Getting cosy | Suse Fish

Have you heard of the Danish concept of Hygge? It's pretty new to me, too.

Pronounced 'hoo-gah', it's all about cosying up: think blankets, candles, hot chocolate and open fires. I've been trying to inject a bit of this concept into my life as the weather turns colder here in the UK... and as one who loves nothing more than snuggling up under a blanket with a good read, it's not been too hard!



Can you tell I was thinking about Hygge when I made this layout about our little fur sisters, Mittens and Muffin?

I knew immediately that I wanted to use the wood textured paper as my background to give that cosy-but-bright Scandinavian feel. As with this style of interior, I like my pages to have a lot of clean, bright space, with just pops of colour and texture layered on top.



Do you remember the genius layout Wilna Furstenberg did a while back where she used actual fairy lights on her page? Well, I had that sort of idea in mind when I popped these gorgeous little lightbulbs down as hanging lights. I like that the tissue circles give a sense of 'bokeh glow' around them too.

And there's nothing quite like stringing up twinkly lights at any time of the year to give a cosy atmosphere, is there?



I can never resist layering up items with different textures: glassine bags, delicate doilies, natural string... even plastic packaging pouches. They all add the extra interest and richness that help make the page look visually satisfying.



Another technique I love is scattering smaller details over the top once my main cluster is looking nice and chunky.

In this case, I stamped the phrase 'so snuggly' over and over, then liberally scattered pretty sequins and plenty of gold Heidi Swapp Colour Shine over the top. Combined, they give a lovely sense of generosity and plenty.

And isn't that what the cosy-ing up idea of Hygge must be all about? Happy snuggling, friends!

Supplies used: November 'oh deer!' kit | December 'hello, Christmas!' kit | 'oh, deer!' acetate shapes | FJ stamp - 'oh, deer!'