Susimusta

Finland. The winter wonderland. Winter is definitely my most favorite season. A couple of weeks ago the minus-degrees went to as low as -27, so what better time than that to take my camera out for a little photo session. I live near a lake and in the middle of fields and forest, however only a 15 minute drive from a fairly big city. As Finns we're never too far away from a lake (as you may know, Finland is also called the "land of thousands of lakes"). The lake nearby is definitely the most beautiful at sunset. These pictures are from last June (2015). Hope you enjoyed the little tour. :3 I'm looking forward to seeing your world!! (All the pictures in the post are taken by me, used only on my permission. Thaaanks. <3 Most of them and more are also on my deviantart if you wanna check them out http://skyscraper-creep.deviantart.com/ (c) Susimusta)

As a basic idea, give a short introduction (preferably with pictures) about the place you live/were born in/like going to..

For now I think I will just stick to what I've drawn/painted myself (sorry for the crappy quality of the first 2), but I might me looking for images and crediting their makers in the future too. (Maybe we'll even have a community artsy contest type of a thing. ;)) Aaanyway, I have painted a few myself so let's start this off with them. I'd be more than happy to see pictures you've made too! Baanie the baby ram. 2015. (c) Susimusta Baanie the baby ram and the ram balloon. 2015. (c) Susimusta My first ever attempt to paint a Sylvari! She could be better but for a first try I think she turned out quite nice. ^^ 2016. (c) Susimusta.

Ok, so I might've gone a bit nuts with these. Essentially they are called "lucky stars" and are folded from a strip of paper. *mumbles and finds the guide* http://www.origami-instructions.com/origami-lucky-star.html < here, for example. Or just google "Lucky star guide" and pick one of your liking. What you need is just an A4 (or bigger) sized paper, preferably the normal printing thickness or a bit thinner, because thick paper is more difficult to fold. You can cut a gazillion strips from a single piece of A4 paper and these look awesome in color. I myself bought a packet of colorful papers from the Lidl nearby (I know that exists in many countries), but as said, just normal printing paper works too. Don't worry, if you're not used to doing that much paper folding, the first one (probably second and third too) don't end up being the perfect stars, but you'll get a handle of it pretty fast. I also understand that for some people stuff like this might be rather nerve-wrecking instead of relaxing, but for me it's the latter. ^^ SO! Basically after folding them, I'll arm myself with a black marker (I have a Roller Ball pen, but any small-tipped black marker should work), and a white gel pen. First I draw two of -what looks kind of like the number "6" with the bottom blackened- next to each other, on both sides of the star. Like this. Then just fill in the top with the white. Result is a MARIOOO STAAARRRrrrrsss! I don't know what I'll do with them yet, probably fill a jar with them or something. Nevertheless, they're really fun to make! You can also try using glitter paper or adding a little shiny dust on them after folding or something, the sky is the limit with stars! :3

Commander / Server Moderator (M) / Guild leader of [SOUL] Susimusta here, hey! *waves* 24 year old yet-to-finish-her-thesis Uni student with a pending Bachelors' degree in social services + kindergarten teacher-ness. A proud (sometimes not so proud) Finn. If you've ever had the misfortune to encounter me on Teamspeak, you know that I really really really like talking - runs in my family. Expressing myself in the ways of creativity -- drawing, painting, jewelry crafting, paper crafts, stories, poems .. (depends on what I have the mood to do), is also very close to my heart. The OpenCommunity has given me a home and I will stand and protect it to stay as tolerant, warm and welcoming as it is for me. You can come and talk to me about anything! <3