Fika

 

I guess I have always had a fascination with words--unique, unusual words.  I started gathering them on a Pinterest board so that I could keep my favorites in one place.  The inspiration for my September Artfirmation card came from that list.

"Fika" is a concept, a state of mind, an attitude that is an important part of Swedish culture. Swedish people consider it an essential part of every day. Fika is a moment to slow down and appreciate the good things in life...coffee or tea with friends.  I loved this idea.  We all tend to get caught up in the frenzy of the day, trying to cram a million different things into a 24-hour period.  The pace is dizzying, exhausting and prevents us from being able to connect in a meaningful way.  Taking a break to sit and have a cup of coffee or tea with a friend is a beautiful ritual that allows us to stop, breathe, connect and express gratitude.

A few months ago, I signed up for Jenny Grant's "Story Flow" class on the Art is Magic website.  Jenny's process is very fluid (hence, "flow"), intuitive and I found it very relaxing.  She taught us how to create an interesting layered background with a collage of torn papers, mark making with pens/pencils and applying acrylic inks and paints with a palette knife.  I made several background pages experimenting with this process, trying different color palettes.

The background of my Fika page was one of those background pages.  The sepia, pastel blue and antique white tones gave a bit of a vintage vibe.  I began to picture coffee cups and chintz tea cups and saucers with crocheted doilies.  I used the coffee cup Movers & Shapers Sizzix die and then decorated the die cuts with washi tape.  I tea-dyed a crocheted doily that I cut up to embellish my "table."  I added the spoon from the Tim Holtz Idea-ology mini silverware set for the finishing touch.

Here's hoping we all find time for a little "fika" in our day!