This weeks theme on Illustration Friday is PEOPLE This illustration I made while sitting waiting for Mila & Loren at Skansen in Stockholm. It was a pretty nice day (only a few showers but considering Swedish summer been pretty poor that doesn't really count as bad anymore) I was sat close to a playground with a big wooden squirrel. Kids where climbing up and down. Kids are pretty fun to watch and very hard to illustrate because they are high and low and the noise level is hard to draw.. Kids are also people, right?!

Mila is born in Prague and spend her baby time in parks, cafées and restaurants socializing with other city kids. So when we moved here to the deep Swedish forest this spring she was far from impressed with living close to nature. Not that she was scared or anything but simply just didn't know what to do. Me born in this forest tried to convince her that there is plenty of cool things to play without fancy playground toys. But she continue to long for the city life. At one point she very loud complained every time coming here that she wanted to be in Prague, Moscow, Stockholm or anywhere but here. Heart breaking. We have now been here for over 5 months and slowly but surely this city chick has turned into a real country girl. The other day I asked her " Do you want to go in to town and play in a park or go out in the forest to pick blueberries?" and as fast as she could she put on her rubber boots and said "picking blueberries!"

I am working in a few Happy birthday illustrations that I started a while ago and they are still waiting to be finalized. I had my birthday last week. A nice sunny August day. My dad was here and my granddad came out with a nice walnut cake. A neighbor and my uncle Nosse & Ulli also came for coffee. As a present from my parents I got a new cool sewing machine that can make overlock, my God this machine is taking my sewing to new hights!! Happy birthday to me and to my new sewing projects!

Lately you find them everywhere.. In family living interior design magazines, creative blogs and on Pintrest. Super cute tapee's for kids in different trendy colors and patterns where the kids can play, hide or read. I have been thinking for a while how I best create one for Mila as I think it is pretty cool to have a little hideaway tent or maybe I just think they look pretty sweet and simply got inspired by all the glossy magazines and pictures. The benefit with living in the forest is that the resources of good material for the tapee body is huge. Even more so this year as the farmer has cute down quiet a lot smaller birch around us and just left it. So one day I went out with my big secateurs and cut what I needed. I also involved my dad in the project to get help with the fastening the wood together and to make sure it wont collapse. A cute flower pattern cloth in pink, orange and green tones got used as a canvas. A little lamp installed and some cushions ( although I stil...

During our stay here in Vingåker, Sweden, we have found this great hideaway that we come back to over and over. Not far from our house is an old chapel which has been transformed into a beautiful cafe and art gallery. Here you can get great coffee and a home-baked cakes Different artists are exhibiting their work in this beautiful room. Also different events are held here such as yoga, Argentinian tango courses and concerts. The chapel was originally built in 1873 and not only used for for religious services but also a local meeting point for the people in the area for over hundred years. I am so impressed of the people who saw the potential in this old building and was brave enough to create this cultural cafe far out in the Swedish countryside. We have been here quiet a few times this summer and it is always a lot of people. It is so great to have this close by when we feel like having a coffee and getting inspired by all the great art and the atmosphere. Check it out:  Berga ...

Sometime ago I made some illustrations based on comments from a Facebook post about how we Swedes living aboard see Sweden and Swedishness when we come "home". This was published in the latest issue of a web-based magazine called SMUL ( svenska som modersmål utomlands) a magazine for parents living aboard with kids having Swedish as a mother tongue. Very nicely put together don't you think. I also updated my webpage with all the orginal illustrations check it out here CCillustrator.com

This weeks topic on Illustration Friday is GROW My contribution is flowers growing at my mother's summer house. A couple of weeks ago I was watching Mila picking and eating wild strawberries and throwing stones in the lake and at the same time drawing flowers from the garden. 

Finally I had chance to create a few baby hats of a very cute pattern i bought last week. Unfortunatly hats is very much needed this summer..