you'll have a lovely holiday!

Oh, Holy - Borus!

Or Helleborus, as the real name for it is. Even called the Christmas Rose or Julros in Swedish. Beautiful, looks so delicate, but is quite poisonous when "bleeding". So it's a good idea to wash your hands after handling them, and keep out of reach from children and maybe animals(if you got chewers in your household!).
I could really imagine a bridal bouquet for me with some of these flowers in it.. Especially since you can find them in this pure white, lime, purple and black color tones. Difficult to pick which color to use though..

Christmas Spirit

Ahh, yesterday I begun with my Christmas presents.. today, I'm almost finished.. missing one, and it's a tricky one. I'll think about it, and buy it on Sunday.
It sure feels like Christmas, my feet are sore after working in the flower shop all day and my head feels unusually empty after talking with customers all day, haha.. But still, I made a loop in the stores to do the most of my holiday shopping. Took me about 1½ hour, and it didn't even feel stressful. That's the way it always should feel, for everyone! The key is to plan ahead.
Well.. to really get into that Christmas spirit, I'm going to watch one or some Christmas related movies(haven't decided which one yet. Love Actually, Gremlins or Nightmare before Christmas..? My head is saying ALL of them!) Maybe take a glass of wine, eat sushi and finish with chocolate. Mmm, my kind of Christmas!

Third of Advent

This last Sunday.. The third of Advent, I finally tasted this year's Blossa Glögg!
For those of you who doesn't know what it is, it's a hot beverage similar to the french "vin chaud" or the german "glühwein". Really good and typical for the winter season. The "normal" glögg has a certain and very classic taste, but a lot of companies produce alternative flavours or the classic mixed in different ways. Even in a lot of homes recipes circulate and people have or create their own recipes with wine, fruits, berries and spices.
Blossa is a Swedish company producing glögg, and every year they have a new taste and edition - limited to that year. It's always exciting to try the new one. But I have to admit, it wasn't that special this year. The flavour this season was "Yuzu & Ginger". Before I tasted it, I thought it would become my new favourite because I love ginger. It didn't make the top charts, it was quite tame. All in all, alright and with a sweet citrus taste but I'm still disappointed.

Good with support

Yes remember, it's good to support the stems of the Amaryllis. At home I do it this way, and it's well needed when looking at the three! stems growing upwards.. I hope I'll be home when it's in bloom.
At work we have for example used a lot of long cinnamon sticks, to support the different kinds of amaryllis. And the just use a nice string, thin rope or ribbon to keep it in place. Very holiday appropriate!

Christmas Cards

Sorry, I know I promised flower inspiration this week.. And it's coming, but I haven't had the time due to car problems and a lot of work. But will hopefully be able to upload some fun stuff by tomorrow evening.

Here is the image I chose to use in my Christmas Cards this year, printed on white and dark grey metallic paper. Shimmer, shimmer..! Was inspired by the pop art style on my Christmas napkins (I've posted about the napkins I had for Easter earlier, I just love all the colors and the Andy W'style). Used a holiday picture of my sister, she haven't recived her card yet.. so don't really know what kind of reaction I'll get, haha..

Plans for New Year's

Yes, going to Copenhagen for New Year's.. Really looking forward to it! We're planning quite the evening and supper, together with friends on that particular Eve. :)
Usually I have been working every year Christmas or New Year's, or both. But for the first time in years, I'm just working until the 23rd of December. After that, vacation.. Sweet!
I finished all of my school assignments and deadlines, during this week. Feels good, to be able to relax from school. But before the vacation can start, a week filled with flower and christmas inspiration in the shop and some hours spreading some joy, food and beverages at the restaurant.

By the way, saw the movie The Hobbit yesterday.. See it!! I got chills on multiple occasions, it was incredible as expected. Saw it in 2D, but decided that I want to see it one more time in the 3D High frame rate version. Because there has been a lot of discussions about which version is the best one. So I want to see the differences for my self, and compare!

Snow Patrol

I'm a bit torned.. I love winter, and I don't want to change my opinion about that. But Mr.Frost you're really pushing it!! I wanted it to snow. But it snowed so much it made my car disappear..! No. But it was totally covered in snow, and when I tried to start it - It wouldn't start!!
I know, it's probably the battery because of the cold and the fact that we don't use the car that much.. but a mechanic thought there was something else too.. Not very nice, when you really want to spend your money elsewhere these weeks before the holidays.
It continued to snow again and again, so the car got totally covered once more. But the worst part is, the car was stuck because of all the snow. It wasn't possible for anyone to help us move it, until the company who owns the area got rid of all the snow.. it took them almost a week! And there was nothing I could do besides wait for them to plow the area..
So when they finally did, I had to call the insurance company. Luckily they paid for the tow truck. I dug out the car and then waited for someone to help me move it to the nearest mechanic, so they could take a look at it. Now I'm just waiting for that phone call..
-Hi, give me your salary, your savings and your left foot.. then you'll have your car back. Merry Christmas! MooHahaHaha..! (the mechanic's evil laugh)

I still love winter and snow, but I really should be careful what I wish for. I just didn't think it would work.. It never did when I wished for snow, working winter seasons in the French Alps.

Second of Advent

Second candle lit yesterday, I'm almost finished with the Christmas cards, have already eaten my fair amount of gingerbread dough and the Christmas tree and a few decorations have spread around the appartment. It has been snowing(a lot!) for two weeks on and off. So it definitely feels like Christmas..a real white one! :D
Haven't had the time to watch my favourite Christmas movies yet, so I have to plan a movie marathon. But I think I have to save it for next week. This is the last week in school this year, so I have a busy schedule finishing a couple of projects and assignments.

Next week it's all about work. Working in a flower shop the week before Christmas is awesome, and a lot of customers are stressed. Then it's good to calm the customers down, by meeting and maybe exceeding their expectations with a beautiful gift, flower arrangement or bouquet.
Looking forward to be creative with flowers again, it's been a while since last time. I will document my work and post flower inspiration next week, so stay tuned.

My spot

When I have school work to do, I have spent a lot of time working on it at home because I didn't really like my spot/desk space in school. But in the beginning of this semester the people in my class were able to change places if we wanted to, that is. Stuck in old habits, I never did.
But tomorrow we have a Swedish comic book artist, Ola Skogäng, coming to have a lecture for us. Yeah, I'm really looking forward to it and so is the rest of the class. So anyway, I went up to the school to clean my desk and shelf.. and just tidy things and our studio a bit up, a few artists are a bit... messy.. sometimes. "All brilliant people are". But I decided to change my place in the studio, better late than never!
So I moved all my things to a desk with a wall behind it(had a place in the middle of the room before) and then I decorated it. I feel really good about it, and I'm definitely going to do a lot more of my work in school now! The finishing touch, pimped my working table with a Christmas touch! What is Christmas without hugs and Dave Grohl with antlers, I wonder..?! :D

Last day

I told you, the Ahlstromeria lasts for a good while.. this is the same flower as in the earlier blogpost. But the stem didn't look as fabulous, so I cut it down.
Today I'm going to make this year's Christmas cards and if I have the time between school and training, maybe bake som gingerbread. I love this time a year..

First of Advent

Yesterday we lit the first candle.. The first of Advent. Only a few weeks til Christmas, yeah..!

A few christmas and wintery things have entered the appartment. And today was a super beautiful and extremely COLD day. With minus 20 degrees Celsius, my face and scarf froze so when I finally arrived to school this morning - I kind of looked like Santa! But it was so early, so I hardly met anyone on my way.. Haha.. Thankfully!

Well, I have been working on a children's book for school. But it's based on an old and already published story, so I can't really post it here on the blog. (Due to copyright etc, etc..) But I really liked the caracters I drew and created, so I'm probably going to incorporate them into my own stories! Maybe I should start working on a script right away..? Hmm.. But before that, I'm going to enjoy being finished with the school assignment and do my nails. Saw an ad with white nailpolish that looks like snow.. just had to try it out!

Friday Flowers

Keeping it simple this weekend with just a few flowers, in small vases here and there in the appartment. Leucadendron and also, one of my favourites, Ahlstromeria.
I often experience that customers buying flowers underestimate this last one. You can find it in amazing colors, often blended colors and they often last longer than other flowers. Maybe it's because it looks small in the beginning with just a lot of buds, but I tell you when they start to open..! Fireworks!
While working this is the one I prefer to use as a god base(together with greens of course) when I'm making a big round wow-bouquet. Adding color and setting the tone, structure and also it enhances the other bigger flowers. But today it gets to be the lead star in the vase.

It's On!

You won't know what hit you, Mr. Flash! Oh, yes.. I'm preparing myself, starting as a beginner.. dummy?! Yes, maybe.. for now. But! I want to defeat you and after this course, I will. I will become the Master, and you will obey me.

Yep, I'm living on hope here. Practice gives perfect, yes? So root for me and wish me luck.. tomorrow is the second time "in the ring" with animation and the Adobe Flash program.

Ellen caricatures, part 2

Yeah, the scanning worked this time.. :) Here is the rest of the caricature assignment. I did a Frida Kahlo-inspired caricature of Ellen, as my social/political caricature. (Frida Kahlo was a very talented painter, with her own unique style. Here you can find more info: about her, she was a fascinating and strong woman. So is Ellen Degeneres, a real role model and fighter.)
Then there's the portrait. We were supposed to find 3 pictures in different angles of the person, and then draw "our own" angle. I found it a bit hard to recreate the face, and very different from drawing a portrait from just one picture or seeing the person live.

In the end (and now when it's over), this was stressful but fun. I'm glad I chose Ellen Degeneres, because she has some interesting features and personality. I wish I could have had more time on it, but I blame it all on the teacher's planning.

As Ellen would say, "Be kind to one another!"

Ellen caricatures, part 1

Wasn't able to scan all of the caricatures.. So here are two of the caricatures of Ellen, one "ordinary" caricature and one caricature with Ellen as an animal. I played with the image of an old art nouveau image with dancing mice. I thought it was fun, as one of the main events in her show is dancing to Dj Tony's tunes. Can you feel the rhythm..?! ;) And also she kind of looks like a sweet little mouse.

I will try to get the last one(social/political caricature) and the portrait of her posted here in the blog as soon as possible.

Flash

(Artist: unknown)

And so it has begun.. Today we had our first animation class, we're working in Adobe Flash. I hate that I don't have experience from these things already, and I really worked hard today and thought I understood..but noOoo, I had to start all over! Well, I solved it finally. I'm not showing the result of that, because it's quite embarassing.. and poorly made! So, it's Flash Camp for me! I have to learn this and soon. Just shake this bad start off me and back on the computer. Wish me luck, and if you get any tips or just breathing techniques that work when you're entering the Flash sphere - please, share!

Well, a rough start to the weekend.. but now it can only get better! A beer could probably help.. a be tasty, right.. about.. now..! Ahh.. Have a great weekend!

Pat on the back.. Good girl!

Ahh.. I finished the caricatures of Ellen in time. I wasn't totally satisfied with the result. But we were not given that much time at the first place, on this task. So it's ok, I guess.
I'll post the caricatures in the weekend. Because now it's time for som ME-time! Last time when I went grocery shopping, I couldn't resist the temptation.. A wedding magazine, with a special winter wedding issue.. I never thought I would look forward to a wedding this way, but I do..! So it's good with some inspiration and planning in time, then I'll sleep better at least.

So now I'm going to read it, eat some white chocolate cookies (yes, not one..some..Mmm...!) and then maybe I'll take a nap.. Just because I'm worth it! And because I can, one of the perks with being a student.

Ellen Degeneres

Sorry about not writing anything the last days.. I'm a busy bee these days! I'm working on a school assignment that's due on thursday. We're supposed to do different kinds of caricatures of a well-known person/celebrity. I've chosen Ellen Degeneres, she's fun so I thought it would be fun to draw her. I was wrong, but maybe it's just because I'm stressed. I'm doing my best, we'll see how it goes.
The worst part is that I have been a bit too optimistic with the amount of time I need to finish, so right now I really need to focus to get it done! (So why am I writing a blog post right now.. good question.. better continue, break's over!)

Snowy White

The first day that it snowed here this winter, was the day I arrived in Oslo two weeks ago. The 25th of October. 

That same day this beautiful Dendrobium orchide started to bloom again. I remember seeing it before it was time to go out the door and off to the train that morning. The flower just like the snow, with an amazing white color! 

I think it snowed in almost half of Scandinavia that day! It was so annoying going on facebook or other social medias that day. Every status update or photo was about the snow, the fact that it was snowing, love/hate towards the snow, the weather in general and itt was almost like there was a competition who saw it first..! 

Haha, a bit too much of the non-interesting updates there that day.. more than usual..? ;) 

The Storyboard Assignment

For the curious, this is an extract from my first storyboard ever. (It's originally a few pages long.) 

We had to create images and/with motion for 30 seconds of animation. It was a school assignment, and the teacher thought I had a good storyboard technique. So...JIPPI! :) That would be a cool job, but of course I need to practice some more.

I will get to practice some more of that soon though, on Thursday we're starting a new course in school - Animation is on the schedule! Exciting and terrifying at the same time. I have NO experience of that whatsoever, but I'll do my best.

Feeling Halloweenie..!

I got to experiment a bit this weekend, together with my friend Sara. The result - a very happy and cute pumpkin, and a fantastic pie! We made a pumpkin pie and out of our own recipe, inspired by several other recipes. The pumpkin pie was soooo tasty! Now I understand why so many Americans eat it every year on Halloween! We just have to get our new recipe down on paper, then I'll post it here! Maybe you can try it next year to celebrate this holiday. :)