The Glorious Archive

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-2022

• December 21 | Another New Journal (A Creative Life, Crafts, Notebooks, Pretty things)

  I love a fresh start, don’ you? A few years ago when I was at the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham I got some really lovely art supplies (mostly fabrics), and in that I include a few packages of gift wrap that I bought at a toy shop. I have actually never seen gift wrap […]
  
• November 17 | Full Moleskine Art Sketchbook (A Creative Life, Art journaling, Other's Creativity)

  I have officially finished another Art Journal on my list (it was on my list of multiple art journals at the same time – from two years ago). Yes, sometimes it takes a long time to reach the end – that doesn’t mean you should give up (if you don’t want to of course). I […]
  
• October 27 | DIY Postcard Swap Autumn 2022 (Mail bliss)

  Each autumn I host a swap of handmade postcards and right now you can sign up to join in. All the details are on the swap page, but here’s a quick list for easy reference in case you need it or this is your first time joining a swap. If you’re at all hesitating on […]
• October 26 | Glue Booking! Finished En Masse Glue Book (Art journaling, Book Inspiration, Paper Crafting)

  Do you need a relaxing, fun and inspiring project to do, then this is for you! It is called an En masse Glue Book, and each spread has a specific image theme that everyone gets to choose for themselves. Having a themed glue book is new to me, but I liked filling it a lot! […]
  
• September 19 | Book review of Mending Matters by Rodabaugh (Book Inspiration, Fabric & Sewing)

  Katarina Rodabaugh’s book “Mending matters” is a practical book with loads of project pages showing you different ways to patch and repair a pair of jeans, both with invisible and visible mending. It’s a very hands-on, practical guide for mending especially jeans, but it is also a love letter to the practice of mending, ie. […]
• September 15 | Try Magic Tape (A Creative Life, Paper Crafting)

  I made a quick tips video about my favorite tape, because I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned it before to you guys? It’s called “Magic Tape”, and I personally think it’s the best one for using in journals if you want something that is durable, archival – and almost invisible! I have been using it […]
  
• September 5 | Book review: Keep it Moving – lessons for the rest of your life by Twyla Tharp (Book Inspiration, Creative habits)

  Hanna’s review of the book Keep it Moving : lessons for the rest of your life by Twyla Tharp. Dancer and choreographer Twyla Tharp, 80 years old, has written another book! When I saw it out I knew I wanted to read it because I loved her first book, and now finally here’s my review […]
• August 31 | I made myself a New Art Journal (Art journaling, Bookbinding)

  The truth is, most of us discover where we are heading when we arrive. Bill Watterson Before summer I bound myself another Art Journal with watercolor papers and a cloth cover. I wanted to make this last summer, but never got around to finishing one. But this year I was better prepared, and had worked […]
• July 19 | 5 things every Collage Artist Needs (Collage, I write Lists, Tutorials)

  I am a collage artist because I was born that way. I want to cover the world in scraps of paper, pieces of ephemera, tissue paper and painted backgrounds. iHanna Creating collages is one of my favorite things to do when it comes to being an artist! I love it and all the things it […]
• July 15 | My Story of Becoming a Plant Lady (Home Comforts, iHanna's Thoughts)

  I am a plant lady. That simply means that I love having greenery and plants in my home, but also, that I am a bit obsessed with them. I grew up with plants since both my parents are Plant Lovers as well, but as an adult I myself have slowly grown into becoming a real, […]
• June 20 | Thrifter for Life (Creative habits, iHanna's Thoughts, Pretty things)

  When I started blogging I wrote quite a lot about knitting – and then thrifting, as I was discovering its many benefits as an adult at that time. Thrifting – as it’s called in the US when you get excited over stuff that used to belong to someone else… Thrifting – it’s the art of […]
• June 16 | Ode to the hands (Art journaling)

  Thumbs up, it is all in our hands to make the world a more beautiful place. So let’s keep at it. iHanna Do you remember me sharing the start of the En masse Glue book project? Well, I filmed a couple of the spreads that I created in it, and the first one has the […]
• June 12 | Creating textile book pages (Fabric & Sewing)

  Update on the iHanna Journal of Stitchery that I started in January. Each month we’ve been given two themes to play with, one for the background and one for the actual image of the page. In today’s blog post I will share video footage of me thinking about and creating the first 4 + 1 […]
• May 25 | Let’s be creative (Art journaling)

  Let’s do something creative together! Get out a glue stick, some magazine images and your favorite notebook and let’s create a spread filled with colorful imagery and patterns, some stickers and washi tape details and maybe we’ll add a nice message or quote. Yes?
• April 25 | Finishing the Postcard – what’s on the back? (Crafts, Mail bliss)

  I love the backsides of postcards almost as much as the art on the front! iHanna Dear Mail Art Artists & DIY Postcard Fans, do you put in as much love and attention to the backside of the postcards you send as you do the front? I am guessing no, you might not. Painting and […]
• April 14 | iHanna’s DIY Postcard Swap spring 2022 (Art journaling, Mail bliss)

  I sent out my Newsletter to all subscribers last week, to announce that the DIY Postcard Swap spring 2022 is open! Then I got problems with my back (again) and couldn’t really sit and do anything by the computer so the blog post got delayed, sorry about that. But better later than never (my life […]
• April 13 | How to start an En Masse Glue Book (Art journaling, Paper Crafting, Tutorials)

  I have found a super fun glue book project that is just too good to keep to myself! I am sharing my inspirations today – and a video tutorial so that you can get started too! En masse is French and means “in a group; all together” or “in a body : as a whole”; here a […]
• April 4 | YouTube Obsession: Greenery & Houseplant Jungles (Home Comforts, Other's Creativity)

  As a creative person my obsessions are many and varied. Because of the internet I often fall down the rabbit hole of “research” when ever I fall into a new-ish obsession, like being interested in keeping greenery, houseplants and flower pots at home… I put the word research in quotation marks because looking at pictures […]
• March 10 | How to start a Fauxbonichi Journal (Creative habits, Notebooks, Tutorials)

  I first heard of this type of journaling a few years ago and was intrigued, but not at all tempted to create one. Until I was a few months back, and then I couldn’t wait another day to get started on my own version of a DIY daily journal! So I did, and it was […]
• March 2 | Finished Rainbow Glue Book + free project label (Art journaling)

  A bit over a year ago I shared a video and a blog post on How to start a Rainbow Glue Book mostly because I was so inspired by this idea of creating monochromatic kind of magazine collages in a composition notebook myself. While filling this book I’ve had a great time for sure, filmed […]
• March 1 | Pink in my Rainbow Glue book (Art journaling)

  You could be my flamingo. ‘Cause pink is the new kinda lingo. Aerosmith (Pink) Pink is the last color that I’ve filmed in the Rainbow Glue Book, so today’s video is the last in the series. Next up is the final flip-through which I’m excited about. Watch as I finish another glue book page and […]
• February 16 | Orange & Turquoise | Rainbow Glue book time (Art journaling)

  Orange is the happiest color. Frank Sinatra One of the many things I’ve enjoyed when working in the Rainbow Glue book is that it has given me the opportunity to [really] look at each color in the rainbow, one by one, and enjoy them individually. Each one speaks to me and has different meaning, but […]
• January 25 | Yellow | Rainbow Glue Book Video 3 (A Creative Life, Art journaling)

  Yellow is the brightest and lightest of all colors, and this brilliance is its most noticeable characteristic, which accounts for the way it is used practically and thought of symbolically. Michael Freeman Continuing from my blog post How to start a Rainbow Glue Book I’m finally sharing a  second glue book video today, we’ve now […]
• January 17 | How to Start a Journal of Stitchery (Fabric Art, Tutorials)

  I bet there are a gazillion ways to start a book of cloth pages, but this is how I’m creating mine. I thought I’d share how you too new can get started and join the project in case embroidery is something you’re into – or want to get into. This a great project to start […]
• January 8 | Creativity Habit | Let’s do 365 somethings in 2022 (Collage, Creative habits)

  I have decided to do another 365 collages in 2022. This will be my fourth year of doing a 365 somethings my own way, so I am feeling confident that once I commit to a project like this I can push through. I am so stubborn it just seam impossible for me to give up […]
• January 3 | Intro pages for the Christmas Journal (Crafts)

  Here is a last video of Christmas Journaling, it is about how I created the introductory pages in my Christmas Journal. You could watch it first, if you’re new to the series, and then move on to Making a Christmas Junk Journal for myself and then continue from there, although you might save the entire […]

-2021

• December 21 | Working in my Christmas Journal | Journal with me (A Creative Life, Art journaling)

  If you have the time, feel free to watch the Christmas journaling videos x 3 – below and let me know if you enjoy them. Probably the reason we all go so haywire at Christmas time with the endless unrestrained and often silly buying of gifts is that we don’t quite know how to put […]
• December 7 | Making a Christmas Junk Journal for myself (Art journaling, Bookbinding)

  How do you put a Christmas junk journal together? How do you decide what cover to use and what papers to include as pages? Here are some of my thought process about just that. It’s not a tutorial, but hopefully you’ll find the video inspiring. Last year I wanted to do a series on YouTube […]
• November 26 | Shop for Christmas Junk Journals (Art journaling, Bookbinding, Pretty things)

  December is getting near, and in December I usually do some journaling in a Traveler’s Notebook December Daily / Christmas Journaling type of thing. I have listed a couple of the same type of junk journals I make for myself in the shop, and they are delightful! If you haven’t picked out a journal to […]
• October 25 | 100 DIY Postcard Ideas (Inspiration, Mail bliss)

  In today’s blog post I am sharing with you one hundred mixed media ideas for creating awesome DIY Postcards! Enjoy!
• October 23 | The DIY Postcard Swap Fall 2021 + e-mail difficulties (Mail bliss)

  The highly requested and much beloved iHanna’s magnificent DIY Postcard Swap Fall 2021 is open for new and old participants – you are invited to join! It’s the same concept as it has been during the past twelve years of hosting this fun, international swap on my blog. But in case you’re new or you […]
• October 12 | Flip-through of Summer Junk Journal (Art journaling)

  Hi, this is the next to last episode of the Summer Junk Journal video series in which I have filled the pages of a hand-made by me Junk Journal. Where I have talked, painted (watercolors and acrylics), collaged and shared inspiration. As a last installment I wanted to share an entire flip-through with you guys, […]
• October 7 | Calming Scalloped Pattern | Paint along with me! (Art journaling, Tutorials)

  For one of the last pages in my Summer Junk Journal I had a blank watercolor paper to fill, so I decided to film the process of me filling it with this fun, easy to create scalopped pattern in rows. I filmed my process and talked a lot – so…
• September 27 | All-over-Collage – process in Summer Junk Journal (Art journaling, Collage)

  Something I like to do every now and then in my Art Journals, and more often in altered books, is to create an “all-over collage” type of page. A collage of colours mostly, of magazine backgrounds and maybe patterned papers that fills the entire page from top to bottom or like today, from right to […]
• September 21 | Top Ten Books to read this Fall #TBR (Book Inspiration, I write Lists)

  I have already read more this year than any previous year, mostly thanks to audio books while I do embroidery or other crafts. But since fall is coming on strong, why not ponder what to read next already? It is always fun to look at books newly published, and dream about tea, candle light and […]
• September 16 | To paint is to love again (Art journaling)

  Today some views from my Hahnemühle Watercolor Sketchbook. To me it’s an Art Journal, but with watercolor papers that I like to fill with doodles in watercolor. One of my favorite activites. To paint is to love again. It’s only when we look with eyes of love that we see as the painter sees. His […]
• August 23 | Book-review | Kaffe Fassett in the Studio: Behind the Scenes with a Master Colorist (Book Inspiration, Quilting)

  If you are a fan of colorful textiles and patterns then I am sure you know about the designer Kaffe Fassett already? He designs the coolest quilting fabrics around, and then uses his own designs to compose quilt patterns that works well for his bold fabrics. That’s what I think he is most known for, […]
• August 13 | I love the word Doodle more than Drawing (Art journaling, Creative habits, Draw & doodle)

  I love the word “doodle” because it is so open-ended and non-judgmental to me. It is an activity that has no agenda of being accurate, perfect, life-like or even close to rendering reality. Instead “to doodle” is (to me) to relax and let what ever comes up in your mind come out on the page. […]
• August 7 | Video | Summer in my Art Journal (Art journaling)

  Summer journaling is no different than any other kind of journaling you do, except, it happens in summer. In my case, mostly outside on the balcony or at least with the balcony door wide open while I fill my one and only Summer Journal. I don’t have a style or plan when I open up […]
• August 4 | Junk Journals & Doodle Books | release 3 (Art journaling, Bookbinding)

  A big, yummy pile of journals has hit the shop again and I wanted to share all of them with you guys in the hope that maybe you’ll be inspired or even feel the urge to buy one. In any case, I am having so much fun doing these videos where I talk junk journals […]
• July 22 | Summer Crush: Hello Kitty – my old friend (Art journaling)

  The summer journal that I made for myself is going strong. My ambition was to work in it every day, but so far I have been doing “a little something” every second or third day through the summer. In June I filled about the first signature with mostly doodles, collage bits that tell the story […]
• July 20 | My Summer Art Journal with Embroidered Cover (Art journaling, Bookbinding)

  This weekend I shared how I stitched and composed the textile cover of this journal, but today already, let’s look at some of the pages inside this Art Journal [with a video flip-through of the finished book] that I made for myself to use as a “summer journal” – started June 2021 and will continue […]
• July 18 | Boro | Up-and-down stitching & patchwork (Fabric Art)

  I have been working on a piece of textile art that was destined to become the cover for a personal art journal project of mine. I was going for a soft, romantic look so that my journal would be calm on the outside and then (as it happens most of the time) an explosion of […]
• July 10 | WIP Crochet Granny Blanket (Crafts)

  Among all the things I love doing, crochet is a favorite. This spring I fell in love with it again as I experimented with crocheting some ribbons. When I had enough, or rather felt like I wanted to make something continuous rather than many small things, I decided to crochet a blanket from all my […]
• June 22 | How to be an Artist (Art Experiments, Creative habits, iHanna's Thoughts, Tutorials)

  To feel like an artist, you need to make art. Often and a lot. That is how you become an artist. iHanna This is one of my favorite art pieces – one that I feel very proud of. I love how textured it is, and how I used all my favorite colors and marks in […]
• June 9 | Wee Art Books (Notebooks)

  At the end of the month I release a new batch of journals in my shop, and my previous batch was number one that was announced to the subscribers of my Newsletter, because they always get first dibs. If you want to be the first to know when the next batch of yummy journals comes […]
• June 8 | Textile Love: Mending a quilt (Crafts, Fabric & Sewing, Quilting)

  I consider myself a collage artist and book maker first, but I also have this huge love for textile art. I do everything from quilting to embroidery, slow stitch, knitting, crochet, wall hangings from textiles – those kind of things and more… Is this something you are interested in too? I’ve been thinking lately about […]
• May 31 | Spring is my favorite season (Life Stuff, Photography)

  Swedish spring is amazing. It starts somewhere in March if we’re lucky and goes all the way until the end of May if summer isn’t early… Every week there are some new spring flowers popping up through the ground, making me smile.
• May 18 | Fill a tiny journal last prompt: Polka Dots (Art journaling, Inspiration)

  I am a sucker for polka dots as a decorative pattern. I just love how they look on all  things and clothes, on my table as well as on art journal pages and collages I make – or even as embroidery. In our project Fill a tiny journal project this spring it is the last prompt […]
• May 9 | Fill a tiny journal: Washi Tape Love (Art journaling)

  This post is all about our lov… obsession (!) with washi tape! Imagine a never ending sticker – on a roll, in all the world’s most beautiful patterns and colors? And it already exists, and it is called washi tape. I think most of us already call ourselves curators of an extensive collection of this […]
• May 2 | Fill a tiny journal: Colorful (Art journaling)

  Colorful to me, is an easy prompt. I can do almost anything and it would fit within the category of “colorful”, or flip to almost any of the pages in any given journal and it would be that; colorful. I love happy, bright colors so so very much! If ever there was a time that […]
• April 23 | Fill a tiny Journal: Make a List (Art journaling)

  If you want to add text but don’t know what to journal about then writing a list is always a good idea. I love list-writing so much I even have a blog category called I write Lists where you can find wish lists, link lists and more. I am a list-maker, but if you struggle […]
• April 21 | Fill a tiny journal: Spring (A Creative Life, Art journaling)

  That is one good thing about this world… There are always sure to be more springs. L.M. Montgomery Our fifth journal prompt of our spring challenge Fill a tiny journal is the word “spring”. This beautiful season that we’re in right now – at least on this side of the earth. I was busy last […]
• April 14 | Fill a tiny journal: Dreams (Art journaling)

  I think that it is interesting how much thought I have given to the words of our prompts for the Fill a tiny journal project, philosophically speaking. Or rather, over-thinking it. I didn’t feel to well last week so I didn’t post on Friday when the prompt was “dream” but here I am with the […]
• April 11 | My Postcard Piles from Previous Years! (Crafts, Mail bliss)

  I sent out a Newsletter yesterday announcing that the 12th of April is the last day to join the DIY Postcard Swap and obviously confused those that didn’t notice it was a Newsletter sent to the entire list. If you have signed up correctly, no need to worry right now. It will be at least […]
• April 2 | Fill a tiny Journal: Friendship (Art journaling, Inspiration)

  Today’s prompt for our challenge Fill a tiny journal is “friendship”. The challenge is going strong over on instagram which is great – but Tammy and I are first of all bloggers so we’re stubbornly sharing on our blogs because that’s our home base of course. I think today’s experience tells me that it doesn’t […]
• April 1 | Collage Postcard Pile | Video of all things Postal (Mail bliss, Paper Crafting)

  Before I sent my handmade postcards away last year I got in my head that I’d do a little quick video showing all of them (and the stamps I bought) and talk about them instead of writing a long blog post about them. Now I have edited it and I want to share it with […]
• March 27 | Fill a tiny journal: Connection (A Creative Life, Art journaling)

  In my previous post about the Fill a tiny journal project I shared my heart page and a whole process video of me creating it. This week I shared a bit about my process of creating this week’s spread in Instagram stories and totally forgot to write my blog post about it… But here it […]
• March 25 | Random Paper Postcards by Cath (Other's Creativity)

  Catherine in Portugal, who was in the DIY Postcard Swap last year, created a series of videos showing her entire process for making beginner-friendly DIY Postcards! She is using recycled materials (my favorite) and things she found at home, to make her postcards. I hope you’ll find that her try anything approach to the process […]
• March 23 | Journal with me: Documenting the Postcard Swap in my Traveler’s Notebook (Notebooks)

  I love documenting everything in my journals, be it big or small. And the 10th Anniversary of the DIY Postcard Swap (my annual swap that you can still join today if you want to make postcards) was definitely a big milestone for me, so of course I wanted to document in my Randomosity journal! I […]
• March 19 | Fill a tiny journal: Heart (Art journaling)

  Today is the first Friday in a series of 9 that I will be sharing a page for the series Fill a tiny journal. You are invited to join in and share your tiny journal page on the theme “heart” – on your own blog or on instagram for example, using the hashtag #fillatinyjournal so […]
• March 14 | Spring Challenge: Fill a Tiny Journal with Hanna and Tammy (Art journaling, Other's Creativity)

  Do you like art journaling and tiny journals? Then I’ve got an invitation for you to play along with! We’ve put together a list of journaling prompts with which we will work to fill a tiny journal, and each Friday for the next nine weeks we will be sharing a finished spread (or page) on […]
• March 11 | DIY Postcard Swap spring 2021 (Mail bliss)

  Let’s make some happy mail and DIY Postcards together, shall we? Last year was our 10th Anniversary of the DIY Postcard Swap, but of course I want the joy of the swap to continue this year. So let’s create even more fun! Get the DIY Postcard Book, join the instagram challenge, make postcards! I sent […]
• March 9 | Dear Photo Diary | Another Year has gone by (A Creative Life, Photography)

  Dear Photo Diary, I have been making videos at my desk, for my YouTube channel, but I have not been taking a lot of photos. It’s just been that kind of year I guess. Who else feels that it’s been a bad year for photography? I think it’s time to restart the habit of taking […]
• March 7 | Idea: Create a Video Journal with One Second a day (Creative habits, Digital Life, Photography)

  The app One Second Everyday is a free app that you download to your smart phone and use to document your days in video format. Since all you’ve got to do is film one second it isn’t’ too hard to get started and remember to press record. At the end of the month (or year) […]
• February 25 | How to Alter a Book and make it into an Art Journal (Art journaling, Tutorials)

  Today I want to share my knowledge of how to use text books as journals, so I made a video all about altered books in general, how I use mine, and how you can find a good book to alter, so that you can use it as an Art Journal, Glue Book or any other […]
• February 18 | An ode to the Journals of my life (Notebooks)

  Would you say you have a relationship with your journal(s)? If you do, you know what I mean when I tell you about my relationship with my diary/journal today. Because, to me, it’s a friend to hold close in the darkness… To have a journal, wether it is a private diary or an art journal […]
• February 14 | Rainbow Glue Book | Video 2 (Art journaling)

  Fuck the algorithm. Follow your fucking heart. Amanda Palmer Continuing from my blog post How to start a Rainbow Glue Book I’m sharing a glue book video today, of me working on some of the pages in this notebook. The red pages as it happens. My intention was to share a bit of all the […]
• February 11 | Sewing with pencil patterned fabric (Fabric & Sewing)

  Hi friends, let’s sew something shall we? I bought a beautiful pencil patterned fabric a few years ago “for mom”, but secretly wanting it for myself. Just look at it: those pens and pencils are yummy! Yellow, green, orange, pink and turquoise pens with a light gray background. Gorgeous pattern, right? I love it so […]
• February 1 | I make Junk Journals | Journal release number 1 (Art journaling, Bookbinding)

  One of the things I really love when it comes to paper crafts and making is creating notebooks in different forms. I make all kinds of journals, for myself and for sale. I used to sell via Etsy, but ended my affair with them last year. So this year it is finally time to experiment […]
• January 31 | Art Journal Peek: This book is for you Hanna (Art journaling)

  The most worthwhile achievements are the result of many little things done in a single direction. Nido Qubein I think that this might be one of my all-time favorite Art Journals, it’s the altered book called Boken till dig (the book for you). When I started it I gave my self permission to add in […]
• January 26 | Art Journal Peek: In the name of Self-Love (Art journaling)

  Art journaling in an altered book. And my theme is me, me, and I, Hanna. If I had a daughter I might have dedicated it to her, but probably not. Even with kids my life would probably be ego-inducing and self-centered. It’s a known fact that we are all the center of our own lives, […]
• January 23 | Getting the Vintage Look (Art journaling)

  We see it in Art Journaling, notebooks, art and sometimes even on Bullet Journal spreads… It is the look of something newly created that looks one hundred years old or more. It is the Vintage Look of old ephemera, brown paper, yellowed book pages, old hand-drawn illustrations, black-and-white photography and all that jazz. If you […]
• January 22 | Happy Mail from La Wendeltreppe (Mail bliss, Other's Creativity)

  I love happy mail with cute postal stamps that I haven’t seen before, like these from Germany. So very cute, right? I adore the one with The Gruffalo, because I remember vividly how I read the first book to my brother when he was a kid (written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by wonderful Axel […]
• January 16 | How to start a Rainbow Glue Book (Art journaling, Tutorials)

  This week I have been totally obsessed with gluing colorful images into a new notebook. I’m calling this project Rainbow Glue Book or Color Glue Book, and in today’s video I will talk about what inspired me and how you can start your own rainbow obsession! I hope you’ll be as inspired and happy as […]
• January 8 | Art Journaling in a Stressful world [painting process video] (Art journaling)

  Art journaling in a stressful world. Tune in yourself, tune out the world. It sounds lovely, doesn’t it? But I can’t always do it. I recommend it to anyone who can do it, but it’s not always easy. It’s hard sometimes to do any kind of art. The world gets in the way, or your […]
• January 2 | Journal Cover Patchwork | Collage Process video (Crafts, Notebooks)

  Yes, I will write a little blurb about my day in my new 5 Year Journal this year, but also, when I need to write/work things out, I will always journal in my diary. Like I’ve always done and always will. Currently I’m working in a Moleskine Plain Notebook, a favorite brand with cream colored […]
• January 1 | A Five Year Journal (Creative habits, Notebooks)

  Looking after yourself is the greatest act of kindness you can give the world. Loving yourself first is the best way to spread love. Holly Bourne Hello dear ones! This is first blog post of the year, and we start as we mean to go on; with full force ahead. I used to think that […]

-2020

• December 21 | Quilted Christmas Table Runner (Quilting)

  It’s time for some quilty pleasure, sewing for myself. It’s especially “bad” because I was supposed to create handmade gifts “for everyone” and instead I made something for myself… But really, is it selfish when it’s about self-preservation? Making is my crutch, when I can find it… It’s not selfish, but selfless to be first, […]
• December 2 | Books for paper lovers & collage artists (Crafts, Pretty things)

  How to find ephemera, pretty papers and things to cut out I am a sucker for pretty papers, but as a collage artist I often try to find them for free – in the form of packaging and gifted magazines for example. But of course there are also many options for buying patterned papers and […]
• November 28 | Journal with me: Documenting Animal Crossing in my Traveler’s Notebook (Art journaling, Digital Life)

  Back in March of this year I started playing a game that is called Animal Crossing: New Leaf on a Nintendo 3DS console that is owned by my brother. My brother is over that game since many years, because it came out in 2013. But to me it’s all news in many ways, since I […]
• November 22 | Very Chunky Altered Book [a video flip-through] (Art journaling, Thrift & Recycle)

  I altered a book so that it is no longer a book about ancient Egypt but instead a book of iHanna’s cut and paste adventures and inspirations! I named it Cut and Paste and I love the cover and all of the pages of it, well… most of them. Today I’m taking you guys along […]
• November 12 | Encyclopedia of Inspiration (Book Inspiration)

  Encyclopedia of Inspiration is a series of books by Janine Vangool, who is also the creator of the, among artists and crafters much beloved, magazine Uppercase. I wish I could’ve afforded to be a subscriber of that magazine from the beginning, since all I’ve ever seen of it online tells me it would be a […]
• November 2 | Thoughts on Social Media from a bloggers perspective (Digital Life, iHanna's Thoughts)

  Thoughts on Social Media from a bloggers perspective or simply put: My personal social media rant of the year. As a blogger I use social media not as a way of knowing what my friends and family are doing every minute of the day, but as a way to share my own content, inspire others […]
• October 29 | The mess on my desk (Home Comforts)

  What’s on my desk is the crafter’s version of YouTube’s “what’s in my bag” I guess. And all I can say is: my desk is always messy, except maybe when I’m on vacation which hasn’t happened this year of course. But for the curious, who wants to know… here’s a photo of the state of […]
• October 25 | Postcards from the world (Other's Creativity)

  Handmade postcards are like little cute birds that fly into your home and sing to you. iHanna Postcards that I have received from the lovely participants of my postcard swap – from the spring, continued from here, here and here. I hope you like em’ and feel inspired to make your own handmade mail art! […]
• October 23 | Expect Great Postcards (Mail bliss)

  Yes, even more postcards! I am continuing from here and here, with the over one  hundred postcards that I received in the Anniversary round of the DIY Postcard Swap that I host every spring and fall, for the past ten years! I am sharing the DIY Postcards that I got as a hostess here. Normally you […]
• October 20 | Painting outside the lines | process video (Art Experiments, Art journaling, Creative habits, Mail bliss)

  Painting outside the lines is (to me) more fun than being confined by rules and boxes. I once wrote a blog post on Coloring Books for Grown Ups asking if we really need them… But not matter your opinion about coloring books and coloring pages, I think it’s always interesting to find new ways to […]
• October 18 | DIY Postcard Abundance (Mail bliss, Other's Creativity)

  Continuing from my blog post One hundred DIY Postcards bound for Sweden, the spring swap started our Anniversary year and in it I got so many beautiful DIY Postcards from participants that wanted to celebrate the fact that I have been hosting the DIY postcard swap (that you can still join today) for over 10 […]
• October 12 | One hundred DIY Postcards bound for Sweden (A Creative Life, Mail bliss, Other's Creativity)

  I got over one hundred postcards in the 10th Anniversary of the DIY Postcard Swap this spring (and now the fall swap is open if you want to join in – and we’re still celebrating the anniversary year of course!). I think that is preeetty good for being a pandemic year, right? Some of the […]
• October 8 | Book review: Freestyle Embroidery on Wool by Karin Derland (Book Inspiration, Fabric & Sewing)

  I think that Swedish artist Karin Derland makes a time-consuming and seemingly tedious craft like embroidery look like so much fun in her new book that I am reviewing today – and we’re also giving away a copy! I think that Swedish artist Karin Derland makes a time-consuming and seemingly tedious craft like embroidery look […]
• October 2 | iHanna’s DIY Postcard Swap fall 2020 (Mail bliss)

  It’s time to join the DIY Postcard Swap fall 2020! You are invited to sign up and make ten handmade postcards that should be ready to send out 26 of October (last day to sign up will be 24th of October). And since it’s still our 10th Anniversary year of doing this swap, I have […]
• October 1 | Watercolor Art Journal flip-through (Art journaling)

  In a previous blog post I shared how I painted the last page of a handmade Art Journal of mine, and now I am sharing the flip-through video of that journal below. Enjoy! Filled Art Journals are like treasures, aren’t they? Each page you open up to are kind of a surprise because you don’t really remember […]
• September 22 | Embroidered wool handbag (Fabric & Sewing)

  This summer I created a little handbag for quick outings or fancy parties perhaps… I love sewing into wool, so that’s what I used as the fabric of the bag, just so I could do some wool embroidery on top of it as well as sewing it together. It’s been a long time since I […]
• September 12 | Junk Journal September | Hello, I’m iHanna (Art journaling)

  Hello September, my old friend, it’s time we meet again… Well, that is to say I’m doing a month long challenge on Instagram called “junk journal + month name”, so Junk Journal September right now. It’s a word or sentence each day for thirty days, something to inspire you to be creative in a junk […]
• August 30 | Art Journal Peek: Painting the last page [video] (Art journaling)

  I painted the last page of one of my Art Journals back in January 2019, and had forgot I had filmed that painting session. But now I’ve edited into a little video, so that you can follow along as the last page is filled first with watercolor, then acrylics and mark making.
• August 21 | Create along with me: Doodle Cute Monsters (Draw & doodle, Inspiration)

  Get ready, grab your pencils, and let’s doodle some (not scary at all) monsters! They’re going to be very kawaii (cute in Japanese), and not scary at all, I promise. It’s our first lesson in the new series Create along with iHanna, I hope you like it. To “doodle along” is calming and fun to […]
• August 17 | Create along with me – a new blog series (Inspiration, Tutorials)

  Today I am starting a new blog post series called Create Along with iHanna. Please join in! It will be a resource that you can bookmark and use when you feel low on inspiration. I think that it happens to all of us from time to time, so my hope here is that this will […]
• August 13 | Journal with me: Documenting the Pandemic (Art journaling, Life Stuff)

  I don’t think your journal should only be cute stickers and happy times. It should be as real as you can make it, and that includes darker days as well as fun events, right? Right now it includes documenting and remembering the horrific pandemic we’re in this year, and all the loss the world has […]
• August 10 | Journal with me: Metallic Watercolor Swatching (Art journaling, Notebooks)

  Come, let’s journal about all the nice things I got for my birthday! On my birthday, back in April, I got a few pens and some money to buy art supplies for. I decided to invest in my first “set” of metallic watercolors in loose pans, from the brand Coliro Pearlcolors. I got pink and […]
• August 5 | Journal with me: Using Scrap die-cuts (finally) (A Creative Life, Art journaling)

  It is finally time to start using the Scrap Die-cut images whose origin and uses I talk about in my blog post Collectable vintage Scrap die-cuts / German Glanzebilder. In that article (and video) I show a lot of fun examples, and in today’s video, I’m finally going to glue some of them down on […]
• July 27 | Collectible vintage Scrap die-cuts | Glanzebilder or Bokmärken (Paper Crafting, Pretty things, Thrift & Recycle)

  Oblaten, Glanzbilder, Victorian scrap diecuts, bokmärken, Sammelbilder, collectible glossy prints… What ever you call them, you’ll find a favorite image among them – or hundreds! There are roses, birds, animals, pretty ladies, faries, babies, cartoon characters, angels, real or imaginary royalty, santas, seasonal and celebratory images. And more! As you might have guessed already, I […]
• July 26 | Trip documented: Festival of Quilts Vlog (Quilting, Traveling)

  Since we’re not allowed to travel anywhere, I have been diving into past travels via photos and video clips. This month I’ve uploaded the vlogs I filmed two years (!) after the actual Festival of Quilts that I attended in Birmingham, UK, but hey sorry not sorry. I just have the time to do a […]
• July 24 | Summer is for Reading {Fantasy} Books (Book Inspiration, Creative habits)

  I think that autumn and winter is for writing. To cozy up inside, preferably under a quilted blanket with a cup of tea or hot coffee, and write your next big novel or just to journal or compose your next blog post. And summer? It’s for reading. For sitting in the sun, if it’s not […]
• July 4 | Note to self: Shake things up (Art Experiments, Draw & doodle)

  Observe constantly that all things take place by change, and accustom thyself to consider that the nature of the Universe loves nothing so much as to change the things which are, and to make new things like them. Marcus Aurelius As with everything I think it’s important to not do “the same” all the time. […]
• June 9 | Re-using an Unused Calendar (Notebooks, Thrift & Recycle, Tutorials)

  I have started a new project. It is about repurposing an unused and expired  planner / calendar, and giving it new life. It’s the kind of enriching and fun project I love to do because it costs next to nothing (except new glue sticks) and it saves a notebook from going into the trash unusued. I […]
• June 7 | Black Lives Matter (iHanna's Thoughts, Life Stuff)

  Black lives matter is a movement, a truth and a statement I will always sign. In fact, it is baffling to me that not everyone can or will or want to do that. That not everyone is raised to understand this truth… I think it’s time we all step up, and state our anti-racism everywhere, […]
• June 5 | Junk Journal: Room for the soul [Video Process] (Art journaling)

  Another junk journaling video from me. But… I think it was a bad idea to dedicate one journal for filming every spread of in. It’s totally not the way to fall in love with a journal for me. How to fall in love with a journal is to live with it intensely, to work on […]
• May 30 | Process Video: Junk Journaling another page (Art journaling)

  I finally finished editing another episode of “Junk journaling with iHanna”, so here’s another video of me working in my summer meadow fabric covered Junk Journal.
• May 22 | Art Journal Peek | A Tiny Book of Cut and Paste (Art journaling, Bookbinding, Paper Crafting)

  I love love love making tiny books. You just fold a couple of papers together, and then you have something to keep working with/in/on. This tiny book of cut and paste is one of the many mini art journals that I have made through the years. It is perfect for summer, if you’re going somewhere […]
• May 16 | Dear Photo Diary | Our Magnolia Tree (Photography)

  If people did not love one another, I really don’t see what use there would be in having any spring.Victor Hugo Dear Photo Diary, sorry it’s been a while. I haven’t taken a lot of photos with my big camera lately. Life is at a stand still, not just for me, but for much of […]
• May 13 | World Collage Day is in May (Collage)

  World Collage Day – An International Celebration of Collage. Hello world! I’ve been busy with the DIY Postcard Swap these past days (all address lists sent out, see further down for details), but late Saturday on dad’s birthday (9th of May) I discovered on instagram there is something called World Collage Day – and I […]
• May 8 | Mark making on DIY Postcards (Art Experiments, Mail bliss, Paper Crafting)

  Let me just say that you can still join the DIY Postcard Swap , I’ll close it when I wake up on Monday (the 11th of May) and after that I’ll start sending out address lists to everyone who has joined this glorious anniversary year! Yay! Don’t hesitate, you can make 10 postcards this weekend! […]
• April 27 | Mixed Media Postcards Layers | Process Video Series (Art Experiments, Mail bliss)

  Since it’s our Anniversary Year, I thought it would be fun to share some more videos of how I created my DIY Postcards this time! I’m editing the footage of my third video (I think there will be four in total) right now and I am hoping to share it soon (it takes so many […]
• April 21 | Sarah’s Juicy Postcard Process (Mail bliss, Other's Creativity)

  A mixed media process video and some fun mail art inspiration today, I hope you like it. I was thrilled when I saw that one of my long-time participants in the DIY Postcard Swap, Sarah, made a video on how she created her postcards for the last swap! I’ve made several videos myself of my […]
• April 16 | Please don’t hesitate: You CAN Create a Postcard (Art Experiments, Inspiration, Mail bliss)

  A new friend of mine is joining the DIY Postcard Swap that I host, and I’m thrilled about it. Not for myself, although it always makes me happy to see people I know personally join in – but for her. And for everyone who will get one of her postcards. The world might even be […]
• April 10 | 10 Year Anniversary of iHanna’s DIY Postcard Swap (iHanna's Thoughts, Mail bliss)

  The Postal Service is one of those things that is essential to keep the world from not entirely stopping. So important, that it is kept open even when other things are closed down to hinder the spread of that pesky virus. And Art, it is one of those things that is essential to my own […]
• April 9 | Stay at Home DIY Postcard Backside (Mail bliss)

  Research has shown that the best way to be happy is to make each day happy. Deepak Chopra I will be emphasizing this message on my postcards this year: Stay at home, Wash your hands, Be safe, Make Postcards! I don’t think anyone actually needs to hear it (again), except maybe the two last messages. […]
• April 7 | Hang Something on the wall (Home Comforts, Pretty things)

  I don’t even remember when or where I bought most of the frames I have in my house, but I know that this pink oval one is a thrifted find. It is made from polystyrene according to the yellowed back-paper… I love this type of frames, but most of them are black. To find a […]
• March 31 | Making Luna Lapin – a book by Sarah Peel (Book Inspiration, Fabric & Sewing)

  Last year my mom (who loves sewing and quilting) bought the book Making Luna Lapin by Sarah Peel, and we got sewing as soon as it arrived. We couldn’t wait because everything in it is so cuuuute. It’s about this super sweet little girl rabbit called Luna Lapin (lapin is French for rabbit) and her […]
• March 25 | Stay at Home Activity: Fill a Notebook (Home Comforts, Notebooks)

  One of my all-time-favorite things to do at home or elsewhere, is filling notebooks. If you are looking for something to do, together with your kids or on your own, may I suggest this; grab a journal / notebook / random stack of folded papers / old unused calendar / old text book to alter […]
• March 19 | In Pandemic Times: Living in a Creative little Bubble (Life Stuff, Other's Creativity)

  None of us know what will happen. Don’t spend time worrying about it. Make the most beautiful thing you can. Try to do that every day. That’s it. Laurie Anderson When I sit down to write this blog post the last sun of the day is looking in through my dirty windows, making my little corner […]
• February 29 | A Book just for You my Darling (Art journaling, Life Stuff)

  Happy Leap Day! My new art journal is an altered book again. This one is a little smaller than my previous very big and chunky Cut and Paste Journal. I thrifted this book a few years ago, and until now it has just been sitting in my stash of books to cut up or use […]
• February 26 | Starry Nights and Wintery Scenes (Art Experiments)

  For a while now I’ve been paying member of the workshop community called Skillshare. It’s a great resource for creatives, where you once you pay the fee, have instant access to all of their thousands of online workshops. There are workshops on digital communication and marketing, how to edit video and production work, sewing, crafting, […]
• February 24 | Happiness on a Page (Art journaling)

  Every time you state what you want or believe, you’re the first to hear it. It’s a message to both you and others about what you think is possible. Don’t put a ceiling on yourself. Oprah Winfrey I create pages with messages I myself need to hear. They might not be one hundred percent true, […]
• February 18 | The Cut and Paste Journal (Art journaling, Collage)

  Art Journaling in altered coffee table books is one of my favorite things to do. I love that they present me with loads of space for painting, gluing and expressing myself. I have filled many of these volumes over the years – and latest in the row is this chunky, beautiful Art Journal. It is […]
• February 16 | Becoming a Barbie Doll Collector (Creative habits, Home Comforts, Pretty things)

  When one paints an ideal, one does not need to limit one’s imagination. Ellen Key As most kids I loved my softies and later my fashion dolls (actually only owned like two real Mattel dolls). Each one had names, personalities and were a part of my family. But unlike most people I don’t think I […]
• February 14 | Art Journaling Friday (Art journaling)

  Hello my Dear one, It is Friday the 14th of February and Valentine’s Day. I don’t care much about buying gifts for this holiday, instead I try to make it something of my own, a lovely day if nothing else. And what could be better than a day of Art Journaling? Art Journal Fridays could […]
• February 12 | Thrifted Books to Cut Up (Paper Crafting, Thrift & Recycle)

  Sorry to say that my site was down a couple of hours before I could ask support to fix it, due to a server move. I got contacted by a few of you saying you couldn’t reach this or that, but now I think it is alright again. I hope that everything is working as […]
• February 10 | Writing a letter (Draw & doodle)

  I got stacks of letters that I got when I was younger, maybe from my teens until I was 20 or so? I used to put a lot of effort into writing letters when I was at that age, maybe because it was the time before Internet and e-mail? It makes me feel rather old […]
• February 8 | You’ve gotta have Moxy (Fabric Art, Other's Creativity)

  Moxy is definitely not a word I learned in school when the English language was on the curriculum… But when I looked it up at the online Free Dictionary (swoon, I love things like this site a lot) it’s defined as follows:
• February 6 | Don’t go breaking my Beaded Heart now (Fabric Art)

  A beaded heart I made, part of a recent embroidery exhibition. A Beaded Heart The reason for this was a heart I sewed many years ago, when I wanted to do a whole series of stuffed embroidered hearts, but never got around to more than one – and that one I gave away (the pink […]
• February 3 | Working in multiple Art Journal volumes (Art journaling, iHanna's Thoughts)

  Are you working in many Art Journals at the same time? Maybe too many to keep track of? I know the feeling. When I started with art journaling many years ago, I always worked in just one, big Art Journal at a time – from start to finish. It helped keep me focused and it […]
• January 31 | Hahnemühle Watercolor Sketchbook + process video (Notebooks)

  For Christmas I got a fancy new sketchbook filled with watercolor paper. It is very much the kind of sketchbook / notebook / art journal that I like as a little luxury item beyond my own hand made books and altered books. And in it was the kind of paper I love painting on. So […]
• January 29 | How to (try) to Buy Less this Year (iHanna's Thoughts, Life Stuff)

  To have – or not to have – that is an important question to ponder right now. Around here, and in all homes around the world where there are people engaged in preserving earth and humanity, this question is up on the agenda a lot. I think that we’re all thinking about consumerism – maybe […]
• January 24 | A way where before there were non (Photography)

  Sail on, silver girl, sail on by Your time has come to shine All your dreams are on their way See how they shine Oh if you need a friend I’m sailing right behind… … Like a bridge over troubled water I will ease your mind Like a bridge over troubled water I will ease […]
• January 15 | New Year, New Diary (Creative habits, Notebooks, On writing)

  It’s a new year, actually a whole new decade! I have high hopes that this year and the coming decade will be filled with dreams coming true and hope for the future blossoming in new generations. But when I think of all the things I want to create I get a little overwhelmed. There are […]

-2019

• December 30 | Planning a Creative Year (A Creative Life, Inspiration, Life Stuff)

  If you’ve been reading my blog for a while you might already know how much I like the time between November and January 1st, when we say good bye to the old year and await the new one. I see the new year as a great place to Start Anew, to refresh your mind, to […]
• December 19 | Vlogmas & DIY Christmas Wreath (Crafts, Home Comforts)

  It’s almost Christmas and I just wanted to pop in here to wish you all a very Merry Christmas holiday, if you celebrate it, and if not, a lovely couple of days free from work hopefully. I had lots of grand plans for this month, to decorate at t home and to make several Christmas […]
• November 28 | How to become an artist and other books on creativity (Book Inspiration)

  It’s almost December, and since books are always high up on my own wish list (and especially in December) I thought I’d produce another list. It might give you some ideas on what to put on your own wish list this Christmas – if you’re in need of some serious creative inspiration! And who isn’t […]
• November 26 | Nanami Cafe Notebook (Notebooks)

  History is a relentless master. It has no present, only the past rushing into the future. To try to hold fast is to be swept aside. John F. Kennedy Did you know that writing paper from Japan can be as thin as 52 gsm? I used to think that the copy paper I use for […]
• November 21 | Mixed Media Painted Postcards (Art Experiments, Mail bliss)

  The weather has been very Novembery around here lately. Swedish November is such a sad, sad thing. Yuck! Above no sun or even puffy clouds – only gray, foggy sky all month… The air is damp, the bike is damp, and it gets dark around 4 o’clock in the afternoon. Very dark. So I feel […]
• November 4 | Happy Mail from Kat (Mail bliss, Pretty things)

  I love getting happy mail, little surprises stuffed inside an envelope that you weren’t expecting… But who doesn’t right? Happy mail is so right every day of the week. I missed the day light today to take photos of my pile of Postcards for the DIY Postcard Swap (yes, you can still join – as […]
• October 30 | Getting started with my DIY Postcards (Art Experiments, Mail bliss)

  I have started on my fall batch of DIY Postcards, and they’re going to be a fun mix of things (very mixed media) this time, I think. It feels like it’s been a long time since I created in this messy non-linear way and I had a lot of fun with this process. In case […]
• October 24 | Process Video: Filling pages in a Junk Journal (Art journaling)

  I have started working in the pretty journal that I showed you in my last video. Yay! Finally, right? This is an Art Journal/Junk Journal that I bound together a few years ago. I will try to “fill it up” before the end of the year, but it might take a bit longer than that. […]
• October 15 | Join iHanna’s DIY Postcard Swap 2019 (Inspiration, Mail bliss)

  Each year I host an international and easy-going mail art swap that I call DIY Postcard Swap. It’s a great way to get some happy mail, so I hope you want to try it out this fall. I think we all need a little pick-me-up as it gets darker outside and the trees start loosing […]
• October 3 | Junk Journal Video: Flip through (Art journaling, Bookbinding)

  Today I want to share a Junk Journal that I bound a while ago, but never started using at the time. Flipping through its pages I think you’ll get a pretty good idea what you yourself could save and include in a mixed paper journal if you want to make one for yourself. So take […]
• September 27 | New WordPress Theme | Time to Evolve (Digital Life)

  I still write for an audience of one. I read things that stimulate me and inspire me and help me figure out how to live and then I write about them. The fact that there are other people who enjoy it is nice, but it’s just a byproduct. Maria Popova When you travel you get […]
• September 25 | Roses & Gold Washi Tape (Art journaling)

  Another collage time video! Yay! This time with a lot of rose illustrations. Roses are always in fashion around here, so I keep cutting them out and keeping rose fodder and inspiration around. I think I should call this Traveler’s Notebook Art Journal “Collage time with iHanna” since that is the name of the video […]
• September 23 | TN Art Journal | Cut and Paste Video (Art journaling, Notebooks)

  To feel like an artist you need to make art! iHanna To cut and paste quirky, sweet, and childish images together in a notebook to cover all its white pages is still one of my favorite things to do. All you need when you want to have a fun Collage Time is a good glue […]
• September 21 | Love Acrylic Paint Markers (Draw & doodle)

  I have started a new adventure this autumn, and it’s taking some of my mental space to digest everything about it. I won’t reveal what it is just yet, but if something comes of it I’ll let you guys know of course! And if I’m not here, know that I am elsewhere being creative. In […]
• August 13 | Thrift Store Haul: Mexican Lotteria Cards & kids activity books (Thrift & Recycle)

  Thrift is poetic because it is creative; waste is unpoetic because it is waste. G.K. Chesterton It’s been a long time since I shared anything here that I thrifted or bought second hand, right? Too long if you ask me. Thrifting is a big part of being a creative to me. I’ve kept buying stuff […]
• August 9 | Index Card | Last pile of the year (Art Experiments, Collage)

  Anything or anyone that does not bring you alive is too small for you. David Whyte The j-months of summer is over already, and it’s high time to wrap this project up. I finished all my index cards this year, which feels great. They’re mostly colorful, playful collages with some paint splattered on here and […]
• August 7 | How to cover an old ring binder with beautiful, vintage fabric [Video Tutorial] (Crafts)

  I have a couple of older office ring binders in a smaller size (A5) that I wanted to start using. They’re the regular kind of binder type that has been used in offices and schools for the past 50 years or so in Sweden. Black cover, cloth spine in red, green or brown with a […]
• August 5 | Index Cards | Delicious ambiguity (Collage)

  Some stories don’t have a clear beginning, middle and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next. Delicious ambiguity. Gilda Radner I’ve been playing on some Index cards (that is, filling them with colors). It’s a daily challenge […]
• July 31 | Index Cards | Inspiration collected (Art Experiments, Collage, Draw & doodle)

  ICAD 8 July by iHanna: Summer is reading time.
• July 29 | Re-starting my Bullet Journal Practice (Creative habits, iHanna's Thoughts)

  I am in love with Bullet Journaling once again. I remember when I found it the first time, and did my very first entries in a soft covered black A5 notebook with grid papers inside. It was just so much fun to find a new organizing system, and (once again) trying to “figure it all […]
• July 19 | Index Cards | ICAD continued in July (Draw & doodle)

  My pile of finished index cards of the year is growing. I’m keeping them together on my desk with a rubber band for now. They record the summer days passing (all too quickly) in a hot fury. I’m grateful to be able to take the time to create them, to have the joy of creating […]
• July 17 | How to create your own embellishments [VIDEO tutorial] (Paper Crafting, Tutorials)

  I have noticed that I film a lot more than I edit and share… And as it has been raining a few days this summer, I’ve spent time going through old files. I found footage that I never used for anything, just waiting to be edited into something view-able. So that’s what I’ve spent my […]
• July 11 | Index Cards: Let the world see your creativity (A Creative Life, Collage)

  Summer has filled her veins with light and her heart is washed with noon. C. Day Lewis In my last index card post I showed index cards from June 17 to 23, week 25 of the year. These are from week 26, the last week of June. I hope you like them. Let me know […]
• July 5 | Coming out as a (not very good) Planner Girl | One Book July (Notebooks, On writing)

  I absolutely love all things notebooks and paper, as regular readers of this blog already knows. And that love also includes planners and calendars, or what ever you want to call them. And the idea of planning your day out, setting long term goals, picking a focus, working towards the bigger picture… But how do […]
• July 3 | Sunshine like powdered gold (Collage)

  It was June, and the world smelled of roses. The sunshine was like powdered gold over the grassy hillside. Maud Hart Lovelace Yay! I got a new stack of white lined Index Cards, and I’m still creating little vignettes on a card every (other) day or so… These are from the middle of June, so […]
• June 24 | Index Cards | Cut and paste and smash bang (Collage)

  I got to take a creative summer class last week, which was just lovely. There I got to experiment with clay and then painting for a bit, out of my comfort zone surrounded by people and with new materials. It was nice, but it made me so tired I didn’t manage to post any updates […]
• June 10 | Index Card Art | Layers and dots (Collage, Paper Crafting)

  The first week of ICAD/June is done, and I have seven freshly baked index cards to show for it. On the back of each one I do my daily journaling blurb, a little note about what I’ve done or thought about. But on the front, I’ve painted or done a playful little collage this week. […]
• June 7 | ICAD – irresistible challenge and it’s doable too (Art Experiments, Art journaling, Creative habits)

  ICAD could stand for irresistible challenge, right? At least it seams that that’s what it is to me. Irresistible. And quite doable too. Those of us who has tried it, can not resist being pulled back in and doing it year after year. But ICAD stands for “index card a day”. It’s an art challenge […]
• May 24 | Opening up for Happy Mail (Inspiration, Mail bliss, Other's Creativity)

  In my blog post On the Receiving End I showd a few of the postcards I got in the DIY postcard swap last year (you can still join today – don’t miss out!). Here are the rest from that lovely pile of postcards that I received: DIY Postcard created by Julia, who sent her postcard […]
• May 21 | Creating a new Traveler’s Notebook Art Journal (Art journaling, Collage, Notebooks, Paper Crafting, Tutorials)

  I am all over the place with Art Journaling. Or not at all, I’m not sure. I am not really working consistently in the different books I have going at the moment, so I should concentrate on just one or two I guess… Maybe I need to finish those ongoing art journals or simply be […]
• May 16 | On the Receiving End (Mail bliss, Other's Creativity)

  So in the last DIY Postcard Swap, which was last year, I got a bunch of cool postcards and shared them as they came in on my Facebook page Studio iHanna, but not on the blog. So I thought I’d go ahead and make a blog post to show you what kind of awesome postcards […]
• May 6 | Collage Time: Cover of my Book Notes Notebook + video (Book Inspiration, I write Lists)

  I think it’s about developing a system to create. Once the creative habit is there, the possibilities are endless. Crystal Moody I have always been a voracious reader, devouring books like candy. I probably read a lot more in my younger years, but still I would feel really strange if I didn’t have a novel […]
• May 2 | DIY Postcard Swap spring 2019 (Mail bliss)

  Give your own creativity time and power by deciding to be creative this month. Maybe a push in the right direction could be to sign up for my postcard swap? It will give you a goal of what to make and when to finish (end of May), and then it will continue to give in […]
• April 30 | Blogoversary | 15 YEARS of blogging life (Digital Life, On writing)

  I am not great with math, but I think the 24th of April this little blog ‘o mine turned fifteen years! Yes, 15 YEARS. If nothing else, you must admit I am tenacious and persistent. I just won’t be easily dispelled. Some years I have done blogged and done bigger celebrations about the “blog’s birthday” […]
• April 14 | Experimental Portraits | Time-lapse Video (Art journaling, Creative habits, Draw & doodle)

  Make action a habit. Don’t wait until things are just right. There is never a perfect time to begin. There is only now. Expect that things will be difficult. Know that there will be setbacks. Remember how strong you are. Expect to succeed anyway. When you take action fear fades and confidence rises. Tess Marshall […]
• March 13 | Painting a lot of Hearts | Time-lapse video (A Creative Life, Art journaling, Draw & doodle, Notebooks)

  Let my soul smile through my heart and my heart smile through my eyes, that I may scatter rich smiles in sad hearts. Paramahansa Yogananda All through February I have been painting colorful hearts in my little notebook. I could probably continue for a while longer, because there is no end to the ways you […]
• March 11 | Dear Photo Diary | a winter without colors (A Creative Life, Photography)

  I believe in process. I believe in four seasons. I believe that winter’s tough, but spring’s coming. I believe that there’s a growing season. And I think that you realize that in life, you grow. You get better. Steve Southerland Dear Photo Diary, I am sorry that I have ignored you for so long. It […]
• March 5 | Pink and orange wrist warmers (Crafts, Home Comforts)

  Properly practiced, knitting soothes the troubled spirit, and it doesn’t hurt the untroubled spirit either. Elizabeth Zimmerman I love wearing wrist-warmers when I sit by the computer and write blog posts. My hands often gets really cold, and even with a thick sweater it’s the fingertips (and nose) that gets cold in the winter. That […]
• February 25 | Creating in January | Time-lapse painting video (Art journaling, Creative habits, Draw & doodle)

  I captured all the 31 first pages of January on video, so that you can take part of the creative process (in a rather rushed time-lapse way)! I’m really excited to share it with you today. I have shared just a few of the time-lapse videos on my instagram, but now I’ve compiled them into […]
• February 11 | Introducing the blank Kikki.K 365 Journal (Art Experiments, Art journaling, Creative habits, Draw & doodle)

  I have always doubted my ability to do anything daily, and it’s not because I have low self-esteem (which I often have) but because I know myself too well to even try it… That said, I also knew when this year started that I wanted a kick in the butt when it comes to painting […]
• February 6 | Printable planner in A6 size (Notebooks)

  Some of you might remember the DIY Planner that I designed many years ago, and that was all the rave at the time… I have since stopped using it, and when I found out about Traveler’s Notebooks, I just knew I would want to design my own little booklet for on-the-go planning and such. So […]
• January 14 | The Right time for some Art Journaling (Art journaling, Creative habits)

  Those who stand at the threshold of life always waiting for the right time to change are like the man who stands at the bank of a river waiting for the water to pass so he can cross on dry land. Joseph B. Wirthlin When is the right time to start something new, like say, […]
• January 10 | December Daily Journaling + snow, baking & finished cover (Art journaling)

  Yay! My Christmas journal / December Daily is all done! I’ve filled every page of it and it is now so chunky I need the silk ribbon to close it. I love how it turned out, with all the Hello Kitty images, the glitter tape and the yummy snowflake cover. Before Christmas I recorded a […]
• January 4 | 365 Collages | Week 52 | The End (for now) (Collage, Creative habits)

  Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it. Greg Anderson Yes! I finished on time, before 2018 ended I had successfully made 365 art collages! Yes, it felt good, almost profound. Like the biggest win of the year, actually. Yes. I was making the […]
• January 2 | 365 Collages | Week 51 | Incredibly valuable & transformative (Collage)

  And now let us believe in a long year that is given to us, new, untouched, full of things that have never been, full of work that has never been done, full of tasks, claims, and demands; and let us see that we learn to take it without letting fall too much of what it […]

-2018

• December 30 | 365 Collages | Week 50 | Explained with other words (Collage)

  Without great solitude no serious work is possible. Pablo Picasso I took some time for solitude and creating in the studio this week, and finished the last pile of collages. Yesterday I posted week 49, and today I’m here with week 50, which makes this collages 344 to 350 of 365 Collages in 2018. Yay! […]
• December 29 | 365 Collages | Week 49 | Going in both Directions (Collage)

  I got busy with my Christmas journal, but I haven’t forgotten this years big project: the 365 Somethings in 2018. I’m making collages, as you might know by now, and here are seven more, freshly made and scanned today. Miss Kitten is doted on – Collage no 337 by iHanna.
• December 27 | December Daily Flip-through | Traveler’s Notebook style (Art journaling)

  Dear all, I hope that those who celebrate had a nice Christmas holiday? And that everyone else survived the madness. I feel a bit silly coming in with this post today, after Christmas. It was meant to go out on the 22nd, as it contains my Christmas journal video number three, and it was filmed […]
• December 20 | Collecting Snow Globes (Home Comforts, Pretty things)

  I have a very small collection of Snow globes in my Christmas box, that we take down each year in December (although not last year because the living room was a mess after moving here. I think that Snow globes are such a darling cute thing, and I’ve always liked them. I don’t think I […]
• December 17 | Christmas Journaling in a Traveler’s Notebook (Art journaling, Notebooks)

  I’m filling my December Daily / Christmas journal with stickers, photos and journaling. Here’s an update on what’s on the first couple of pages in my current one. I don’t know what it is about a traveler’s notebook that makes me so very happy, but I’m guessing it has something to do with it’s compactness. […]
• December 11 | Getting Started with Christmas Journaling (Art journaling, Creative habits, Notebooks)

  I journal all year, all the time. I fill up notebooks with text, images and what-not like a it’s my only task in life. But in December, I do Christmas Journaling, or what might be called December Daily journaling. A little switch turns on in my head and I’m all into glitter washi tape, snowflake […]
• December 8 | 365 Collages | Week 48 | The glory of being alone (Collage)

  Language has created the word “loneliness” to express the pain of being alone. And it has created the word “solitude” to express the glory of being alone. Paul Johannes Tillich Going to Portland Someday, a collage by iHanna. I have not fallen of the face of the earth. I’m still alive and well, kind of. […]
• November 25 | Traveler’s Notebook Video | Randomosity vol 2 (Art journaling, Notebooks)

  I have finished another flip-through video, and it is ready to inspire you today! Grab a cuppa and take a look. I’m using a regular sized Traveler’s Notebook for journaling and Memory Keeping, and I have been using this kind of notebook for about three years. This is volume two, that I finished a long […]
• November 21 | 365 Collages | Week 47 | Stupendous Fiction (Collage)

  I continue to be interested in new things that seem old and old things that seem new. Jaquelin T. Robertson Not Your Ordinary Quilt, Collage no 322 by iHanna. I love my world of fiction, created in these collages. I feel a little like it’s a vintage photo album, at times. Like I want to […]
• November 19 | Always try New Things (Fabric & Sewing, Other's Creativity)

  Just try new things. Don’t be afraid. Step out of your comfort zones and soar, all right? Michelle Obama This weekend I took a workshop that was arranged by my local embroidery group. The teacher was called Lotta Frost, and she has made some beautiful things in paper with stitching. We learned some new-to-us ways […]
• November 17 | 365 Collages | Week 46 | A Positive Conquest (Collage)

  Garden Cress, a collage by iHanna. Week 46 feels like a positive conquest, won at the last hour. I hope you’re winning the week too. I’ve sent out all e-mails for the Postcard Swap. If you haven’t gotten your list, please contact me ASAP and I will re-send it. Today I’ve attended a workshop on […]
• November 14 | Last Chance Saloon (Mail bliss)

  Hey there! Do you wanna join me at the Last Chance Saloon? It’s not a sad place, I promise. It’s where you’ll jump in and make 10 postcards very quickly, and sign up for the DIY Postcard Swap before I close it for this time!
• November 6 | 365 Collages | Week 45 | Target Practice (A Creative Life, Collage)

  The things one experiences alone with oneself are very much stronger and purer. Eugene Delacroix
• November 4 | Pink Happy Mail Opening (A Creative Life, Mail bliss, Pretty things)

  Life is tough, sometimes. You know what I mean, right? This autumn has felt particularly harsh to me. First my bike got stolen from outside our house where it was locked, then a month after that I got my smart phone stolen. And I know things like this happens all the time, and it could […]
• October 30 | 365 Collages | Week 44 | Let it Fall (Collage)

  Another week, another batch of collages, very fall inspired. I wish I’d had time to enjoy the beauty of all the orange and yellow leaves of two weeks ago better. Now, after lots of wind and rain, they’ve mostly all been blown of the trees and we’re hunkering down for winter. Leaving soon, a collage […]
• October 28 | 365 Collages | Week 43 | Monsters in the Closet (Art Experiments, Collage, Inspiration)

  It’s week 43 of 52 weeks in 2018, and I’ve reached collage number 300 in my 365 Somethings. Today is day 299 of the year. After today there are 66 days remaining in this year, so that we (as happens most years) will land on the magic number 365 at the last day of the […]
• October 24 | I’d rather be reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life (Book Inspiration, Inspiration)

  I define myself as a book lover, I can’t imagine life without a book by my side. I don’t just read how to-books about art and crafts (the kind that I mostly review here on my blog) but also novels, biographies, fantasy, YA, classics, fact books, kid’s lit, and more. I use books as entertainment […]
• October 17 | 365 Collages | Week 42 | Outside the Grid (Collage)

  The project #365somethings2018 continues, here and on instagram and on some blogs around the globe. I’m making collages, seven new each week this entire year. Here’s the first one this week: My name is Abbott, a collage by iHanna. True silence is the rest of the mind, and is to the spirit what sleep is […]
• October 11 | 365 Collages | Week 41 | Halloween Colors (Collage)

  I’m working on ideas for my postcards in the DIY Postcard Swap autumn 2018 you’re invited too if you want to join us!) but because I don’t want to fall behind again, I’m posting seven new collages this week. Stormy Sky – Collage no 280 by iHanna. I’m short on time, but here they are. […]
• October 3 | Late Fall DIY Postcard Swap 2018 (Mail bliss)

  Fall is late around here this year. I think it’s because of the very hot summer we had, and then we have had rather pleasant weather in August, and September too. I’ve not even worn my jacket yet, so I just haven’t felt like it’s turned autumn yet… But by looking in my calendar of […]
• October 2 | 365 Collages | Week 40 | Right Here, Right Now (Collage)

  Do you keep track of what week it is? Right now it’s week 40, in case you didn’t know or needed a reminder. That means I’m finally caught up with my collages. We’re right here right now. Yay! I’ve been behind almost this entire year (or at least it feels like it) because I’ve had […]
• September 30 | 365 Collages | Week 39 | Forget Me Not (Collage)

  Being solitary is being alone well: being alone luxuriously immersed in doings of your own choice, aware of the fullness of your own presence rather than of the absence of others. Because solitude is an achievement. Alice Koller Kittens for Breakfast, collage by iHanna. Seven new ones for my 365 project, and they’re posted just […]
• September 26 | 365 Collages | Week 38 | Not for Reading (Collage)

  These collages are not for reading, even though they have a lot of text on them. I wanted to try playing with typography in a graphic sense again, and it was lots of fun cutting up text. Some are kept legible, other parts are half covered or cut apart. I love the way they look, […]
• September 21 | 365 Collages | Week 37 | Droplets of Confusion (Collage)

  Oceans Near, Never Far Away, a collage by iHanna. These seven collages are created as part of my personal challenge to create 365 collages in 2018. In my last post for week 36 my theme was birds, this time I guess it’s… the colors of nature? Next week I’ll post: Week 38. Stay tuned. Please […]
• September 18 | 365 Collages | Week 36 | The Birds are Back in Town (Collage)

  Pink Chested Well-Wisher, a collage by iHanna. One could probably create 365 collages featuring a different bird each time. There are a lot of beautiful birds in the world, as well as bird illustrations and ephemera. Birds are always a grateful subject matter, so here are seven new collages featuring feathered friends, with newly imagined […]
• September 14 | 365 Collages | Week 35 | Monochromatic Collages (Collage)

  It is time for some monochromatic collage! Yay, right? This is one of my favorite ways to work with colors, and collage. At the Blue Lagoon, a collage by iHanna. Many years ago now, I did a series of monochromatic art journal pages. Who remembers those? Anyway, it was a super fun little project where […]
• September 11 | My First Art Vlog: Yayoi Kusama in Stockholm (A Creative Life, Other's Creativity, Photography)

  In this blog post you will find my very first video log (vlog), lots of polka dot art, some journaling and lots of polka dotted lamps in different colors (swoon!). But first a little bit about the artist Yayoi Kusama… Yayoi Kusama and her polka dots Yayoi Kusama is a internationally well-known and very much […]
• September 10 | 365 Collages | Week 34 | Invest for the Future (A Creative Life, Collage)

  We’re in the beginning of September and the week number of the year is 37. Not sure you have week numbers in your calendar, but if you do you already know this. But on posting my collages for 365 collages in 2018, I’m on week 34. So if I could post just three more weeks […]
• September 6 | 365 Collages | Week 33 | Cut things away as you go (A Creative Life, Collage)

  Fresh Vintage, a collage by iHanna. Isolation is aloneness that feels forced upon you, like a punishment. Solitude is aloneness you choose and embrace. I think great things can come out of solitude, out of going to a place where all is quiet except the beating of your heart. Jeanne Marie Laskas I am doing […]
• August 30 | 365 Collages | Week 32 | Catching the Ladybug (A Creative Life, Collage)

  It is not necessary that you leave the house. Remain at your table and listen. Do not even listen, only wait. Do not even wait, be wholly still and alone. The world will present itself to you for its unmasking… in ecstasy it will writhe at your feet. Franz Kafka It is bugging me that […]
• August 14 | Make Jewelry from Wood Beads (Crafts)

  A great Summer Craft Idea, is bringing out a bowl of painted wood beads, and stringing them together to make wood bead jewelry. Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter won’t mind. Doktor Seuss Slow down with beading You can sit down by […]
• August 13 | 365 Collages | Week 31 | Only the Best (A Creative Life, Collage)

  The more things you do, the more you can do. Lucille Ball Jumping to Conclusions – Collage no 211 by iHanna. Collage number 211 to 217 of my 365 Collage Project. Romance again, a wee bit of my favorite colour pink – and a feeling of spring as autumn approaches. But this is what I […]
• August 11 | 365 Collages | Week 30 | Chillaxing (A Creative Life, Collage)

  Again, seven new collages fresh from the artist’s table. With these I am wishing you a chillaxing weekend! Passing the ravine – Collage no 205 by iHanna. Chillaxing you ask? It’s chilling and relaxing put together, a lovely word if you ask me. It is the ultimate state of chill and relaxation. I hope my […]
• August 9 | 365 Collages | Week 29 | Capture the Moment (A Creative Life, Collage)

  Today it’s time to celebrate again. I have reached collage number 200 of 365, another great big and wonderful milestone! So let us leave our worries of giving up behind, and continue forward, towards the goal. Ghost of a Town, collage by iHanna. The theme of these collages can be seen in the vintage illustrations […]
• August 7 | 365 COLLAGES | Week 28 in 2018 | What a Crazy Idea this was (A Creative Life, Collage)

  Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy. Norman Vincent Peale I am trying to create 365 Collages in 2018. In this post you will find seven new collages for Week 28. When thinking about this project right now, […]
• August 6 | Art Journal Peek: A Love-fest Without End (Art journaling)

  An Art Journal is like a wonderful Pride Parade for all people under the rainbow, all creatives that are willing to have an open mind towards personal creativity. It is like a virtual Love-fest Without End. I have been keeping some kind of Art Journal for over 10 years now, and I hope I never […]
• August 5 | 365 Collages | Week 27 | Shabby Chic Style (A Creative Life, Collage, Home Comforts)

  iHanna’s 365 Collage Project in 2018 is proceeding on the blog as usual, and in her life. If you’re not clicking over to visit the blog a couple of times each week, you’re missing out on the exciting adventure of cut and paste on squares… Spelling bee, collage by iHanna. We are now on Week […]
• August 1 | 365 Collages | Week 26 | Connected by a Blue Circle (Collage)

  Abstraction, collage by iHanna. Six months of collages – wow! Because 26 and 26 is 52, right? I think that means that week 26 was the middle point of this journey. With 182 collages (182 + 182 + 1 = 365!) I’m halfway through the journey of making a collage for each day this year. […]
• July 28 | 365 Collages | Week 25 | Creating a Synthesis (A Creative Life, Collage)

  Synthesis means a combination of components or elements to form a connected whole. I think that is what collage is about. Trying to take a jumple of very different elements and making it into a connected whole: something new. Very much like a lot of other things, many more than you might think about. Like […]
• July 25 | 365 Collages | Week 24 | Birds birds birds (A Creative Life, Collage)

  Birds are the perfect animal, the one creature probably every human is a bit envious of. Who wouldn’t want to take flight and disappear into the sky? They’re also the perfect metaphor for many things, so tiny and yet so powerful. I think that is what attract us to them, and why so many of […]
• July 23 | Dear Photo Diary | Summer Reading & Groot (A Creative Life, Photography)

  When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it. Henry Ford Dear Photo Diary I am not taking as many photos with my big girl camera anymore, because of phone. It feels sad looking back, so sometimes I pull myself together and take some […]
• July 22 | 365 Collages | Week 23 | Starting from the Same Point (Collage)

  What would happen if you used one piece of paper, cut into roughly the same size, on seven different collages, as a starting point? I set this as a challenge for myself, just for fun. For me, I cut seven strips of pink flower power paper, and glued each one down along the edge on […]
• July 16 | 365 Collages | Week 22 | Swedish Headers (Collage)

  The titles of these collages (no 148 – 154) is quite random, but the collages themselves are all themed around Swedish headers cut out of vintage craft magazines. I love the colorful look of these Swedish text headers, and I hope you’ll enjoy these new collages! Here’s no 148 for week 22 of my 365 […]
• July 12 | From the Scarlet Letterbox (Mail bliss, Other's Creativity, Pretty things)

  My blog friend Natalie of The Smallest Forest, whose amazing art and creatings I’ve written about before wanted to start a new “thing” this year and came up with the idea of offering her readers, fans and all interested a letter subscription. In her letter subscription you get one handwritten beautiful letter once a month, […]
• July 3 | Playful Index Card Collages by iHanna | June 1-15 (Collage, Creative habits)

  Like I mentioned a in the beginning of last month in June and July there is an art challenge going on that is called ICAD – Index-Card-a-Day. It’s low key and fun, and I’m making collages with stickers, cute images, washi tape, words, labels and this and that found in a little box of treassures […]
• July 1 | 365 Collages | Week 21 | Beneath the Surface (A Creative Life, Collage)

  Try Ctrl and Z to delete, collage by iHanna. One of the reasons I love collage is because it always seem to be something hidden, beneath the surface. There are different layers of papers of course, but also layers of meaning and obscured imagery. There might be some hidden secrets. Sometimes the meaning is obvious, […]
• June 27 | 365 Collages | Week 20 | Summer Feels like this (Collage)

  What does summer feels like to you, if you describe it in art? This is how it feels to me right now, in collage form. Seven new collages – again. By the Ocean, collage by iHanna. The whole value of solitude depends upon one’s self; it may be a sanctuary or a prison, a haven […]
• June 24 | 365 Collages | Week 19 | Looking back & moving forward (Collage)

  We just passed the “Summer Middle”, and with this post I’m sharing a few “leftovers” or let’s rather call them catch up collages from previous weeks. I’ve already shared week 17 (Being a Paper Squirrel) and week 18 (Ironic Midsummer Romance) this week so I guess the whole concept is confusing not only to me, […]
• June 22 | 365 Collages | Week 18 | Ironic Midsummer Romance (A Creative Life, Collage)

  Happy Midsummer from Sweden today! Fun but terrifying – collage by iHanna. Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it. Rumi Happy Midsummer, or Solstice, or simple the middle of summer – today, with 7 romantic looking collages… […]
• June 20 | 365 Collages | Week 17 | Being a Paper Squirrel (Collage)

  I am definitely a Paper Squirrel, saving every little piece of paper I can. I squirrel away all the papers that I think have potential to be in a collage, some day. I think you have to be somewhat of a Paper Squirrel to be a collage artist. You need a good collection of different […]
• June 17 | How to make a Washi Tape Sampler (Crafts, Paper Crafting, Tutorials)

  I have been collecting washi tape for a few years now, but I still remember the first couple of rolls I got and what an amazing invention I thought patterned tape was. It’s like stickers, but on a “never ending” roll. Recently I’ve finished two different rolls of tape, so they’re not infinite – but […]
• June 14 | 365 Collages | Week 16 | English Garden Party (Collage)

  There are days when solitude is a heady wine that intoxicates you with freedom, others when it is a bitter tonic, and still others when it is a poison that makes you beat your head against the wall. Colette Tea for two – collage no 107 by iHanna. Welcome to my English Garden Party! Don’t […]
• June 11 | 365 Collages | Week 15 | Made in China (A Creative Life, Collage)

  These collages are not “Made in China” of course, they are made by me here in Sweden. But they’re inspired by Chinese writings and graffiti on the wall. I hope you enjoy! Isolation is aloneness that feels forced upon you, like a punishment. Solitude is aloneness you choose and embrace. I think great things can […]
• June 7 | 365 Collages | Week 14 | Patchwork Garden Collages (A Creative Life, Collage)

  Hello and welcome to my beautiful Patchwork Garden, made out of paper and glue of course. Each patch is decorated to delight all the senses… Garden Patchwork 1, a collage by iHanna a.k.a. Hanna Andersson, Sweden. As per usual, I started out with not much of an idea, but then went to town with the […]
• June 5 | Summer Craft Idea: Play with Perler Beads (hama beads) (Crafts)

  Lovely June is here, and it’s time to do some summer crafting. The definition of summer craft is loosely: anything that feels light, airy, fun, colorful and can be done outdoors on the balcony or in the garden, at the summer house or maybe even in the car. Or simply anything you want to work […]
• June 3 | 365 Collages | Week 13 | A spring that never dries up (A Creative Life, Collage)

  Rejected, collage by iHanna. I thought of calling this blog post / theme Rejection, but that just feel too negative for my collage art post. The feel of making and looking at the collages are positive (to me, but when naming them I was feeling kind of… down? depleted? alone? So the lady on the […]
• June 1 | Creative Process Video for Index Card Collage – day 1 (Collage, Creative habits)

  Index Cards is a office supply paper type that you can find at the paper or book store, close to notebooks and pens. It’s created for noting information like research, recipes or addresses, often stored alphabetically in a box for quick reference. In the time of smart phones, computers and online registers (GDTP be damned) […]
• May 30 | 365 Collages | Week 12 | Freedom to Choose (Collage)

  Today I choose life. Every morning when I wake up I can choose joy, happiness, negativity, pain… To feel the freedom that comes from being able to continue to make mistakes and choices – today I choose to feel life, not to deny my humanity but embrace it. Kevyn Aucoin You can have your own […]
• May 28 | Printed Postcards from my Art Journal (Mail bliss, Pretty things)

  I took some artwork from my art journals and made printed postcards. They turned out very beautiful, and even though I want to keep them all, I have a few copies of each one. So you can grab yourself a pack right now, if you’re fast… I am thrilled with the result, and the whole […]
• May 21 | 365 Collages | Week 11 | Bambi came to visit (Collage)

  In my last post I blamed work and good weather. What shall I blame this time? Time being an escape artist perhaps? Because it is true, it really is. But also folks, don’t arrange a big swap in the middle of a 365 Art Project that you’re already behind with… Just don’t. But since I […]
• May 16 | Dear Photo Diary | Newness in the air (Photography)

  The month of May has been divided into two very intense parts: beautiful weather that draws me outdoors, away from the computer and blogging, and heavy computer work time that also has drawn me away from social media and writing blog posts. But today I (almost) finished one of my articles, and while the sun […]
• May 2 | Do it Yourself Postcards (Art Experiments, Mail bliss)

  Do it Yourself Postcards are my kind of Mail Art, a postcard that you create yourself. And I’m not alone in loving this form of expression. Loads of people have signed up for the DIY Postcard Swap this spring, and I’m grateful that so many wants to join me in this endevour. I started creating […]
• April 25 | Happy Mail & Endorsements I got (Mail bliss)

  Sarah, who does the most adorable abstract postcards, wrote to me a while back: Your swap is the highlight of my life twice a year! Sarah I don’t think I could get a better endorsement for the DIY Postcard Swap than that, right? Today I want to share the postcards I received in the DIY […]
• April 23 | Books about Snail Mail, Letter-Writing & Good Mail Days (Book Inspiration, Mail bliss)

  Do you wish for more Good Mail Days? Or are you asking yourself right now: “What is a good mail day?” From the description of the great book Good Mail Day, you will find one way to answer that question: “ A good mail day is a day when, instead of just bills, catalogs, and […]
• April 20 | 365 Collages | Week 10 | Roses for You (A Creative Life, Collage)

  You have to care about your work but not about the result. You have to care about how good you are and how good you feel, but not about how good people think you are. Amy Poehler Roses for the Girls, a collage by iHanna. I did a collage exercise once where you used bits […]
• April 13 | How to Create your own Scrap Die Cuts [VIDEO tutorial] (Crafts, Paper Crafting, Tutorials)

  Hey friends! Today I am sharing how you can create your own Scrap Die Cuts. If you’re anything like me, you buy stamps sometimes when they’re on sale (or too cute to resist), but then rarely use them? This quick tips is for you! I think the idea of stamps is great, but they work […]
• April 10 | 365 Collages | Week 9 | Lifelong Learning (Collage)

  Commit yourself to lifelong learning. The most valuable asset you’ll ever have is your mind and what you put into it. Brian Tracy Marching to my own Drum, a collage by iHanna. Still influenced by Easter colors with these 7 collages made during this past Easter holiday. They are number 57 to 63 of 365 […]
• April 5 | Do it Yourself Postcards – Swap with us Spring 2018 (Mail bliss)

  I started the DIY Postcard Swap back in 2010, and now eight years later it is still going strong – stronger then ever! And you are invited to join us! I created the Postcard Swap because I love mail art, mixed media, handmade postcards and sharing creativity with you, my dear blog readers. I love […]
• April 4 | 365 Collages | Week 8 | Inspired by Easter Yellow (Collage)

  Even though Easter is very much over, I’m still wearing my new, Easter yellow hoodie and yellow skirt with orange flowers. It’s a color that I’ve been loving more and more over the past two years I think, and it is evident if not everywhere so at least in my wardrobe. And during Easter this […]
• March 27 | Custom Sketchbooks from Art Journal Pages (Draw & doodle, Notebooks, Pretty things)

  I have three beautiful custom sketchbooks in my possession. I picked painted art journal pages of my own as cover art, and I am in love with these blank books. Today I’m sharing a video review of them, including a pen test so that you can see for yourself how the paper takes watercolors and […]
• March 24 | 365 Collages | Week 7 | Snow in March (Collage)

  I am trying to focus on the slow movement forward, towards my goal of 365 somethings in 2018. A few collages at a time, being glued together, scanned to the computer, then named, numbered and shared on the blog. I’m not very good at focusing on the progress and change, but with a project like […]
• March 19 | 365 Collages | Week 6 | Animal Friends (A Creative Life, Collage)

  Still working to catch up to making 365 collages this year, still behind but that’s okay. I feel better now that I see some small progress, and no longer are at a stand-still. I rather move slowly than not at all, you know… My goal is to make seven finished square collages each week. So […]
• March 13 | Thrifting in Sweden (Thrift & Recycle)

  Today let’s visit a Swedish Thrift Shop together, and take a look at what can be found on the shelves. I find vintage things beautiful, and full of inspiration. Sometimes they’re not that old, but still, they’re here on the shelves waiting for a new home… So tempting, so very tempting. When I started this […]
• March 7 | 365 Collages | Week 5 | Swedish Female Authors (Collage)

  Every 8th of March it’s International Women’s Day. It’s one of my favorite days, because it reminds me how far we’ve come – and that we still have a long way to go… To commemorate this important day, all collages in this batch feature women writers from Sweden. I hope you have a super lovely […]
• March 5 | 365 Collages | Week 4 | Will I be able to catch up? (Collage)

  I started making collages again after a month of doing almost nothing. And I have to ask: Will I be able to catch up? It’s week 10 already, this equals 2 months and 4 days. We’re on day 63 of 2018, and I’m sharing collages number 22 to 28 today, that I made this weekend. […]
• February 28 | Customized Note Pad for quick scribbles (Crafts, Notebooks)

  Today I’ll share a quick tips on how to create a customized Note Pad Cover. You know the cheap kind that have ugly covers but are still great to use? Well, I like those too. But I do think everything that is not already handmade will be better if it’s personalized, altered, or customized in […]
• February 26 | Kawaii Hearts | Making some Clay Jewelery (Crafts)

  Kawaii Hearts with wings are coming into the air and flying straight for you! Who can resist these cuties? I ♥ them so. To continue with the heart theme, I wanted to share an easy and fun idea for making your own lovely jewelry using clay. I made these a while back, but it’s still […]
• February 16 | The Embroidered Heart and the Fear of Failure (A Creative Life, Crafts, Fabric Art)

  I love the beautiful symbol of love and its many pains; the heart. I’ve been obsessed with the heart shape for over a decade, and I am just now working on several different textile pieces for an exhibition I want to set up. I think I stopped working on my embroidered hearts last year so […]
• February 12 | Embroidery Workshop | How to stitch a Heart – with LOVE (Art Experiments, Fabric & Sewing, Fabric Art)

  This weekend I sent out a Newsletter announcing that my darling embroidery workshop Stitch with Love, is up for grabs! I have been wanting to make a stand-alone workshop hosted by me, for a bit over a year now (or is it two years?), but for various reasons, I haven’t. Not until now. I am […]
• February 7 | Dear Photo Diary | Pink Polka Dots (Photography)

  Since I’m still not one hundred percent well after the flu, I haven’t made any new collages and feel way behind. I think I’m the only one not posting to the hashtag #365somethings2018 on Instagram, and I invented the thing! Gah! But I digress. I’m trying to go through older photos on the computer, and […]
• February 4 | Heart Collage Free Desktop Background (Collage)

  Sorry I have been MIA for almost two weeks. It’s because I got the flue. To make up for it I compiled a Colorful and Free Desktop Background, to spruce up your desktop background on the computer! Yay! Every day you live is a day for dreaming. Every day is a day for adventuring. And […]
• January 29 | Keeping a Diary | Should you Keep it Private or Share it (Notebooks)

  Long before I started to blog I wrote weekly and sometimes daily, in a regular hard bound notebook and called it “a diary”. I have kept a diary for my entire life, and by this time in my life I know it is something I will not ever loose or stop doing. It is so […]
• January 25 | 365 Collages | Week 3 | Butterfly Collage (A Creative Life, Collage)

  I made seven random collages, and the theme didn’t show itself until I was almost done. But that’s okay too for me. You don’t need to know the end result to start, right? I don’t even think each week needs to be assigned a specific theme. I like random, as you might know. I like […]
• January 21 | Doodle and Relax (Draw & doodle)

  Time for some doodling! If you feel pressure to make something spectacular and realistic on every piece of paper you get in front of you, you might never start. Right? Pressure is on to create a masterpiece. To not waste pretty paper, to invest in your art. Or to fill your notebook with something instagram-worthy… […]
• January 18 | 365 Collages | Week 2 | All in Printable Colors (Collage)

  I made more collages. These are made out of some of the most printable colors you can imagine. They’re the CMYK colors that you use when you’re designing for print. Printable colors, that is. Defined by wiki: The CMYK color model (process color, four color) is a subtractive color model, used in color printing, and […]
• January 15 | Traveler’s Notebook | The finished Christmas Journal (A Creative Life, Notebooks)

  I have filmed a flip-through of my finished Christmas Journal, that is in a Traveler’s Notebook regular size insert that I made myself. I have also edited it and uploaded it, and for that I am very proud. It’s this years first video and my aim is about 30-40 more this year! I’ve journaled on […]
• January 13 | An Invitation back into the Art Journal (Art journaling)

  I love Art Journaling a lot. In previous years I’ve kept one big Art Journal that has housed all my art and experiments. But for a couple of years now I’ve let the journal expand into several different kinds of books at the same time, thus destroying the lovely chronology I had going, but also […]
• January 9 | 365 Collages | Week 1 of 2018 | A Golden Start to the Year (Art Experiments, Collage)

  A golden start, can we have that? Let’s be honest. Doing a 365 is not for the faint of heart. I have been so nervous about it for a long time now, because to me it’s a big commitment to my art practice. I want to do it but I also feel fear and hesitation […]
• January 7 | Resources | Wildly Successful & Creative 365 Project (Creative habits, Digital Life, Inspiration, Other's Creativity)

  So, I announced the awesome and exciting project of 365 Somethings 2018, hashtagged #365sometings2018, before Christmas, and I have gotten so much awesome feedback. All of you who joined in, spread the word about it, and already started your own personal 365 creative project – you all rock my world! This adventure is going to […]
• January 2 | Setting a Creative Intention (Creative habits, Life Stuff)

  Happy New Year 2018 dear readers! It’s time to set a Creative Intention for the year, and go forward with confidence and joy. Right? I’m popping in to wish you all a happy new year. May you sail through the clouds of life to find your own sunshine this year. It’s a new year and […]

-2017

• December 24 | Video | Christmas Journal with Me II (Art journaling, Notebooks)

  Once more with love, here’s another Journal with Me Video, where I am working in my Christmas Journal. And a few photos of it too. I promised another video this year, so here we are. Enjoy! I have loved filming the process of these pages, and watching it myself, and I hope you’ll enjoy it […]
• December 21 | Project 365 Somethings in 2018 (Art Experiments, Collage, Creative habits)

  I am about to embark on a big creative journey that it will take me about 365 days to accomplish. It is a 365 Project of Somethings in 2018, and you are invited to join me! Are you daring enough to give such a huge project a try? It can be scary and lonely out […]
• December 20 | Christmas Journal with Me (Art journaling, Notebooks)

  Christmas journal with me, will you? Just remember that journaling can be what ever you want it to be. In previous Christmas Journals, both spiral bound, I have mostly glued in found imagery when I made them and stopped using them in December. Inspiration, prints and cards with a holiday theme. In the end I […]
• December 11 | Feeling the Christmas Blues? (iHanna's Thoughts, Notebooks)

  I have had forbidden thoughts… Because lately I have felt like Christmas is not very interesting any more. I felt like I couldn’t get into any kind of Christmas joyful mood. And without kids, what’s the point? It’s super dark outside, and if we get snow it melts straight away and creates iced streets or […]
• December 10 | Three Christmas Journals + Video (Bookbinding, Notebooks)

  I made a couple of Christmas Journals in the beginning of the month. Yay! They’re up for sale if you’re interested, although I know that I am late posting them for this Christmas. But I just can’t keep these goodies to myself until next Christmas – so here we go! I want to share them […]
• December 6 | Book Wish List starts with Encyclopedia of Rainbows (A Creative Life, Book Inspiration, I write Lists)

  What’s on your wish list this year? Right now I wouldn’t mind getting a pile of yummy books, in fact I have a long list of books I’m asking Santa for. Or anyone kind and generous enough to send me books. I feel like I could need some inspiration right now, I think it’s because […]
• December 3 | Traveler’s Notebook Storage (Notebooks, Paper Crafting)

  How do you store finished notebooks? Here’s a new Traveler’s Notebook Storage for me, that I recently made. In it I’ve fitted all my Traveler’s Notebook regular size Randomosity journals, and I love seeing them together like this. I love new shiny notebooks, but I also love old notebooks that are filled with all the […]
• November 29 | Traveler’s Notebook | A look at my Randomosity volume one (A Creative Life, Art journaling, Notebooks)

  Let’s take a look at my first Randomosity notebook together. This is volume one of Travler’s Notebooks (in the series presented in my last post), today brought to you in video form (find the entire flip through below) and some photos from back when I made it. I hope you find it inspiring, and encouraging. […]
• November 23 | Traveler’s Notebook: Random Journaling (Art journaling, Notebooks)

  Random journaling, that’s what I fill most of my journals with. Some books are more random than others, and then even when I give a notebook a specific purpose, sometimes random things end up in there anyway. I think it’s the way my brain works, not in compartments but in a flow. Actually my whole […]
• November 19 | A look at our Embroidery Exhibition (Fabric Art)

  Did you know I do embroidery too? I love free form embroidery a lot. And what I usually call mixed media embroidery, where there are some elements of painting involved as well as stitching on fabric. I’m in an embroidery group too, so even when I’m not stitching daily I get an infusion of stitching […]
• November 7 | Frogs in Polka Dots (Mail bliss)

  I have been working on editing video and photos for a few hours now, stuff I want to share here on the blog, but now it’s already late and nothing I had planned is finished. Gah, I love the thought of planning but sometimes it just doesn’t work out… You know what I mean? My […]
• November 1 | New Business Cards for an Artist (Art Experiments, Pretty things)

  Traditional business cards are rectangle and fits into the slots of a business card holder. Traditional business cards are black text on white card-stock, and are exchanged between business men at important meetings, as they try to make a memorable impressions. No one wants to be any different than the other guy.. Traditional business cards […]
• October 29 | A Box of Papers and autumn in Sweden (Photography)

  It’s autumn in Sweden. Well actually, today we are going into Winter Time, setting our clocks back an hour to get more lights in the mornings… But where I am we haven’t had any snow yet, so I’m enjoying the autumn still, as best I can. I do not like how early it gets dark […]
• October 26 | Signed, Sealed, Delivered | Waiting for Happy Mail (A Creative Life, Mail bliss)

  The DIY Postcard Swap Autumn 2017 is closed for this time, and now the fun wait for happy mail begins! I want to find my way to regular creating and posting again, after quite a few posts about my mixed media painted postcards these past weeks. I hope you’ve enjoyed creating along with me, and […]
• October 19 | Painted Postcards | Happy Greetings Postcards (Art Experiments, Mail bliss)

  All my Painted Postcards are finished and ready to be sent out. The last day to sign up for the DIY Postcard Swap is October 22, and after that I’m sitting down and sending out your addresses. And writing addresses on my own postcards too of course. Yay! I am so excited that so many […]
• October 17 | Princess Postcards | Be You, Be Happy, Be Awesome (Art Experiments, Mail bliss)

  Today I’ve got four Princess Postcards to share, painted in the series of Happy Girl Postcards. All my Painted Postcards are finished, but I’m sharing just the princess ones today. I would love to know which of these you like best – and why? Share in the comments below please. I think most of us […]
• October 15 | Painted Postcards | Kindness and Love (A Creative Life, Mail bliss)

  All the Painted Postcards are finished! I really like how they turned out, and wanted to share them as individual pieces and turned right, not just as I painted them four on a piece of paper. So here we go! Painted postcard no 1 above, by me iHanna: Kram. Kram is Swedish and means Hug, […]
• October 13 | Download the Swap Tracker (Mail bliss)

  Today I’m sharing a post card video that I’m rather proud of. In it you’ll see everything from me painting post cards to printing and cutting out the backsides. I hope you’ll like the video, as well as the tracker I made for you guys! Well, the tracker is for those of you participating in […]
• October 12 | 3 Fun Things: Art Journal Giveaway + New Video + Creative Actions (Mail bliss)

  There’s so many awesome and fun things happening right now that my brain is about to explode! I’ve got the DIY Postcard Swap still open and people from all over the world are joining every day. Tomorrow I’m sending out a new Newsletter, and I just finished editing two videos (one more being uploaded tomorrow […]
• October 9 | Making postcards from Scratch – Part 3: Happy Girl Postcards (A Creative Life, Art Experiments, Mail bliss)

  I have painted mostly Happy Girl Postcards as you will see in this part of Making a postcard from Scratch. It is Part 3: Adding details, a focal point or words to your DIY Postcards. The Finishing Touches that is. In part 1 we got started and in part 2 we picked some background colors. […]
• October 6 | Flying Tiger Traveler’s Notebooks (Notebooks, Pretty things)

  Every time I’m in Stockholm I visit a shop called Flying Tiger Copenhagen. It’s a chain store of cheap but cute Danish design originating from Copenhagen. I first discovered a store in Gothenburg, but for a few years now we’ve had one in central Stockholm and a few others popping up around here in suburb […]
• October 3 | Making Postcards from Scratch – Part 2: Painting a Mixed Media Background (Art Experiments, Mail bliss)

  I am painting a colorful Mixed Media Background, join me as we continue with our postcards today. In this part 2 of Making Postcards from Scratch we’re going to create Mixed Media Postcard backgrounds, and I’ll also share some other fun Postcard Ideas to try. Read part one here if you missed it, and join […]
• October 1 | Hello October, Time for Hygge and all things Cozy (Inspiration)

  Goodbye September, Hello October! I hope you’ll be productive, happy & give me plenty of time for cut & paste, embroidery, making postcards for the swap & for painting. And dear October month, send some autumnal sunshine my way, thanks. I mean rain is great but we don’t need it every day, huh?! Also, time […]
• September 27 | Get Started | Make a Postcard from Scratch (A Creative Life, Art Experiments, Mail bliss)

  It’s time to make postcards, don’t you agree? Here I’m making a postcard from Scratch – Part 1: Getting started. Making postcards is not difficult. Anyone can do it, and with a bit of effort, I think you’ll love the postcards you make yourself even more than store bought ones. They are more personal, more […]
• September 21 | iHanna’s DIY Postcard Swap Fall 2017 (Mail bliss)

  Time to join iHanna’s DIY Postcard Swap Fall 2017! I hope you are interested in joining this fun, international, awesome swap of handmade postcards swirling around the earth once again, spreading rainbows, joyfulness and happy thoughts to the people joining. You make some postcards in your own style, and send them out, and then you […]
• September 14 | The Finishing Touches of Everything (Mail bliss)

  Wanna make some happy mail with me this fall? Then stay tuned. A fun Swap Event is being planed in this moment, and you probably are gonna wanna join in. Or at least that’s my guess. It’s almost time to join the DIY Postcard Swap that I host here twice every year – but not […]
• September 7 | Painted circles ad infinitum (Art journaling)

  I have painted circles, because I love circles. Love them! Well, I do love polka dots, spheres, and most any roundish pattern I find (or make), as you might know. And painted circles can be done in a couple of thousand different ways. There is no end to a circle, and I don’t imagine there […]
• September 1 | When you just HAVE to make something (Fabric & Sewing)

  You know that feeling you get sometimes, that you just have to make something? The creative urge hits, and you simply need to craft something together, anything. You just have to get to it ASAP. Maybe you see a color combination, a fabric, a pattern, a flower that you want to draw, and inspiration strikes. […]
• August 28 | Falling in Love with the Traveler’s Notebook System (Bookbinding, Notebooks)

  Today I’m finally sharing a Traveler’s Notebook Flip-Through. It’s a long video (about 20 minutes), but I had so much to share I wanted to be thorough. Personally I love drinking my coffee in the morning, visiting YouTube and watching a video on someone else’s notebook, and see all the cute details inside it, so […]
• August 24 | A Blog Checklist: 18 before 2018 (Digital Life)

  Today I’m sharing a blog checklist with 18 things I want to get done before 2018. I’m writing a list of things I’ve wanted to get done and fix on the blog for a very, very long time. I could probably make it a one hundred list, but 18 things seams more doable, don’t you […]
• August 21 | Online Swapping | How to Swap Pretty Stuff Online (Mail bliss, Tutorials)

  Online swapping in super fun and easy to do. You feel great when you’re generous yourself, and the surprise you’ll get in your own inbox often is better than you could’ve imagined. But of course you’ve gotta be ready to send out your stuff without a one hundred percent guarantee that you’ll get something back. […]
• August 19 | How to make your Art Journal Page Bloom (Art journaling)

  I think the most important ingredient to make your art journal page bloom, is to use yourself as fodder in them. Without you (even if you don’t think you’re in bloom yourself yet), they will be lifeless copies of what someone else have done before you. To truly make your Art Journal pages stand out […]
• August 12 | Creativity Book Wish List | Draw Every Day, Draw Every Way (Book Inspiration, I write Lists)

  I wish had the energy to draw every day, or paint… And I wish I had time to read more. Actually, I wish I could buy and read all the books. I really do, at least the ones on the kind of creativity and art that I’m into at the moment. It’s one of my […]
• August 6 | Finished Tiny Scrap Notebook for warm up Collages (A Creative Life, Collage, Creative habits, Notebooks)

  I have finally finished this little cute notebook, about as big as my palm, that I call Tiny Scrap Notebook because of its content; lots of little scraps that I wanted to keep somewhere… I later renamed the book “Warm Up Collage Notebook“, because of how I started to use it. I have made little […]
• August 2 | To Move Forward Creatively Change the Blade (Life Stuff)

  How to do you move forward after a long summer break of silence? That’s what I’m asking myself today. Sometimes when you’re cutting a lot of paper you just want to get through the pile and finish. You try to hurry up and push harder, but that just derails you. Your fingers cramp up and […]
• July 23 | Summer is my favorite season (Photography)

  I haven’t been blogging much lately, and I’d like to (at least partly) blame the Swedish Summer for that… I love that Sweden has four glorious and specific seasons. I love all these different seasons, because they signify change and movement. But I must say I think that Swedish Summer is my favorite season. And […]
• July 5 | Camp Reset Traveler’s Notebook (A Creative Life, Notebooks, Paper Crafting)

  This month I’m at Camp Reset most of the time, which is a free online “camp” that is about self-care, mindfulness and health. I’m using a Traveler’s Notebook to collect what I’m thinking about and learning, and today I’m sharing a video flip through of it (scroll down to see it). What are you up […]
• June 22 | The Purple Table Runner (Fabric & Sewing)

  I’ve sewn together a very easy table runner for a friend of mine. I still adore the table runner we’ve got on our living room table right now, the polka dot one I made this spring. It really makes me happy, with all those bright colors together. I can’t wait to make another one for […]
• June 18 | Update: Index Card Collages (Collage, Creative habits)

  I’m making Index Card Collages this summer. What are you making? Today it’s time for a index-card-a-day (ICAD) Update. We’ve already passed the middle of June 2017, and summer if flying by. Time to catch up. For each day this summer I’m filling a pink index card with a little colorful collage. This year I’m […]
• June 6 | Cute Stuff for Journalers and Stationary Addicts (Mail bliss, Pretty things)

  I made my first Etsy Haul Video (scroll down to watch it). In it I am sharing some kawaii stuff that we Journalers and Stationary Addicts like. Pens, cute washi tape and a pack of stickers. It is not a big haul by any means, just a little something that I bought for myself but didn’t […]
• May 30 | ICAD – Joining the Index Card A Day Challenge (Creative habits)

  I’m joining ICAD again this year, are you? I hope so, because I’d love to see what you make. Last year I filled 61 index cards with abstract art and learned a lot about what I like to paint. ICAD stands for index-card-a-day, and I’m talking a bit about what it entails and showing my […]
• May 25 | 100 More Creative Ideas to Spark you into Action (A Creative Life, I write Lists)

  Are you in need of a few Creative Ideas? Because I have an abundance of ideas that I do not mind sharing with you! I love creative list writing, so this is a fun blog post to make: a list of one hundred (100!) creative ideas that will spark you into a creative mood, a place where […]
• May 17 | Quilting | Sewing a Polka Dot Table Runner (Fabric & Sewing, Home Comforts)

  Quilting – the act of cutting perfectly good fabric into little pieces and then sewing them back together again. iHanna Quilters are people who enjoy cutting new fabric apart to sew it together again. It sounds counter-intuitive and a bit crazy, but it is actually fun to do. I’m lucky to have a mom who […]
• May 11 | My New Polka Dot Art Table (video) (Home Comforts, Tutorials)

  I like a lot of different styles when it comes to interior decorating, and I always admire those that has all-white rooms in their houses. But as an artist, I could never pull that style of, no matter how much I try. At least I don’t think so… Maybe if I had a living room […]
• May 4 | Workshop: Hacking the Color Wheel – Art Journaling for Creative Rebels (Life Stuff)

  Wanna take hack the color wheel and take an awesome art journal workshop this year? Then this is your chance, right now. I am one of the guest teachers in Kiala Givehand’s upcoming workshop called Hacking the Color Wheel – Art Journaling for Creative Rebels. Love this title so much, don’t you? It’s about book […]
• May 1 | My New Hand Bound Art Journal with Embroidered Cover (Art journaling, Bookbinding, Fabric Art)

  I am a big fan of art journaling as many of you know. But with the swap taking up my time in April, it’s been way too long since I wrote about my biggest obsession… So today I am sharing my latest hand bound book with you guys. It’s an Art Journal with a free […]
• April 18 | Happy Mail: Postcard Dance Party (Mail bliss)

  Do you love to get Happy Mail too? I think most people would be happier if they got more happy mail. Around here it’s soon time to send out our DIY Postcards and let them become Happy Mail. But until then, let’s have a dance party. Since yesterday was my birthday I’m inviting you to […]
• April 16 | Painting a pair of Shoes (Crafts, Thrift & Recycle)

  On my list of things to try in my Crafty Lifetime, painting shoes is one item that I can now check off! I have altered a pair of fake leather shoes and painted them using acrylic paint (first white, then two coats of pink). It was super easy to do, although not too durable I’m […]
• April 11 | Humorous Postcard: The Crazy Hat Party (A Creative Life, Mail bliss, Paper Crafting)

  I love a good pun, but making a Humorous Postcard is not as easy as I thought when I first started out. I thought I could google up some humor and be done with it… But the funny thing about this postcard (to me at least) is the making of it. I had fun trying […]
• April 9 | Video Tutorials | How to Make Fabric Postcards (Fabric & Sewing, Mail bliss)

  Fabric Postcards are fascinating to me, maybe because they’re a bit more unusual than DIY postcards made from regular paper? I love the idea of fabric as a collage material. And I love the texture of fabrics. Some of the fabric postcards I’ve seen online are really cool, and I don’t think they need to […]
• April 4 | The Midori Traveler’s Notebook System | The ultimate guide (Art journaling, iHanna's Thoughts, Notebooks)

  Have you fallen in love with the Midori Traveler’s Notebook System yet? As a notebook junkie, I fell hard and fast for this notebook system when I found it online, and my love for it continues. It is so so yummy! If you’ve fallen in love with it too, you already know how a notebook […]
• March 29 | Pen pals, Postcards and my Messy Desk (Mail bliss, Paper Crafting)

  As a kid I had many pen pals. I wrote hundreds of letters up until around the age of 20 I think, but then I lost contact with most of my pen pals and my bestie moved closer to me. E-mail became available (and I remember how extremely exiting that was – a new form […]
• March 25 | The Beauty of Withered tulips (Photography)

  I still think that withered tulips are beautiful. They are more fragile than before. Their colors muted, their petals wrinkled – and then they become almost transparent. Don’t get me wrong, I love them when they are cute as buds, and all the way to full bloom too. But I don’t think their beauty ends […]
• March 23 | DIY Happy Collage Postcard with a kitchy twist (Mail bliss, Paper Crafting)

  I’ve started making happy collage postcards for the DIY Postcard Swap that I host. I opened it up so that you can join last week, and a lot of people have already signed up. A lot! It is thrilling to see so many returning participants each year, especially since making 10 postcards on a deadline can […]
• March 17 | iHanna’s DIY Postcard Swap Spring 2017 (Mail bliss)

  I am pleased to announce the first handmade postcard swap of the year: It’s called iHanna’s DIY Postcard Swap and it’s awesome. I will arrange two swaps this year as usual, one starting today for spring happy mail, and one later in the year, so that you can get some handmade postcards in the autumn […]
• March 11 | Frog Collages – A Series of Collages Started (Collage)

  I love collages and adore frogs… So why should I not combine it all into frog collages? While everyone else is still doing birds, I’m doing amphibians (!), hoping to find art lovers as in love with frogs as I am. In my stash of papers I found a print of a frog, altered digitally […]
• March 8 | Inspirational Quotes – Free Printable for your Notebook (A Creative Life, Creative habits, Inspiration, Notebooks)

  I made a printable with inspirational quotes that is free to download and use in your own notebook. It consists of three (3) PDF-pages filled with different quotes that you can use in your notebook, sketchbook, bullet journal, calendar or personal diary! Because we can all need a pick-me-up of a thought-provoking quote at times, […]
• March 2 | Coloring Books for Grown Ups – do we really need them? (Creative habits, iHanna's Thoughts)

  Why would you buy a Coloring book for Grown Ups? Do grown ups really need silly activity books, don’t we have more important things to do? Or said in another way: what could be the benefits of trying this trend out for yourself? In my dream world there are activity books and coloring books readily […]
• February 27 | Finding yourself in your Art Journal (A Creative Life, Art journaling)

  People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily. Zig Ziglar When you work in book format, like an Art Journal, or any notebook, each page is a creation on its own. You can tear it out and frame it if you want to, but the […]
• February 21 | Inspiration from Syfestivalen in Stockholm (Crafts, Quilting)

  Syfestivalen is Swedish and means “Festival of Sewing”. These days it is actually called Sewing and Craft Festival, but I think I’ll just keep calling it the short and sweet Syfestivalen for ever. It’s arranged twice each year in Älvsjö, just outside Stockholm, in a big convention center there. We went this weekend, and those […]
• February 19 | Before you Start, create a Warm Up Collage (A Creative Life, Creative habits, Notebooks)

  If you’re feeling stale and uninspired, in body or soul, you need to start with some warm up exercises, to get you going. I think this is one of the stumbling blocks when making art (or trying to restart it as a practice), that we expect to be creating something awesome directly when we sit […]
• February 5 | New Year | Time to sharpen your pencils (Inspiration)

  It is time to sharpen your pencils , my dears. It is time I show up, and bring my sharp pencil to do some writing on this here blog. Don’t you agree? But first two things I’ve already accomplished this year (braging) and some link love to goal setting, quilting and inspiration. First and last […]
• January 16 | Art Journal Peek | Winter is Coming (Art journaling)

  The title Winter is coming is well known if you too are hooked on TV series that never end. It might be misleading here, but I’m staying indoors a lot watching GoT as my brother calls it and doing embroidery. Misleading perhaps, but at least it’s very cold around here, and white. Winter is already […]
• January 10 | Is it time to Quit Blogging in 2017? (Digital Life)

  I want to welcome the new year. And I want to welcome you to this blog today and all through 2017. I have been blogging here, in this very spot, since 2004, and I will keep at it some more. I state that I blog about art, craft and creativity in everyday life, but the […]

-2016

• December 17 | Create your Own Christmas Cards (Life Stuff, Mail bliss, Paper Crafting)

  It’s time to create Christmas cards. Yee-haa, that time of year again – am I right? There are some really cute ones to buy these days, especially if you order from Etsy, but who planned for this in say, October? Raise your hand if you did? I’m a last-minute kind of gal, so I find […]
• November 22 | Can new washi tape make you Happy? (Pretty things)

  True confession time: I balance between knowing that you can’t buy happiness, and then doing it anyway at times. Yes, spending money on “things” can make a girls mood lift, just like doodling can. Some shop for clothes or shoes, or buy new towels in matching colors even though they already have enough of them… […]
• November 18 | Creative Doodles that will Brighten your Mood (Art journaling, Draw & doodle)

  What do you do when things are hard, and you feel like you don’t have the strength or energy to move away from the situation you’re in? I see a lot of psychological advice on how to brighten your mood in one way or the other way, like going for a walk to get fresh […]
• November 12 | Blue and Pink fabric finds (Inspiration, Pretty things)

  I’m glad I didn’t decide to blog every day this month, because this week I’ve been under a rock of work, so much so my own creativity has suffered and this blog was left alone for most of the time. All I managed, except making layouts for a magazine I work for, was sending out […]
• November 6 | Blue and Yellow (Photography)

  The gold you have to dig for is not the real gold. Marty Rubin This year most fall days have been horribly gray, with heavy clouds covering the sky. But then when the sun did peek out, I hurried out for a walk and took a few photos of my favorite fall tree, and some […]
• November 3 | Postcard Collage Video 2: The Colorful Postcard (A Creative Life, Art Experiments, Mail bliss, Tutorials)

  When I make collage postcards I choose paper scraps that I really like a lot, and try to make a pleasing and happy composition. A lot of it is hard to explain, as it happens intuitively. But the first step is to pick out a few fun papers from my big stash. For this postcard […]
• November 1 | NaBloPoMo | A blog post every day for a month? (Digital Life, Inspiration)

  I have been thinking a lot about trying on a challenge I’ve seen around the web through the past couple of years. NaBloPoMo. It’s about writing a blog post every day for a whole month, to be specific, in November. It’s not “the best way” to run a blog in the long run, but it […]
• October 27 | Postcard Tutorial Video: Fall Color Inspiration (A Creative Life, Creative habits, Mail bliss, Tutorials)

  I’m not sure if I should call this a postcard tutorial or simply a postcard collage inspiration thing, but here it is! A new youtube video about how to make your own DIY Postcards. I think it’s more of a tutorial than any other video I’ve made so far. When you watched you can be […]
• October 25 | Share a Handmade Postcard, will ya? (Other's Creativity)

  Even if you haven’t joined the swap I host, I hope you feel inspired to make a few handmade postcards and send them of to friends and family this season. Those things really warm the heart, maybe more than a cup of tea or a warm water bottle… To get something handmade, just any day […]
• October 17 | Alma Stoller’s Class 101 Mixed Media Techniques (A Creative Life)

  I have been taking quite a few online classes this year, as well as the in real life ones that I’ve blogged about. Most recently I’ve gone through Alma Stoller’s new class 101 Mixed Media Techniques, which contains a lot of really unusual techniques that I have not seen anywhere else. Her mixed media class […]
• October 16 | Inspirational Craft Books from Sweden with Love (Book Inspiration, Crafts)

  Sweden has a big international music industry for such a small country, so it is probably well known how creative swedes are out there “in the world”. But did you know we also produce a ton of awesome books, most prominently there has been a lot of crime fiction translated (especially in Germany) in the […]
• October 12 | Creative – little by little, day by day (A Creative Life, Creative habits)

  If you find yourself asking yourself (and your friends), “Am I really a writer? Am I really an artist?” chances are you are. The counterfeit innovator is wildly self-confident. The real one is scared to death. Steven Pressfield – The War of Art I’m sorting through little bits of paper scraps around here at the […]
• October 6 | Join the DIY Postcard Swap Fall-Winter 2016 (A Creative Life, Mail bliss)

  Do you want to join the best handmade Postcard Swap on the web? Here’s your invitation to join the DIY Postcard Swap that I host twice each year, where hundreds of postcards get created, shared and sent via the postal system each time! I’m super proud to be the facilitator of this swap, and I […]
• September 29 | A Patchwork of Ideas | Inspiration en Masse (Inspiration, Quilting)

  Hi my dear, the Inspiration en Masse with links to art, craft and creativity is back after summer break. This time it’s mostly about patchwork. Not all links are about patchwork – but all are from the patchwork of ideas we’re all sewing on together – so let’s start there and then get into youtube […]
• September 22 | Collage Carnival – cut and paste your way to Creative Heaven – a video book review (Art journaling, Book Inspiration, Paper Crafting)

  I love new, pretty books and I’ve written quite a lot of book reviews over the years, but I have never done a video book review before… So this is a first for me, making a video about a book that I’m really excited about. But this is such a visual feast, I just had […]
• September 18 | At Orly Avinary’s Workshop: The Visual Journal as Sanctuary (A Creative Life, Art journaling)

  I have been doing visual journaling on my own for so many years that when the opportunity to take a class with Orly Avinary came, I had to take it even though it was way over my budget. But how often does one of your blogging art idols come traveling to your country from the […]
• September 6 | Art Journal Peek: Flying Elephants and More (Art journaling)

  An Art Journal Can be filled with just about Anything, and the rules you set up for yourself are there to help guide you towards your next page. If you don’t feel like following your own rules, then just ignore them. Don’t let rules, or ideas about what this artsy journal should be about, hinder […]
• August 28 | Vintage Dymo label maker (A Creative Life, Pretty things)

  Anyone can look for fashion in a boutique or history in a museum. The creative explorer looks for history in a hardware store and fashion in an airport. Robert Wieder I thrifted a turquoise Vintage Dymo label maker, and oh my. I’m quite in love with this beauty. It’s just so stylish, don’t you agree? […]
• August 24 | As seen on Instagram (A Creative Life, Creative habits)

  Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray. Rumi Distractions. Everywhere. Or: the path forward? I keep painting, doodling, doing my thing. I’m drawn to these things, as seen on instagram almost daily. But I find it hard to come to the blog, […]
• August 19 | Painting triangles – or pyramids (A Creative Life, Art Experiments, Art journaling)

  The big question is whether you are going to be able to say a hearty yes to your adventure. Joseph Campbell My painting adventures continues, from watercolor circles to painting triangles. I was going to say: let’s dive in, but it’s more like: let’s climb to the top, since my triangles turned into pyramids… I […]
• August 12 | Exploring Watercolors (A Creative Life, Art Experiments, Creative habits)

  I have been exploring watercolors intensely for the past few months. Or: exploring water colours if you will, my whole life. Watercolors have always been in my artistic toolbox, never far from my fingertips. Long before I opened up my first art journal or learned about acrylics, I owned a set of artist watercolors. And […]
• August 9 | Warm Ups | the tabbed index dividers series (Art Experiments, Art journaling, Creative habits)

  Last in the row of posts about index cards this year, I’m sharing the few index dividers I made first, before the real action in June got going: the “starters”, the warm ups, the fearful first experiments – but maybe, ideas for something else too. A series of… paintings? Word prompts? A small collection of […]
• August 7 | The Polka Dot Lioness (Art journaling)

  I seam to be surrounded by polka dots, sometimes they are everywhere I look… The Polka Dot Lioness is the ruler of her kingdom. She does not take no for an answer. She is the first spread in my altered art journal book…
• August 4 | 61 Abstractions on Index Cards (A Creative Life, Art Experiments)

  The daily challenge of painting an abstract piece of art on an index card during June and July is over – and it’s time to celebrate this achievement! I’m late with my personal celebration, but there have been a lot of it going on around the internet these last few days. Nobody knows how many […]
• July 28 | Spray Painting a Vintage Book Cover | before and after (Art journaling)

  The first few Art Journals I filled I bought in a book store. They were spiral bound and had great thick paper to work on. I was a beginner at everything art related, so buying was my best option to get started. But since then, I have learned to love working in vintage books. These […]
• July 26 | Little Art Things Inspires me (A Creative Life, Pretty things)

  Money doesn’t excite me – my ideas excite me. Walt Disney I got myself a few Little Art Things, the kind that are pretty and that keeps on giving as you can create with or in them for a long time. New things for creating always excite me and inspire me. It doesn’t always have […]
• July 21 | Eye Candy | Flower Power (Photography)

  I believe in flower power – the power of nature in garden form. There is so much beauty outdoors right now that I find it hard to sit down by the computer to write a blog post or two, even though I as usual have a lot I really want to communicate and share with […]
• July 14 | Opening Up to Inspiration (A Creative Life, Inspiration, Traveling)

  I don’t like to pack, because it makes me antsy. I start thinking about all the things I haven’t finished yet, and that I now will have to prospone. No matter how many fun and exciting reasons I had for wanting to go traveling, I get antsy when it’s time to pack. All I really […]
• July 4 | Video where I’m romanticizing Dalarna, Sweden (Traveling)

  This week I’m taking a course to play with free form embroidery. But last summer, we took a road trip to the Swedish area Dalarna to do some touristing in our own country. The real reason was an embroidery exhibition called Traces of Life, which you can also see in this clip. But mostly I […]
• June 28 | Experimenting with Index Card Art (Art Experiments, Creative habits)

  In the beginning of June I shared that I was joining the summer challenge index-card-a-day, an Index Card Art Project open to everyone, and since then I have (almost) daily posted a painted index card to my instagram account and to my Facebook page Studio iHanna. Yay me, right? Today I’m sharing my thoughts about […]
• June 22 | Learn the 21 Secrets of Art Journaling (A Creative Life, Art journaling)

  I really love doing collage in my Art Journal, because it combines two of my biggest passions. Art Journaling and Collage! As one of the teachers in 21 Secrets online workshop fall 2015 I got to talk about art journal collage in my video segments, so if you want to see how I do it, […]
• June 17 | Inspiration to draw a Geometric Mandala (Draw & doodle)

  I am drawn to circles as many of us are, and I want to draw them everywhere. A Mandala is a circle that you can fill with whatever you want. Though the ones that are at least a little bit geometric are the easiest to recognize as mandalas. They grow from a circle in the […]
• June 14 | The Mandala Guidebook: How to draw, paint and color expressive mandala art (Book Inspiration, Draw & doodle, Inspiration)

  The mandala craze that started a few years ago on the internet is everywhere these days. There are plenty of pretty mandala coloring books to chose from if coloring is your thing, but how do you get started if you want to create your own mandala – or develop the ones you are already drawing? […]
• June 6 | Personalizing a Watercolor Box (Crafts)

  Watercolors are commonly stored in a boring looking black metal box bought in the store…But does it need to be so… black? …so boring? …so store bought looking? I say: nay! Let’s personalize it and make it more fun! When I got the idea to personalize my new, bigger watercolor box, I decided to bring […]
• June 1 | Getting into Creating on Index Cards Again (A Creative Life, Paper Crafting)

  Index Cards are not the best substrate to create on, if you ask me. It’s not good for most wet media and the index card I bought yesterday are super flimsy and thin… But all that aside, I am joining the index-card-a-day challenge, ICAD, to create “something” on one index card each day for the […]
• May 20 | Make Something (on an Index Card Perhaps) | May Inspiration en Masse (Inspiration)

  There are so many things that you can make yourself, and sometimes all you need to make something is a bit of inspiration… So that’s what I’ll try today, to provide a bit of inspiration mostly found on YouTube. There are so much yummy stuff there! Though, before we start, I just have to share […]
• May 18 | DIY Spray Paint Crazy (Crafts, Thrift & Recycle)

  I love DIY Spray Paint projects a lot, mostly because it is so much fun to personalize things with color. It’s my favorite repurposing thing to do with thrift finds! Plus it’s the quickest way to totally transform the look of something, which is always fun. These days you can find so many different hues […]
• May 10 | Destination Gotland – let’s go explore! (Photography, Traveling)

  Photography records the gamut of feelings written on the human face, the beauty of the earth and skies that man has inherited, and the wealth and confusion man has created. It is a major force in explaining man to man. Edward Steichen Two days after sending out all the postcard swap-addresses via e-mail, I took […]
• May 2 | Live a Creative Life: 40 Lessons on How to Embrace Creativity in Your Life (iHanna's Thoughts)

  There is no right or wrong way to live a Creative Life, but there are many lessons to learn on the way no matter what kind of creativity you want to infuse your life with. I’m walking that road most every day, and since I recently became 40 (gasp!) I thought I’d share a few […]
• April 25 | Big Magic – Creative Living Beyond Fear (Book Inspiration, iHanna's Thoughts)

  I’ve finally read the book I longed so much for last year. I read about it long before it was published, and started seeing quotes from it a few months before I could source it out in a local book shop here in Sweden and bring it with me home. Of course I’m talking about […]
• April 22 | Art Journal Peek: Being An Artist on the Page (Art journaling)

  My idea of feminism is self-determination, and it’s very open-ended: every woman has the right to become herself, and do whatever she needs to do. Ani DiFranco As an artist on the page you’re like a human on the job. You show up. You do your stuff. You work on becoming yourself, in what ever […]
• April 13 | I Love Transparent Pen Pouches (A Creative Life, Home Comforts, Pretty things)

  What’s on my Pink Polka Dot Desk these days I guess you’re asking right now? Well, I am delighted you asked because that’s just what I wanted to share today! But most of all, I want to talk about pen storage a bit, and show you the kind of transparent pen pouches I prefer. Come on […]
• April 6 | Art Journal Peek: Love Mandala (A Creative Life, Art journaling)

  The treasures I find within are magic. And they do come out in art, so that they can be shared more easily. And there are endless treasures to be found, when we take the time to look… Each peek into my own art journal, here or in real life as I browse through an older […]
• March 29 | A miniature blank book in a tiny box (Notebooks, Paper Crafting)

  I love making miniature blank books to use as journals, give as gifts and to play in. I have made these little books for several years. I add in a lot of pages, so it is hard to share all of them in photos, and that’s why I haven’t always shared them. I should make […]
• March 26 | Make Handmade Postcards and join the Spring Swap (A Creative Life, Mail bliss)

  It is really fun to make handmade postcards, don’t you agree? You can paint, collage, do textile art, mixed media, embroider them, sew on paper, draw or doodle. The possibilities are endless. If you haven’t tried yet and don’t want to take my word for it, I suggest you make a few and see for […]
• March 25 | Repurposing an Old Embroidery (Fabric & Sewing, Fabric Art, Thrift & Recycle)

  I am working on a fun Easter Project right now. I started it a bit late but I wanted to share it with you because it is so vibrant and eastery! This project is all about repurposing an Old Embroidery that someone else made – one that I found on a table of second hand free […]
• March 16 | Art Journal | A Visual Feast for the Eyes (Art journaling)

  An art journal should be a visual feast for the eyes. When you open it up, it should bring you happiness and a few surprises, even when it’s your own journal! When I look through my old art journals it’s like going to a great exhibition. They often make my heart flutter a bit. They […]
• March 13 | DIY Fabric Scarf for Spring (Fabric & Sewing)

  Imagination is more important than knowledge. Albert Einstein Sewing a fabric scarf is such a simple project that I hadn’t thought of making one myself… They’re so cheap and availible in every cloth store so why would one bother, right? But then I found this super happy and bright fabric in the fabric store that […]
• March 8 | Embroidered Polka Dots | Pencil Case (Fabric Art)

  I want to share my love of polka dots with you guys. We’re starting with these pen cases I covered with embroidered polka dots. Isn’t polka dots the most inviting and lovely pattern that exists? I am always drawn to things covered in dots or circles, and I know I’m not alone. Polka dots are […]
• March 5 | Creating Creative Kids | March Inspiration en Masse (Inspiration)

  Hey, time for another massive inspirational post! Please note that not all links are about creating creative kids by letting your kids create or being creative together with them – but let’s start there and then get into crafts, art journaling, book recommendation of the day and more… I am posting an epic and awesome […]
• March 3 | Subscribe to iHanna’s Newsletter + Big Giveaway (A Creative Life)

  I aim to send out my newsletters twice this month – which if that happens will make a record for me. I usually send it out two times each year which is rather bad and something I want to change. I’m SO bad at sending out my newsletter because I always hinder myself, even when […]
• February 25 | Collage | A Whole New World (Collage)

  I’m back to square one… and it’s where I love being! Haha, what I’m talking about is a blank square canvas for my collage work. A cut square in paper that I can fill with just anything I want. I love that kind of square one! Creativity can be described as letting go of certainties. […]
• February 24 | Radical Self-Love – A Guide to Loving Yourself (Book Inspiration)

  February is my month of Radical Self-Love around here so it feels very natural to share the book Radical Self-Love – A Guide to Loving Yourself and Living Your Dreams, right now. It’s written by Gala Darling, a blogger I truly admire. This book is very much a self-help book for those of us that needs […]
• February 19 | Painting a personal color wheel in PINK (Art journaling)

  As regular readers of this blog already knows, I have a thing for pink. It is my all time favorite color, and I think it goes with everything. I have a small notebook where I collect pinks, and if I were to pick one color I couldn’t live without, pink would be it. The color […]
• February 15 | After Valentine’s Day: Keep Spreading Love (Life Stuff, Paper Crafting)

  Valentines came and went, but what about After Valentine’s Day? Shouldn’t we always spread love into the world? I think so. Today, tomorrow and every day is a good day to tell your loved ones that you do love them. Write a note. Share a hug. Blow a kiss in the wind… I think Valentine’s […]
• January 31 | Self-Love & Self-Compassion | Inspiration en masse (Inspiration)

  This year I will be posting the epic and awesome monthly link post in the beginning of the month instead of the last weekend of the month. It’s because the links will fit for the month a bit better than in retrospect… That’s why the February one is already here! My theme for this month […]
• January 26 | Collage | Squares in a Grid (Collage)

  Held in the palms of thousands of disgruntled people over the centuries have been ideas worth millions – if they only had taken the first step and then followed through. Robert M. Hayes Thanks for all your kind feedback on my post about reseting your art practice yesterday. I’m more than ten years in on […]
• January 25 | Going back to basics with your Artwork (Art Experiments, iHanna's Thoughts)

  Going back to basics today! When you take a longer break from your main art practice, it is sometimes hard to find your way back into the well known and comfortable making of art… You want to find your way back to that wonderful place where you know intuitively what to do next, and maybe […]
• January 23 | Winter Check In (Life Stuff)

  I am in hibernation, or at least that is how it feels this week. January has been full of long, beautiful winter days. I’m enjoying them mostly from inside, looking out. The sky is blue, the sun is shining – and it is so cold. Or at least, some days. Earlier I posted the temp […]
• January 20 | Experiments with acrylic paint | smooch, rub, lift (Art Experiments)

  Creativity is an elixir of life. It keeps us from being dried up and brittle by keeping the essence of our life-force juiciness channeling into new ideas, projects and visions. Heatherash Amara I love experimenting with acrylic paint. Making collage papers or mixed media papers is my favorite way to experiment and play, just letting […]
• January 10 | A Year of Making | January Inspiration en Masse (Other's Creativity)

  With the monthly link love post Inspiration en masse you get a lot of inspiration in just one post, or at least that is my hope. This year I will be posting the link post in the beginning of the month instead of the last weekend, so the February one will be up in the […]
• January 6 | The Crocheted Gray Granny Square Shawl (Crafts)

  Almost a year ago my father’s mother passed away. I have her photo on the shelf, and plenty of her “stuff”. Using some wool found in her stash, I crocheted a granny square shawl for myself. I love it and I’m so happy we finally got snow before New Year’s so I could enjoy it […]
• January 5 | My Word of the Year 2016: Grace (A Creative Life, Creative habits, On writing)

  Stop shaming and start reclaiming. * Beth Buelow Today is the start of our work week around here, after the long holiday, so I thought I’d type up the first post for the New Year! Yay! Back to blogging, yes! It’s been a lovely holiday mostly totally away from the computer since before Christmas. We […]

-2015

• December 30 | Art Journal Peek: Polka Dots + An Invitation (Art journaling)

  I love to hand paint repeating patterns in my art journal, especially polka dots. I love the simplicity of dots, and how expressive and fun they can really be if you give them the space to exist on their own – not just as decoration. Polka dots is such a happy pattern, and they make […]
• December 27 | Setting Goals | December Inspiration en masse (Inspiration)

  And now we welcome the new year, full of things that have never been. Rilke Hey, how was the weekend? Good I hope. Now, the most important thing to do in December is not celebrating Christmas but to set goals for the New Year! Especially these few days between Christmas and New Years Eve, setting […]
• December 24 | Art Journal Peek: Season Greetings (A Creative Life, Art journaling)

  Pleasure is always derived from something outside you, whereas joy arises from within. Eckhart Tolle My Art Journal lays open but ontouched on my dirty polka dot desk. All the presents are wrapped (though they are few since family is downsizing the gift giving this year) and I’m ready to head out to my family. […]
• December 23 | iHanna’s Ultimate Gift Guide for Artists and Creatives (I write Lists)

  We’re in the best season for list writing so I put together a little list for you that might be useful when you go shopping next. In my very modest way I’m simply calling it the Ultimate Gift Guide for Artists and Creatives of all kinds. I’ll only recommend things I use myself, and things […]
• December 17 | Illustrating Christmas (Draw & doodle)

  I have been illustrating Christmas in two recent paintings. They are not elaborate in style or detail, or even very thought through, but they’re my try at doing some kind of “design”, illustrating the season of Christmas in my own way. I follow a few illustrators on social media that has been filling my streams […]
• December 11 | Art Journal Peek: I Love Neon Pink (Art journaling)

  I regularly post peeks into my Art Journal pages, showing spreads, pages or details of the whole – so it’s not a secret how much I have come to use (and like) Neon Pink. In fact, I think I Love Neon Pink! It’s been a while since I last did a peek in post so […]
• December 10 | Crafting a Christmas Tree from Felt (Crafts)

  I always say that I’m not a Christmas Crafting Person, but of course, I think a little of it is fine once December comes around – and can be rather jolly. Wanna join me and make a small Christmas Tree from felt? I will just never be the Super Craft Blogger to share a new […]
• December 6 | Writing & Embroidery (On writing)

  You can learn new things at any time in your life if you’re willing to be a beginner. If you actually learn to like being a beginner, the whole world opens up to you. Barbara Sher Today I have a post that includes a instagram giveaway – because I know you guys like free just […]
• December 5 | Eye Candy | The Red Christmas Chair (Home Comforts)

  I love cats because I enjoy my home; and little by little, they become its visible soul. Jean Cocteau I’m dreaming of a white Christmas, like the one we had in 2012 when these photos were taken… But alas, it’s raining here in Sweden, and it doesn’t feel very Decembery at all yet. So I […]
• December 2 | Art Journal Class 2016: A Journey Within – A Year of Handmade Art Journals (Inspiration)

  Wanna take an art journal class in 2016? Look no further! December is here, and it feels good already. I think December is one of my favorite months – not because of Christmas, but because I get to plan for a whole new year that is getting closer and closer. I’m thinking about my planner […]
• November 27 | Big Magic | Inspiration en masse (Inspiration)

  Let’s have some early link inspiration full of Creative Big Magic? Posting early for a extra lovely weekend, first of Advent coming up and all. Wishing you all the best! In this post I am sharing a whole long list of YouTube videos and links to articles, blog posts and fun stuff (and the quote […]
• November 21 | Shabby Chic Collage (Collage)

  Joy is what happens to us when we allow ourselves to recognize how good things really are. Marianne Williamson Writing three posts each week is not as easy as I thought it would be. Right now it’s because I have loads of other things to do, like write articles for work, and I really need […]
• November 18 | A Little Art as a Daily Practice (Art Experiments, Creative habits)

  I have been creating a Little Art as a Daily Practice for the past two months, and it has totally rejuvenated me as an artist. If you follow me on instagram you have seen most of these pieces, but I wanted to write about the experience too. This post is about creating tiny art, creating […]
• November 15 | Inspired by Autumn’s Colors (Photography)

  I am inspired by the shift of seasons. I am inspired by autumn’s colors, though it feels a bit like I missed the whole autumn because of that horrible cold and then back pain. Plus a load of computer work as I’m writing articles and editing a magazine right now. But I managed to take […]
• November 11 | Pretty Things for a Planner Girl (Pretty things)

  Keep on going, and the chances are that you will stumble on something, perhaps when you are least expecting it. I never heard of anyone ever stumbling on something sitting down. Charles F. Kettering Like any girl I like pretty things, especially from the office supply store. Or even better: random little shops where you […]
• November 10 | Finding the Invincible-blogger-self (Creative habits, On writing)

  Blogging for over ten years, one of my biggest identities as a grown up has been that I am a blogger, the creator of this blog, writing up and sharing new inspiration every week… But if we lose that ability to write and share blog posts – how do we go about finding the Invincible-blogger-self […]
• November 4 | A Book about Designing Patterns by Lotta Kühlhorn (Book Inspiration)

  One of my favorite book designers in Sweden is called Lotta Kühlhorn. A couple of years ago she made hew own book (Designing Patterns by Lotta Kühlhorn) about her process in making repeating patterns and of course it was on my wish list ASAP! It’s now also available in English, so I thought a review […]
• October 30 | Everyday is a good day when you paint | Inspiration en masse (Inspiration)

  I love to inspire you guys to be more creative in your everyday life, but since I haven’t had the energy or time to write posts myself lately (and now I’ve got a horrible cold this week) I will post this for your weekend: inspiration em masse from others. I hope it will get you […]
• October 26 | You are a DIY Postcard Rockstar – share your link here (Other's Creativity, Paper Crafting)

  Hi Dear DIY Postcard Rockstar! This is the post where those of you that joined iHanna’s DIY Postcard Swap Fall 2015 can share your blog post links (the swap is now closed but if you missed it join my newsletter and I’ll let you know when the next one is). Loads of inspiration from all […]
• October 21 | My Colorful Collage Postcards (Paper Crafting)

  Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. Leo Buscaglia Every bit of paper on these collage postcards makes me happy. There are patterns, imagery, tape, […]
• October 19 | How to Finish a Postcard using a Sewing Machine (Paper Crafting)

  There is no doubt that creativity is the most important human resource of all. Without creativity, there would be no progress, and we would be forever repeating the same patterns. Edward de Bono I’m back with some thoughts on how to finish a postcard using a sewing machine, and a reminder that this is the […]
• October 14 | Creating a Series of Postcards (Art Experiments)

  When I am creating postcards I usually start by cutting ten or more pieces of paper to size. Cereal boxes are perfect material to use as a canvas for what ever medium I am choosing to work with, be it paint, collage or anything else. But you can also get thicker cardstock from the craft […]
• October 7 | In need of a Creative Push? Join the Postcard Swap Fall 2015 (Inspiration, Mail bliss)

  Sometimes we all need a push in the right direction. Maybe you need a Creative Push in the direction of your art right now? Perhaps you are a bit out of creative practice? Do you like to create, but don’t always give yourself permission? Do you need some help to carve out time or find […]
• October 4 | Journaling practice: Ask Questions (Creative habits, On writing)

  Asking questions is a good place to start any relationship. But how often do you stop to ask some really important questions to yourself? And then taking time to really answer them, no bull shit allowed? The questions, as well as the answers, are often easier to find than you might think…
• September 29 | Art Journal Challenge | Remake an Old Art Journal Page of Yours (Art journaling)

  I found an old page from my own Art Journal and did a new version of it. Then I made a third version of it. Now I challenge you to try this too, and share your process with all of us! Did you ever remake an art journal page of yours? If not, I challenge […]
• September 26 | Penmanship & Handwriting | Inspiration en masse (Inspiration)

  I love to inspire you guys to be more creative in your everyday life. In this inspirational post I am sharing a whole long list of youtube videos and links to articles, blog posts and fun stuff (free printable, gif generator, handwriting inspiration etc) that I think you should check out when you have the […]
• September 20 | Giveaway | Planning to learn in Online Workshop (A Creative Life, Art journaling)

  I am one of the art journaling teachers at the 21 Secrets Workshop Fall 2015 as you all know, and I’ve been given two workshops to give away. You can enter the giveaway below and you get points for helping me spread the word. The second pass I’m giving away to one of my dear […]
• September 16 | My Favorite Eye Candy | Hey Girl (Life Stuff)

  Basically we live in a culture where how little sleep we get is like a badge of honor that somehow shows our work ethic and dedication. But what it really shows is just a profound failure of self-respect. Because sleep affects every waking moment of our lives—our moods, our receptivity, our pleasantness, and our ability […]
• September 14 | Hand Sewing a Mug Rug using English Paper Piecing (Fabric & Sewing)

  I really love English paper piecing, shortened EPP. When you sew your fabrics together, you first baste them to shaped paper templates – and those paper templates do all the work of matching up points and seams. Once you have your paper templates printed and bits of fabric assembled you can do the basting and […]
• September 13 | Dear Photo Diary | Paint, Rinse, Repeat (A Creative Life, Photography)

  You don’t need endless time and perfect conditions. Do it now. Do it today. Do it for twenty minutes and watch your heart start beating. Barbara Sher Paint, Rinse, Repeat. Every time I do it, my heart starts beating and most of the time I can not stop after 10 or 20 minutes. I just […]
• September 11 | Paint Party in the Park (Other's Creativity)

  The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one’s own country as a foreign land. Gilbert K. Chesterton Earlier this summer me and two friends had this small Paint Party in the Park. I had promised to serve something creative in my […]
• September 9 | Art Journal Pages where Everything fits (Art journaling)

  If you can see your path laid out in front of you step by step, you know it’s not your path. Your own path you make with every step you take. That’s why it’s your path. Joseph Campbell Art journal peek time again. Here you go, a really fat mail dove flying in, landing on […]
• September 6 | This moment is enough (Photography)

  Be happy in the moment, that’s enough. Each moment is all we need, not more. Mother Teresa I adore my phone’s camera because it is with me all the time, every moment, to capture the moment… As I come home I notice that the many-coloured rose is covered in pearls of water…
• September 2 | Art Journal Peek: Dark Nightmares vs. Summer Light (Art journaling)

  One day you will wake up and there won’t be any more time to do the things you’ve always wanted. Do it now. Paulo Coelho A peek at another of my Art Journal spreads today. I did the two page on separate days, as you might have guessed. They are not working together much, but […]
• August 31 | Spotted Photo Theme: Bicycle Love (Photography)

  The Spotted Photo Theme for this post is vehicles. For my post, I’m picking the bicycle, because it has always been a favorite of mine. It is environmental friendly and easy to use, as well as being beneficial to your health, and obviously I have taken quite a few photos of it in the past. […]
• August 30 | Inspiration en masse – Starting some Awesome monthly Link Love (Inspiration)

  We are nearing the end of yet another month, and it has been my favorite month so far this year. As the month closes I’m reminded of a few things on my blogging radar that I want to work on for the four month remaining of this year. One of them is Spotted Photo Theme, […]
• August 28 | Sharpening my pencils (Life Stuff)

  There are years that ask questions and years that answer. Zora Neale Hurston I am sharpening my pencils. I am sharpening my brain. I am sharpening my everything. I feel on edge and ready. I have so many ideas filling so many notebooks that it’s just ridiculous. I did do a whole lot of photos […]
• August 21 | The First Rule of Art Journaling (Art journaling, iHanna's Thoughts, Tutorials)

  It’s Art Journal Friday over here, and time for a peek into one of my painted journals again. I want to share a few pages and details from them today. But I also need to share the most important, and only, Rule of Art Journaling, with you guys… The first rule of Art Journaling, as […]
• August 19 | 21 Secrets Art Journal Workshop Fall 2015 (Inspiration)

  I’m super excited about the fact that I’m one of the teachers at the online Art Journal Workshop 21 SECRETS Fall 2015. I will show you how to find cheap materials and make a super fun Art Journal collage in my Workshop. I hope you’ll want to join me, because this is a class you […]
• August 17 | Artist Date at Hornsgatspuckeln (Other's Creativity, Traveling)

  The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes. Marcel Proust As the self-proclaimed blogging ambassador of Stockholm, Sweden, today I’m bringing you on one of my Artist Dates at Hornsgatspuckeln. You know Artist dates, right? It’s a visit to somewhere that inspires you, rejuvenates you, and makes […]
• August 16 | Drawing a Card for someone special (Draw & doodle)

  Can you imagine what I would do if I could do all I can? Sun Tzu As you know I love to doodle, especially flowers. I fill pages in my notebook and I create doodled borders in a mindless and loose way. But recently I decided to doodle with a purpose on a bit thicker […]
• August 11 | Documenting a week of your life (Photography)

  I document my life all the time. I’m kind of obsessed with documenting life. I journal. I photograph. I blog. I write. I instagram. I create videos. I… well, you get the picture. I love documenting life, so this project called Week in the Life is something I’m really into.
• August 3 | 10 ways I am enjoying summer right now (A Creative Life, I write Lists)

  You may delay, but time will not. Benjamin Franklin I was just thinking that July sucked. That it brought mostly bad weather and boring, lonely and long days, but as I look back on my photos and notes, I see I am (mostly) wrong. There were some cherries on top of it…
• July 22 | Art Journal Peek: Act as if… (Art journaling)

  Today let’s take another peek into my art journal, shall we? It’s just one spread but with a few photos of the details. You know I like to go in close and zoom in on the details, weather it is flowers in nature or words on a page. I like that saying that proclaims that […]
• July 19 | Doodeling in the Ocean (Draw & doodle, Photography)

  Small deeds done are better than great deeds planned. Peter Marshall This small island is called Grinda, it has some rental cabins, a camping ground, two places to eat and one little shop/coffee place for boat tourists to stock up on frozen food and shampoo I guess. We went to a place called Backfickan, just […]
• July 18 | Stockholm from the Waterfront (Traveling)

  Asking ourselves, ‘Where am I right now?’ gives us a chance to step outside the internal dialogue for a moment of peace. Look around you, take a deep breath and notice what you see, hear and feel. Present moment awareness is the point of power and choice. It frees us from our compulsive thoughts. Laura […]
• July 11 | Inspiration | 5 Pretty Craft Ideas (Crafts, Inspiration)

  I kid you not, but I actually still love to do craft. I have a knitting project, a hexagon project and a few embroidery ideas here for sure, but most of all a whole slew of paper craft projects going on. It’s just not visible in the blog right now. Once my knitting project is […]
• July 8 | Art Journal Peek: Endless possibilities (Art journaling)

  An art journal gives you endless possibilities to be creative. There are always new, blank pages that is waiting around the corner – waiting for us to draw, paint, collage, create art or mess up. It’s a kind of magic that is always there for us when we need it, even on dark nights when […]
• July 7 | Book Review | All Points Patchwork by Diane Gilleland (Book Inspiration, Fabric & Sewing, Quilting)

  July is here and I’m so ready for days of reading, crafting and basking in the sun… I want to dive into my pile of books too, so let’s. I’m starting of with this beautiful patchwork book that came out this spring. It’s so brand spanking new that you might not have seen it yet, […]
• July 1 | Get Started Ideas for Creative Play – using the Phone (Digital Life, Draw & doodle)

  Never before in history has innovation offered promise of so much to so many in so short a time… Bill Gates When there is nothing going on we pick up our smart phone and check what’s happening somewhere else. Through the many apps that constantly connects us to news flashes, friend updates, new e-mail messages, […]
• June 26 | Inspired at the Haberdashery (Fabric & Sewing, Pretty things)

  Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things. Steve Jobs Have you […]
• June 22 | A Beautiful Midsummer Weekend (Life Stuff)

  When it felt like summer was just about to start, there was Midsummer (this past Friday) – telling us that half of what we in Sweden call summer has already passed…
• June 17 | Currently (A Creative Life, Life Stuff)

  Enjoying: summer as much as I can, when ever I can. I’ve been having very low energy for days on end, but when I find energy I try to spend it outdoors. June has already provided two BBQ-dinners with family and some lovely excursions, so I can’t complain really. I have captured lots of photos […]
• June 10 | Sewing day in iHanna’s Studio (Other's Creativity)

  I love having friends (and sometimes one or two small friends) over in my studio. It is super fun to share from my stash, sometimes papers and sometimes other materials. This was a sewing day. And since I have a lovely collection of pretty fabrics, that’s what we took out (though I might have kept […]
• June 8 | Where Inspiration Ends Up (Art journaling)

  “It is good to love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is well done. Vincent van Gogh I have special notebooks to glue in inspirational images, images that I think I will use as inspiration. But I […]
• June 6 | Index Card Postcard (Paper Crafting)

  Summer is here and it’s lovely. I’m just in right now to share this quick DIY idea with you guys: you can create a personalized and handmade postcard using an index card! June marks the beginning of our lovely ICAD-tradition as you know… ICAD as in One quick index card a day the entire summer […]
• June 1 | Art Journal Peek: Put a bird on it! (Art journaling)

  Hello my friends! It has been a long time since I did an Art Journal Peek, don’t you think? Sharing what’s in side my super secret journal is one of my most favorite things about having this blog… So today I’m sharing a whole spread and the creative process that lead me to that finished […]
• May 30 | A Stockholm Must See: Spring in Kungsan (Photography)

  Is it just me, or have spring been unusually beautiful this year? And long, stretching for weeks with blossoms in every tree top… At least I’ve been walking like in a haze, looking up at the tree tops most of the time. Maybe it was because I started spring of early by making a visit […]
• May 24 | Do it Yourself Postcards | Share & Connect online (Other's Creativity)

  Time to share YOUR creativity with ME! But first: Dear reader of this blog A quick message to all of my dear readers: Sorry I did not send out my newsletter this time, I feel bad about it. In autumn when another swap comes around I promise to notify my dear Newsletter Subscribers first thing […]
• May 23 | Book review | Zen doodle – tons of tangles (Book Inspiration, Draw & doodle)

  A Zentangle has no up or down and is not a picture of something, so you have no worries about whether you can draw a hand, or a duck. You always succeed in creating a Zentangle. I have been wanting to look at a book about black and white doodles for a long time, but […]
• May 13 | Blue Handmade Postcards (Paper Crafting)

  I’m working on my handmade postcard pile for the DIY Postcard Swap and printed the postcard backsides already. As I get into the process of card-making I get really, really excited about the spring swap again! How about you, are you making postcards already? If not, it’s time to start right now! I think I’ll […]
• May 5 | Typography in 3D (Paper Crafting)

  Feminism’s agenda is basic: It asks that women not be forced to “choose” between public justice and private happiness. It asks that women be free to define themselves – instead of having their identity defined for them, time and again, by their culture and their men. Susan Faludi A friend gave me this cardboard box-like […]
• April 29 | Letting Creativity Loose (Art Experiments)

  Always pass on what you have learned. Yoda Sometimes I forget how to do a collage, how to paint or how to draw. It feels like I’m lost, or like I’ve lost my ability to be creative. But then I remember the trick: I need to give myself permission to play. To work without expectations […]
• April 23 | DIY Postcard Swap Spring 2015 (Mail bliss)

  If too are tired of only getting bills and junk mail in your inbox (not your e-mail inbox but your mail box), then it’s time to take action and do something about it. The first step is to make happy mail for others! I think it’s time you start sharing some of your creativity and […]
• April 22 | Celebrating Life (Life Stuff, Photography)

  Yes. I have to admit that after a long weekend of celebrations I am one year older. I’m happy to report I do not feel older but might have to admit that I am not as young as I used to be! I was thinking about how we keep celebrating our birthdays all through life. […]
• April 19 | 5 Awesome Podcasts about Creativity (Inspiration)

  Sometimes when I hear a great episode of a favorite podcasts about creativity that I want to remember to listen to more than once. My favorite topic is creativity, as you might have guessed… Here are a few episodes I consider must-listen-to-good. I think you should check them out when you have the time.
• April 13 | Happy Mail Day (Mail bliss)

  Just as energy is the basis of life itself, and ideas the source of innovation, so is innovation the vital spark of all human change, improvement and progress. Ted Levitt I sometimes get the prettiest things in the mail. It does not happen very often, but after Easter I have gotten several very nice surprises […]
• April 9 | Teaching a workshop at STITCHED 2015 (Fabric & Sewing)

  Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity. General George Patton Today I am part of Alma Stoller’s Blog Hop for STITCHED 2015! Hi and Welcome to all new and old visitors, I hope you’ll stick around for a bit and leave me […]
• April 8 | Dear Photo Diary | Easter Eye Candy (Photography)

  When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence. Ansel Adams It is post Easter. I’ve finished my tiny Easter Egg (so small that it fitted in the palm of my hand), it wasn’t too hard because it only contained three pieces of chocolate candy. […]
• April 2 | A Knitted kind of Crazy (Crafts)

  I can’t understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I’m frightened of the old ones. John Cage I think spring is on the way. We’ve got daylight a lot longer now, the sun is out more and the Crocus in full bloom. But yesterday it was actually snowing (!) when I was out walking. […]
• March 30 | The Writing Landscape (Art journaling, On writing)

  I can get lost even when I have a map in hand, because I have no sense of direction. But maps fascinate me, and I’ve used a lot of vintage maps in my art. I especially like the metaphor of a map – it is a way to move from one place to the next, […]
• March 28 | Find what you Love and let it kill you (A Creative Life, Life Stuff)

  My dear, Find what you love and let it kill you. Let it drain you of your all. Let it cling onto your back and weigh you down into eventual nothingness. Let it kill you and let it devour your remains. For all things will kill you, both slowly and fastly, but it’s much better […]
• March 2 | She’s a Bitch (Life Stuff)

  When a man gives his opinion, he’s a man. When a woman gives her opinion, she’s a bitch. Bette Davis Last week ended up a whole blank week around here. What? Nine days with no posts from me and my corner of the world. I’m not even sure when that happened last, maybe a few […]
• February 19 | Fuel up people! (A Creative Life)

  I am a coffee addict. How about you? What fuels your creativity?
• February 17 | Awesome Supplies | Go Create Gouache (Art Experiments)

  I got a kit of gouache paint tubes from a friend. It’s my first try with gouaches since school, and it’s always fun to explore new paints. Gouache is similar to watercolors, but my watercolors are not in tubes, and the goaches are more dense and not as opaque.
• February 14 | Valentines Day Love List (I write Lists, Life Stuff)

  I love creating art, craft, text, books – you name it. Here is a list of other things that is on my love list right now. Because, you know… love is in the air. I love
• February 10 | Art Journal Peek: Valentine Heart Doodles (Art journaling)

  Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. Albert Schweitzer It’s Valentine week, I’m sure you noticed. Isn’t it awesome? As usual I dive into the heart theme without hesitation. It’s my favorite symbolic holiday, even though I do […]
• February 8 | Right Snow (Photography)

  You can have brilliant ideas, but if you can’t get them across, your ideas won’t get you anywhere. Lee Iacocca There is snow covering the ground and the dangerous icy patches, right now. I took my camera out for snow watching.
• February 5 | A Heart that Sparkles (Fabric & Sewing)

  We shouldn’t pay attention to whether our words have any influence, whether anyone listens to us. The most important thing is to remain faithful to the beauty as long as we live; to love it so as not to worry about anything around us; to sing it a hymn even when the whole world is […]
• February 2 | STITCHED Video Workshop 2015 (Fabric & Sewing)

  I am so happy to introduce you to an online class – where I am going to be one of the teachers! I’m part of Alma Stoller’s STITCHED 2015 – a yearlong class with lots of video workshops and inspiration! It will start March 1st and end March 1st next year (2016). It consists of […]
• January 30 | Dear Photo Diary | January Creativity (Photography)

  It’s the lens through which your brain views the world that shapes your reality. And if we can change the lens, not only can we change your happiness, we can change every single educational and business outcome at the same time. Shawn Achor Mom sewed many of these kitties a while back, and they’re tiny! […]
• January 27 | Published: The Story of Pink (On writing)

  Thanks for your kind words on my last post my dear friends. There is a lot more than January-blah going on inside my head, but I will talk about that in another post, another time. The block might even have something to do with the fact that I picked writing as my one little word […]
• January 25 | Fab Quote | Alice in Wonderland (A Creative Life)

  If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there. Lewis Carroll The words are not an actual Carroll quote, it’s essentially a paraphrase of an exchange between Alice and the Cheshire Cat in Chapter 6 of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland:
• January 20 | Blue Watercolor Mandala (Draw & doodle)

  Uncertainty is where things happen. It is where the opportunities — for success, for happiness, for really living — are waiting. Martha Nussbaum After I made some swatches with my new White Nights Watercolors, on loose paper and in my art journal, I decided to do a test painting. A square one, just for fun. […]
• January 17 | A Love Message (Art Experiments)

  I found this as I was going through the folders on my computer. I didn’t post it with the other pink or blue-green altered vintage postcards, those that I sent out to the swappers on my list. This postcard was part of the series, but made especially for someone I love very much, of course. […]
• January 15 | Art Journal Peek: Impossible to see the future is (Art journaling)

  I’m interested in lettering. My collection of quotes needs to be part of my art, in some way. Recently I lettered a quote in my Art Journal. It’s a Yoda quote, who says Impossible to see the future is. I wrote this quote down after watching the new episodes of Star Wars on TV three […]
• January 13 | Awesome Art Supplies | White Nights Watercolors (A Creative Life)

  Even a true artist does not always produce art. Carroll O’Connor I got a whole batch of awesome art supplies for Christmas, so I guess I must be very loved or something… Well, the truth is I ordered them myself and then got my mom to pay and give them to me. I pretended the […]
• January 11 | Eye Candy | Pink Starlight (Home Comforts)

  Eye candy time! It’s a snowy and cold Sunday here, and I’m looking at the starlight in the window again, the one I light myself. You might have seen it in my instagram feed before or in my Dear Photo Diary recently but I don’t care. It’s a freakin’ pink star, and it shines in […]
• January 10 | TED talk moments | Ideas worth spreading (Inspiration)

  I came upon another one of my earlier posts, this one from 2009 (!) called Let’s have a TED talk moment recently, and was reminded of how much I love a good TED-talk. So I compiled another list for you guys, with some inspiration on the power of doodeling, taking time off from work, aging […]
• January 5 | Words about iHanna (A Creative Life, On writing)

  I am a lot of things. There are many words that describe me, who I am, what I do, and what I’m into right now. Here are a few of them, in no particular order. I am…
• January 3 | Dear Photo Diary | Creativity is a drug (Photography)

  Creativity is a drug I cannot live without. Cecil B. DeMille My two diamond stitched art journals on the table. Yum! Hello 2015! The month, and the new year, got of to a great start around here, and I hope you too can feel the positivity buzzing in the air? If not, turn to painting […]

-2014

• December 31 | Year in Review | Looking back at the Creativity of 2014 (A Creative Life, Life Stuff)

  Impossible to see, the future is. Yoda Another year, this one called 2014, has passed and is soon over. It’s time to say good bye to this year and hello to another one. Time to plan for the next 12 months or so… But first, always, there must be time to reflect, to look back, […]
• December 30 | You have to keep Evolving (Other's Creativity)

  I can’t keep doing the same thing forever. You have to keep changing and evolving. That’s the magic of what we do. You can’t be predictable. The second your fans think they know what they can expect from you, you become uninteresting. You have to keep moving forward. Michael Jackson
• December 29 | Art Journal Peek: Some Christmas Pages (Art journaling)

  My December Journal is bound into a thick and wonderfully merry book, but as life goes, I haven’t worked in it much. I’ve been journaling in my regular diary, and even kept a list of three things I’m grateful for for most of the days in December, and with all that I haven’t give the […]
• December 24 | A Miniature Christmas Tree (Pretty things)

  I’m popping in to wish all of you a Merry Christmas today! It’s Christmas Eve and we celebrate Christmas today around here. My tiny Christmas tree is out, a gift from the glass blowing island outside of Venice this autumn. But even though it’s a tiny tree the celebration is not tiny, nor is my […]
• December 21 | Inspiration | 5 Productivity Hacks for the Creative Soul (Inspiration)

  I’m not really there yet, but next week I’m gonna be doing some introspection as the years ends. Thinking about what was, what went down and what I want for the future. If you’re there soon too, here are a couple of links on productivity and creativity that might be interesting to read as you […]
• December 20 | Christmas Paper Crafting (Paper Crafting)

  We got copies of a Swedish craft book called Julpynt, Christmas Crafting for fold, cut and paste nerds like you and me. And it’s filled with pretty patterned papers. My favorites from this book are the garland stripes with owls, penguins and squirrels in winter wear like knitted scarfs and hats (illustrated by Caroline Johansson)… […]
• December 17 | December Daily Art Journal | Covers and Spiral Binding (Bookbinding, Notebooks)

  Hello again My December Journal, it’s time to make you into something more than loose papers spread out on my desk… And Hello dear reader, you might remember that this themed art journal had a lot of yummy pages even before it became a book. I also finished the book covers (extremely yummy covers if […]
• December 16 | Color Inspiration | Glitter tape (Pretty things)

  In winter I crave even more colors than usual. Nature turns gray and the sky has been the same, so I’m looking for color inspiration everywhere to give me energy. And I am so loving this glitter tape that I bought recently. I think it looks like a roll of happiness… Yum!
• December 15 | Blue Altered Vintage Postcards (Art Experiments, Mail bliss)

  Observant readers might have noticed that in my pink postcard post I only featured five out of the ten postcards I made for the DIY Postcard Swap I host. So let’s take a look at the rest of the altered vintage postcards today. Most of them have more blue than pink, hence the title of […]
• December 14 | Mmm! The Smell of Home baked Saffron Buns (A Creative Life, Home Comforts)

  The smells of Christmas are the smells of childhood… Richard Paul Evans Around here saffron buns in December is a tradition. We make a yellow dough, we leave it to rise on it’s own, we cut it, roll it and make kittens out of it. Well, at least the buns are called cats in Swedish. […]
• December 11 | December Daily Art Journal | Making Pages (Art journaling, Paper Crafting)

  I am continuing to work on my December Art Journal today, and talking a bit about making the pages. I am making a spiral bound notebook, so there is no folding of signatures here, but instead, it’s cutting different kinds of papers down to size. Randomly mine are 19,5×15,5 centimeters (7.6 x 6.1 inches). In […]
• December 9 | Starting a December Journal (Art journaling, Paper Crafting)

  We are well into the last month of the year, December. In addition to gingerbread baking and window decorating I think you should consider making yourself a December Journal. It really brightens the mood, and makes the days a bit more merry. I’ll show you a few ideas from my December Journal in this and […]
• December 6 | Spotted Photo Theme: Winter Trees (Photography)

  One thing that I really like about Christmas is the tree. My favorite kind of fir tree is the snow covered tree, growing in the forest. So far there hasn’t been any snow at all where I live (last night it was raining for two hours!), but I’m still picking the fir tree as my […]
• December 3 | Celebrating Lifelong Learning (Art journaling, iHanna's Thoughts)

  Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. Mahatma Gandhi I think life is a long learning opportunity, if we allow it to. To learn new things is super fun too. That’s why I love reading books, trying out new things and experiment with my art. To […]
• November 30 | Inspiration | Advice, Truth, Writing Life (Inspiration)

  November is ending, so it’s time. Hello Inspiration Mosaic, and some links to must-check-out stuff below. I think it’s interesting how you can tell by the colors in these inspiration mosaics what season it is. Summers are much brighter than fall, winter is whites and christmassy colours – and then spring is greener. Fall is […]
• November 29 | Pink Polka Dot Altered Vintage Postcards (A Creative Life, Art Experiments, Mail bliss)

  Some Altered Vintage Postcards by me, iHanna. Enjoy. Each swap round I try to experiment a bit with my postcards. I mix it up, change things around, try new ideas and techniques. This time I started on unused, vintage postcards as the base, and added lots of acrylic paint on top of them. Some are […]
• November 28 | Cheer me up & share your DIY Postcards (Other's Creativity)

  November in Sweden this year has been horrible gray. Where I live there has been gray skies for weeks on end. It feels like the fog never lifts, and it gets dark around three o’clock. The first few weeks we had a record low of 2 hours of sunshine! Yeah, it’s been bad, and I […]
• November 25 | Diamond Stitch & Neon Stars (Bookbinding)

  Yay! I finished my second Diamond Stitched Art Journal of the year. I am really digging this binding (I used pink book binding thread of course). I like gluing the cover together, I like sewing in the signatures, and I love using this kind of art journal. Love it! I really think that making my […]
• November 23 | Collecting Christmas Papers (Thrift & Recycle)

  Right now my desk is filled with paper projects. It’s the end of the year feelings, where I go through boxes of stuff and decide on what I want to work on, finish, or leave behind. It’s a way of clearing the plate for new ideas coming January I guess. In the process, I’ve found […]
• November 20 | The Hamster on my Head (Art journaling, Life Stuff)

  You see things; and you say, ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were; and I say, ‘Why not’? George Bernard Shaw Let’s draw selfies! Much more fun and original than taking them with your cell phone! Working on new journal with brown paper bags inside, but also in this one darling journal. There is […]
• November 19 | Book binding | Make Book Pages from a Brown paper bag (Bookbinding, Paper Crafting)

  Sharing one of my book binding secrets with you guys today! I know my plan was to mostly use watercolor papers in my next art journal, but I found all these pretty paper bags in my stash… So I thought I’d cut them down and use them in my next book binding project. Papers are […]
• November 15 | Eye Candy | big puppy love (Photography)

  This is Giza, one of the Broholmer puppies that I visited last summer. She is still a puppy in some ways, but also a big dog. I love big happy dogs, whipping tail, drooling smile and all! Naaah! She doesn’t drool. But her tail is lethal when she is excited. I wish I could’ve kept […]
• November 13 | Painting on Vintage Postcards (Art Experiments, Thrift & Recycle)

  This summer I bought a whole pile of vintage postcards (not ever sent though) with motifs from around Sweden. You know the kind, postcards of buildings that might be bought as souvenirs but always are so darn boring to get in the mail… No colors, no life, no humor – but these had something else […]
• November 11 | Quick Craft: Pom-pom – pom pom poooom! (Crafts, Tutorials)

  Time for a quick craft! Join me and have a ball. Because don’t you just love pom-pomps? Doesn’t everyone? I mean, what’s not to love? Fluff, color, yarn – quick craft project – kaa-baam! Anyone can do it too, and it’s perfect for kids. So if you haven’t already tried pom-pomming (as a grown up) […]
• November 8 | Spotted Photo Theme: Street Art (Photography)

  November’s Spotted Photo Theme is Street Art, or what we spot as we walk through urban environment. A bit of contrast welcome after last month’s theme: nature, though of course my nature was full of concrete. And you’ll see lots of concrete in this post too! I love the idea of streets filled with art, […]
• November 6 | Art Journal Peek: Find your Passion (Art journaling)

  When you find your passion, keep at it! That’s what I wrote on that little label in my Art Journal. I believe in it. And it sounds easy, but it’s not. Especially if you’re anything like me, and are passioned about a gazillion things… How do you divide your time between it all? How do […]
• November 4 | Love Letter to Råskog – the turquoise Kitchen Cart for all Artists (Home Comforts)

  Råskog – the turquoise Kitchen Cart, you know it? Yes, I’m guessing you already know the piece of furniture I’m addressing today? It’s IKEA’s Kitchen Cart Råskog. You know the metal cart on wheels, made out of steel with a epoxy powder coating in the most delicious sea foam kind of color? First only available in turquoise, […]
• November 3 | Dear Photo Diary | Pumpkin Season (Photography)

  Dear Photo Diary, last week was Week in the Life photo documentation week, but I didn’t join. I have way too many things on my to-do-list right now to add another big photo project (I did print my 2012 book last year, but so far I have not even started working on my 2013 one […]
• October 29 | DIY Postcard Swap Winter 2014 (Mail bliss)

  Do you feel like getting lots of yummy, handmade postcards in your inbox? Then it’s time to sign up for iHanna’s DIY Postcard Swap Winter right now!
• October 27 | A Personal Abecedarium of iHanna – part 2 (I write Lists, Life Stuff)

  It doesn’t really matter what you make, it matters what you are thinking. And how one thought changes another. And noticing that. And making a whole out of it. A Oneness again. Jude Hill My personal abecedarium (or abecedary) continues [from A to K here] – all about me, iHanna. Typically, abecedaries are an explanation […]
• October 26 | A Postcard from Venice (Traveling)

  If you follow me on instagram or flickr you might have noticed that this week I spent a few days in Venice, Italy. And it was beyond word marvelous! It’s been a few years since I was abroad last on a “real trip” like this, and I have longed to go somewhere, anywhere for quite […]
• October 24 | Bright Yellow Fruit Salad (Life Stuff)

  I like yellow. Not mellow yellow, but the bright sunshiny kind. It’s irresistible! Like fruit salad. Also irresistible. Plus, easy to make. Just chop any fruit up, mix together in a bowl and eat. Summer desert, or winter thrill. And yellow fruit salads are extra yummy, don’t you think?
• October 22 | Arting in the Art Journal (Art journaling)

  When you work in book format, like an Art Journal, or any notebook, each page is a creation on its own. You can tear it out and frame it if you want to, but the point of it is not to display it. The point of it all, is the act of making it. Sometimes […]
• October 21 | Knitted Neon Socks (Crafts)

  I am in love with neon colors, so when I spotted some neon yarn I bought it. This sock yarn has all of the neon colors: pink, orange, cerise, yellow & green – in the same ball of yarn. I started knitting a pair of socks for myself in May, finished them this summer and […]
• October 19 | Dear Photo Diary | the details of daily life (Home Comforts, Photography)

  The true secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life. William Morris There are so much beauty everywhere. I was at a color workshop this morning where the teacher told us that “seeing is about knowing that the light comes in to the eye socket and bla-bla-blaaa…” […]
• October 16 | Hello Acrylics, Hello painted grid (Art journaling)

  Hello Acrylics, welcome out to play. I wish we could have a rendez vous every day you and me, but alas, it’s not happening. Actually it’s happening way too seldom these days. I know where you are and I should make time, but then it doesn’t happen. A week after thinking I should make time […]
• October 14 | A Personal Abecedarium of iHanna (I write Lists)

  I will not have my life narrowed down. I will not bow down to somebody else’s whim or to someone else’s ignorance. Bell Hooks An abecedarium (or abecedary) is an inscription consisting of the letters of an alphabet, almost always listed in order. Typically, abecedaria (or abecedaries) are an explanation of something in a way […]
• October 12 | Wool Owl Parade (Crafts, Fabric & Sewing)

  In the beginning of this year I talked about the firstborn owl, and now it’s autumn again and the rest of the gang feel safe to come out of the forest to show of their gray wool feathers… They’re all made out of felted sweaters, knitted in thick gray wool once upon a time. Hand […]
• October 9 | Collage: Blue Dragonflies (A Creative Life, Collage)

  I don’t wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know it has got to get down to work. Pearl S. Buck Hello Thursday and hello dear series of dragonfly collages (continuing from this collage). And hi there blues! Yes, that’s right. Blue! Blue as in blue colors, not the […]
• October 8 | Book of Patterns (Art journaling)

  The desire to do something because you find it deeply satisfying and personally challenging inspires the highest levels of creativity, whether it’s in the arts, sciences, or business. Teresa Amabile One of the themes in my current Art Journals are patterns. The past two years I’ve, without consciously thinking about it, created a lot of […]
• October 6 | Spotted Photo Theme: My Bridge to Nature (Photography)

  October’s Spotted Photo Theme is Nature! I doubt there is anyone who doesn’t love that stuff. If you have a camera you have photographed in nature at some point. I know I do it a lot. Among other things I love to notice the shifting seasons. The change of season always inspires me to go […]
• October 3 | Eye Candy | Details of Beauty (Photography)

  Wishing you a beautiful weekend with some eye candy from this summer. I have so many beautiful photos in my folders, I could do this all week. Well, I won’t but I do hope you like these…
• October 2 | Art Journal Close-ups (Art journaling, Photography)

  It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen. John Wooden In almost all of the art journal peeks that I share here you’ll see close-up photos. Sure, I like to include the whole page or spread, but also several close-ups of the details. I just feel compelled to photograph the […]
• September 30 | Stricken kann süchtig machen (Crafts, Inspiration)

  The label of this yarn that I bought Friday says: Stricken kann süchtig machen! And if you’re a knitter you understand, even if you don’t speak German… Knitting can be addictive. Very addictive. And isn’t autumn all about cozying up indoors with a yummy ball of wool and turning it into something wearable? I think […]
• September 26 | Art Journal Peek | Unapologetic (Art journaling)

  Christlike communications are expressed in tones of love rather than loudness. They are intended to be helpful rather than hurtful. They tend to bind us together rather than to drive us apart. They tend to build rather than to belittle. L. Lionel Kendrick More naked than I dare to be in the world, this comes […]
• September 24 | Staring at the blank page before you… (A Creative Life, Life Stuff)

  I am unwritten, can’t read my mind, I’m undefined I’m just beginning, the pen’s in my hand, ending unplanned Staring at the blank page before you Open up the dirty window Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find Natasha Bedingfield Thanks for all your good thoughts, smiles, and love, posted in […]
• September 21 | A Tiny Step Forward Collage (Collage)

  Sometimes it’s hard to find the words to say I’ll go ahead and say them anyway Forget your balls and grow a pair of tits… It’s hard, it’s hard, it’s hard out here for a bitch Lilly Allen Sometimes it’s hard to hear all the advice on how to make your life better. Hard. Just […]
• September 15 | Endpapers, Frogs and a Pocket (Art journaling)

  Where the willingness is great, the difficulties cannot be great. Niccolo Machiavelli I went back to my diamond stitched journal to add end-papers. The endpapers are the pages that consist of a double-size sheet folded, with one half pasted against an inside cover, and the other serving as the first free page (I glued that […]
• September 13 | Willpower | One Little Word Update (Creative habits, Inspiration)

  My word of the year is willpower, and it’s a perfect word for me. I love reading about how the brain works, so today I thought I’d share a few links to articles that has inspired me with my word. I’m also taking Ali Edward’s class One little word where each first of the month […]
• September 11 | Binder Transformation (Paper Crafting, Tutorials)

  I love finding office supplies at the thrift store! Sometimes I’ll find postcards or a pile of unused notecards, but not often. I love all kinds of vintage paper finds, but thrifting them doesn’t happen that often around here. Though sometimes I’ll score a few sturdy ring binders. And I love me some ring binders! […]
• September 10 | Inspiration in Envelopes (Mail bliss, Other's Creativity)

  One of my dear blog fans, Jenny, sent me a care package filled with lovely paper and craft stuff. You know the kind, where every time you look inside the envelope something cuter than before comes out? I feel so happy to have received all this, to the point of almost being embarrassed. Am I […]
• September 7 | Spotted Photo Theme: My Favorite Color (Photography)

  It’s time a September’s post with a spotted photo theme! Something that occur in all our photographs are colors (if you’re not shooting black-and-white). We all adore colors, am I right? But maybe you have a favorite color that you often spot in your photos? Go look through some of your recent photos and see […]
• September 6 | Dragonfly Collages (Collage)

  Everyone has talent. What is rare is the courage to follow the talent to the dark place where it leads. Erica Jong
• September 3 | Create a Daily Meditation Practice (Digital Life, iHanna's Thoughts)

  I love sitting meditation. I believe in the health benefits it provides, and I know that if and when I get into it, it makes me happy. It makes me calmer, nicer and more awesome in every way. I have made many attempts to cultivate meditation as a daily habit over the past several years. […]
• September 1 | Diary Flower Doodles (Draw & doodle, Notebooks)

  I continue to doodle. There is not much to say about it, but I still like to share them, and I love when you visit and take a look. Maybe my efforts will bring a smile to your face, or a pen to your hand this afternoon… And if you want to leave me a […]
• August 31 | Do Great Work (Inspiration)

  Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking, and don’t settle. As […]
• August 30 | 5 Online Tools for Mindfulness & Fun (Digital Life, Inspiration)

  I love finding online sites that are either useful or playful – or both! Here are five that I’ve been playing with lately. Let me know in the comments if you like any of them and I might post more in the future. It is a mistake to look too far ahead. The chain of […]
• August 29 | Dear Photo Diary | Slow Progress (Photography)

  Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen. John Steinbeck Hello dear Friday, you are the photo day around here, it seems… A time to slow down a bit and look through the photo folders perhaps… This week I’ve actually been working […]
• August 27 | I love this Creative habit of mine (Creative habits, Draw & doodle)

  Just because it’s black in the dark, doesn’t mean there’s no color… Laleh My most consistent habit right now is to doodle. To bring a black pen to paper and draw something that is already in my mind. I have lots of things inside my head, swirling around. It’s always nice to let some of […]
• August 25 | Mixed Media Collage (Collage)

  Collage time! Circles again, inside my brain, on the cardigan I’m wearing – and then from my hands onto the paper. Cut out, drawn, or sewn – they appear in all colors and forms on my polka dot desk. Mostly circles are present when I paint or doodle, but now also in my collage work […]
• August 22 | Dear Photo Diary | Commence to see things (Photography)

  Once you really commence to see things, then you really commence to feel things. Edward Steichen Dear Photo Diary, the sky fascinates me right now. I don’t know how many photos I’ve taken of clouds this summer. And my orchids are still going strong. I have no idea how long a flower can last, but […]
• August 19 | Art Journal Peek: Wing it Baby (Art journaling)

  The greater the contrast, the greater the potential. Great energy only comes from a correspondingly great tension of opposites. Carl Jung Wing it is means to do something with no preparation. That is the concept of my entire art journal practice. Maybe my entire life… I just wing it.
• August 18 | Scanning vs. Photographing Collage (Art Experiments, Collage)

  I am back with square, abstract artwork. I made a few collages this spring, but never got around to posting them then. Now I really want to get back to creating art and sharing it with you guys, so let’s just start! The reason this one didn’t get a blog post was mostly because my […]
• August 14 | Eye Candy | Peonies at home (Home Comforts, Photography)

  Don’t bend; don’t water it down; don’t try to make it logical; don’t edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly. Franz Kafka Earlier this summer I got this beautiful bouquet of magenta colored peonies from my friend’s garden. Now as I found the photos on my computer […]
• August 13 | Diary Doodle: Flower Border gone awry (Draw & doodle, Notebooks)

  Nothing ever gets anywhere. The earth keeps turning round and gets nowhere. The moment is the only thing that counts. Jean Cocteau Finding your own favorite doodle pattern is a good feeling. I think flowers might be my thing, they reoccur all the time. They grow where ever I am. I start with a flower […]
• August 11 | Stamping Patterns with Found Objects (Art Experiments)

  Making hand made patterns with Found Objects is always satisfying and fun. My most recent explorations into stamping on fabric involved a garden hose stump found in the grass, among other things… I used the end of the garden hose stump to stamp circles, and couldn’t stop. It made such a pretty pattern! I liked […]
• August 9 | Inspiration | Awesome Artist Dreams Video Edition (Inspiration)

  I have come to believe over and over again that what is most important to me must be spoken, made verbal and shared, even at the risk of having it bruised or misunderstood. Audre Lorde The weekend is here and I’m back home after a week of house and cat sitting in the country. As […]
• August 7 | Art Journal Peek: Starburst (Art journaling)

  I believe that we learn new things by doing. If you want to learn how to be more creative, you’ve got to start doing something. It is really great to be allowed (in the form of classes, prompts or nudges) to imitate someone else’s personal style, and to learn from them. And last week I […]
• August 6 | Eye Candy | 50 Shades of Pink + desktop background (Photography)

  One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon – instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today. Dale Carnegie I was looking through some of the […]
• August 4 | Diamond Stitch Art Journal (Art journaling, Bookbinding)

  Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present. Jim Rohn Trying something new to me, called diamond x stitch binding. It is a bookbinding stitching method. I thought it would be more difficult than it was, so I put it of for a while, but when […]
• August 3 | Spotted Photo Theme: Animal Love (Photography)

  Cuteness alert! Puppies, cats, monkey kisses, and other adorable critters ahead! Like I mentioned earlier it’s time for a look at the themes that occur in our everyday photographs. I spot cute animals in many of the photos I’ve taken through the years, so for August I’m featuring a few of those here. Theme: Animal […]
• August 1 | How to become Extremely Creative in 2 simple steps (Inspiration, Tutorials)

  How to become more Creative in your everyday life… A while back I got an e-mail from a woman called Amber. It was about creativity and this is what she wrote to me: Email Subject – Creativity Hello, I think that you are a great inspiration. When i was younger i used to be so […]
• July 30 | Eye Candy | Freeform Embroidery (Crafts, Fabric Art)

  July 30 is always World Embroidery Day – a day when we celebrate the slowness of stitching and enjoy the company of needle, fabric and thread. I thought I’d share some of my past embroideries (including a skirt, artist trading cards and wall hangings), as eye candy and maybe inspiration for you to pick up […]
• July 27 | Spotting your own Photo Themes (Digital Life, Photography)

  Last year I had a blog series of photo themes that I called Spotted Photo Theme. As I wrote about my summer photo project, The Pink Flower Mission, I started to think about past themes and decided to give the spotted-themes-idea a try again. Let’s geek out on photography! If you love photography, documenting and […]
• July 26 | Quilted Laptop Bag (Fabric & Sewing, Quilting)

  The fab fabrics I got in the Fabulous Fabric Swap became a Quilted Laptop Bag! A quilt-as-you-go-bag! And QAYG is indeed an abbreviation to remember. A bit like crazy quilting, but with a more instant quilted look. I was inspired by Flutter Kat’s tutorial on How to make a Quilt As You Go anything. Seeing […]
• July 24 | Fabulous Fabric Scraps (Fabric & Sewing)

  I’ve been sewing this week, and intend to do a bit more before July ends. Inspired by my own fabric stash, tutorials and inspiration online, the book Quilt Improv and the fabric swap I’m in of course. I opened my plastic boxes of tiny fabric scraps and threads, and started to piece things together randomly […]
• July 23 | Video | Cut and Paste Index Card Collage (Paper Crafting)

  Let’s have some cut and paste fun together, shall we? My friend Tammy asked me to do a guest post on index cards for her annual summer challenge, ICAD: Index Card A Day last year, and then again this year! I said yes, brought out my scrap inbox of pretty papers and recorded a quick […]
• July 21 | Quilt Improv by Lucie Summers – a book review (Book Inspiration)

  I don’t like following patterns even though I sometimes do, to learn something new. I prefer to freestyle my projects. I also love inspiration as you might already know. I collect inspiration in just about any form, books included. So when I spotted the title Quilt Improv on Amazon I knew it would be a […]
• July 19 | Inspiration | Sewing Ideas & Strawberries (Inspiration)

  If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, then, you are an excellent leader. Dolly Parton I think summer is perfect for sewing projects. Don’t you agree? I want to sew skirts, quilts, softies and tiny broaches that looks like flowers. I want to […]
• July 17 | The Pink Flower Mission (Photography)

  A Photo Project often start with one simple idea that spark your interest. The idea does not have to be genius or innovative, but it has to be something that interest you enough that you want to return to it from time to time (or else it won’t become a project). Ideas that I am […]
• July 13 | Inspiration | 5 Artistic Craft Ideas (Inspiration)

  What about some paper weaving, fabric appliqué, making your own twine and then decorating some envelopes? Today’s link love will lead you to five artistic craft ideas that I think are awesome and worth your time. So remember: Too much of a good thing can be wonderful. Mae West Five Awesome Craft Ideas A Weaving […]
• July 11 | Dear Photo Diary | a Yellow bird in the window (Photography)

  We seem to be going through a period of nostalgia, and everyone seems to think yesterday was better than today. I don’t think it was, and I would advise you not to wait ten years before admitting today was great. If you’re hung up on nostalgia, pretend today is yesterday and just go out and […]
• July 10 | In the Shade (Draw & doodle)

  We have a heat wave in Sweden. It’s + 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit) and more, right now, and that people is what I call a real summer! I’ve been enjoying the shade of the apple tree, camping out on a blanket with my gear. Can’t be bothered to think when I don’t have to. […]
• July 8 | Sun Printing Fabric (Crafts)

  One of my biggest Summer Crushes has always been Coloring Fabric Outside! Using paint and dye in the grass makes cleaning up a breeze! In summer, when ever the weather is good enough to bringing tools and materials outside, I bring tools and materials outside. I love being outdoor, and when I can I bring […]
• July 5 | Creating Time Capsules (Inspiration)

  Sharing two of my latest blog crushes today, and some thoughts on documenting your days, weeks and years – and life in general. Creating Time Capsule Videos A while back I found, via the colorcolor-tag on instagram, photographer and videopgrahper Xanthe. She creates these amazing short videos about her everyday life and family. They are […]
• July 4 | Art Journal Peek: Winged things (Art journaling)

  Why do people say “grow some balls?” Balls are weak and sensitive. If you wanna be tough, grow a vagina. Those things can take a pounding. Betty White Winged things are flying in. They never seem to be travling in a flock. Always such lonely individuals, looking for a place to land… To rest.
• July 2 | DIY | Tiny Neon Pink Planter (Home Comforts)

  Time for a little DIY, don’t you think? I love neon pink! Oh how I love that color! But I haven’t really indulged enough in it yet, probably because it is a little overwhelming (to say the least) and a lot of people have an aversion for it. But not me. I thought neon pink […]
• July 1 | A Swipe File of Inspiration (Inspiration)

  No matter what the ideas or conduct of others, there is a unique rightness and beauty to life which can be shared in openness, in wind and sunlight, with a fellow human being who believes in the same basic principles. Sylvia Plath Hello July! I haven’t made a inspiration mosaic since March, so this one […]
• June 30 | Trying out Martha Stewart Craft Paints (Art journaling)

  As the very curious person I am I really had to try a few of the new acrylic paints I saw in my local craft store recently. But to be honest with you, the biggest reason I couldn’t resist buying these three bottles were because of the packaging. They’re just so cute! These paint colors […]
• June 28 | Upsidedown Collage (Collage)

  There is not one big cosmic meaning for all; there is only the meaning we each give to our life, an individual meaning, an individual plot, like an individual novel, a book for each person. Anaïs Nin Collage: In what End to start? Sometimes you don’t know what is up and down in your art, […]
• June 27 | Art Journaling: I’m keeping the Butterflies (Art journaling)

  Sometimes when I bind a journal I use recycled pages that are so pretty that I don’t really want to add much to them. From my explore nature altered book I tore out a page with these graphical illustration that I love. Love! Just look at those green and blue giant butterflies, they look mixed […]
• June 26 | Vintage Shooting Target Papers (Thrift & Recycle)

  Shoot for the moon and if you miss you will still be among the stars. Les Brown A good flea market find always makes me happy. If it’s a paper find, like a roll of vintage wall paper with a pretty pattern, or a pile of old letters, I’m even happier. That’s because paper finds […]
• June 24 | What’s floating around (A Creative Life, Crafts)

  There are a lot of materials floating around here right now. I do a little bit of crafting every day, mostly knitting or my free form embroidery stuff as well as some wool embroidery started in May. As I jump from this to that I am making a mess around me, as usual. Tomorrow I’m […]
• June 23 | Art Journal Collage (Art journaling)

  Art Journal Collage, hello my dear! I love filling a whole spread with bits of this and that. Just randomly adding things from my desk, or like I did this time, with the content of a particular envelope…
• June 21 | A really good novel (Book Inspiration, Life Stuff)

  Do you have time to read books? Probably not, but the question is: do you take time to read books? I think you should. Because reading is a lovely pastime any time of the year, and perfect for summer, weather you are on vacation or just sit outside for a while during the weekend. I […]
• June 19 | A million Gray Areas (Art Experiments)

  Life isn’t black and white. It’s a million gray areas, don’t you find? Ridley Scott My love for polka dots, circles and spots is not winding down but increasing. I spot them everywhere in my life, pun intended. I also like colors, and sometimes remember to mix a gray tone that is really appealing to […]
• June 18 | Trying out Promarker pens (Draw & doodle)

  I used to write a crazy amount of book reviews back when I was editor or Sweden’s first (and according to me best and most awesome) book site (no longer online). I wrote so many reviews that I got tired of writing about books for several years, although never too tired to continue reading for […]
• June 16 | Fabric Owl Banner (Other's Creativity)

  My mom knows me well, and recently surprised me with a super cute owl banner that she sewed! I guess she found the inspiration somewhere on the internet, but as you can see, it’s made just for me. It has my name on it, and my colors. Green and pink! I love it.
• June 15 | Inspiration | To journal or not to journal (Inspiration)

  To journal or not to journal… what kind of question is that? Just do it, baby! iHanna Journaling is my best, and most long-lived, habit. Sometimes I do fill my journal with flower doodles, yes, but most of the time I write in it. And I also love reading advice on journaling, writing and how […]
• June 13 | Reasons to make a Travel Photo Book (Photography, Traveling)

  I love making photo books, and travel photo books are extra fun to make because you’ve got a limited amount of photos you can include (though of course I take a gazillion photos when I travel)… Since my abroad traveling have been limited in the past years, I take pleasure in short trips in Scandinavia […]
• June 11 | Flower Border Doodle (Draw & doodle, Notebooks)

  Sometimes the pages intended for writing are filled with flowers, and my diary becomes a notebook of flower doodles… I try to keep my doodles to the edges in this notebook, so that I will also have room for writing. It’s called the Happy Flower Garland Frame in the Craft-a-Doodle book. I just call it […]
• June 10 | The Prettiest Postcards Ever (Mail bliss)

  Oh hi, sweet one! I couldn’t write this post until now, sorry, I know you were curious. But matter of fact I got the last (and most possible latest) postcards last week from the Netherlands. It was the one I’ve been waiting for to write this post. So I think it’s time to share what […]
• June 8 | Guest Posting (On writing)

  A lot of artists think that they need all the time in the world to make the work. But what they really need is a deadline. Austin Kleon I don’t have guest posts on this blog, because it doesn’t fit into my idea of my personal blog. I have enough to say to fill every […]
• June 6 | Life is a Creative Project (Art journaling, iHanna's Thoughts)

  Life is a huge (always ongoing) creative project. iHanna Depending on my mood, this iHanna-quote that I wrote as big as I could in my Art Journal, rings either positive or negative… What’s your take on the statement that life is a huge and always ongoing creative project? Is it awesome to always have your […]
• June 5 | Going to the Ocean (Photography, Traveling)

  If you follow me on instagram you might have noticed I traveled by boat over the long weekend, just like I did last year. I visited the Swedish island Gotland again, to craft, embroider, eat, talk and laugh among friends. I mostly used by big camera, and took lots and lots of new favorite photos […]
• June 3 | List Writing Prompt: I Heart (♥) This (I write Lists, Notebooks)

  I love you when you bow in your mosque, kneel in your temple, pray in your church. For you and I are [daughters] of one religion, and it is the spirit. Khalil Gibran I ♥ a lot of different things, as you know. Recently I’ve wrote a I Heart This-List in my Leuchtturm notebook, my […]
• June 2 | Around the World Blog Hop (Other's Creativity)

  Creativity in some form is a life-long, joyous, satisfying, essential ingredient in life.* Wendy Fasten your seat belts and let’s travel the world! Last Monday I posted my answers to the questions in the Around the World Blog Hop, and hinted that I’m sending them on to two other awesome bloggers, Zom and Kim. Today […]
• June 1 | Hello June, new goals & index card creativity (On writing)

  It’s June, and what ever the weather I consider June to be summer. So, hello dear summer, you have been missing me for quite a while now (maybe since last summer ended). I’m glad you’re here. I plan to be outdoors as much as I can, but I also have another goal in June, and […]
• May 31 | Inspiration | Blogging and Creativity (Inspiration)

  If you start somewhere and just keep going, you generate endless possibilities. Just because you may not see the importance of these samples now, that doesn’t mean they are useless. Again it is with new eyes that you see them each day. Jude Hill Like I said in earlier this week, when I wrote about […]
• May 29 | Art Journal Peek: Lurking monster with sharp teeth (Art journaling)

  […] if you’re still lurking on the web, then it’s time to stop. We’re all eagerly waiting for your friendly voice of support. You don’t have to say anything fancy, but if you’re getting something good from all this Free, please – speak up! Sister Diane * A peek into my art journal and one […]
• May 28 | A Pink Leuchtturm Notebook (Notebooks, Pretty things)

  My diary knows my thoughts as well as I know them myself. Anaïs Nin I have bought a hot pink Leuchtturm 1917 blank notebook for myself. Now I can’t remember where I saw this notebook brand online, but once I started investigating it I knew it was something I’d like, really like. Yes, I had […]
• May 26 | About my Creative Art & Writing Practice (iHanna's Thoughts)

  This blog post is part of the Round the World Blog Hop, sent to me by Quinn McDonald. Read more about the blog hop at the end of this post. But now you’ve arrived in Europe, the oblong country of Sweden to be exact, and here are my answers to 4 questions in the blog-hop, […]
• May 25 | Field Notes from IKEA (Notebooks, Pretty things)

  IKEA is one of my favorite stores, not only because it’s 1) Swedish and 2) cheap but also because I find it inspiring (although tiring) to walk through the big storehouse close to Stockholm. And now they’ve got the most beautiful line of paper goods, including notebooks, washi tape, wrapping paper, boxes and more.
• May 23 | 10 Ideas for your Art Journal (Art journaling)

  I do a lot of things in my Art Journal… I paint, collage, draw, collect, save, experiment, try out new materials, document, write… Today I’m sharing a few ideas of what I do in my Art Journal! Most of all I avoid rules as much as I can, others and self imposed rules alike. I […]
• May 21 | Building your business the Right-Brain Way | Book Review (Book Inspiration)

  I am reading Jennifer Lee’s second book on business for creative people right now, called Building Your Business the Right-Brain Way – Sustainable Success for the Creative Entrepreneur. It is very much a follow-up book of her first one, The Right-Brain Business Plan, which I actually haven’t read (yet). Now I think I’ve been missing […]
• May 19 | How to start playing with New Art Materials (Creative habits)

  Does your newly bought paints sometimes stay in the wrapping they came in? Do you hesitate to break open the pretty stickers you just got? Or do you keep buying new, fun material without actually using it? Then I’ve got a few ideas to kick you out of those habits right now! Many times when […]
• May 17 | Inspiration | Craft Ideas to try (Inspiration)

  We have within us the capacity to manufacture the very quality we are constantly chasing. Daniel Gilbert Even though pinterest is great for collecting inspiration and links I still read blogs, bookmark interesting stuff – and leave comments when I want to give praise and thanks. I also like to share my finds with you […]
• May 14 | Making a few Extra Postcards (Art Experiments, Mail bliss)

  To some of you I know that the thought of making 10 postcards can be overwhelming, but if you give it time its very doable. You start with a background, painting it or finding it (cutting out a pretty paper or magazine images) and then you go from there and let the process “just happen”. […]
• May 13 | The Magic of the Art Journal World (Art journaling)

  I sometimes think of my art journal as a magical fantasy world. Like a physical place that you can visit any time you choose. I think the more you visit this Magical Kingdom the more of what happens there you can bring back with you, into your regular life. I think that any creativity that […]
• May 12 | Working in my Tiny Treasures Sketchbook (Draw & doodle, Notebooks)

  Whatever you choose, however many roads you travel, I hope that you choose not to be a lady. I hope you will find some way to break the rules and make a little trouble out there. And I also hope that you will choose to make some of that trouble on behalf of women. Nora […]
• May 10 | Eye Candy | Seed Beads (Photography)

  Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared. Buddha I have this Pink box with lots of compartments. It’s filled with different colored seed beads, and some sparkly sequins too… Each compartment is like jewel with all […]
• May 8 | Print your own Sticker Labels (Paper Crafting)

  I have had some white perforated label sheets in my drawer. You know the rectangular kind with sticker backs, the ones that you’re supposed to feed through your home printer to make address- or jam labels? Oh, well how do you do that exactly? How do you get the printer to understand where not to […]
• May 6 | Word Poetry Postcards (Art Experiments, Mail bliss)

  I got a good start with my postcard this year, totally in the flow while painting my big papers, as you can see in the postcard video I made. When my papers where covered in paint and dry, I added lots of patterned tissue paper, and glitter! When the postcards where cut to size (four […]
• May 4 | Dear Photo Diary | A Smiling Cup (Photography)

  Dear Photo Diary, I decorate my life. Flowers on the table, flowers in every bush outdoors. Wood anemones. The pile of vintage postal stamps was out on my desk again, as I finished my postcards. They are sorted, re-sorted, loved. My white needle holder stands guard in the book shelf, because I now use a […]
• May 2 | Video Inspiration for Creating Postcards (Paper Crafting)

  It’s Creating Postcards Time around here! I put together a video of me and my friend making postcards together. We were painting, gluing down tissue paper and having a blast! Later I came back to my pile and added some word poetry. I think I will have to bore you guys with a third installment […]
• April 27 | Postcards in the making (Mail bliss)

  Hi there! I hope you’ve had a beautiful weekend? Mine was great. You can still sign up for the DIY Postcard Swap, but later next week I am closing the swap and will start sending out addresses via e-mail to all +200 participants. If you haven’t gotten your addresses by Friday, please check your spam […]
• April 24 | Blogging for 10 years – how and why it happened (Digital Life, iHanna's Thoughts)

  To achieve the impossible, you must attempt the absurd… Jon R. Michaelsen Today is my 10th blogoversary, which means I have been writing blog posts for this blog for the past ten years! That is a long time to keep doing anything, and in the blog world I must be considered to be one of […]
• April 23 | Dear Photo Diary | Celebrating Perfect Days (Photography)

  If we want to discover the full potential in our humanity, we need to celebrate those heartbreaking strengths and those glorious disabilities we all have. It is our humanity and all the potential within it that makes us beautiful. Aimee Mullins This year, like the year I was born, my birthday happened in conjunction with […]
• April 20 | Art Journal Peek: Wishes (Art journaling)

  I wish I was as free in life as I feel inside of you, dear Art Journal.
• April 18 | Video | Views from my Creative Life (Art journaling)

  It is not true that people stop pursuing dreams because they grow old, they grow old because they stop pursuing dreams.” Gabriel Garcí­a Márquez It has been such lovely weather this entire week, my birthday week. And now Easter is here, with family time and bird chirping in the trees outside my window. I am […]
• April 15 | Postcard Storage Binder with Dymo Labels (Paper Crafting)

  I love ring binders, especially these tiny ones that I have made for myself! Last week I posted a video tutorial on how you can make a custom-sized ring binder too, using a vintage book cover. I’m sure you can come up with lots of fun things to add into yours, like loose leaf journaling, […]
• April 14 | Good Mail Day – A primer for Making Eye Popping Postal Art (Book Inspiration, Mail bliss)

  Book review time again! Let’s dive into a book called Good Mail Day, written by Jennie Hinchcliff and Carolee Gilligan Wheeler. This book came out in 2009, so you might have already seen it, and I hope you have. But I just bought it on Amazon and read it with much joy last week. It […]
• April 13 | Dear Photo Diary | Creative Snaps (A Creative Life, Photography)

  Spring colors are singing inside of me. So I am gathering them up around me too. I’ve decorated white envelopes but have yet to make Easter cards, not sure there will be time to send any out at all.
• April 12 | Why pay to be in a Postcard Swap (Mail bliss)

  I am charging a small fee for participation in the postcard swap that I host. But why would you pay to be in a Postcard Swap you might ask? You’re making the postcards and paying for the postal stamps, right? You’re the one doing all the job! So it’s a good question that I want […]
• April 11 | Video tutorial: How to create a Ring Binder (Bookbinding, Thrift & Recycle, Tutorials)

  A small, personal ring binder is the perfect storage for postcards and mail art. I so love mine, made from vintage Reader’s Digest books. The covers are all different, totally adorable, green patterns. Love! Today I found the video files of when my dad helped me put this project together. So I edited it, added […]
• April 9 | Art Journal Peek: Blue Tulips (Art journaling)

  Wanna take a peek into my art journal? I don’t mind opening it up for you guys. Peek-a-boo! Tulips, dots, an owl drawing, watercolored. It’s night time, as you can see. The owl that lives on this page is just waking up… A page with a lot of different elements added in at different times. […]
• April 8 | Collage is about Self-Discovery (Collage)

  Collage is part of a perpetual voyage of self-discovery and refinement – an intellectual grand tour through philosophies and civilizations… distilled in the “tearingness” of original edges. Robert Motherwell My collage voyage continues with a fresh start this year, and lots of inspiration to explore new possibilities. It’s a few months after my big project […]
• April 6 | Share Your Creative Process & DIY Postcards (Other's Creativity)

  Have you signed up for iHanna’s DIY Postcard Swap yet? You can still join, and there is plenty of time to make ten awesome postcards. If you’ve already started please share your blog post link below! Bookmark this post and come back to it later too, to visit others to learn, be inspired and leave […]
• April 3 | Finding my way back to Collage (Collage)

  After the huge project of making 365 Collages last year, I took the first three months of from collage making. It was not intentionally, and I didn’t plan for it. When I finished the project I still felt a huge love for collage making – but obviously I needed a break. During the break I’ve […]
• April 2 | A Map to the Unknown (Fabric Art)

  Embroidered artist trading card. A Map to the unknown. I am till stitching stuff. But a Map to the unknown – do you think that is something you need? You might need a map to find your way. A guiding hand. A place to go… But a map to the unknown? See it as an […]
• April 1 | Inspiration – to infinity and beyond (Inspiration)

  To infinity… and beyond! Buzz Lightyear Another inspirational Flickr Mosaic, because I rather enjoy this end of the month habit. I’ve also created a monogram using a nifty monogram generator:
• March 31 | How to Recycle a Whiskas box (Paper Crafting, Tutorials)

  Packaging and containers lend themselves well to storage in a studio. As an artist I’m always in need of new, fun ways to store pens, threads, and finished notebooks. There is always something that needs to be put away… And to customize a box to your own liking is so much fun. When a food […]
• March 30 | Pink and Green (Photography)

  I think my favorite color combination in the whole world must be pink and green. I am drawn to this combination over and over again, without even thinking about it. When pink & green shows up in nature it’s such a gift, and recently I’ve had it on my table reminding me that spring is […]
• March 29 | My desk is a Constant Mess (A Creative Life, Home Comforts)

  The most valuable thing you can make is a mistake – you can’t learn anything from being perfect. Adam Osborne There is a mess on my desk. Again. There is a finished art journal. A started art journal. A current art journal. My diary, another notebook, and a bunch of stray pens. Loose papers with […]
• March 26 | iHanna’s DIY Postcard Swap Spring 2014 (Mail bliss)

  Yay, it’s time to make something creative with your time, with me. When you sign up for this postcard swap you will create ten (10) original handmade postcards, any style you like, and send them out to ten new friends! People that might live anywhere in the world, because this is an international swap. Then […]
• March 25 | I have a Newsletter too (Digital Life)

  I have a Newsletter, did you know that? I very rarely send it out but I’ve got one. I would love for you to sign up. Now I’ve also got a mascot for it, a mailchimp called Freddie… This is my new mailchimp & newsletter manager. He matches my living room table (and nail polish) […]
• March 24 | Art Journal Peek: Watercolor Girl (Art journaling)

  A single drop of water, once joined with others, can transform a mountain. Chinese proverb This drawing of a girl is in my art journal. A green girl, colored in with watercolors. I like pages where a bit of everything is allowed to happen. Drawing, journaling, watercolors and even collage elements – on the same […]
• March 21 | Art Journal Idea: Create Journaling blocks (Art journaling)

  Sometimes it’s hard to incorporate journaling into an art journal. Personally I tend to get so excited about colors and patterns that I forget all about leaving some room for writing. That’s totally fine, if that happens, but sometimes you want to write a bit – but where? That’s when I came up with the […]
• March 20 | International Day of Happiness (Inspiration)

  You might not know that today is International Day of Happiness, because it is a new idea. It was established by the United Nations General Assembly on 28 June 2012. They said that the pursuit of happiness is a fundamental human goal, and I agree with that. It sure is a fundamental goal in my […]
• March 19 | Eye Candy | Succulent in a cup (Home Comforts)

  Think with your senses as well as your brain. Andrew Motion This little cutie keeps me company as I write. The newest addition to my indoor plant menagerie is a succulent, sitting right by my laptop. I moved it from the plastic pot I bought it in to one of my thrifted rose cups…
• March 17 | Drawing Tiny Treasures (Draw & doodle, Notebooks)

  I’m calling this new project Drawing Tiny Treasures. My intention is to fill the entire book with drawings of small things from my home. Those things that I have loved for years (and probably blogged about at some point in the past). Things that I maybe am not noticing as much any more. Or things […]
• March 15 | Eye Candy | Blue smiling cat (Pretty things)

  Life is without meaning. You bring the meaning to it. The meaning of life is whatever you ascribe it to be. Being alive is the meaning. Joseph Campbell At a recent visit to a rather cute second hand shop (new to me) I found this blue cat. I adore the 1970-style and shape of it, […]
• March 13 | Awesome DIY Planner Ideas (Other's Creativity)

  You know how much I love my DIY Calendar, right? And you might remember I made the 2014 calendar pages available as a digital download late last year. Having a real product really makes me happy! It’s now updated with a bunch of extras (for list and project management), pages that you can include in […]
• March 11 | Eye Candy | Pink Kitten Heart Sketchbook (Notebooks, Pretty things)

  I have started a drawing project. Yay! A small, personal one that I am housing in this pink journal I got from my Swedish blog friend, Malin. I searched through my blog archive but couldn’t find anything about this journal – so maybe I haven’t shared it before? It’s cute, pink, and perfect for me […]
• March 9 | Geeky Abstinence (Digital Life)

  …and biting the sour apple. I clumsily dropped my phone and the front glass shattered. It’s being repaired, but in the meantime I am having a bad case of iphone abstinence. As with everything this proves what I already knew: it’s not until you loose something that you notice how much you love it (or […]
• March 5 | The Urge to Sew Scrappy Pouches (Fabric & Sewing)

  Joy is what happens to us when we allow ourselves to recognize how good things really are. Marianne Williamson I love scraps! Not only the paper scraps I use all the time, but fabric scraps too. I think I collect them. And pet them, but don’t tell anyone. I love how scraps let’s you mix […]
• March 3 | Art Journal Peek: Daisy Yellow & Pink (Art journaling)

  Here’s a Before Page in my Kawaii Art Journal. This is what it looked like when I bound the book together. One painted page and one gray wall paper page to the right, decorated with some polka dot washi tape.
• March 1 | Exercises that will silence the Inner Critic and nurture your Creativity (iHanna's Thoughts)

  Hello to the first of March 2014. Nice to meat you! This month let’s March on, in spite of the IC! To me it seams that February went by like a lightning bolt. Swoosh! I need to get my planner out and mark up those pages with the projects I want to work on, the […]
• February 28 | I really like my brown Smart Journals (Notebooks)

  I have a big love for browns and earthy tones. Brown paper! Gingerbread cookies! The color of my hair! Coffee with milk! Yum! And let’s not forget the Brown Quilt that I made myself. I still adore it, and use it almost every day! Also, I own at least two dark brown skirts and one […]
• February 27 | Creative Snapshots | Snow already forgotten (Photography)

  Above all, be the heroine of your own life, not the victim. Nora Ephron I am drinking black coffee and reading your comments on the giveaway post. Last chance to enter the giveaway of Quinn’s new book Inner Hero Creative Art Journal, a how-to book about finding and defining your Inner Heroes. Last chance to […]
• February 26 | Like a used paint rag… (A Creative Life)

  Do you ever feel like a old dried up paint rag, laying on the floor – waiting to be thrown away? Discarded. Finished. Used up? Sometimes I do feel like that, but not today. I just wondered, because I needed to share this photo with you guys! Isn’t this dry paint rag beautiful? So life […]
• February 24 | Tin Can Assemblage (Art Experiments)

  In the Coursera class that I took this summer (Introduction to Art: Concepts & Techniques with teacher Anna Divinsky) I made three of the assignments (you had to make two to get a diploma). I showed you the collage of Forever Summer and now it’s time for a look at the first assemblage in a […]
• February 23 | In Search of a Compass (Notebooks, On writing)

  I doodled and painted a quick little compass mandala in a fresh notebook late last night. I have been jumping between all kinds of journals and notebooks lately, not feeling completely at home in any of the ongoing books… In Search of a Compass… Trying to find my way, in art as well as in […]
• February 22 | Eye Candy | Drops of Color (Draw & doodle)

  No medicine cures what happiness cannot. Gabriel Garcí­a Márquez Drops of color in puddles of water, because they sky is too gray and winter too long. I feel like I need a lot of “just because no reason” right now. Sometimes we don’t need a reason, even though our brain constantly tries to convince us […]
• February 21 | Inner Hero Creative Art Journal by Quinn McDonald (Book Inspiration)

  Giveaway time! Instructions on how to enter to win this book are at the end of this post! But first, let’s look at what this book is about! Inner Hero Creative Art Journal is Quinn McDonald’s newest book. It’s about how you can send Mixed Media Messages to Silence Your Inner Critic. The inner critic […]
• February 20 | The Simplest Things (Draw & doodle)

  In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. Albert Camus Sometimes the simplest things can bring the most happiness. A scrap piece of watercolor paper. A black ink pen. A bit of time to create a doodle. Those are a few of the things that makes me happy, again […]
• February 18 | Collage Assignment | A Visit to the Land of Forever Summer (Collage)

  In the Coursera class Introduction to Art: Concepts & Techniques with teacher Anna Divinsky that I took this summer I made three of the assignments (you had to make two to get a diploma). Two of those I’m rather proud of, and want to present here. The first one was about creating a piece of […]
• February 17 | iHanna’s orange owl – inspired by Craft-a-Doodle (Draw & doodle)

  The stars began to burn through the sheets of clouds, and there was a new voice which you slowly recognized as your own. Mary Oliver Last Monday I wrote about how everyone can draw this kind of owl. It’s two watercolor circles on top of each other and then a pen doodle. I love it! […]
• February 16 | Inspiration | 10 Must Read Articles for the Creative Entrepreneurial Wannabe (Inspiration)

  A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing. George Bernard Shaw These are a few of many articles that I have been reading lately. If you’re anything like me, you’ll enjoy clicking through to learn about unchaining Creativity, dreaming big and always “doing the […]
• February 13 | Creative Snapshots | Rinse and repeat (Photography)

  Dear someone, Have you ever wanted out, of all the stressfulness All the busyness, you could do without Take all of your worries, throw them away Everyday should be a fun day – That’s what I say A Heart is hanging in my Window of Shadows. Both lonely and beautiful, like life can be. Let’s […]
• February 12 | Kawaii Art Journal (Bookbinding)

  I think a pretty journal or notebook cover is important, because it makes you use the book even more. When you want to look at it from the outside, you also want to open it up and work in it! Right? You remember the Japanese word for cute, right? Kawaii! It was such a popular […]
• February 11 | Mixed Media Valentine Tags (Paper Crafting)

  Valentine Craft Week might never end. I might name 2014 the Year of the Pink Heart and continue riding it, waving the love banner high, disappearing into the sunset. Or I might tire of hearts (even though that sounds unlikely right now). After sewing valentine postcards last week, I continued sewing hearts, but small tag-sized […]
• February 10 | Everyone can Draw a Little Owl (Draw & doodle)

  Even if you don’t have kids, you should make stuff with kids at every opportunity. Kim Werker Time to Craft an Owl Doodle! Like I mentioned in my review of Craft-a-doodle we had a very nice doodle session around here after I got the book from the publisher. Two grown ups and two kids aged […]
• February 9 | A Notebook from the Smallest Forest (A Creative Life, Notebooks)

  Book, beautiful book, smallest forest, leaf after leaf… Pablo Neruda, Ode to The Book III No matter how much I enjoy book binding myself, I will never have the patience or skill of a real book binder. I know, because I’ve watched a couple of them do their thing when I did take a class, […]
• February 8 | Time for Diary Doodles (Draw & doodle, Notebooks)

  To doodle is often moving your hands in a familiar way. Doodling is mindless drawing of forms and patterns, doing what you’ve always done. But it can also be learning new things, trying something out, experimenting…
• February 6 | Miniature Art Journal | Quirky me me me (Art journaling, Draw & doodle)

  Polka dot heart and a ghost image of… me? Not sure what this spread symbolizes, but I really like it. What do you think? Starting today with the spread that finished yesterday’s post about my Miniature Art Journal Idea and my need to get some drawing/doodling time into my life, and continuing with the rest […]
• February 5 | Miniature Art Journal Idea & Drawing time (Art journaling, Draw & doodle)

  So, after finishing the big 365 Collage project I did last year I have been mulling over new ideas around here. I am working with my one word of the year (willpower), and in January it was a huge success. In February (so far) not as much, because I am once again without a day […]
• February 4 | Sew Sweet Valentine Cards (Paper Crafting)

  Hi sweet one! If you are following me via instagram you know it’s #valentinecraftweek in my life right now. Now that I’m diving into it I get the feeling that I am in the right place, doing the right thing. Maybe Valentine is a commercial holiday that makes us single gals feel extra lonely, sure […]
• February 3 | Craft-a-Doodle | Big Hearts & Letters (Draw & doodle)

  Back to the book Craft-a-Doodle again, it’s such a fun book. In it you’ll find a fun exercise where you loosely doodle a big, bold letter and then colour it in. This is my kind of fun, especially since Cynthia Shaffer suggests we doodle on vintage book pages, my favorite drawing material! Super cheap drawing […]
• February 2 | Self Love Sunday (Inspiration)

  There is no greater gift you can give or receive than to honor your calling. It’s why you were born. And how you become most truly alive. Oprah Winfrey Last weekend was fabulous, filled with champagne and paint. So this weekend, I decided to embrace my crafty side! I listened to the Quilting Podcast for […]
• January 31 | Inspiration | 5 Amazeballz Ideas (Inspiration)

  I like to dabble in a little of this, and a little of that. And I collect amazeballz ideas. The first linked idea, with cubies, reminds me of a project I did (in 2006!) with cubes in wood. Here’s five ideas to check out: Collage Cubies Project Collage Cubies are easy to make with few […]
• January 30 | A Fun Craft-a-Doodle Challenge for kids (Draw & doodle)

  During studio time (a now sought after thing) that includes crafts, creative exploration and lunch, we doodled for quite a while. We were really inspired by the book Craft-a-doodle that I reviewed yesterday. We (two grown ups and two kids aged 5 and 12) had a great time. For the first exercise I read them […]
• January 29 | Craft-a-Doodle Book Review (Book Inspiration, Draw & doodle)

  A few months back I got an advance copy of Jenny Doh’s new book Craft-a-Doodle, because I am one of the 18 contributing artists! I am happy to be a small part of this pretty book, because I really like it! So even though I am a bit biased*, I wanted to come back to […]
• January 27 | Peek into my Personalized DIY Calendar (Notebooks)

  This is my Personalized DIY Calendar. A calendar, like your life, is a constant work in progress. It will never be “finished” since there will “always” be new days next week and more things to do, list to write, plans to come up with – and goals to achieve. And that is a good thing! […]
• January 26 | Sparkling Self Love (A Creative Life, Life Stuff)

  How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. Anne Frank This weekend I bought myself pink tulips. An act of self love, and something I want to do more often. Fresh flowers on the table makes me happy. As happy as fresh sheets on the bed. […]
• January 25 | Before and After Art Journal Elk Page (Art journaling)

  When binding an Art Journal I use a lot of different papers. Like I said, I love to mix and match! For example I sometimes use pages from my altered books! You tear out pages to make room for collage and paint, but those pages can be recycled too! This spread in my Kawaii Journal […]
• January 24 | DIY Calendar | Cream Colored Pages (Draw & doodle, Paper Crafting)

  I’m a wee bit calendar obsessed right now, because it’s January and a whole glorious year is ahead of us! I thought I’d share a bit about what kind of paper I’m using in these calendar ring binders I made: I replaced the first ring binder that I’ve used for several years now with a […]
• January 21 | DIY Calendar Idea | Make Your Own Index Tabs (Paper Crafting, Tutorials)

  Not happy with the current selection of tabs on the market? Make your own! Customize them in your own style and organize your calendar in a way that suits you best! I love index tabs, especially the ones I’ve made myself! I use tabs all the time, in notebooks as I fill them and in […]
• January 20 | Outside the box Cross Stitching (Fabric Art)

  The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man [and woman]. George Bernard Shaw My favorite embroidery style is a loose, free form, anything-goes style. I like to bend the rules, or break up with them. […]
• January 18 | Video | Creativity on Instagram (Digital Life, Life Stuff)

  I’m @iHannas on instagram, are you following me on instagram yet? One of the things I really enjoyed in 2013 was posting photos to my instagram account. Right now I’ve been in a rut, but probably it is because it is so dark around (a.k.a the Swedish Winter months) these parts right now, so taking […]
• January 16 | DIY Calendar Idea: Transparent Dividers (Tutorials)

  I am thrilled that so many of you are enjoying the printable pages that I shared with you guys last year! They are from my own DIY calendar, a design that I have been using and loving for years. And now you can join me in putting togethter your own Calendar! Yay! In a series […]
• January 13 | New Year Inspiration | Word Collage Prompt (Notebooks)

  My current diary will be full in just a few pages. I thought I’d pick a new one for January, but there are still a few white pages left in this one that I want to fill. I mostly write inside these, but I also enjoy creating what I call diary collages. They are not […]
• January 12 | Inspiration | 5 Quick Craft Ideas (Inspiration)

  Internet is full of inspirational things. Everywhere I look these days I find inspiration. The idea of this blog is to inspire you too, and that is why I like to share what inspires me! Most of the time by sharing what I do, see and plan in my own creative life. But somtimes by […]
• January 10 | One Little Word | Willpower (Creative habits, iHanna's Thoughts)

  I have been known to say that “power over the mind” is one thing I’d really wish more of, probably because of the debate that is going on inside my head all the time. Some more willpower would just enable me to act without thinking too much of pros and cons (sometimes until it’s to […]
• January 9 | List of Creative Achievements 2013 (A Creative Life, I write Lists)

  Many people await new years day, to make a new start to their old habits. I wish you otherwise, Happy New Year! Time to post my list of achievements of 2013. And above, as usual, a slide show of Everyday Life in 2013. Press play to watch it. If you take the time to read/watch […]
• January 8 | 10 Reasons you Should Write a List of Achievements (I write Lists, iHanna's Thoughts)

  I love writing my personal List of Achievements every year. It is a part of saying good bye to the previous year in a celebratory and kind way. For me it takes quite a while to get everything listed, mostly because I go back in the blog archive a lot, but it is so worth […]
• January 7 | Quick Craft | Stamping & Coloring in (Paper Crafting)

  What the New Year brings to you will depend a great deal on what you bring to the New Year. Vern McLellan On scraps of watercolor paper I did some idea sketching, and mentioned that scrap papers can be used in a lot of fun ways. You could stamp your own note paper, for instance.
• January 6 | 365 Collages | Week 52 | The End (Collage)

  Before you make a six-volume improvement list for 2014, there is unfinished business in 2013. Take a seat. Take a few deep breaths, too. Then look back at 2013, and see what you did right.* Quinn McDonald Collage: Filed under all things Wonderful The end can be so sad sometimes, but to me, this feels […]
• January 4 | Creative Snapshots | Everday Beauty (Home Comforts)

  My last post in a series of Snapshots of a Creative Life posts that I call Creative Snapshots, was posted way back in October when there was a Nip in the Air. Because I love this series so much I think it is high time to get back to it! It is kind of like […]
• January 3 | Recycled Wool Owl & Long Lists (Fabric & Sewing, Thrift & Recycle)

  What is not started will never get finished. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Do you have a list of things that you really really want to create, paint and craft? I do. My list is veeeery long, and always growing (this is just one part). I guess that this is why it sometimes takes me years […]
• January 2 | Welcome 2014 | Time for Creativity (A Creative Life, iHanna's Thoughts)

  You do not know what will come out on the page, until you sit down and put your tools to work… iHanna Is your pencils sharpened? Your notebooks ready and your journal open for business? You do not need to use willpower to be creative. All you need is to listen to your heart, and […]

-2013

• December 31 | Last Minute Art Journaling Thoughts (Art journaling)

  You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.Mae West
• December 29 | Download & Print Your Own DIY Planner Pages (Paper Crafting)

  I’ve used my handmade, DIY, glitterliciously pink planner several years by now and I love it! I love printing and making my own DIY Planner Pages. This year it was time to share the joy of it even more. My DIY Planner Pages are for planner girls, paper lovers & those of us that are […]
• December 28 | How to close your bulging journal (Tutorials)

  Every man [and woman!] should be born again on the first day of January. Start with a fresh page. Take up one hole more in the buckle if necessary, or let down one, according to circumstances; but on the first of January let every man gird himself once more, with his face to the front, […]
• December 27 | 365 Collages in 2013 | Week 51 | The Scissors Edition (Collage)

  …recognize that any creative act worth doing benefits from an ongoing process of continuous improvement. [via] Chris Guillebeau C stands for Creativity C also stands for Collage Love, Cut & paste habit, Creating Every Week and Carving out time for a project. And Celebrating a job well done, right? Thanks for visiting my blog during […]
• December 20 | Handmade Mail Art for iHanna (Mail bliss)

  I am closing the Swap with this last postcard post update. I just need to share the postcards I have gotten in the DIY Postcard Swap, autumn 2013. Because I adore all the postcards I have received, so much! Those who sent me “extras” warms my heart double. I am sending all of you a […]
• December 18 | How to keep Organized with a 365 Project (Art Experiments, Creative habits, Tutorials)

  How to keep Organized, and stay organized, with a Creative 365 Project of some sort, for the entire year. Start out strong, and keep going that way. Promising your creative readers a post with organizational tips might be like promising to send out packages of free gold nuggets… I can see the glimmer in your […]
• December 17 | 365 Collages | Week 50 | The Wild Edition (Collage)

  Future and Past We are now in week 51 of 52 weeks, and 2013 is near the end and we are closing in on the beginning of a new year. I have been making collages this entire year, and I still love cut and paste. Maybe more today than I did a year ago. As […]
• December 15 | It is Candle Time (Home Comforts)

  It’s candle time around here. Stay warm, be good. xoxo /iHanna
• December 12 | Paint Your Own Dala Horse Workshop (A Creative Life, Other's Creativity)

  A few weeks back I held a workshop at the Stockholm university. It was super fun and I took lots of photos while we painted. Some of you have seen a few instagram pics already, but I wanted to share more from the workshop with you guys. Mostly of the student’s creativity – it was […]
• December 11 | Bring out the Glitter and Glue (Paper Crafting)

  A lot of people are afraid to say what they want. That’s why they don’t get what they want.Madonna [from her book “Sex”] It’s December and so much I want to write about before the year ends. Let’s jump in again today, with a bit of crafting! It’s been a while since I did any […]
• December 10 | 365 Collages | Week 49 (Collage)

  Welcome to My World There is only three weeks left of the year of collage! Can you believe it? We all know time flies, but every end of the year we’re caught by surprise. Already the year is ending? Where did the time disappear to? With my personal 365-collage project I feel that I’ve really […]
• December 9 | Make a Snowflake (Paper Crafting)

  Invite your inner child out for a bit of winter crafting this week! When snow won’t come to you, you have to make your own snow! That’s the new iHanna saying around here. Or, even better put; when snow flakes out on you, you’d better create some snowflakes on your own! And you may quote […]
• December 8 | Paper Patchwork Postcards en masse (Mail bliss, Paper Crafting)

  My sewing machine loves to come out to play every now and then. I wish we had more time to play together. She doesn’t even mind when I bring out a stash of papers and sew those together, because we agree that paper sewing is one of the best crafts! That is, me and my […]
• December 7 | Wishing you a Day filled with Good Things (Other's Creativity)

  Today I wanted to show you one of the pretty extras that I got in the DIY Postcard Swap this year. It is made by my mom, who has been participating in almost all of the swaps I’ve arranged I think. I saw the beginnings of the postcard, because we had a crafternoon together in […]
• December 4 | Patterns doodles at the Office (Draw & doodle)

  You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. Plato Instead of going into a meeting at work, only equipped with a ball point pen and a notepad, lately I’ve been bringing a black marker with me too. Not for note taking, but for doodles. I, […]
• December 3 | 365 Collages | Week 48 & Thoughts on Copyright (Collage)

  A Year of Cut & Paste Vintage text pages are fun to create collages with, and there is no end to the combinations you can create. I had a lot of fun with these. Please let me know in the comment section if you can detect a favorite among these collages. I appreciate your visit […]
• December 2 | Yummy Bits of Paper Scraps (Paper Crafting)

  As a collage artist my paper collection is an ever growing pile of yumminess… I love my paper stash a lot, as you know. But my apartment is very small, and my home studio already takes up a lot of room here. I don’t really want the paper stash to take over my life… Instead […]
• November 30 | Pop Art DIY Postcards (Paper Crafting)

  I am finally sitting down to post some of the many photos I took while making postcards for the DIY Postcard Swap! Just looking at my messy desk above, filed with half finished postcards a few weeks back, makes me want to jump in and do another swap right away. I think I am loving […]
• November 26 | 365 Collages | Week 47 (Collage)

  All fired up This post is late because I just finished the last collages, scanned them and uploaded them tonight. I hope you like them. Please leave a comment if you have the time, to let me know if you find a favorite and what it is about that collage that you like it. Thanks!
• November 25 | How to generate New Ideas using Scrap Paper (Draw & doodle, Tutorials)

  Cut-off strips of paper, from making square substrates (for my 365-collages) or from book binding projects, often go directly into the trash can. Mostly because they are very narrow and hard to keep organized. But really, every piece of paper can be used! Sometimes I keep them together with a paper clip, and use them […]
• November 24 | Weekly Link Love: Healthy and Happy Life (Inspiration)

  I’m not in this world to live up to your expectations and you’re not in this world to live up to mine. Bruce Lee Beyond some favorite topics I also enjoy reading about health and exercise, the life hacks that will help improve your life in one way or another. Today I wanted to share […]
• November 21 | How to Plan for a 365 Project of your own (Art Experiments, Creative habits, iHanna's Thoughts)

  Having a year-long project is one of the best ways to create a creative practice! If you feel like you want to be more creative but don’t find the right time to start, or don’t find enough time, I recommend you try this! Because when you decide to do something you are more likely to […]
• November 19 | 365 Collages | Week 46 | Tissue Paper Edition (Collage)

  Imagine the Possible Collage makes me happy! This weeks collages especially, because they are all so very happy. Happy colours, happy titles, happy feeling inside! And let’s not talk about tissue paper! It’s the number one paper of papers. I love even the sound when touching it. Once you start using it you don’t want […]
• November 18 | Creating a Succulent Miniature Garden (Home Comforts, Tutorials)

  Before the frost came I went out to my parents garden and snatched a few of the tiny succulent plants. I wanted to create my own version of a succulent miniature garden! I’ve been seeing all kinds of über cute potted succulents on pinterest and was inspired to bring some into my own home. Succulents […]
• November 17 | The road to Rainbow Kitten (Art Experiments)

  Creativity can take you anywhere. That’s what I love the most about creativity. You know? Sometimes, when you’re sitting and creating, and all of a sudden…
• November 15 | Inside my Diary (Notebooks)

  When time allows I am always cutting and pasting, especially in my diary, probably because it’s the notebook that most often is close to me. It’s sitting there, so I add in something I find in one of my folders of clippings. Something that is colorful, inspirational, beautiful or plain funny.
• November 14 | The Jardin Lime Art Journal (Bookbinding)

  Time to dive back into the pile of fabric that was the foundation for the Campervan bowling bag and the Owl tote (both x 2 because it was a collaboration with my mom, and we now have matching sets of bags and totes)! This is my last planned post about this particular pile of fabric […]
• November 12 | 365 Collages | Week 45 (Collage)

  Phlox paniculata It’s been 45 weeks (!) of constant collage creating – and yes, I still love this challenge! For these collages I found a vintage book page of illustrated flowers that I used. Also, some weaver thread chart leftovers from last week’s theme, and indeed, a few dabs of white paint. In collage anything […]
• November 11 | Inspiration Board Update (Home Comforts)

  Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense. Emerson I love my […]
• November 6 | Beyond One Thousand Handmade Postcards (Inspiration)

  Except the little hints already made, I’ve decided not to post my postcards for the DIY Postcard Swap until after they’ve been received this year. You can do what ever feels good to you. If you’ve already posted about the creative process of making the cards on your blog, please post a link below! We’d […]
• November 5 | 365 Collages | Week 44 | Weaver’s Edition (Collage)

  Can You Pick Just One? Hi ya’ll, welcome to week 44 of my 365 Collages in 2013 project! I really like paper weaving, but that’s not what this week’s collages are about. Instead, it’s the Weaver Edition because I’ve used a vintage color chart showing weaving thread photos and their corresponding order numbers. I love […]
• November 4 | Sewing a very red Owl Tote (A Creative Life, Fabric & Sewing)

  Red is such a beautiful, strong colour. I love red, but sometimes, in my passion for pink and turquoise, I forget about red. But today red has its moment of glory! Because we’ve got this Nature Trail Curtain Fabric with a warm red background to the forest animals, and a basic red fabric to match […]
• November 3 | Art Journal Peek: Life Bubbles & θάνατος (Art journaling)

  In anticipation of Winter Darkness I visit my Art Journal, and Death rides into the picture. Every All Saint’s Day (the day we celebrate here), with the dark night of Halloween and Dia de los Muertos lurking, I go rather dark in my Art Journal. Though this year my dark page is paired with a […]
• November 2 | On my desk (Paper Crafting)

  Pens, and a panda.
• November 1 | Free Printable Postcard Backside (Mail bliss)

  When I started with the DIY Postcard Swap a couple of years ago I designed a free printable postcard backside for anyone interested in using such a thing for their postcards. It was very simple, but useful. I’ve since long tired of it, so I reconstructed a vintage looking card and made a new backside […]
• October 31 | 365 Collages | My Creative Process (Art Experiments, Collage)

  The wooden box that I bought earlier this year is now full of my square collages. Full to the brim, and the last weeks will not even fit in there. Looking at this box I am filled with amazement and wonder. A year of creativity is a big thing, maybe that is why I called […]
• October 30 | I’ve Bought Postal Stamps (Paper Crafting)

  How is your postcard making going? That is, if you’re as deep into this adventure as I am right now? If not, you can still sign up for the DIY Postcard Swap and dive in right now! Postcards are fun and easy to create. And the more my own collection of swapped cards grows, there […]
• October 29 | 365 Collages | Week 43 | Rather Shabby Chic (Collage)

  We don’t have to worry bout nothing Cause we got the fire, and we’re burning one hell of a something They gonna see us from outer space Light it up, like we’re the stars of the human race… Ellie Goulding (Burn lyrics) Hello again! Since last week was black and white this week I felt […]
• October 28 | My First Autumn Mandala (Photography)

  Last week I found the hashtag #höstmandala (at instagram) and was amazed. Such creativity and inspiration there is to be found out there, when you know where to look. I love this kind of phenomenon where no one can claim copyright to the idea, and it can spread like wildfire. The whole point is to […]
• October 27 | Gathering and Saving tis’ Season (Photography)

  I took my camera for a walk this weekend, to not just have the instagram fall photos when winter comes. To gather and save how magically beautiful sunshine on yellow leafs are. To get some fresh air in between intense creating going on around here. Preparing postcards for the DIY Swap (you can still sign […]
• October 24 | Creative Snapshots | A Nip in the Air (Photography)

  My pot of Rosary Vine, also known as “String of Hearts”, is overflowing right now. I must be doing something right with all my indoor plants, because they seem happy even though it’s getting chillier outside.
• October 22 | 365 Collages | Week 42 (Collage)

  Before my Time As I hope you’ve all noticed I’ve set up another autumn round of the Do it Yourself Postcard Swap! I even sent out my rare newsletter! You can read about it here and sign up if you feel inspired to create a few fun postcards to send out to the world! I […]
• October 20 | Join the DIY Postcard Swap Autumn 2013 (Mail bliss)

  Via e-mail I’ve gotten a few questions from folks wanting to know: When will your fun DIY Postcard Swap start? Now I can finally answer: It starts today, right now!! It’s time to sign up and start creating postcards! I would like to invite you, again or for the first time, to create ten (10) […]
• October 18 | Handmade Campervan Bowling Bags (Fabric & Sewing)

  Even better than collecting fabric in transparent boxes is using that fabric to create everyday objects. In that way you get to see a lot more of the fabric’s pattern, right? That’s why I wanted a sturdy, usable bag from the Campervans fabric, a curtain fabric that is just perfect for bag making. This one […]
• October 16 | Instafall (Photography)

  I love the fall season. The colours, the change, the photo opportunities that are everywhere…
• October 15 | 365 Collages | Week 41 | The Invisible Series (Collage)

  I wasn’t planning to work on a series this week, even though I’ve been thinking about this idea of using the same image over and over (again) for a while. Then I found a few prints of the same vintage photo in one of my paper folders – and seven collages came together in no […]
• October 14 | Staying Honest as a Blogger when Sponsored with Free Stuff (iHanna's Thoughts)

  Never thought I’d be a Sponsored blogger, but here I am… I while back I, as the owner of this blog, was offered free fabric from a online fabric store. The deal was to create anything I wanted with the fabric they sent (and I could pick the patterns I liked from their shop) and […]
• October 13 | Creative Snapshots | Other’s Creative Space (Photography)

  I love visiting the creative space of other people. Places where you can detect the artist in every item, in the way the garden looks, in the book shelf… At some places you can almost feel the creative work going on in the air surrounding the place… Don’t you just love when you can tell […]
• October 11 | Transparent Collage Papers (Paper Crafting)

  I have a lot of paper, most of it ephemera or magazine clippings, and some wallpaper rolls or wrapping papers. I love when paper is both pretty and cheap, like in big rolls of lovely wrappng paper that you can use in all kinds of projects. But I also like the more expensive kind of […]
• October 9 | 365 Collages | Week 40 | The White Edition (Collage)

  Collage: In vain This week of collages turned out all white. It just happened like that. I made one collage and was inspired by that one to build others that were similar. The same feeling, but from different perspectives. Imagine standing in a sand storm or in thick fog. You can’t see the details but […]
• October 8 | Luminaries (Other's Creativity)

  Mom’s latest embroidery are these beautiful candle holders, inspired by Carina’s book Stitched Blooms. I think she has already finished at least ten of these!
• October 4 | A look into my Photo Book for Week in the Life 2012 (Photography)

  I absolutely love the concept of Week in the Life (#witl), that special week of intense and intentional photo documenting. I wrote a tutorial on How to make a Week in the Life Photo Book, where I showed some examples from my first book, Week in the Life 2012. I haven’t had time to even […]
• October 1 | 365 Collages | Week 39 – Painted Paper Edition (Collage)

  Collage: Grass Growing There is a lot more colours (and happiness) happening this week compared to last weeks gloomy collages. I have been digging in a folder of painted papers, and rediscovering some darlings. I think that I, almost exclusively, used my own papers for these collages! Putting these together felt like getting dressed in […]
• September 30 | Inspiration Mosaic Fall (Inspiration)

  Wishing you a happy fall with a new Inspiration Mosaic! You can view it big here, and maybe set it as your desktop background. I hope you’re as inspired by these as I am. Wishing you a fall full of clear air and sunshine through yellowing leafs! Also, the book giveaway is still open…
• September 29 | Why a Whole Day of Silence is Bliss (iHanna's Thoughts)

  I think spending time on my own is awesome, and a whole day of silence is bliss to me. When I read the article 23 Signs You’re Secretly an Introvert (even though it’s not a secret that I am a quite introverted) I found this reminder timely: One of the most fundamental characteristics of introverts […]
• September 26 | Stitched Blooms Book Blog Tour + A Book Review (Book Inspiration)

  Today is a big day for me as it’s the first time ever I join a Book Blog Tour! We’re here to celebrate Carina Envoldsen-Harris’ new book Stitched Blooms – 300 Floral, Leaf & Border Motifs to Embroider! This post contains both my book review and a giveaway! Carina of Carina’s Craftblog and Polka & […]
• September 25 | How to make a Photo Book for Week in the Life (Photography, Tutorials)

  I did Week in the Life last year for the first time, and each day a new folder on my computer filled up with a lot of new photos from that day. Once I start I don’t want to stop snapping! I love the process of documenting my life, but also love using those photos […]
• September 24 | 365 Collages | Week 38 (Collage)

  A self-respecting artist must not fold his hands on the pretext that he is not in the mood… Tchaikovsky Hidden from view After a week of Week in the Life-documentation with heavy photo posts I’m back with a collage-only-post. Art, yay right? But I’m not sure I personally like any of these collages. I don’t […]
• September 23 | Try Tissue Paper Collage (Art Experiments)

  Who doesn’t love and adore tissue paper? It’s available in so many pretty, bright colors (and patterns!) that my collection is still growing. I use it all the time, and thought I’d share a quick and super fun idea to play with today. You start by cutting out strips of different coloured tissue paper, then […]
• September 22 | Video | What the World Needs is You (Inspiration)

  Today I’m sharing a quick text-based video that is actually a commercial for a book that I haven’t read or even seen in person. But the sweet message, that is all about how important you are, and the way it is presented visually in this clip, is such that I think you’ll be smiling after […]
• September 21 | Week in the Life | Sunday Creativity (Photography)

  I started the day by making myself a cup of coffee when I woke up. And last Sunday was the last day of the documentation project Week in the Life! I took that day to document some of my creative process at home. Some work by the computer, some at my art desk creating collages […]
• September 20 | Art Journal Peek | Neon Dots (Art journaling)

  There is so many things you can put down on a page in your art journal, you know. Endless ideas floating around. Sometimes it feels, really, like your brain is empty and you can’t come up with anything. But then there is always dots. You can paint dots on top of a colour, but you […]
• September 19 | Week in the Life | Saturday Thrifting (Photography)

  After the Crayfish Party Friday I slept over at my parents, and woke up to a real Saturday breakfast on the veranda. My cat Smilla lives with my parents, in their house with the freedom to go outside when ever she wants to. She is a happy cat, but of course I miss her a […]
• September 18 | Week in the Life | Friday Photos (Photography)

  Continuing with how I documented last week, in photos. Friday I had a lovely calm morning, sipping my iced coffee and writing a bit in my journal before doing computer work.
• September 17 | 365 Collages | Week 37 (Collage)

  Freed from your Constraints I think you guys agree with me that yellowed book pages are beautiful, because last week’s vintage edition got lots of comment love. This week I’m continuing with the same theme, but adding in more colour again. I can not stay away from colour for long, even though most of them […]
• September 16 | Week in the Life | Thursday Photos (Photography)

  An ordinary Thursday in the Life of office girl iHanna, as she is documenting the entire week 37 of 2013. It was a great week to document, with good weather and a great new camera to keep me company. It’s also fun to compose these posts, picking out some favorites from the day and getting […]
• September 15 | Week in the Life | Wednesday (Photography)

  Wednesday I stay at home. With the camera set on the tripod I use the beloved clicker quite a lot to get myself in the photos more! I love the clicker. It becomes a day of errands, walking to town and having time to listen intensely to an audio book while moving around.
• September 13 | Week in the Life | Tuesday Photos (A Creative Life)

  It doesn’t at all feel like a choir to carry the “big camera” around this year. It weights only happiness. These are my favorites from Tuesday in Week in the life that is still going on, going strong! Most of these are from work/the office. Enjoy.
• September 12 | Week in the Life | More Monday Photos (Photography)

  Still some mist lingering this Monday morning as I arrived to the train station, but once I was in Stockholm the sky was blue and clear. I stopped once again on my way to work to document one of my favorite sculptures of this town, the Dandelion fountain. I pass it everyday as I walk […]
• September 11 | Week in the Life | Misty Monday Morning (Photography)

  I was so tired when I got home from work Monday evening that I feel asleep early, without even emptying my camera. It was full of all the Week in the Life Monday photos I had taken during the day, with my new camera. Not until now I’ve had the time + energy to go […]
• September 9 | 365 Collages | Week 36 | Vintage Edition (Collage)

  Simplified I finished these collages last week, for my personal challenge to create 365 square art collages in 2013. I still love this project! Love love love. I hope you like today’s collages, because I do. I would, as always, like to know if you find a favorite among these – and what about that […]
• September 8 | Eye Candy | Steampunk Machinery (Photography)

  I am not interested in how these machines work, or in learning how to built them or pick them apart. I’m not even into making steampunk craft, but I can not help but to be fascinated by the look of big machines – especially vintage ones in a museum like this. Machines where the details […]
• September 6 | Video | Fun Beginner Ideas for Art Journalers (Inspiration)

  I found this video on YouTube and I thought I should send it to my friend who I have converted into art journalers this summer. So Christina (and mom!) this is for you especially, and anyone else who is a art journaler newbie. I think this video shows that Art Journaling can be simple, diverse […]
• September 5 | Art Journal Peek | Doodles & Flow (Art journaling, Draw & doodle)

  Let’s take a peek at this page in my Art Journal. There is a lot going on here, but when I started I had no idea what would happen. What I would add to the white page or how it would end up looking in the end. I just doodled some! First I sketched my […]
• September 4 | 10 Amazing Pinterest Collections (Digital Life, I write Lists, Inspiration)

  I love Pinterest! There are a lot of boards that are simply amazing out there, in one way or another. Some are wacky, creative, crazy or simply breathtaking. They are all a proof of creativity to me, and sometimes a bit obsessive… Here is a list of my top 10 right now!
• September 3 | 365 Collages | Week 35 | Paper Patchwork Edition (Collage)

  Summer Ending Summer is ending, but my collage adventure continues into the autumn and hopefully until the end of this year. If that happens I will have created 365 collages this year. A huge and amazing number. This week’s batch is made in one of my favorite collage methods. I call it “paper patchwork”, some […]
• September 2 | Planning for Week in the Life (Creative habits)

  Last year I meticulously documented an entire week of my life in photos and words. I took a lot of self portraits but also brought my cameras to work, to a party, for walks in nature and in the city – yes everywhere for the entire week. I did blog a bit about it, but […]
• September 1 | Creative Snapshots | Polka Dots (A Creative Life)

  It’s September first today and autumn is officially here. The mornings are chilly but we’ve had several beautiful days with warmth and sunshine this week (and some heavy rain too). My window is still open all the time, and today I sat outside and knitted a bit on a pair of socks that I have […]
• August 29 | Summer Crush | Sitting by the Water (Photography)

  I’ve already written about outdoor creating sitting by the water, so this is a photo post, in case you need some nature inspiration today.
• August 28 | Bellis Miniature Sculpture (Other's Creativity, Pretty things)

  To me this is a Bellis Perennis – a common plant of meadows, lawns and other grassy areas, frequently found growing in lawns. The drawing is from my Art Journal, and the pink sculpture is a recent handmade find from a craft shop. Isn’t the group of Bellis flowers adorable? It is handmade by a […]
• August 27 | 365 Collages | Week 34 (Collage)

  Sweet as a Flower Bouquet The hardest part right now is stopping once I start making collages. Hours will pass, my fingers gooey with glue, silence all around – and I don’t want to take a break. I want to continue to create just one more collage! Just one more… It’s a good feeling. Time […]
• August 26 | Art Journal Peek | Painted Patchwork & White Flower Pattern (Art journaling, Draw & doodle)

  Hi, thanks for stopping by and being part of my creative journey! This page is a more or less even, continues grid pattern that I enjoyed filling with watercolours. A painted patchwork maybe? I love grids, any kind of grid. I made it while away on my Journaling Vacation. Here is the full spread:
• August 25 | Tiny, Eclectic, Amazing Spaces & Homes – featured on video (Home Comforts)

  Amazing Internet Find! It’s amazing what you can find on the Internet, right? Via Miss Kitten Heart’s Blog I found that there are a lot of video’s about cute and quirky homes – online! I didn’t even know this kind of videos existed, but it’s such a fun format. I was very excited to look […]
• August 23 | Creative Snapshots | In Many Pink Hues (Photography)

  Creatie Snapshots – photos from my everyday creative life – is back on the blog! I’m back at work and will be looking through photo folders from this summer now. It’s something I love, and I also enjoy sharing my favorite creative snaps with you guys! So I hope you like that too. Today I’m […]
• August 22 | Summer Crush | Outdoor Creating (A Creative Life, Art journaling)

  The stars began to burn through the sheets of clouds, and there was a new voice which you slowly recognized as your own. Mary Oliver For a week this summer I lived in a small cottage in the forest, by the water. I moved out of my apartment to be close to nature, and I […]
• August 21 | Thrifted Finds | Vintage Flower Pots (Pretty things)

  With a Summer Crush on Flea markets I have been to several outdoor flea markets this summer. And yes, some nice finds did find me! My favorite might be these two flower pots, featuring my favorite china pattern! I’ve got coffee cups, a vase and a small pitcher that I also use for flowers. And […]
• August 20 | 365 Collages | Week 33 (Collage)

  Y for yes please! Yet another week of collage you ask? Will this never end? Well, as far as I’m concerned, no, I hope it will not end anytime soon. I am still loving creating square collages and I have many more ideas that I want to play with in upcoming weeks! Schyy! So, schyy, […]
• August 19 | Art Journal Peek: Hey Mr Bluebird in the Garden (Art journaling)

  I tend to think I need all my supplies to create, and sometimes that keeps me at home even though I want to go elsewhere; to travel or just simply go outside for a while. In summer I love to create outside. I miss having a balcony a lot – but since I don’t have […]
• August 18 | Summer Crush | Broholmer Puppies (Life Stuff, Photography)

  A friend of ours has several dogs, the biggest one is a female Broholmer called Gaia. The breed is still very unusual in Sweden even though it originates from Denmark. It’s a huge dog, but extremely calm and gentle. Gaia has her head above my waistline…
• August 16 | The 10 Most Popular Posts about Art Journaling & Collage (Art journaling, I write Lists)

  Last Friday I posted my personal Favorite Topics to Read about on other people’s blogs. Today it’s time to give my own blog some Link Love, or at least highlight some popular posts I’ve written so far this year. And since my favorite subjects are Art Journaling and Collage, it’s not strange that almost all […]
• August 15 | 365 Collages | Week 32 (Collage)

  He is Thinking About You Randomly strung together papers becomes art – ta-daaa! There might be an ocean and sea blue theme going on? I don’t know where that came from, but I’m not naming it a theme, just noticing it. I hope you like these collages, and thanks for your beautiful comments from last […]
• August 12 | Craft-a-Doodle | I’m in another American Craft Book (Draw & doodle, Other's Creativity)

  Yes, I’m published in a book! You will find my name, photos of my notebook and my doodles in the new Jenny Doh book, called Craft-a-doodle. It’s just out on the market and I got an advance copy that I’ve been enjoying for a few days. I’m really proud to be in this book. The […]
• August 11 | Eye Candy: Garden Delights (Photography)

  The use of the term art medium is, to say the least, misleading, for it is the artist that creates a work of art not the medium. It is the artist in photography that gives form to content by a distillation of ideas, thought, experience, insight and understanding. Edward Steichen I feel lucky to have […]
• August 9 | Five Favorite Topics to Read about (Digital Life, Inspiration)

  I love when you link to my blog, thank you! I also love linking to other people’s content – to share it with my peeps. It’s called Link Love, and we could all do it a bit more. Today I’m presenting my favorite Link Love topics, also known as the topics I devour online! In […]
• August 7 | 365 Collages | Week 31 (A Creative Life)

  The Possy My desk is so messy that I can hardly sit and work there. But I have caved out a corner at one of the short ends and there I sit with my glue stick in one hand and contemplate what bit of paper I’m going to glue down next! My favorite part of […]
• August 5 | Summer Crush | The Flea Market (Thrift & Recycle)

  I love everything about the summer in general. And every summer about this time when it comes to visiting flea markets, or loppis as we say in Swedish, I feel a flea market crush coming on…. I love a good loppis and would love to spread the Loppis Love by inviting you to visit one […]
• August 2 | Art Journal Peek: Painting Patterns (Art journaling)

  I’m continuing my patterned road to colorful art journal pages. After Mon Amie I decided to copy the pattern of one of my favorite vintage pillow cases. I accidentally tore it up recently, and it’s beyond saving because it’s worn thin in the middle. I think I can still use some of the fabric for […]
• August 1 | Summer Inspiration Mosaic (Inspiration)

  Summer time is so full of inspiration! I have so much that I’d like to post, create and edit on the computer but I’m also starting to realize many of you are away on holiday right now, and summer is soon to be over. Every possible minute of August we should all try to spend […]
• July 31 | 365 Collages | Week 30 – the Post It Note Edition (Collage)

  Action is no less necessary than thought to the instinctive tendencies of the human frame. Mahatma Gandhi Taking Notes 1 It’s week 30 of my project 365 Collages and I’m still loving every single aspect of this project! This week though my seven collages are a bit different than before. They’re all made from my […]
• July 30 | DIY Skirt with a lot of Embroidery (Fabric & Sewing)

  Happy World Embroidery Day today! Whether you are celebrating with stitching on an old embroidery project or starting a brand new today in honor of this special day, I hope that you take the time to embroider something. Today on July 30, it is namely the World Embroidery Day, a day when we feel a […]
• July 24 | 365 Collages | Week 29 – B/W again (Collage)

  Collage: Tasting Like Salmiak Using only black and white is one of many great exercises in Plowman’s The Collage Workbook. I already made a week similar to this one (Week 22 – Black & White Edition), but I said then I wanted to create more works like those and here we are. Another batch of […]
• July 23 | The Glue Book Adventure Continues (Notebooks)

  The definition of a Glue Book is a nice looking notebook where you glue in anything and everything that you fancy! It’s meant to inspire you while you create it – and afterwards! iHanna After going through the fashion section of my Glue Book last week, we’re back to the random pages. I can not […]
• July 22 | Acrylic Solutions Exploring Mixed Media Layer by Layer (Book Inspiration)

   Have you seen this book, Acrylic Solutions: Exploring Mixed Media Layer by Layer, yet? I’ve just finished reading it and I want to recommend you to check it out. To paint with acrylics you don’t need a tutorial or how-to book, that’s for sure. You just get out a paint brush and start to smudge […]
• July 19 | Link Love: Recite this and that (Inspiration)

  Recite this is a online tool where you can make a quote into a masterpiece! This is the site I used to make the poster above. Neat huh? Here is another example I made from the same e-mail message as above (it’s from a note I got from The Universe). I would like to print […]
• July 18 | Flower Decorating Idea (A Creative Life, Home Comforts)

  One of my favorite flower arranging ideas is still my own flower in a coffee cup that I came up with many years ago now. This is another one, from my mom this time, where you take small glass vases, put a single flower in each one and arrange them in a simple row on […]
• July 17 | 365 Collages | Week 28 – the Yellow Edition (Collage)

  Creativity blooms within limits. Too much freedom leaves me not knowing what to do with myself, but when my days are structured I’ve given myself focused time within which I can be even more creative. Jo Reimer Giving it Away I think I love every single one of these collages! I think all of them […]
• July 16 | Glue Book with Ideas for DIY Fashion (Notebooks)

  I love the idea of altering and making clothes, jewelry and accessories myself. I talked a bit about DIY Fashion inspiration a while back, and one idea already executed is dyeing clothes to alter them. Love that! This is the fashion section! And lately I’ve found myself looking through magazines to cut out items of […]
• July 15 | I bring a pencil when I go fishing (A Creative Life, Draw & doodle)

  Gone Fishing – Not! I doubt you imagine me sitting outside for hours fishing, huh? And you’re right. I rarely do. Instead, if I am going fishing I go for the fika and to be outside in the sunshine. And I bring a book…
• July 14 | Eye Candy: Back to Visby (Photography)

  I enjoy looking at other people’s beautiful photos in full size, and I hope you do too. In today’s Eye Candy I one again go back to my May visit to Gotland, the Swedish island that is so full of beauty both inside the wall of Visby and the surrounding countryside. And I love frogs, […]
• July 13 | In my window: Lupins (Home Comforts)

  One of the simplest joys of summer is to pick wild flowers – and bring them home… …to keep the other tamed plants company.
• July 12 | How to Create a Digital Kaleidoscope Mandala (Digital Life, Tutorials)

  You can do all kinds of wonderful things in your computer as you all know. I found a simple and fun way to make a digital mandala from a photo, using the online photo editing program SumoPaint! It’s simple! Visit the site and follow these instructions to make your own Digital Kaleidoscope Mandala! How to […]
• July 11 | I love Vintage Bed Linen Fabric (Fabric & Sewing, Quilting)

  I can have such huge sewing cravings, where I long to handle and patch together fabric. But because I do so many different things I postpone most of my ideas “for later”. But this one couldn’t wait! I got these very small leftover bits of vintage bed linen fabric from a real fabric collector. She […]
• July 10 | 365 Collages | Week 27 | Glue Flow (Collage)

  Faith and doubt are both needed – not as antagonists but working side by side to take us around the unknown curve. Lilian Smith Going Home Alone I’ve been in a total Glue Flow this week! I’ve been experimenting quite a bit too, I guess it’s time to open up the wings a bit wider […]
• July 9 | Glue Book where I Collect Happiness (Notebooks)

  Last week I had fun writing a tutorial on how to Start an Inspiration Notebook, a kind of Glue Book where you collect things that inspire you. I hope you liked it and found your own inspiration to get started cutting and pasting images that you like. The things that inspire me are things that […]
• July 8 | Stoned Doodles (Art Experiments, Draw & doodle)

  I want to show you my doodled stones – before I release them back to nature. There were extremely many stones featured in my last post and I think it’s because stones have been on my mind. These two I picked up a while back when I was out walking. I carried them with me […]
• July 6 | Eye Candy: Stones in Gotland (Photography, Traveling)

  I was in Gotland in May this year, but I’m still going through the photos from that trip. Here are a few views, because stones are beautiful. And water. And views. Yes, all of it, everywhere you look!
• July 5 | Art Journal Peek: Mon Amie Pattern (Art journaling)

  Like everyone else I’ve caught the “make your own pattern” bug in the past months! It’s very contagious. I’ve made new patterns but also “copied” some to me well known patterns, like the porcelain pattern “Mon Amie”. It’s blue, but holds special memories for me, so I guess that’s why I wanted to make my […]
• July 3 | 365 Collages | Week 26 – Brown Edition (Art Experiments, Collage)

  Jelly Friend I have been creating a few more smart journals, in neutral and brown hues, digging through my paper stash for a cohesive look of both cover and inside pages. I will post them to my Etsy Shop when I have photographed them. And while some brown paper and other patterned paper was out […]
• July 2 | How to Start an Inspiration Notebook (Notebooks, Tutorials)

  How to Start an Inspiration Notebook or a Glue Book of Ideas! Every creative person needs a way to store ideas and inspiration. I have many different methods of saving, filing and capturing inspiration. This blog is one method, exploring ideas in my Art Journal is another. And a third one that I’ve always loved […]
• June 30 | Art Journal Peek: Bird Studies (Draw & doodle)

  I have been drawing a bit again. Maybe I should call this journal my Bird Journal? It’s full of Blue Birds and other bird studies, mostly imaginary. And owls…
• June 27 | Making it Flamenco Pink (Crafts, Thrift & Recycle)

  I love dye that you just poor into water and use as it is. This is “Flamenco Pink” my favorite after “Golfish orange”. Yum!
• June 26 | Art Journal Peek: Bird of a Feather (Art journaling)

  Not only do I believe that we are all creative and artistic, I think it is imperative that we each practice our creativity and art with a certain amount of discipline and regularity. I think it’s important to form a creative practice, and experiment with as many different forms of creativity as we dare, because, […]
• June 25 | 365 Collages | Week 25 – Foxy Edition (Collage)

  Hidden in the Forest This time we are heading into the forest… I had a wonderful Cut and Paste Day yesterday (a whole crafternoon with my friend), and today I’m posting seven new collages, that are, quite frankly, rather foxy looking. I hope you like them. Please leave a comment to let me know which […]
• June 23 | Monoprinting Experiments (Art Experiments)

  I’ve been watching a few fun videos about how to use a gel printing plate. I’m not sure what makes such a thing special or if it’s sold here in Sweden but I just imagined any surface where the paint wouldn’t stick would work… So I took out a big white piece of tile that […]
• June 22 | 365 Collages | Week 24 (Collage)

  Nature’s Layers Hi again! I hope you had a lovely Midsummer Celebration yesterday! We had the best weather here with sunshine the entire day. I went out by boat to enjoy the archipelago, watch others do the Little Frog dance and enjoy my own home made picnic food. Yum!
• June 21 | Video | A Swedish Midsummer (Inspiration)

  Found the video above that shows you how to celebrate Midsummer the Swedish way. I hope you enjoy! Wishing you a great day!
• June 18 | Art Journal Peek: Blue Bird (Art journaling)

  Hey blue bird on my shoulder Can you carry me over? I talked to blue bird, she said why walk when you can fly? She told me, baby, life tastes better when you’re high I said hey blue bird can you take me for a ride Leave me on a cloud, I’ll live with blue […]
• June 17 | 365 Collages | Week 23 | Pink Edition (Collage)

  Collage time again! Have a Cup with Me Last week I posted the black and white edition. This week, I indulged in pink! It’s really fun to exlore colour through collage like this, working in a series of artwork. And pink is a colour I always come back to. Artist Season The patterned paper in […]
• June 15 | Eye Candy: Newborn Wool (Photography)

  When visiting Gotland in May I came across these darling cute lambs close to where we were staying. Gotland is known for the many sheep, and in every souvenir boutiques on the island you will find a sheep of some kind in every available form; ceramics, wool, fabric or illustration on something else. But to […]
• June 14 | Art Journal Peek: A Combination of Things (Art journaling)

  True to my June ideas I’m filling white pages in my Art Journal this month. And I am combining a lot different things on the same page. The combination of things is my favorite thing about mixed media art. I love combinations that grow over a couple of hours or days. Like doodles, watercolours, acrylic […]
• June 13 | Creating the Layout of an Embroidery Book (iHanna's Thoughts)

  You know I am a member of the Swedish Embroidery Guild? And I take on way too much work just because it’s so fun… This spring I did the layout and text editing for an entire book, celebrating that the Guild has existed for 20 years! We asked the members to embroider a story in […]
• June 12 | Video | Doodling on an Index Card (Art Experiments)

  I recently posted a video where I played with wet-on-wet in watercolours and also some views of the Swedish forest in spring, where I wrote a bit about how you can document life with video. Now I have made another video as you can watch here or on YouTube, if you’re curious about my creative […]
• June 10 | 365 Collages | Week 22 – Black & White Edition (Collage)

  “Good” can be a stifling word, a word that makes you hesitate and stare at a blank page and second-guess yourself and throw stuff in the trash. What’s important is to get your hands moving and let the images come. Whether it’s good or bad is beside the point. Make art. Austin Kleon [via] Loved […]
• June 8 | Yellow like the Sun in Artsyville (Art journaling)

  The Artsyville special design tape is yellow. And awesome. I so love it! And I think yellow is my new favorite colour, at least this summer. I think yellow is perfect in the summer, don’t you agree? So warm, happy and bright. I didn’t mean to leave this little blog without posts this week, but […]
• June 5 | Art Journal Peek: Live life Artfully (Art journaling)

  Yes, let’s! Let’s live life more artfully. As artists who embrace creativity at every chance. Let’s make everyday special. Let’s live right now, today! As free spirits who dives head first into new projects and rather live with messy desks, than to stop to clean up. There is no time to stop right now. There […]
• June 4 | Pillow with Kantha Embroidery (Fabric & Sewing)

  Kantha is a type of embroidery, popular in West Bengal. It consists of a simple running stitch and it is popular in “Kantha saris” traditionally worn by women in Bengal. Kantha stitching is also used to make simple quilts, commonly known as Nakshi Kantha. Women in Bengal typically use old saris and cloth and layer […]
• June 2 | Creative Snapshots | End of Spring (Photography)

  The end of spring means the beginning of summer. When one thing ends, another comes instead – always. And I go through my digital photo folders and fall in love with photography again. And again. And again.
• June 1 | Having Bold Intentions – June Ideas (I write Lists)

  I love Elise Blaha’s blog, and I admire the way each month she sets new Bold Intentions for the month. The first time I read about it I thought “That’s something I should do too”. But then I hesitated, not wanting to set goals because I might fail, them and myself. I don’t want to […]
• May 31 | Link Love: RSS, Feminism and Flickr (Inspiration)

  May is over already, can you believe it? Spring exploded after a very long winter and now everything is lush green. Next up: summer days. How will we spend our summer days? I could revisit last years Summer Manifesto, a lot of my ideas never became excursions. Maybe this summer they will. At least there […]
• May 30 | My Desk, No Gloss (Creative habits)

  I know lots of people who function brilliantly within a chaotic studio. I’m just not one of them. I need spareness but… I’m no neatnik (!) so order doesn’t come naturally to me. It’s an ongoing effort. A big effort. But the feeling of spaciousness it opens up inside is narcotic bliss. Mary Ann Moss […]
• May 29 | How to Use video to Document Life (iHanna's Thoughts, Photography)

  It was such lovely weather this weekend that we did a short hike of 8 kilometers through the woods. I took quite a few photos with my pink compact camera (Ixus 115 HS). It also shoots HD video, something I haven’t been using very much. But with my new fast laptop the movies I have […]
• May 28 | 365 Collages | Week 21 (Collage)

  One of this weeks collages is called When in need – anything goes. It means that any bit of paper you have can become a collage. That a collage can come together in a gazillion ways. If you have three scraps of paper that you like, you can probably combine them into something that “works”, […]
• May 27 | A Pink Moment in the City (Photography)

  Happiness is when you see a glimmer of your favorite colour as you’re walking through the inner city of Stockholm. You are walking towards the shops, but change rout and are drawn in…
• May 25 | Crocheting with Tricot (Crafts)

  I have t-shirt yarn. Balls of cut and rolled fabric. But the thing I enjoy most is crocheting with it, not cutting it up and making it. So when I found these huge spools of already made tricot “yarn” I bought three and started crocheting in the round.
• May 24 | Creative Lettering – Techniques & Tips from Top Artists (Book Inspiration)

  Writing is a form of therapy; sometimes I wonder how all those who do not write, compose or paint can manage to escape the madness, melancholia, the panic and fear which is inherent in a human situation. Graham Greene If you enjoy pretty letters (the art of writing beautiful words by hand) in your art […]
• May 23 | Birds on a Picnic (Crafts)

  When visiting Gotland I hand felted and sculptured a little bird. Then I embellished him like crazy, adding sequins to the chest, curly and coloured wool to the bum and yellow wings for him to fly with:
• May 22 | The last pages of Vol 2 (Art journaling)

  The last pages of Smart Journal volume 2 are as full of summer and brightness as the previous pages of this journal. It’s about time I start with a new summer journal, though I still have a few pages left in my hand bound journal. There’s still some blank pages for painting, drawing and sketching […]
• May 21 | 365 Collages | Week 20 (Collage)

  Hand over the Scissors Another seven collages finished and all I can say is: I still love project 365 Collages!
• May 20 | Art Journal Idea: Create a Sub Page (Art journaling)

  A sub page is a extra page attached in some way to fold out of your journal and extend it even further. I haven’t done this much before, but in the square smart journal (with the rather small pages) it was a natural progression. On the spread above the right page has a sub page, […]
• May 19 | Cut & Paste with Kids (Paper Crafting)

  Everyone loves cut and paste – if they get the chance to try it out. You get to choose images from a magazine, images that you really like. You get to use a scissor. You get to glue them together in a nice composition – and you get to keep them for ever. A friend […]
• May 18 | Eye Candy: Blue and White Anemone (Photography)

  The most beautiful sign of spring is the forest spring flowers. In the brown, bare woods tiny white flowers rise their heads in spring. At places, if you’re lucky, they cover the entire ground and makes you think snow has come back… In Gotland this is also true for the Blue Anemone, which is rare […]
• May 17 | Art Journal Style: Cuteness Overload (Art journaling)

  I like a lot of different styles of art journaling; wild and free, artsy, painted, colourful collage, doodle, total messiness etcetera etcetera. And on top of all those experiments I also have a thing for cuteness… I don’t know how, but toy shop wrapping paper always appeal to me a lot more than somber grown […]
• May 16 | The Pink Fabric Bead Workshop (A Creative Life)

  Green nail polish and super quick, that is my friend Madde. It’s her swift hands you see on the photos above. I don’t know anybody who crafts with such fury! Today she wrote a post about the pink workshop I held when we were in Gotland last week.. I think the word is spreading all […]
• May 15 | Craft Project | Embroidered Heart (Fabric & Sewing)

  Who doesn’t want (and need!) a stuffed heart of their own? I think everyone needs such a thing, as a reminder of the many good things that excist in the world. Like friendship. Togetherness. Good craft times. Belly laughs. And love. oh, and pink hearts that glitter in the sunlight… So I went out and […]
• May 14 | 365 Collages | Week 19 (A Creative Life, Collage)

  Rose Garden III My collages are getting more and more abstract, with no or few depicting images, at least this week of 365 collages this is the case. I love that development. I love playing with shapes, colours and patterns, combining them in different ways. I love my glue stick! Sometimes I even cut apart […]
• May 13 | Visby | More architecture photography (Photography)

  I posted some photos from Visby yesterday, showing you some views of the ringwall. But I took a lot more photos on my trip to Gotland! I came home this morning after traveling through the night and I’m still tired so I thought I’d just share some more photos from Visby – the town where […]
• May 12 | The ringwall in Visby (Traveling)

  Visby is the capital of the island Gotland. It’s my favorite Swedish island, because the landscape is so beautiful and special. Visby is a super cute little town surrounded by a ringwall (ringmur in Swedish). I’ve been on the island for a few days, on a craft adventure with some friends. It’s been the best […]
• May 11 | Smilla – the one and only (Photography)

  I have been unfaithful with another cat, I admit it. But in my heart you are still my favorite, Smilla. Always.
• May 10 | Creative Snapshots | Nutritions (Photography)

  Nutritions – and I don’t mean (only) food. I mean all the things from the nutrition circle, like sunshine, books, stories, and such… For instant, I’ve just finished reading The Passage by Justin Cronin and OMG! Otherworldly kid and virus vampires in a dystopian future where the human race is almost erased… Where everyone is […]
• May 9 | Give your [art journal] project some space (Art journaling)

  Another page from Smart Journal vol 2. The text on the page above reads: Sometimes it doesn’t matter what you create, as long as it is something. The most important thing is that you get started, that you give your [art journal] project some space and a bit of air… One way to do this […]
• May 8 | Art Journaling Peek: Photos in Smart Journal Volume 2 (A Creative Life, Art journaling)

  If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign? Albert Einstein With the brown paper cover this smarty art journal is mellow on the outside but awesome on the inside… At least I think so. I love the flower illustrations on the left. Love! […]
• May 7 | 365 Collages | Week 18 (Collage)

  Rose Garden I I was totally getting into a creative flow while making these collages. I don’t know if you can tell, but this week was super fun and exciting. I got several new ideas that I tried out and I’m really liking the resut. I hope you do too. Let me know in the […]
• May 6 | Pink is my favorite colour (Mail bliss)

  My postcard in the Millenia Mail Art Project has returned to me: Pink is my favorite colour, that’s why this postcard is so very pink. It sits right above my computer, right now. It has six squares of pink, created by me and five other mixed media artsy girls in a project called the Millennia […]
• May 3 | Make a Mark | Continuing with the Link Love (Inspiration)

  It’s May already, but we press on with some Link Love, because these are some links worth visiting! Make a Mark | Five must visit links Inspiration: Make your Mark Ideas – Art Journaling Ideas from Alisa Burke with lots of yummy images Read: Flourish: The Pursuit of a Life Well-Lived – great (long) blog […]
• May 2 | I love wrinkled brown paper (Art journaling)

  The cover if this art journal is made with my favorite technique of wrinkly brown paper glued down. The cardboard letters, a gift from Diane many years ago, are left plain because I think sometimes plain is just enough. It’s not as colourful as my usual style, but I love it. I think it’s nice […]
• May 1 | Inspiration Mosaic – April 2013 (Inspiration)

  No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man. Heraclitus Happy Creative May! Let’s step into a new river this month! Click on the image to visit flickr and see the original photos, or view big. If you want to make your own […]
• April 30 | 365 Collages | Week 17 (Collage)

  Count on me. It’s the Last of April and day number 120 of 2013. I guess that means I’m way over a hundred collages this year. Amazing and good! Today I’ve created six new collages for project 365 and I still enjoy making them! A whole lot! I have picked flowers as a theme this […]
• April 29 | The Quick Way to Learn How to Draw a Face (Draw & doodle)

  We are all drawn to faces, and we draw faces all the time in our art. You want to draw a pretty face, right? Me too. But it’s not as easy as you think, right? Wonky eyes, doll like mouth and no personality at all… You know what I’m talking about? Yeah, I thought so. […]
• April 28 | Creative Snapshots | Happier at Home (Photography)

  Look for happiness under your own roof. Gretchen Rubin My Nine Years of Blogging is a big part of my personal Happiness Project, much inspired by Gretchen Rubin’s blog and her first book The Happiness Project that I’ve mentioned before. I got her sequel, Happier at Home, for Christmas along with a bunch of wish-list-books. […]
• April 26 | Smart Journal volume 1 (Art journaling)

  I have been using a few favorite images in this journal, the Smart Journal Volume 1. Some images (and pretty papers) float around in boxes and folders for years never to find the right place. But in a way that is not a good thing. I don’t want to be tired of the images before […]
• April 25 | Book Review | Creative Illustration Workshop for mixed-media Artists (Book Inspiration, Draw & doodle)

  The stories are all there, just waiting to be told – by you or me or whoever. Katherine Dunn In her book, called Creative Illustration workshop for mixed-media Artists (seeing, sketching, storytelling and using found materials), artist Katherine Dunn talks about drawing what you love, something we need to be reminded of in the age […]
• April 24 | Celebrating Nine Years of Blogging (Creative habits)

  What you do every day matters more than what you do once in a while. Gretchen Rubin When a a Blog turns Nine Years Old that is old. Ooooold I tell ya! Reeeally really old in the blogosphere. Especially since it’s on the same domain (ihanna.nu) being written by the same I, Hanna. There has […]
• April 23 | 365 Collages | Week 16 | Grandma Edition (Collage)

  A muse can act as the conscious voice for something your subconscious already knows. Katharine Dunn I’m calling week 16 of the 365 project Grandma Edition because I think most of these collages have a vintage feel. Together they build a little story, like a memory of childhood, visiting old grandmothers, sitting outside and drinking […]
• April 22 | The Amazing Postcard Swap Return (Mail bliss)

  Yes! Opening the mailbox is a favorite part of the #DIYpostcardSwap this time of year. Receiving postcards that are handmade, artsy, funny, detailed, special, beautiful – what a joy it is each year. What a great tradition this swap is becoming. Here are the ones I’ve gotten in my favorite spring swap, the iHanna DIY […]
• April 19 | Adding Lists and Quotes to my Diary (I write Lists, Notebooks, On writing)

  I love taking a break with a cup of coffee and my diary. I love black ink and list writing. That’s why I’m participating in 52 Lists in 2013. Each week Moorea posts a new list prompt, and I think it’s perfect as diary writing! This week I caught up by writing the last week’s […]
• April 18 | Meet my Smart Journal vol 1 (Art journaling, Bookbinding)

  Yay! Today is all about my the prettiness of one of my Art Journals! And I’m calling it a Smart Journal. The name is my own invention but mostly just a wordplay. And you know me, I’m a sucker for playing with words. It’s a Small Square Art Journal = Smart! A finished notebook that […]
• April 17 | Happy birthday to I, Hanna (Life Stuff)

  Yay, a gift for me! I just picked this little package up from the mail box. Isn’t it cute? It’s from my sweet friend, who has great timing. I’m pretty sure it will contain something I will love. It always does. Because she knows me well, and today is my birthday. Wishing all of you […]
• April 16 | 365 Collages in 2013 | Week 15 (Collage)

  Drop of Colour Thanks for the awesome response to last weeks collages in the recycle edition! I love love love reading your comments on specific collages, going back and seeing them with new eyes and with your opinions in mind. This week feel very random, but you might be able to pick a favorite anyway. […]
• April 15 | Why Cutting up Old Books is Allowed (Paper Crafting, Thrift & Recycle)

  People will question the fact that you want to “destroy” a book on purpose. They think of books as sacred things. Not as everyday items but something to keep “for ever”. This is a beautiful thought, I agree, but not all books are meant for an eternity on your shelf. I read way more than […]
• April 12 | When Loose Pages come Together (A Creative Life, Art journaling)

  I love working in a handbound or altered book for Art Journaling, it’s awesome for so many reasons. But also, I’ve found working on loose pages gives me something else. I even named it A Favorite Method of Art Journaling a while back. And it can be, even though I like to bind them together […]
• April 11 | Cat sitting is a great Photo Opp (Photography)

  I’ve been cat sitting again, for another boy cat. Though this one is totally adorable and fun. And orange. And adorable, did I say that? He likes to sleep on the top shelf of my bookcase, just under the roof. He likes to nudge me with his head – and he can jump really really […]
• April 9 | 365 Collages | Week 14 – Recycle edition (Collage)
• April 8 | Journal it! 19 Perspectives in Creative Journaling (Book Inspiration)

  Book review time today again. Yay! I’ve been reading and enjoying Jenny Doh’s book Journal It! and thought you might like it too! It’s one of those books with techniques from many different artists, showing bits of their individual style. To me it’s like meeting old friends since I follow many of these art journalers […]
• April 7 | Spring Inspired ATC (Fabric Art)

  I haven’t created any Artist Trading Cards lately, except this one, inspired by my huge longing for spring (read less darkness and snow): I want less ice and more flowers in my life. Pronto!
• April 6 | Why you should show some Link Love (Inspiration)

  If you read this blog you know I love something that’s called Link Love in the blog world. It’s when you as a blogger share links to someone or something other than your own content. Yes, you lead your readers away from your own stuff and into the arms of others, but you do it […]
• April 5 | Creative Snapshots | Forsythia in Bloom (Photography)

  Ten handmade postcards written and sent – on their way to six different countries around the globe right now… Love the iHanna Postcard Swap Project all the way through the entire process of setting it up and sending them off. The Forsythia twigs I brought in for Easter are beeeautiful right now. Here are some […]
• April 4 | Evidence Pages: More Washi Tape (A Creative Life, Art journaling)

  Oh-la-la! Beautiful rolls of decorative masking tape (called washi tape) and ordinary plastic tape but with colour or pattern (called deco tape). Yes. I’ve splurged on several rolls of tape, as previously mentioned. I really like this stuff because it’s fun to use, it lasts a long time, it’s easy to handle – and has […]
• April 3 | 365 Collages | Week 13 (Collage)

  Illustration of Love This collage is oh so very pink and romantic, don’t you think? I’m also continuing experimenting with black and white collage. Not typography this time, but instead I am combining painted b/w papers, b/w photographs from vintage books and some hot magenta pink. The dotted paper in several of these are painted […]
• April 2 | Video | Artsy Watercolour Experiments (Art journaling)

  I’ve uploaded a video where you can watch me paint in my Art Journal. I’m using a lot of water and one of my favorite mediums – watercolours! It’s my hope that it will inspire you to doodle with a paint brush (here I’m using a Tank Koi Water Color Brush), to play and empty […]
• April 1 | Creativity in Snapshots | Easter (Photography)

  The collage box is filling up with the collage project as you can see. A row of pretty journals are waiting in line to be played in. Easter invited sunshine, great movies and family time. I continue to capture life with my camera. I had fun decorating and photographing for my little Easter Tree Tutorial. […]
• March 31 | Desktop Background: I vow to be Creative Every Day (Creative habits, Other's Creativity)

  March Inspiration mosaic is full of creative joy, don’t you agree? view big or click the images to see who the awesome individual photographers, crafters and artists are. People who inspire me again and again on flickr. I created a desktop background for my mothers computer – because I noticed today that she still uses […]
• March 30 | DIY Doily Easter Egg (Other's Creativity)

  There are a gazillion fun ways to recycle and find new ways to use those old crocheted doilies, but this has got to be my favorite so far. It’s the Easter Egg I received yesterday filled with candy. It’s made by my crafty mom and I love it! For this DIY Doily Easter Egg mom […]
• March 28 | How to decorate Your Easter Tree (Home Comforts, Tutorials)

  I like the aesthetics of Easter better than any other holiday we celebrate here in Sweden. I love how bright and happy everything looks right now, with spring around the corner… And the best part is decorating an Easter Tree. Do you do that? It’s so easy to buy (or pick) a few birch twigs, […]
• March 27 | 365 Collages | Week 12 – Easter Edition (Collage)

  Whiskers that Tickle, cute bunnies and yellow chickens. There’s just a lot of yellow and orange in this week’s collages for my collage project #365in2013. I’m feeling the season! How about you?
• March 26 | Every Artist Needs a Scrap Notebook (iHanna's Thoughts, Notebooks)

  When you don’t know where to start or what to do with your collage scraps, a Mini Scrap Notebook is the perfect place, get into your scrap inbox and start filling one. Mine is a small spiral bound book that I’ve made myself. In it you add little bits of paper to get started. 2-4 […]
• March 25 | More DIY Painted Postcards (Art Experiments)

  These painted postcards are cousins of the blue paint postcards, and the previous four are their siblings! I have made four cards out of one sheet of painted paper, twelve in total this time. I always make a few extra when I’m in the flow but also because I enjoy keeping at least one for […]
• March 24 | Kantha Heart (Fabric Art)

  I am obsessed with the up-and-down stitch known as kantha. I want to cover every surface with it, going up and down through layers of fabric to sew them together.
• March 23 | Weekly Inspiration: Layer Cakes (A Creative Life)

  Fresh flowers makes me happy. There are some Snowdrops trying to get into the sunshine outside my house, but they look so sad with all the ice surrounding them still… Where is spring? Spring, oh, where art thou? I stayed in a lot this week. Read. Surfed. Painted. These are some of the most recent […]
• March 22 | 365 Collages | Week 11 – Typography Edition (Collage)

  DIY Typography, anyone? Typography (from the Greek words τύπος (typos) = form and γραφή (graphe) = writing) is the art and technique of arranging type in order to make language visible. Typography Collage might be the art of arranging words so that the aren’t that easy to decipher… At least that’s what I find interesting […]
• March 21 | DIY Painted Postcards (Art Experiments)

  Don’t look now if you’re in the swap and want suprises in your mail box – but I can not wait to share more of my postcards! I looove these DIY Postcards, made in the same way as the blue one. Acrylic paint in layer upon layer! After I cut the painting into four pieces […]
• March 20 | Painting a paper and Making Four Postcards (Art Experiments)

  Like I’ve already mentioned, this year I’m very inspired by Jane Davies and her postcard tutorial video, where she is painting a big piece of paper that she then cut apart into four postcards. One big paper and then ta-daa, postcards! I love the randomness of that! I’ve already tried the method with my most […]
• March 19 | 365 Collages | Week 10 (Collage)

  It’s Glue it Tuesday at Artsyville and of course I’m joining! Aren’t you? My most important tool is a glue stick! Right now my favorite brand is Uhu! I ♥ a good glue stick and I’m always buying new ones so that I don’t run out! I need at least three fresh glue sticks in […]
• March 17 | Weekly Inspiration: Papercuts & a Postcard Video (Inspiration)

  Above you see artist Jane Davies making painted and collaged postcards! It’s this very video that got me inspired with my own postcards for the swap this year (I will post about that next week). I adore the way she shares her own art – and how she does it! She makes it look effortless […]
• March 14 | 365 Collages | Week 9 (Collage)

  These are the collages of week nine, which was two weeks ago. I’m a bit behind because I actually made the last four today and scanned them just now… But I’m super excited to have them scanned and added to the collage box. I also love sharing them with you guys! When I was out […]
• March 11 | Details of a Journal Cover (Bookbinding)

  Fabrics that are painted, machine stitched and embellished can of course be used in all sorts of ways, as book covers for your own hand bound books for example! It’s my favorite usage for painted fabric and exactly what I did with the machine stitched fabric I recently posted about. I glued my fabric to […]
• March 10 | Shared Mail Art Links (Inspiration)

  Favorite bloggers and friends (like Quinn and Madde) have mentioned the swap on their blog (and on g+, instagram & twitter etc), something I’m very grateful for. When you’ve posted something about your postcard process or the finished cards, feel free to share that post’s link address below along with your first name or nickname […]
• March 9 | 365 Collages | Week 8 | Project 365 Collages continues (Collage)

  Here is the collage Warmth for You, previously posted and up for sale. The rest of week 8 collages are scanned, but first I just wanted to say that it was not my intention to stay away after the announcing the DIY Postcard Swap details this week. But I have one good reason that is […]
• March 5 | DIY Postcard Swap 2013 (Mail bliss)

  It’s time for iHanna’s DIY Postcard Swap! Sign up now and start your mail art experimenting today! The second year of the DIY Postcard Swap a whopping 2800 postcards were created! This year is the fourth time I’m doing a spring swap because I still love swapping and receiving handmade mail art! How about you? […]
• March 3 | Fun free motion sewing (Fabric & Sewing)

  I love free motion sewing! If my sewing machine did too I would do it a lot more, but most of the time it ends with us really disliking each other (and the machine needle tip breaking off!). You use a special sewing machine foot, that comes with the machine most of the time, and […]
• March 2 | Creative Cravings List (A Creative Life, I write Lists)

  Everyone has been made for some particular work, and the desire for that work has been put in every heart. Rumi Inspiration Mosaic February 2013. View big. Do you ever get creative cravings away from home? I do. More often than not I have great ideas at times when I can’t execute them. At work, […]
• March 1 | Working on Loose Art Journal Pages (Art journaling)

  When I started art journaling I used spiral bound books found in the book shop. Loved those journals! Then I moved on to altering vintage books, something that I still love. The way I fill a page varies with day form, and on book binding technique, page format and paper structure in the book that […]
• February 28 | From the Knitting Needles (Crafts)

  Of winter’s lifeless world each tree Now seems a perfect part, Yet each one holds summer’s secret Deep down within its heart. Charles G. Stater This summer I visited a spinning mill called Solkusten (sunshine coast). I bought one skein of gray wool from the farm’s own sheep and a pattern for a knitted cap, […]
• February 27 | Warmth for You (Collage)

  Warmth for You – original collage by iHanna, February 2013. I am offering it up for sale. I hope you like it. collage on cardstock 4.7″ x 4.7″ (12 x 12 cm) Because: As much as the growth of collage box makes me happy it makes me even more happy when I get to ship […]
• February 25 | 365 Collages | Storing the Project (Collage)

  I have found the perfect storage for my square collages! I love this wooden box, painted gray, that now resides on my desk. At the back it holds blank, unused cardstock and then finished collages, in order of appearance from the start of my 365 project! All within handy reach! Love it!
• February 23 | Spotted Photo Theme: Found Hearts (Photography)

  Today is the last Saturday of February, and it’s time for another Spotted Photo Theme! If you’re new to the concept you can read the introduction first. My theme in January was my cat and this time it’s hearts, as in found hearts spotted in different places. The above photo is one of my favorites! […]
• February 22 | Getting her hooked (A Creative Life, Other's Creativity)

  If you haven’t tried a Semla yet you really need to hop on a plain right now – and come to Sweden to try one. They are delicious, especially as we swedes (mostly) eat them only in February while waiting for spring. A semla consists of a cardamom-spiced wheat bun which has its top cut […]
• February 21 | Sorting for Inspiration (Collage, Inspiration)

  I enjoy sorting through materials and finding tiny paper scraps that I forgot about. Sorting for inspiration is a lot more fun than sorting to organize – or to try to clean up the desk or remove another pile! Sorting for inspiration is the opposite of cleaning up, it is about looking, spreading and touching […]
• February 20 | 365 Collages | Week 7 (Collage)

  Welcome to week seven of 365 Collages! The unintentional and serendipitous theme this week is cream as in the colour of cream… All of my seven artworks have some kind of bone white or off white bits to them, and most of them are overwhelmingly so. I feel they are rather calming to look at […]
• February 19 | Bookreview | The Collage Workbook by Randel Plowman (Book Inspiration, Collage)

  There are sooo many books on mixed media, painting, art journaling and drawing these days that I am amazed every time a new one comes out. Many of them includes ideas on how to work with collage elements on a page, but not many are so entirely devoted to the fine art of collage as […]
• February 18 | Artist Trading Card Quick Collages (Paper Crafting)

  My friend Madde invited me to a Swedish ATC swap with the theme Colour colour colour. That’s a theme that is hard to resist, right? I used to make a lot of artist trading card collages a few years ago, trading via the internet, but now it’s been a while since I made any at […]
• February 17 | Free Desktop Background: Follow your Heart (Creative habits)

  A quick photo + a text to inspire all of us. A small gift from me to you. I hope you like it! Free Desktop Background, right click and choose Set as desktop background. Then keep following your heart. Okay? XOXO /iHanna
• February 16 | Creativity in Snapshots | Valentine (Photography)

  Hearts being created and painted around here. I call it Paint and Paper Love, and it’s what I’m into right now. Totally in love with it.
• February 15 | Art Journal Peek: Heart Patterns (Art journaling)

  I haven’t made a decision about it, but it seems I actually am art journaling again – regularly! Probably due to the collage habit and more free time since I’m off work again. These pages are a continuation from last weeks Valentine doodles, made mostly in front of the TV at night, when its dark […]
• February 14 | Valentine Tulips (Life Stuff)

  We’re born alone, we live alone, we die alone. Only through our love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that we’re not alone. Orson Welles I got a in person delivery at my door today. I got red tulips and heart shaped candies. I know, romantic right? Except they’re from my […]
• February 13 | 365 Collages | Week 6 | Valentine Edition (Art Experiments)

  I love this project! Yes, I really do ♥ the 365 somethings project! How about you? All my collages this week are Valentine inspired hearts, because, why not? Playful experimenting have been happening around here, influenced of course by Valentine month (week & Valentine’s day). Each heart is glued to my prefered watercolour substrate size […]
• February 12 | +20 Creative Valentine Ideas (I write Lists)

  Valentine is coming up! Time to think about love; and pink hearts, cute gifts and messages of love! This is the perfect holiday to me. It’s short and sweet and spot on! To me Valentine is not just for romance and couples in love… I think of it as a celebration of love in a […]
• February 11 | The Millenium Postcards Layer 3 (Paper Crafting)

  I got a bunch of half finished postcards from Natasha the other day and finally it was my time to add a third “layer” to each postcard before sending them off again. This Swap Idea was introduced to me by Tammy who invited a bunch of bloggers to join the swap. Each of the six […]
• February 8 | Art Journal Peek: Valentine Doodles (A Creative Life)

  Today is Art Journal Friday! I’m sharing a few unfinished or half finished spreads in my current art journal. All inspired by #valentinemonth in one way or the other. But of course these colours and images follow me through the months… The colour of Love is truly iHanna colours not only in February. The bluebird, […]
• February 6 | 365 Collages | Week 5 (Collage)

  Five weeks into the year and I still love this project of 365 Collages! And I’m keeping up, much to my own surprise. Today I cut up a new pile of cardstock to cover with bits of pretty papers to make new collages. My redesigned desk, the polka dot table, really makes me want to […]
• February 5 | Make your own Patterns at ColourLovers (Digital Life, Inspiration)

  Today I have a site sighting for you! It’s called colourlover.com! I’m sure you have seen it already, but have you tried it out yet? You should, because it’s very cool. After downloading Pattern App, I’ve joined the huge community at the site too and love it! I just wanted to mention it, so that […]
• February 4 | Stitching on Wool (Other's Creativity)

  Wool embroidery, where you use wool floss on wool fabric, is something Swedes have been doing for a long, long time. It creates durable, warm items that holds together through wear and tear and time. Most common are cushions for the horse wagon, sometimes designed for a wedding. I love the naive motives in combination […]
• February 1 | Weekly Inspiration: Pale like Ice (Inspiration)

  Happy February sweet ones! It’s the #valentinemonth – yay! Now, I would like to know: what inspires you? This is what I’m inspired by right now: unusual self-portraits; the pale blue colour of ice, sky, ocean and snow; tiny notebooks; collections of little things; work tables (messy or extremely neat) and worn, wooden table tops; […]
• January 31 | Creativity in Snapshots | January (Photography)

  While the weekly collages are my main form of expression right now, I also try to get some art journaling done – and keep up with the editing photos and deleting the bad ones. Here are a few of my recent favorite snapshots:
• January 30 | 365 Collages | Week 4 (Creative habits)

  The first collage, Lesson in being Crazy, is the +1 from week three. Then when the last day of week 4, Sunday, came around it was status quo, or rather -6 for the weekly goal of seven square collages! It’s easy to get behind, but the weekly goal (7 collages) helps keep me on track. […]
• January 29 | Life Artist by Ali Edwards – a book review (Book Inspiration, Photography)

  Through the photos I took, I was able to see (litterally see) how really amazing and lucky and blessed I was. Ali Edwards Even though I don’t call myself a scrapbooker I am a huge fan of Ali Edwards. We share many similar values when it comes to the importance of documenting life, everyday photography […]
• January 28 | The Polka Dot Oilcloth Desk (Crafts, Home Comforts)

  Because I am messy I use a big oilcloth to cover the desk where I make my art. I’ve had this beautiful rose patterned one for several years, but it’s beyond saving at this point, full of acrylic paint splatters. Plus, since I bought a new table last year it is about 10 centimeters to […]
• January 27 | Weekly Inspiration: Pattrn app + entrepreneurial toolkit (Digital Life)

  A while back mom asked for help to get a nice background for her new smart phone. I helped her download a random background app that we then both totally fell in love with! I had to install it on my phone too. It has since made me happy every single day! It’s called Pattrn, […]
• January 26 | Spotted Photo Theme: Smilla the Cat (Photography)

  January’s spotted photo theme around here is my cat Smilla! For you, if you want to join, it’s all about A favorite critter friend! Or if you don’t have a pet it could be photos of a child, a gadget you treat like a pet, outdoor birds seen from your window or something small or […]
• January 25 | The Moment to Snap (Photography)

  Photography is not like painting. There is a creative fraction of a second when you are taking a picture. Your eye must see a composition or an expression that life itself offers you, and you must know with intuition when to click the camera. That is the moment the photographer is creative. Oop! The Moment! […]
• January 24 | Introduction | Spotted Photo Theme (Photography)

  I have been thinking about a photo post idea for two years now, and now (finally) it’s time to get it going for real. I’m calling it Spotted Photo Theme! If you love photography, documenting, sharing and blogging you are most welcome to join me as I post a photo theme spotted in my personal […]
• January 23 | 365 Collages | Week 3 (Collage)

  You begin with the possibilities of the material. Robert Rauschenberg Last week I noticed I was finding my way back (very unintentional) to dots and circles, a theme that followed me through 2012. Right now I’m in experimental mode, trying many different things but also, indulging in my favorite colour. Pink! Hover over the image […]
• January 22 | iHanna’s List of Creative Achievements 2012 (A Creative Life, I write Lists)

  Wow! We are way into the first month of the year and now, finally, I’ve compiled a celebratory list of 2012 – listing as many creative happenings from my life as I could remember! Creative Achievements So, without further ado, a year’s worth of Creative Achievements: Participated in A Day in the World photo project […]
• January 21 | Drawing Exercise: A Yellow Bird (Art journaling, Draw & doodle)

  I’ve heard it said that every day you need half an hour of quiet time for yourself, or your Self, unless you’re incredibly busy and stressed, in which case you need an hour. I promise you, it is there. Fight tooth and nail to find time, to make it. It is our true wealth, this […]
• January 20 | Featured blogger: iHanna (Inspiration)

  I really enjoy this mag! I wrote a review last year about the first issue of Featuring, a new magazine about art journaling and mixed media, my favorite subjects! Now the third issue is already out! It was meant to come out before Christmas, but with a little delay, I got my copy this week. […]
• January 17 | Art Journal Peek: A Green Bird (Art journaling)

  Suppose someone were to say: ‘Imagine this butterfly exactly as it is, but ugly instead of beautiful’!” /Ludwig Wittgenstein I decided to use only the newly bought artist quality watercolours on another page in my journal. I painted a green bird, surrounded by the darkness of night (payne’s gray). Oh what a lovely colour this […]
• January 15 | 365 Collages | Week 2 (Collage)

  Another week of collages and I love, love, love this project! It is super fun to know where you should focus. It helps me a lot. Also it helps to do the big announcement of a 365 project instead of just trying to create “more” collages! It was super-duper fun to read all your lovely […]
• January 14 | Awesome Supplies | Artists’ Watercolour (Art journaling)

  Imperfection holds quite a bit of joy, I think. Practice doesn’t always make perfect, and that’s okay. Actually, it’s more than okay – it’s part of being human. Machines make “perfect”: people make art. Paula Bogdan* Making art and craft is always awesome, but that is not always true for the tools, supplies or materials […]
• January 10 | Quick Craft: Glue A Thing Ring (Crafts)

  I love a quick fix of creativity every now and then. This is a ring I put together in five minutes and love soooo much. To make it you’ll need one of those empty rings (found in craft stores) with an empty circular disc that you can glue things onto. And then something cute or […]
• January 9 | 365 Collages | Week 1 (Collage)

  iHanna’s 365 Collages in one year starts now. The first week of 365 Collages in 2013 I made two pink collages, two green, one brown papered, one multi colored – and one b/w. I really really disliked one of these collages, but I’ve scanned it anyway to share it without comments. Part of doing this […]
• January 8 | Create your own free-form quilts – a book review (Book Inspiration)

  Hi there crafter! Time for some sewing I think. As a quilter you know that the ruler is your best friend when quilting, right? But in this book quilter Rayna Gillman presents a few easy ways to cut strips without using a ruler! Amazing, right? What free spirited creative person wouldn’t want to try that? […]
• January 7 | Simplifying the process (Collage)

  First Day, collage made by iHanna on January 1st 2013. This was the first collage of the year in the 365 in 2013 challenge, now also known as the 365 somethings – open for those of you who wants to join in and challenge yourself! I tend to add in many very small bits on […]
• January 5 | Collage that is floating (Collage)

  Collage: Captive for now. I made several collages in September 2012, and a few just before the year ended and that is about it. This one above, Captive for now, is one of the September collages that I really love. Instead of letting all scraps overlap the edge I’ve left them torn here. This makes […]
• January 4 | 365 | Preparing to make a lot of collages (A Creative Life)

  So, are you doing 365 creative creations in 2013? Come along and join me! It’s not to late to start today or this weekend, if you too want a creative project for 2013! Remember that the year is long but life is short. Giving it a try is not something you will regret! Even if […]
• January 1 | Art Journaling the Last and First Day (Art journaling)

  …as I think about the new year ahead, I want to propose that we set aside chunks of time, big chunks, and give ourselves mental space, forgiving mental space, to wrestle with this fear. Start something new, with a fresh sheet of paper and a different set of materials. Let’s not just make what we’ve […]

-2012

• December 31 | To New Beginnings and Happy Endings (A Creative Life)

  There is so much left to do, to see, to create, to learn and to give. It’s a good thing it’s just 2012 ending, and not the world. I will see you on the other side, I promise! XOXO Happy New Creative Year from iHanna
• December 30 | 365 in 2013: Collage as Focus (Creative habits)

  When you do something all the time, even if you move too slowly for others to notice, the constant motion produces surprising volume and achievement. Jude Hill How about #365in2013? I have made collages for many years now. It feels like through this constant making I’ve found “my” art form. I recently sold one of […]
• December 27 | Weekly Inspiration: New Paths (Inspiration)

  Favorite (new) word of the week: saunter The Science of Storytelling – Why Telling a Story is the Most Powerful Way to Activate Our Brains Podcast: the Truth about Entrepreneurship [via] Medium.com – Curated texts kind of like pinterest… I think it might be something interesting but not really getting the whole concept yet though […]
• December 26 | Christmas Food Odyssey (Home Comforts)

  The Advent Candles are burning down and Christmas is almost over. I took some food photos, since I am @sweden this week and I feel responsible to share what I can! I thought you’d want to at least see some of the traditional Swedish food we have at our table every year. A few things […]
• December 25 | Snow covered Landscape (Photography)

  We don’t have to dream about a white Christmas around here. Since the beginning of December the snow is all around us and everywhere. It’s beautiful and magic and sometimes very cold. Causing problems in traffic and for the train (always late or canceled in winter). But with the right shoes winter walks are lovely, […]
• December 24 | Merry Christmas from @Sweden (A Creative Life)

  I’m off to celebrate Christmas (which we do on Christmas Eve here in Sweden) with my family (because Christmas is a family affair after all), but just wanted to take the time to once again, after my massive art journaling post yesterday, wish you a great day! AND ALSO, to let you know the big […]
• December 23 | Christmas Feeling Art Journaling (Art journaling)

  I didn’t feel like making another December Journal this year, so I didn’t plan for one. But this week, with just a few days left before Christmas Eve (we celebrate on December 24th here in Sweden) I have felt those December Feelings once again. I’m such a late bloomer, in many ways, but that’s okay […]
• December 22 | Creativity in Snapshots | Shabby Chic Winter (Photography)

  The view from my window. I never tire of my two big windows and the constant ebb and flow of light they yield. Right now it’s snowing, slow big flakes, outside my window here in Sweden. Falling like there is no hurry in the world. I’m about to wrap some gifts, clean of my messy […]
• December 17 | Weaving with Book Spines (Paper Crafting, Thrift & Recycle)

  Serendipity. Look for something, find something else, and realize that what you’ve found is more suited to your needs than what you thought you were looking for. Lawrence Block I used to make spiral bound notebooks out of old book covers found at flea markets (still have a few left in my Etsy Shop). Love […]
• December 16 | Postcards Received: You get what you give (Mail bliss, Other's Creativity)

  How to interpret empowerment is open to all and can be done in a myriad of ways. A colour or a drawing that speaks to us could empower as well as spread joy. I choose this as the theme for this year’s postcard swap because I want all of us to feel empowered, in our […]
• December 13 | Just some Painted Index Cards (Draw & doodle)

  Time to leave now, get out of this room, go somewhere, anywhere; sharpen this feeling of happiness and freedom, stretch your limbs, fill your eyes, be awake, wider awake, vividly awake in every sense and every pore. Stefan Zweig Posting two painted index cards, made this summer while trying out a kid watercolour set. Loved […]
• December 12 | Creativity in Snapshots | Stuff (Photography)

  There is only one optimist. He has been here since man has been on this earth, and that is man himself. If we hadn’t had such a magnificent optimism to carry us through all these things, we wouldn’t be here. We have survived it on our optimism. Edward Steichen Photographies from my photo folders presented […]
• December 10 | DIY Postcards with a Message (Mail bliss)

  This year I have arranged two swaps of handmade do-it-yourself postcards that was sent around in the world. Both turned out great and was fun to arrange and participate in! Thanks everyone who joined in and to those who helped spread the word! Today I feel it’s time to show what I did with my […]
• December 7 | Black and white collage (Collage)

  I really adore colors, but sometimes it’s fun to do something different. Like a collage using black and white images. This one is called Nuts about you. It also pictures my total fascination with grids and patterns. Take care! PS: don’t miss out on the giveaway!
• December 6 | Tiny wooly kittens (Fabric & Sewing)

  I know my stuff is a niche market. It’s limited edition, and off beat. It does not suit everyone, but it suits me. * Denise Litchfield A whole gang of tiny wooly cats are now rooming around in my Etsy Shop! It has been a while since I created any new characters, but as I […]
• December 5 | Book review: Market Yourself by Tara Swiger (Book Inspiration)

  Market Yourself by Tara Swiger (A Marketing System for Smart and Creative Business Owners) – this is a book review by me, iHanna. Enjoy! Tara Swiger is a blogger and yarn maker that has now dived into writing a whole book, and she does it well with a knowledge of marketing for personal and small […]
• December 3 | 31+ Creative Christmas Ideas (I write Lists)

  There are way too many “must do” and “have to fix” things crammed into the month of December if you ask me. Since it is the last month of the year I think we should calm down a bit and only do fun, creative things that makes us happy. Make your own list of December […]
• December 2 | Weekly inspiration: Street art and a Dala Horse on the loose (Inspiration)

  A horse paste-up, decorated like a traditional dalahäst – it’s fantastic, don’t you think? Perhaps made by TED talker Shai Dahan… And, for your enjoyment, some more inspiration: Shai Dahan at TEDx Göteborg – awesome talk by a graffiti artist, about the power of art [found via gatukonst] I would like to make a blog […]
• December 1 | Let’s celebrate what might come next (A Creative Life)

  To compose is to manage the unexpected, one of the most dynamic components. Holidays are like that too. It is quite a skill. To manage, accept, and enjoy the moments and even celebrate what might come next. And we can be sure the new year will be full of surprises. Jude Hill Inspirational Mosaic November […]
• November 30 | White pens – awesome and difficult (Draw & doodle)

  I love my white pens, trust me on that – but it’s a love-hate relationship. I would use them a lot more if they weren’t so damn difficult to write with. As you can see from this experiment above all of the three writing pens can write on acrylic paint (that is totally dry) but […]
• November 29 | Art Journal Peek: White pen on flourescent pink (Art journaling)

  Paint in florescent pink is must have! Right now I’m experimenting and playing in my hand bound journal, adding pink and purple acrylic paint to watercolor paper pages. Painting is the first layer, then comes the doodle day. I work in stages, short spurts of time. Adding lines and swirls using a white pen, and […]
• November 28 | Kitschy Fabric Christmas Cards (Fabric & Sewing, Thrift & Recycle)

  As I was looking through old photos I found this Christmas card I did a few years ago. Now I can’t remember who I sent it to, but I remember not liking it at all, probably because it doesn’t have any pink or glitter… :-) Today as I see it with new eyes I absolutely […]
• November 27 | Spiral bound Pink Smart Journal (Notebooks)

  I had to make a pink smart journal along with the lush green one. This one is listed for sale in my etsy shop right now. Today I’m showing you a few of my favorite spreads from this journal. Enjoy! Front and back cover is paper patchwork style. Love this cover! Pink is my all […]
• November 24 | Last list prompt: Subjects I Know (Art journaling, I write Lists)

  I’ve written a list on the very last page of the List Journal today. It’s now filled and it’s time to shelf this project. I hope you’ve enjoyed following along and I know some of you have been inspired to make your own list journals and to write the prompts. Thanks for shared links left […]
• November 23 | Polka Dot Bag (Pretty things)

  A very girly and super cute thing, just for me. Yes, I got myself a polka dot bag. Too small for travel adventures but perfect for embroidery floss and tiny projects. Just perfect because it makes me happy! PS: Not bought today, a while back. But still makes me smile when I see it.
• November 22 | Where a Magic Sun Shines (Fabric Art)

  A few of my embroidered artist trading cards. The magic trees couldn’t grow without some magic sun. To be sure we’d never run out, I made three suns.
• November 21 | Lush Green Smart Journal (Notebooks)

  Sharing one of my spiral bound journals today! I love every spread of this journal – and the patchwork cover. Very yummy, all of it. And it was fun to work with a color scheme like this! Smart is short for Small Art Journal, my invention for these square, spiral journals that I’ve made several […]
• November 20 | Share you Beautiful Postcard Makings (Inspiration)

  I’ve shared the start of my postcards and given you until Thursday to sign up for the DIY Postcard Swap. Make 5 cards, receive 5 cards. Now we’d love to take a peek at your makings. Share your direct links to blog posts with the start of your postcards – or the finished postcards: 1. […]
• November 19 | It’s the Start of a Beautiful Postcard (Paper Crafting)

  It doesn’t matter who you are, or where you came from. The ability to triumph begins with you. Always. Oprah Winfrey I’ve started cutting postcard sized pieces. I’ve printed me some faux postal stamps and realize they’re a bit big for stamps. Next time I’ll make smaller stamps. Maybe with more empowerment! I’m painting backgrounds, […]
• November 18 | Faux Postage Stamps – Free Printable Empowerment (Mail bliss)

  As a celebration I’ve put together this free, downloadable sheet (pdf) of Faux Postage Stamps. The celebration is to all of you empowering each other, making handmade cards – and spreading creativity and joy around the globe. Click to download, print and cut these up to use for your own personal projects. Or why not […]
• November 17 | List Prompt #10: Random Facts about Me (I write Lists)

  A few years ago these memes with personal questions and random facts about me-lists were very common. Do you remember? I didn’t do very many then, but these kinds of list are fun to jot down in your own journal. So that’s what we have today: Random facts about me. I’d love to hear some […]
• November 16 | Creativity in Snapshots | Visible again (Photography)

  Thanks to everyone who sent messages about my sad blog statues this week, asking about me and the blog via twitter, sms and email (and also via flickr and instagram)! The company that hosts my domain www.ihanna.nu has managed to make all files “invisible” several times during the past few days. Not sure if it’s […]
• November 13 | Art journal peek: Bird Talk (Art journaling)

  Another very orange spread. This spread is full of images and patterns that inspire me right now. Here is the full spread:
• November 12 | Spotted Photo Theme: Floors (Photography)

  Would you like to dig through your photos and find your own photo themes? Today, I’m posting my first spotted photo theme and invite you to join me. Today’s theme is more artistic than documentary (I’ve been looking for pattern and inspiration more than anything else), but a theme can be any subject you come […]
• November 11 | Gala Darling: Radical Self Love (Inspiration)

  Realize how amazing you are. There will never be anyone like you. That’s why it is so important to express yourself as much as you can — if you don’t, the world will miss out. Develop your talents. This will naturally make you feel good about yourself. Gala Darling Gala Darling: Radical Self Love, here […]
• November 10 | List Prompt #9: things I collect for Art Journaling (I write Lists)

  Not sure about you but making list is something I love to do. I like how the title sets the topic and each item stands alone but also is connected in different ways to the previous bullet point and the next one… It really is a great journaling techniqe. Right now my diary is filled […]
• November 9 | Creativity in Snapshots | Stitches (Photography)

  Innovation is a messy, multiple business. There is no single method. The sensible approach is to keep trying stuff—to provoke the world and let it start talking to you. Grant McCracken Love this flower! I have bought a pink orchid after a few years living without such magnificent flowers in my home. It’s so pretty […]
• November 8 | Art Journal Peek: More Autumn Colours (Art journaling)

  Using Nature’s Colors today. This is where the creativity happens! In the midst of chaos. I really enjoy selecting a focus and choosing pretty things to photograph, but also, I enjoy documenting the mess on my table. And really, it’s more accurate and true to what is there most of the time. I wish more […]
• November 7 | Interview at Draw Doodle Decorate (Inspiration)

  Eden of Draw Doodle Decorate Blog has had a interview series with other bloggers in October. She asked me to be featured too, and wrote such nice things about me in the introduction to the interview with iHanna (5th of November 2012). Words to savour: Hanna is the Queen of Productivity. I don’t think there […]
• November 6 | Art Journal Peek: Using Nature’s Colors (Art journaling)

  I just noticed how drawn I am to orange this autumn. I have dived into nature’s colours, and autumns imagery, quite unconsciously on many pages these past weeks. Nature effects all of us of course. It’s so obvious and oh so beautiful, surrounding us all the time even in the cities. It’s not strange that […]
• November 3 | List Prompt #8: Music and Movies (I write Lists)

  My list post is late because I was out in the forest yesterday, soaking up nature. But now let’s once again take a peek into the List journal shall we? It’s been great fun discovering lists all over the internet. Lay Hoon and Michelle Reuss are two of those joining us in the List Journal […]
• November 2 | An Eye for Nature (Photography)

  Few people know how to take a walk. The qualifications are endurance, plain clothes, old shoes, an eye for nature, good humor, vast curiosity, good speech, good silence and nothing too much. Ralph Waldo Emerson More Swedish Nature photos today, do you mind?
• October 30 | DIY Postcard Swap – autumn version with a theme (Mail bliss)
• October 29 | Creativity in Snapshots (Photography)
• October 27 | List Prompt #7: Things i know (I write Lists)

  I came up with the prompt Things I know and thought it would be easy to write! When it came down to it it wasn’t. Because what do we really know for sure, 100 %? Gaaah! Not much really. Hardly that we exist if being philosophical… We don’t even know if we will be alive […]
• October 25 | How I Spent a Rainy Day (Photography)

  Come on with the rain, I’ve got a smile on my face I walk down the lane, with a happy refrain Just singin’, singin’ in the rain… Gene Kelly What a joy the seasons are! Even when I have to walk in the rain, I can get a creative kick out of it. At least, […]
• October 25 | Art Journal Card (Art journaling)

  What is a journal card? you might ask. I had no idea either until I signed up for a quick swap with April Cole. But like the Artist Journal Cards (ATC) the Art Journal Cards are original pieces of art created by an artist (you). My first and so far only Journal Card is the […]
• October 24 | Journal of Scraps no 1 (Notebooks)

  Yesterday I wrote about the process of making and pricing a hand bound art journal. Now it’s time to view a few of the many many pages in the big Journal of Scraps #1 that I just listed on Etsy. I hope you like them. When looking at these I just feel like filling every […]
• October 23 | Making and Pricing a handbound journal (Bookbinding)

  I’m calling this one the Journal of Scraps no 1. In this journal I have collaged and painted a bit on almost every page. It is so much fun, and very time consuming. I love making journals, and I always come up with new ideas for them. I decided to try to sell some of […]
• October 22 | A Jar of Creativity (A Creative Life)

  We know what we are, but know not what we may be… William Shakespeare In a recent comment someone asked about the content of that jar in my window. It’s filled with creativity of course!* Cooking up your own concoction of Creativity is a process that you fine tune over a life time. I know […]
• October 21 | Weekly Inspirations: Free Form Quilting (Inspiration, Quilting)

  I online-obsess over one or other crafts at times. You know, when you get all obsessed with one craft and can’t stop thinking about it? Does this every happen to you? At times it’s been all about knitting; then I remember to log onto Ravelry, visit Knitty’s new patterns and bookmark stuff I wish I […]
• October 20 | List Prompt #6: Crayon Colours (I write Lists)

  Last week we made a colourful list out of washi tape… Now lets bring on another “material” that I use all the time in my Art Journal; water soluble crayons! The bestests crayons ever is called Neocolor II and today, for the first time ever, it comes in list form! Want the story behind the […]
• October 19 | Creativity in Snapshots (Photography)

  That moment when we tilt our heads – that’s the moment we can climb out of culture and into innovation. We are on the verge of making something new. Grant McCracken (Culturematic, page 12) I enjoy knitting, drawing, embroidery, photography and blogging. And more. It’s no wonder I don’t fit it all into one single […]
• October 18 | Personalized ATC labels (Digital Life)

  I love to create a personal labels for my mail, moving boxes, notebooks, ring binders and even the backside of the embroidered Artist Trading Cards I make. I don’t have a design training but I love playing with colour, fonts and graphic elements on the computer – creating personalized layouts digitally and then printing it. […]
• October 16 | Autumn Craft: Leaf Roses (Crafts)

  Picking sparkling maple leafs this weekend led to a crafternoon where mom and I made a bouqette of maple roses each. It was a quick and fun little project just before dinner. We got the tutorial third hand when in a craft class but the information came from a swedish tutorial showing (in lots of […]
• October 15 | Eye Candy: Sparkly Maple Leafs (Photography)

  Yellow, orange and red mixed together into fire, wine and happiness… It’s the fall colours. I want to pick up every beautiful maple leaf I see and bring it with me home! The best way to save some of this prettiness that I know is to take photos. So I did.
• October 13 | List Prompt: Washi Tape Favorites (I write Lists)

  It’s Saturday and time for another list prompt in the List Journal. But can you make a list out of anything? Want the story behind the List Journal and the fun colaboration that Tammy and I are doing? Check out the intro post and then follow along with our Saturday List Journal prompts. Thanks! List […]
• October 11 | Eye Candy: More Slow Art (Photography)

  Today’s post is filled with black and white shades. Quite a change to the pink and green items I normally dive into, but it’s all good! I find myself drawn to black and white (clothes and patterns) a lot lately, so it’s also a reflection of what I find beautiful right now. Also because I […]
• October 10 | Feminism and Pussy Girl Power (Art journaling)

  I want a Zero Tolerance policy on All The Patriarchal Bullshit.” Caitlin Moran Don’t be a pussy girl! You can do it! The feminist in me has been sleeping for a few years. But when I read more and engage in the world she is waking up and wanting everyone to sign the petition! Maybe […]
• October 8 | A visit to Nationalmuseum in Stockholm (Other's Creativity)

  Stockholm has been full of wonderful craft exhibitions this year. We’re celebrating the organisation Hemslöjden who is still going strong on its 100th year. I have been inspired by many of these exhibitions in diffrent ways, and today I thought I’d share a few photos from the one I most recently visited, called Slow Art.
• October 6 | List Prompt: Favorite Fruits (I write Lists)

  It’s Saturday and time for the fourth list prompt presented in/by the sweet little List Journal. I’m playing with dymo tape this time! Want the story behind the List Journal and the fun colaboration that Tammy and I are doing? Check out the intro post and then follow along with our Saturday List Journal prompts. […]
• October 3 | Scraps by someone else (Mail bliss)

  Paper scraps are the Art Journalers and collageists best friends. We need scraps to create! It’s the treassures in our life, right? Last week I shared the rainbow colored envelope that I recieved in a journal swap with Tammy. Now let’s just look at what was inside. Except for that List Journal there were little […]
• October 2 | Art journal peek: Take your pills (Art journaling)

  Another page from my loose pages series. This one has a sadness to it, not sure if you can tell? Antidepressive pills along with depressing quotes…. The quotes by Pascal and Donne are in Swedish, and taken from some paper I got at university when I took Philosophy for one semester. I love this page […]
• October 1 | Creative Inspiration Mosaic = Free Desktop Picture (Inspiration)

  Another Inspiration Mosaic, it’s time right? Yes it is, it’s a new month and the real beginning of autumn around here! I love seeing all favorite images together. It’s created with fd’s Flickr Toys. I hope someone comes up with something similar for pinterest… You can view all the individual images by clicking the image […]
• September 29 | List Prompt: Places I Dream of visiting (Art journaling, I write Lists, Traveling)

  It’s time for the third list prompt in the List Journal (intro here), and this time we’re focusing on something I haven’t done much of lately; traveling. I’ve been doing a bit of work related travel around Sweden, but not the holiday resort adventure kind of traveling that one dream of. Not in a few […]
• September 27 | Eye Candy: Decorated Envelope (Mail bliss, Other's Creativity)

  One single message from a real person in my mail box makes my day. And if its a decorated, rainbow-coloured envelope stuffed with goodies? It feels like a precious gift. Someone took the time to paint, write, doodle, tape, sew and decorate a special envelope full of little gifts – just for me? Amazingly fun […]
• September 26 | Sketching on Fabric (Draw & doodle, Fabric Art)

  Hey curious one… You can sketch with both a pen and a needle. Or you can combine the two methods… So my latest ATC is a self portrait of sorts. Very much an experiment where I had no idea where it would go or end but just started with a quick idea when I found […]
• September 24 | A Favorite Method of Art Journaling (Art journaling)

  Today a simple page featuring pink leftover scraps, created on loose paper to later be bound into an art journal. Sometimes I think this is my favorite kind of art journaling: picking up little bits of this and that and just gluing it down on a page. It doesn’t involve very much thinking, yet it […]
• September 23 | Weekly Inspirations: Adventures and Crazy Dreams (Inspiration)

  I’m gonna live a crazy dream, Impossible as it may seem, Doesn’t matter what the future brings, I’m gonna live a crazy dream. […] And maybe I’m just a little girl, A little girl with great big plans… /Mindy Gledhill Found this song The whole wide world with Mindy Gledhill via Linda this week and […]
• September 22 | List Journal prompt: 5 books I read (Art journaling, I write Lists)

  It’s time for our second round of art journal list prompts (intro here). And you don’t even have to be an art journaler to join in. Just write your list in a regular notebook or a on a blank piece of paper… It doesn’t have to be fancy, coloured or long! Last week my list […]
• September 21 | Mom’s Ballpoint Pen Mandala (Other's Creativity)

  My mom has a inspiration notebook, mostly for embroidery ideas. It’s where she write down quotes she wants to embroider and where she sketches out ideas sometimes. Recently she showed me these mandalas that she’d doodled and it made me all warm inside. Guess who, with all my talk, inspired her? To me it’s so […]
• September 20 | I’m not strange (Art journaling)

  The truly great advances of this generation will be made by those who can make outrageous connections, and only a mind which knows how to play can do that. Nagle Jackson Self portrait, of some sort. Another journal page (previous one was on the same theme; love your attitude) made on on loose paper in […]
• September 18 | Before & after: Meditation Cushions Upholstered (Fabric & Sewing, Home Comforts)

  The meditation cushions (I have two) has been on my floor for years. Obviously not my colour scheme but kind of invisible to me these days. They’re from Thailand, and in some kind of mix of woven textile and horrible blue and red acrylic fabric. But when I noticed the fabric is coming apart at […]
• September 15 | Introduction to the List Journal Project + a prompt (Art journaling, I write Lists)

  Tammy and I did a journal swap a while ago. She made me this awesome little journal with a fabric cover, fold out pages, sewn pages filled with painted papers, scrapbook papers and cute stuff. I sent her a journal I made specially for her, featuring her initials and other bits from my paper stash. […]
• September 14 | Creativity in Snapshots | Circles (Photography)

  Drew a quick pencil flower, not in my Sketchbook or idea book or on a piece of white paper, but in my to-do-list notebook (#GTD) of course! Where else? Feeling more inspired now. Because I take a gazillion awesome photos of colours, inspiration, creativity, beauty & life I am publishing a series of posts called […]
• September 13 | Loving the pistil stitch (Crafts)

  We’re on week 37 and this week I’ve made the 34th stitch of the year! Wow, right? The sampler is growing, slowly but steady. This stitch is called the pistil stitch, also known as long tack knot stitch or Italian knot stitch (and pistillstygn in Swedish). Now that I’ve learned how to do it (it’s […]
• September 11 | Art Journal Peek: Love your attitude (Art journaling)

  With my love of the square format, maybe it was a bit strange that it took me so long to art journal in this format? I actually had a spiral bound Art Journal back in 2006 (it was journal number four) that was square, but that was a long time ago. It feels like something […]
• September 10 | Food Photography (Photography)

  Do you take photos of your food – and if so, why? Why on earth do we do this? It’s defiantly a trend that is here to stay. Maybe it’s inspired by thousands of magazines with recipes and television shows about cooking, planning dinners, making desserts, about growing your own food, canning, baking and serving. […]
• September 9 | Inspiration: Daily Paper Prompts (Inspiration)

  Have you seen Tammy’s Daily Paper Prompts? The’re quick and easy ideas that everyone can try out and play with. They do not come up in the feed of her blog DaiysYellow, instead you’ve got to visit the prompts page to make sure you see them. And you should, coz they’re great. Short and sweet […]
• September 7 | Eye Candy: Roses in many colours (Photography)

  I wish I could live like I’m longing to live. I wish I could do all the things that I can do. Though I’m way overdue, I will start anew. How sweet it would be if I found that I could fly. Nina Simone (I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free) […]
• September 6 | Yummy book covers (Bookbinding)

  ¨ I am making my own art journals this year. Finding papers, cutting, sorting. Right now I’m back at my own awesome tutorial on how to make patchwork book covers, using some good bits from the paper stash. Lots of pink papers, on square book covers. Love it! And it’s so yummy, that’s all I […]
• September 5 | Checkered Wrist Warmers (Crafts)

  Truth be told I knit these with yarn from my stash, but the colour combination could’ve been inspired by this book I’m reading. It’s called Hello Kitty Must Die by Angela S. Choi. It’s a quick, funny read about a young Asian American woman who will go far to bury the Hello Kitty stereotype forever…
• September 3 | Creativity in Snapshots | More photos (Photography)

  Knitting with two colours, how fun to see the pattern grow!
• September 2 | Weekly inspiration: the busy box & fun tutorials (Inspiration)

  Last couple of times I looked the Big Huge Lab’s Mosaic Maker was broken, but now it’s working again and I’ve made another mosaic called Mosaic Inspiration August 2012. It’s September time and I think it’s going to be a pretty creative month! Here are a few other things that’s inspiring me right now: Meet […]
• August 31 | Thrifted doilies white again (Thrift & Recycle)

  The above pile of bleached, washed and ironed finds belongs to my mother. There’s vintage handmade lace and intricately crocheted doilies. Just looking at this pile makes my heart sing! It was quite a while since I posted my thrifted finds, even though I have a whole category about thrifting where I used to show […]
• August 30 | My first Apron (Fabric & Sewing)

  Oh, it’s delightful to have ambitions… And there never seems to be any end to them – that’s the best of it. Just as soon as you attain to one ambition you see another one glittering higher up still. It does make life so interesting. /Anne Shirley I have made my first apron! What a […]
• August 29 | One Artist’s Journal by Orly Avinery (Book Inspiration)

  I’ve finished reading Orly Avinery’s self-published book One Artist’s Journal and wanted to share my thoughts with you guys. I am a big fan of Orly’s artwork, published in art journal form on her blog. She is great with words and often have something profoundly beautiful or thought provoking to say. Without my love of […]
• August 27 | Irresistible Cotton Yarn (Crafts)

  By total accident I happened to buy a whole bag of cheap and beautiful cotton yarn this summer when grandmother was visiting. I could not resist the pretty colours and it was time to try to make my first hexagon! I found a good description online and started to crochet round, and round… and I […]
• August 21 | Three Magic trees in the sun (Fabric Art)

  So the first step is to stop, notice, and appreciate what is happening. Even if this is all we do, it’s revolutionary. Pema Chödrön So this is the fabric piece that became one Artist Trading Card; a bright happy sun on a cloudless day. I mentioned it in my last post about painting on fabric. […]
• August 15 | The background is the beginning (Fabric & Sewing, Fabric Art)

  I’ve been spending a few days at a embroidery workshop and retreat here in Sweden, right now I’m just trying to digest it all. Among other lovely ladies I met Madde, someone who indeed is a kindred spirit. Her painted ATC fabric inspired the above ATC backgrounds, painted with acrylic paint on fabric. Last time […]
• August 10 | Creativity in Snapshots | My Everday Life (A Creative Life, Photography)

  I invite you into my creative, messy life with another post of random photos. White paper box from IKEA, for storing away this and that. A birthday gift from mom.
• August 9 | Art journal peek: Pink Delights (Art journaling)

  Freed a spot on my messy desk! I guess that is how the floor gets filled… Just moving piles around, not really knowing where to put them. I want to use all of this right now, so why store it away in a box where it might stay hidden for months. But in lack of […]
• August 8 | The disappearing desk trick (A Creative Life)

  In chaos, there is fertility. Anaïs Nin The photo above shows a magic trick of mine: how to make every work surface and desk space disappear in a pile of junk! Ta-daaa, and it’s gone. Have you tried it? It’s way too easy to make this happen – and then I always forget the spell […]
• August 7 | Project update on the TAST Stitch Sampler (Crafts)

  Dear creatives, you might not remember my post from early this year about TAST or the meaning of that challenge? But the truth is that I’m still doing it -and I’m very proud of my determination – and my growing Stitch Sampler! I didn’t have the ambition to post my stitch trials weekly (thank god!), […]
• August 5 | Magazine review: Featuring about art journaling etc (Life Stuff)

  I received a review copy of the newish first issue of the magazine “Featuring” a while back. As I’m back from the beach a few hours I thought it was time for a little review today! And yes, I missed you while I was gone dear blog + readers. It’s a printed magazine about mixed […]
• July 27 | A Creative Life in Snapshots (A Creative Life, Photography)

  I have like a gazillion awesome photos (if I may say so myself) on my computer, just sitting there. Folders upon folders full of colours, inspiration, beauty, life! These photos makes me so happy but there are just way too many to share. So today I’ll just throw in a few here on the blog […]
• July 26 | Trying to find My Truth in art (Collage)

  Instead of trying too hard to be original when we create, we should try to just be “true”. True to what we’re drawn to right now. To follow the hand as it reaches for the next paint tube, what ever colour it is. It feels like I haven’t made a real iHanna collage in months, […]
• July 25 | The Gift of Flower Picking (Photography)

  And so our mothers and grandmothers have, more often than not anonymously, handed on the creative spark, the seed of the flower they themselves never hoped to see – or like a sealed letter they could not plainly read. Alice Walker
• July 24 | Awesome Supplies | Pink Dymo Labels (Art journaling, Pretty things)

  It feels like I’ve spent more time in art supplie stores than at my desk creating lately. It’s a horrible feeling that makes me feel empty and sad. But instead of complaining about time (again!) I thought I’d start a new series of posts that will occur occasionally. I’m calling it Awesome Supplies! In this […]
• July 19 | Mandala drawing #2: snowflakes (Draw & doodle)

  Begin doing what you want to do now. We are not living in eternity. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand – and melting like a snowflake… Francis Bacon These two looks like snowflakes in a way. Melting in my heart. I have lots of pens, but keeping my manadala […]
• July 16 | An Image Only Interview at CraftyPod (Inspiration)

  Sister Diane has started a new interview series called “the image only interview”. She asked a bunch of questions and then let her interviewee answer with one photo per question. I was thrilled to be the first one to be featured in this new series, and I had a great time looking through a few […]
• July 15 | Summer is for photographing flowers (Photography)

  The real thing: pink geraniums, after rain. All you need is a point and shot camera, and the time to bend your knees, get close and snap away.
• July 13 | Art Journal Peek: Pink Geraniums (Art journaling)

  Another peek into the wonderous place of the Art Journal… Pink Geraniums painted with acrylic, or rather smashed into the journal with a very old and stiff brush. You see roses? Or wild flowers? They could be any flowers, because I didn’t add any details. I just felt like painting. And I was thinking about […]
• July 11 | Summer time crafting (Creative habits)

  One of my favorite creative habits in summer is mom and me craft-time. Well, it’s a favorite any time of the year but in summer we often set up camp in the veranda of my parents house. If it’s a sunny day we open all the windows and soak in sun. Both mom and I […]
• July 9 | iHanna Drawing a Mandala (Draw & doodle)

  I have seen mandala drawings and zentangle doodles online for years, and I’ve experimented with them myself. I’ve found Mandlas in collage and through photography, and if you know my fascination with the circle this comes as no surprise. I’ve even doodled a few before (but they’ve been more flower like). But now I’ve fallen […]
• July 8 | Weekly inspiration: new e-zine and monthly goal setting (Inspiration)

  A jar of dirty water, and some must-check-out links for you to enjoy this Sunday… &stitches Issue 3 – new issue of the embroidery e-zine &stitches – this time it’s all about Oriental inspiraton. And I’m in it (again!), this time with my first sisha experiment. I think there is a lot of cool inspiration […]
• July 7 | Summer breakfast (Life Stuff)

  I will add “eat more fresh berries” to my Summer Manifesto. They are lovely, and not only in taste but in how they look and make me feel inside. It’s easy to forget that it is right now that I need to buy them, bring them home and enjoy them. It’s the same with the […]
• July 3 | Creativity Was Here (Art Experiments)

  You can still see the evidence!  At some point, I’m sure of this, Creativity Was Here. It was in my head, on my desk, everywhere buzzing… But not this weekend (because I was away doing other fun stuff), not yesterday (because I was working) and not tonight (because I’ve been doing the laundry all night […]
• June 30 | Home Comforts: Ivy greenery (Home Comforts)

  An important part of a cozy home is the greenery, don’t you agree? The indoor greenery makes a room feel like a home and not a naked hotel room. Some plants in your home will create a warmer and more alive environment. With lots of plants you can create an indoor jungle or forest, or […]
• June 27 | What’s new on my desk today (Life Stuff, On writing)

  In today’s mail came the new embroidery magazine, and I am very proud since I am one of three editors. I’ve planned it, worked with it, written articles, edited text, photographed, edited layout, found spelling-mistakes and on and on. Always happy to make this thing -but also extremely happy and satisfied when it’s “over” and […]
• June 25 | Instagram Midsummer Weekend (Photography)

  I’ve written before about being creative with your smart phone. This weekend I’ve been experimenting with using the photo app Instagram. Above all it’s a community, much like flickr.com but on your phone. You snap a photo, choose one of the filters to apply to it (to change the colours of your photo to make […]
• June 24 | Weekly inspiration: Stockholm and Swedish authors (Inspiration)

  Sometimes I’m still that little girl� – awesome photo idea at the flickr blog. Take a photo of yourself today and let’s see how you’ve grown, changed or stayed the same since you were that little girl… Literary Magazine – new site about Swedish books and authors – in English! Awesome, you’ve got to check […]
• June 22 | On Midsummer’s Eve (Life Stuff)

  On this day I wish all you beautiful bumblebees out there a great day – wherever you are and what ever you do! The celebration of Midsummer’s Eve was from ancient times a festival of the summer solstice. In Sweden, Mid-summer celebration originates from the time before Christianity; it was celebrated as a sacrifice time […]
• June 21 | Art Journal Peek: Another Layer Changes things up (Art journaling)

  Not sure you will recognize this art journal spread from yesterday’s post? The first layer left me feeling out of order and without flow, but then when I came back to it [the art journal page] with my pink paints I found joy once again. And all of a sudden, I feel like myself again. […]
• June 20 | The No Flow Feeling (Art journaling)

  We were all born artists of some sort if we care enough to believe it. We all have wide open eyes to support wide vision. Orly Avineri This is my set up. Because finally I had some time to paint in my Art Journal. I have longed for this moment! There’s just been so much […]
• June 17 | Another cat (Inspiration)

  I’ve fallen in love with a cat called Pusheen. I can’t stop looking, and I want to play dress up and wear this T (adding it to my wish list). Also sending this one to mom. ♥ Isn’t he adorable cute? BTW: Craft Social next week on twitter is about art journaling! Yay!
• June 14 | Sweden #fail or @Sweden #win (Digital Life)

  I just have to air some opinions today: I think free speech is one of the most important laws/ideas of my country. And social media is great for this reason and I’m so glad we can all use it together. But since it’s late, I will, instead of writing my own opinion, share a few […]
• June 13 | Art journal peek: Home of random things (Art journaling)

  Another quick glossy collage in my art journal, contradicting the “art” part but very much feeling like “a journal”. Like a home of random things, of my ephemera. Again, a thousand circles living on one spread: polka dot wrapping paper and recycled office/meeting doodles! Each page includes so many different elements and ideas. If you’re […]
• June 11 | Summer Manifesto (I write Lists)

  New tradition: to write a Summer Manifesto. A Summer Manifest is a list of ideas about summer, and what your summer should be about or include. On my list I’ve put bike rides, writing when it’s raining and baking among other things. I’m also going to add spraypainting (outdoors) because I have some items I […]
• June 8 | Embroidery Evenings together (Other's Creativity)

  Me and my friend Christina had a creative get-together last year. We made accordion books out of folded paper. Then we added in tape, collage and words. We had wine and food too, and it was very inspiring to create together. This time I suggested embroidery, and allthough she was a bit hesitant, because it’s […]
• June 6 | May I inspire you (Inspiration)

  If you secretly know that you are capable of more than what you see around you, you are ready to step out of line. If you have a great idea for a new product or company or project, you are ready to step out of line. […] If you are looking for an outlet for […]
• June 4 | Meet the Inner Critic (iHanna's Thoughts)

  THE INNER CRITIC My inner critic is a she-voice in my head, telling me that I (of all people!) can’t create what I want to create! She encourages me to be lazy and helps me think bad thoughts about myself, my life and my creative work. Mostly she likes to stand in the way of […]
• June 2 | Inspiration: Quirky favorite books (Book Inspiration)

  Have you seen that the awesome Orly Avinary has published her journal pages in a self published book called One Artist Journal? I’ve already ordered a copy, because I think this might be one of those must-haves. We will see. Once I have it I will get back to you with a review. I know […]
• June 1 | My pink love | The Magnolia (Photography)

  You do not need to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. Do not even listen, simply wait. Do not even wait, be quite still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked, it has no choice. It will roll in ecstasy at your feet. Franz Kafka […]
• May 30 | How to make a Inner Critic Paper Doll (Paper Crafting, Tutorials)

  My Inner Critic is a little monster living inside of me. It’s that voice you almost can’t hear but that is still there all the time. It is best friend with low confidence and self doubt. After months of having this exercise in the back of my mind, I sat down to draw my own […]
• May 29 | Proof of my existence (Art journaling)

  I like how random images from my image folder shows a sort of me-ness on the page. Selected new clippings and some that are a couple of years old are joined together into a collage. In this way the art journal is full of self portraits. Images that you can read as parts of I, […]
• May 28 | Make a wish (Life Stuff)

  Yesterday was my brothers 20th birthday. It was a beautiful day, and we had drinks in the garden. My dad made delicious food (as always, I adore his cooking). I was happy to be asked to bake the cake, and then to light the candles. A few seconds later my brother blew all of them […]
• May 23 | Watercolour engraving with a knitting needle (Draw & doodle)

  Have you ever tried doing a watercolour engraving? It’s a wet technique where you paint a surface with lots of water (and a watercolour of your choice) and quickly, before it dries draws a sketch or doodle using a sharp object like the end of a knitting needle or paint brush. So what you are […]
• May 21 | Pincushions re-visited (Fabric & Sewing)

  I am really low on energy, so I thought I’d do a quick post with a giveaway. At least that will give the blog some energy.
• May 16 | Let’s play with Found Poetry (Art journaling)

  Here is another spread with lots of circle fascination, where I’ve also played with cut out words and created my own (Swedish) Found Poetry. I love these little poems! They make me smile because the language is old fashioned and the don’t make (much) sense. Perfect found poetry, right? My found poetry is funny, but […]
• May 15 | Photo project | Documenting today for tomorrow (Photography)

  Today is A Day in Life Photo Project, and I’m participating. I’m so excited! This is what its about: It’s called Aday.org, and this project was initiated by the Swedish foundation Expressions of Humankind (which supports scientific research and education centered around the photographic image and the written word). They’re asking the world’s inhabitants (you!) […]
• May 14 | Taking time for what you love (Crafts, Fabric Art)

  I fell in love with painting on fabric when first tried it on fabric patches three years ago. I later used those patches to sew my Magic Mixed Media Bag, a bag I still use almost every day. Recently I got a compliment about it at a Knitting Café event. Only those who embrace creativity […]
• May 12 | The happiness bus (Photography)

  Wanna join the happiness bus with me today? I’ve got a few photos from my recent walk to share. Photos of things that makes me happy! I was out walking and brought my pink Ixus camera. I didn’t hop on the flower power bus but I snapped a photo so I could share it with […]
• May 9 | Bookreview | The Pulse of mixed media (Art Experiments, Book Inspiration)

  The successful artist finds a way to mine their inner emotions and reveal these through their art in a way that is compelling. I believe the force behind this process is passion. Seth Apter The Pulse of Mixed Media – secrets and passions of 100 artists revealed, a book by Seth Apter. I bet you’ve […]
• May 8 | Art journal peek: A Very Brown Page (Art journaling)

  Fishy poetry in my art journal. en koffertfisk, att bygga stora snäckor med ekar och smultronträd, lycka och glädje. Found poetry poem by iHanna. Translated it would sound something like this: a “trunk fish”, to build big shells together with oaks and wild strawberry trees, happiness and joy. More brown details from a very brown […]
• May 7 | Recycled Wool Sleaves (Fabric & Sewing)

  I made myself “wool sleaves” this winter by cutting apart several felted wool sweater arms and sewing them together. I love to recycle wool! I sewed this on mom’s fancy sewing machine and decided to leave the selvedge on the outside for a grungy look. What do you think? Strange or fun? I thought I’d […]
• May 5 | DIY Fashion Inspiration (Inspiration)

  I have a growing pinterest board called DIY Fashion. I love do it yourself clothes ideas! There is something for everyone, and so many ideas to try out. You can try anything, from embroidering your jeans to crocheting your own cardigan. For example you can try a handmade style or a painted, thrifted, mended, dyed, […]
• May 2 | Art journal peek: Circle Fascination (Art journaling)

  I have an endless fascination with circles. It goes round and round and never stops. Sometimes I work with a form intentionally, sometimes I look up from my art journal page and to my surprise notice the same form everywhere. Here it’s the circle, reoccurring everywhere in different ways. Does this happen to you too?
• May 1 | Starting to Stitch without a plan (Tutorials)

  I usually have some kind of idea when I start an embroidery, but for this ATC I thought I’d start without a plan – and see where it led me. You almost need to trick your brain to without any image in your mind. We are so used to always planning and knowing what we […]
• April 28 | Week in the Life 2012: Friday Photos (Photography)

  Week in the life still going strong. I’m taking a lot of photos and documenting almost everything. I love this project! Today I’m sharing a few SOOC (Straight Out of the Camera) pictures. They are my favorites from Friday when I was carrying my Nikon d50 camera with me the entire day.
• April 26 | Washi tape Ideas (Pretty things)

  It’s Week in the Life (read more about it here) and I am full on documenting my life. I notice how fun it is, but also how beautiful my life is. How much I get out of each day: sounds, smells, impressions, communicating, creating, walking, eating, interacting, sharing, documenting, reading, watching, living. This blog, while […]
• April 25 | Week in the Life: Fabric store browsing (Photography)

  Fabric store browsing – with camera in hand for the photo documentation project Week in the Life. Thin airy cotton fabric. Polka dots that feels like spring. All of these photos are quick snap shots from Monday. They are the only ones I’ve had the time to look through properly, except the commute photos I’ve […]
• April 24 | Celebrating 8 year Blogoversery (Digital Life)

  Last year I totally ignored my blog’s birthday, so the more reason to celebrate the big blogoversary this year. And it’s today: I have been writing blog posts and sharing my creative life for eight years now. Are you impressed? To help me celebrate the blogoversary we, me and my blog sponsor Cute Tape, are […]
• April 24 | Week in the Life: commuting photos (Photography)

  My commute to work is by train. It’s a bit newer than these though. But I love grafitti, especially on ugly old trains. This is the one I went with this morning: It’s A week in the Life: documenting my week with photos + words. I’m sharing a few of the morning cummute photos here. […]
• April 22 | Photography is happiness (Photography)

  Photography is not like painting. There is a creative fraction of a second when you are taking a picture. Your eye must see a composition or an expression that life itself offers you, and you must know with intuition when to click the camera. That is the moment the photographer is creative. Oop! The Moment! […]
• April 21 |