Kiitos Karita!

For those of you not familiar with the Finnish language, kiitos means "Thanks".
And that, my friends, is what today’s post is all about!

 Every Friday for a whole year now, we have enjoyed the most beautiful inspiration by our ever so talented Finnish Design Team Member Karita.

 As previously announced Karita has decided to step down from LLC Design Team, but we can’t let her leave quietly without thanking her properly, can we?!!!

When I started planning for opening up the Live & Love Crafts Store, I made a wishlist of crafters I would like to have on my Design Team. I had for several years been an admirer of Karita’s work, so naturally she made it to the top of my list, and as the launching date of the store was creeping closer, Karita was the first person I contacted to ask if she would like to join my Design Team.

Gosh was I nervous when I sent off the message to her on Facebook…
It took a day, and then I got this reply back:

“ Thanks for contacting me. This all sounds so exciting and I´m very honoured by you asking me to be in your Design Team, thanks sweetie. And I will gladly say YES!!!! Your suppliers are my favourite ones so it´s easy for me to say yes to you. Oh I´m so excited about this. Thanks for asking me.”

OMG; I couldn’t believe my luck, that such a celebrity in the blogging world and such an amazing crafter like Karita had accepted my invitation!!!

Bear in mind, this is over a year ago, when nobody had heard about  Live & Love Crafts and nobody knew what the store would become… :-)

So on this note; myself and the LLC Design Team Members would like to take you on a trip down memory lane, showcasing some of our favourite projects by Karita.

Karita’s journey with LLC began on July 1st last year. Karita’s first project for LLC was also for our first challenge, Nautic:

 

With her second project she surprised me by using a vintage image on her card:

With time I learned that Karita is full of surprises; she always brings something new to the table.
We’ve watched her grow tremendously as a crafter over this last year.
She’s was an expert with Distress Inks when she joined LLC, then she decided she wanted to try out Copics, so she studied it for a short while and then stunned us all with this card:

Sandy on Karita:

"The fascinating thing about Karita is that she is always on the look out for something new in her crafting, whether it be colouring with Copics, using vintage images on her cards, making a scrapbook layout, altering an item or creating a mixed media canvas.

I think it’s only fair to say that she’s the most versatile Design Team Member LLC has had. I have often asked myself if there is something she cannot do. I honestly don’t think so, because if she doesn’t know how to, she puts her mind to it. She studies and then she practices it until she masters it. She’s a true artist with every medium she takes into her hand!"

I gave the LLC DT a very challenging task when I asked them to choose their favourite projects by Karita. In her year as a LLC DT Member she has created more than 60 projects, all beautiful, all unique.

Tracy on Karita:

"Where do I start.... firstly a very difficult choice to have to pick just ONE favourite.  Karita is a gifted artist who puts together the most beautiful vintage cards but is also gifted in being able to colour phenonimally well,  a jack of all trades us English would say.  A girl after my own heart with all that paint and messy stuff and her love for Sarah Kay stamps, I just love everything Karita creates and although she won't be on the LLC team anymore, Karita's blog will always be one I will look forward to visiting."

Tracy picked this vintage card, made by Karita in March for our weekly theme "Fussy & Fancy":

Elin chose Karita's "remake" card.
This card was also made in March, when the DT Members were recreating old cards they had made several years ago. Here Karita used one of her beloved Sarah Kay stamps:

 

Elin on this card:
 "This card just amaze me everytime I look at it. The transformation is just stunning, and the coloring on the girl is breathtaking!! As Karita is a huge Vintage Image fan  just like  me, it's really fun to see her coloring every now and then, as she gives her cards so much life and depth with her images. She does it to perfection."

Here's another Sarah Kay Card by Karita:

This one was created in August last year for our Riddersholm Design focus week.

As much as Karita loves her Sarah Kay stamps, she also loves Magnolia stamps.
Most of you probably know that for many years Karita was a permanent member of Magnolia's Design Team. Naturally she also created quite a few Magnolia cards during her time with LLC:

Elin's Words for Karita
"Dear sweat Karita. Thank you for all the inspiration and joy you have brought to our team, and to me! I am proud to say that I have been on a team with such a talented girl, and your creations will always inspire me to try new stuff and to try for perfection. You are a wonderful girl with loads of great humor and I will most definitely miss you happy smiles and comments here. I wish you all the best and good luck on you journey in both life and crafts. Keep in touch sweet thing <3 <3 <3 "


 Both Louise and Eulanda chose this gift box, made by Karita in February when we were working with Pion Design's new collection Alma's Sewing Room:
Louise on this project:
"It was this gift box that made me, the most pink obsessed loony there is, realize that there are other colours. There's lilac! Karita has in this way opened my creative horizon! Just check out her inventive use of every single centimeter of the paper and how she measured and composed her project so that all the beautiful details can be seen at their best. I just don't love pink, it has to be shabby as well, and just look at this box, it doesn't get more shabby than this! ;)"

Eulanda on Karita
"Over the past little while I have been visiting Karita's blog and OH-MA-GOODNESS this girl is LOADED with talent!!  She knows how to layer with just enough layers and embellish with just enough embellishments to make the perfect card or project.  It feels like whenever I look at something, I can go back again and see something else.  My eyes feel so good when I leave her blog.  LOL!  She also has different idea's for very project she makes and it's like she has a river of creativity that just keeps flowing and flowing.   If ever I get stuck I always bounce over to her blog to get some inspiration and will keep going over.  She is one of the reasons I have learned how to make a vintage card. Karita - I wanna be just like you when I grow up!!"

Louise on Karita
"Karita is a warm, generous and wonderful person, who furthermore creates THE most amazing projects! She is so versatile; she does LOs, mixed media and 3D. She always puts her heart and soul into her projects, so that the rest of us get to enjoy them to the fullest. I will miss her on the team, but I do have her blog address,  so also in the future I'll be following every step she takes. ;) "

As Becky said to me, one could easily choose all of Karita's creations, but here's Becky's choice, a Christmas card Karita created in January this year for our theme "Winter Wonderland":

 

 Becky on Karita:
"Karita is one of the most lovely, sweet and talented ladies I know. Her cards and creations are truly inspirational, I look at everything she makes in awe, there are always so many pretty details, and I have taken quite a bit of inspiration from her work. Her colouring is outstanding, but she can also make the most gorgeous cards, boxes, cases, well pretty much anything, with printed images and also pictures off design paper that I just could never think to use.
I am so sad to see her leave our team, she will be missed behind the scenes as well as on the blog. But, cyberland is so small, I know I will see her and her gorgeous creations around in blogland and on Facebook. Goodbye Karita, I'm going to miss you here, but I wish you the best of luck in everything that you do. Hugs, Becky x "

Tina on Karita:

"Wheather it's a cute card or a mixed media canvas, I love all Karita's creations. Also her layouts are enchanting. Karita is a very dear friend and I will miss her greatly in the team. I wish her the best of luck and many creative ideas. Of course I will continue to visit her blog and let myself be inspired by her. All the Best, and a Big Hug, your Tina"

This Scrapbook LO of her daughter Karita created in April this year when we were working with Maja Design's Vintage Spring Basics Collection.

Alyce picked Karita's Shabby Suitcase, a project made in April for our travelling theme:

Alyce on Karita:
"I have always admired Karita's wonderfully shabby style. Her projects always look so soft and magical and very well thought out. Karita - I am so sad that you are leaving just when I am joining, but of course I will always stop by your beautiful blog. :-) Thank you so much for the wonderful inspiration and good luck with all of your new adventures!!!"

 Sandy on Karita
"For me Karita will always be the "White Lady". She very early made it clear to me that white is her favourite colour, so I never had to think twice about what material to send her. :-) All the white laces and flowers were sent Karita's way and she'd always get the design papers with the least amount of colour. And if they were too colourful for her taste, she'd "shabbytaze" them with gesso, her greatest trademark!:-)  I don't know anyone who works the gesso as well as Karita  and can create such incredible projects all in white".

So to prove my point, check out this card that Karita posted a week ago for our Romance theme:

(Here she's been playing with snow tex though).

My absolute favourite card by Karita though is this Christmas card she made back in September when we were working with Vilda Stamps' images:

Is this colouring amazing or is it AMAZING?!!!
Here Karita has really put the gesso to use and I think this card is just magical; it's one of the most beautiful Christmas cards I've ever seen! It's so well composed and Karita has managed to create great focus on the image by her placement of the embellishments.

Karita, I don't have words to express how much I will miss you and how grateful I am for everything you've done for LLC and for me personally... but I'll try anyway. :-)
You helped putting LLC on the map and the truth is the store would not be what it is today without you.
Thank you for believing in me right from the beginning and all your support and help.
Thank you for all the wonderful inspiration, thank you for the laughters and fun we've had together.
Thank you for being such a wonderful friend.
Thank you for being you.

 /Sandy


So there you have it; some of the cards and projects Karita has created for LLC during her year as a Design Team Member. There are many many more to admire and get inspired by, so if you have the time, why not check out a few more HERE?!!!
And to make sure you don't miss any of her future creations, please make sure you stop by Karita's Blog and become a follower.

Best of luck on your mixed media path, Karita!
We will all miss you dearly and come visit you as often as we can.

Hugs from Sandy, Alyce, Becky, Elin, Eulanda, Louise, Tina, and Tracy.