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Best Friend - DIY

Thursday, October 31, 2013

The idea of DIY - Do It Yourself - is taking over the internet. There are lots of cute things you can make yourself.. Fewer things will be not only cute, but also can look like a piece of art. That can happen only if an artist is able to provide a very detailed instruction.

I could not pass by those blue eyes... I have exactly such eyes at home :) and have to restrict myself from dropping everything and making this bracelet!
To be fair I should mention that the author of this bracelet instruction is Irina Shevchenko. There are other instructions in her etsy store as well as the beaded jewellery. Check them out, they are worth it!

My Giveaway is over!

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

October was not exactly an easy month for me :) Nice, full of surprises and new people in my virtual life... but busier than I'd want it to be :) I am glad it is over! My Giveaway is over! The result is at the Russian Artists blog :) Back to my quiet life and new projects :)
 
Maybe I will repeat it :)

Definition of "adorable" :)

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

 
When I had found this store, I had hard time trying to choose pictures for my virtual wish list. Can you say "adorable"? For sure! Absolutely adorable tiny toys!
 
They are crocheted... and I am afraid even to imagine how tiny that crochet has been! Did she do it under a microscope? :)
 
Their "mom's" name is Irina Tretyakova. Little snowmen, angels and other creatures are available for adoption in her etsy shop.
 

Irina's Facebook
Irina's Blog

And the front page of Etsy again!

Monday, October 28, 2013

I know, I've been lucky this month :) Irina and me were playing every day and I had a good chance to be in her treasury that has made it to the front page :) My odds have been good and here I am! in her fp treasury! :))

Congratulations, Irina!


I was looking for a pumpkin, but found an artist to admire

Friday, October 25, 2013

I was looking for some breathtaking Halloween art in etsy to add into my wish list for future. I've sure found it! The author is David Galchutt.



This fantastic Halloween artwork helped me to find the artist whose work impressed me so much, that any of his pictures can go straight to my wish list and then to my walls!
 
I cannot help myself but add one more picture of his illustrations as a reminder to myself that he also has fantabulous illustrations for the children. His work can also be found in his etsy store.
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Etsy finds. Cool knitted accessories

Thursday, October 24, 2013

I appreciate handmade knitted accessories as I used to knit myself. I actually find it addictive... but time consuming... I had to train myself not to touch knitting needles and yarn :) I am off the hook now, but still cannot pass by interesting knitted things.
 
   
The author of these cool hats and scarves is Tanya. She has a lovely etsy store and delightful pictures. Visit and enjoy!

The Beaded Fly - DIY

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

If you like working with the seed beads or would like to try, here is a challenge for you: an instruction "How to make a beaded fly".

Well, note two things:
1) It is in Russian, but there is a picture of every step, so you do not need to read in Russian to follow the instruction.

2) This is a free of charge instruction, but the web-site that is hosting it paid the author for it. There for let's be fair to them and at least pay them a visit and download it from their web-site. Do not worry, it is easy to find the link.

Follow this link, please.

Inspiration. Frosty Moscow flowers :)

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

A friend of mine Rina Stepnaya has just published new pictures of her garden in her own blog. Winter has come to Russia... unexpectedly! :)) But the garden looks like a fairy tale illustration now! I asked her, if I could take some of them for inspiration. She replied: "Take as many as you can!". She was so right... it was impossible to take all of them, but I sure tried :) Enjoy this frosty Moscow morning with Rina!
 
 





















Humble vintage Russian bottle keeps its mystery well :)

Monday, October 21, 2013

Before I've returned to etsy as a seller, I had researched some ideas on taking well staged pictures.  In one of my previous posts I have already mentioned my vintage book that makes a good background for the pictures. Today I would like to tell a story of this Russian wooden bottle.
 
It is at least as old as I am... that makes it vintage... (does it make me "vintage" too? :) I remember it as long as I remember myself, and it already looked like that - old. So, it must be older then...
 
This humble bottle was used by me... I was keeping my little treasures... one of them was Canadian one cent coin. We had no idea where it had come from! There was no Canadian currency available in the Soviet Union... but I had that coin... it is still a mystery. Now this humble vintage bottle is a great background for Canadian maple leaves :) This bottle has a mind of its own, that's all I can say!

Virtual Wish List. Seed bead jewellery

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Just lovely necklace! Awesome autumn piece of jewellery, one of a kind.... will always stay in my virtual wish list, as it has been sold to somebody lucky!
The author of it is Svetlana Dubinsky, the winner of multiple seed bead jewellery contests (I definitely can see why). Of course she has other wonderful beaded jewellery in her etsy shop. Check them out, you will have no regret about visiting her store!

Too much bragging, perhaps :)

Friday, October 18, 2013


My maple leaf necklace is on front page! :)

Vintage Russian designs in my jewellery is inspired by...

Thursday, October 17, 2013

 


A few times at different shows I have been asked to look at that book that I have always mentioned when telling about my vintage Russian designs being my inspiration...
 
I was looking at my etsy shop, checking what could be improved, when my eye was caught by a few pictures... That's right! This is the book! It is more than 50 years old now and sure looks like it too :) 


Very photogenic book for taking nice pictures of my jewellery!

So, if anybody is still interested in looking at my inspiration book, here it is!


Etsy finds. Russian Artists Team

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

One of my first finds on Etsy was the Russian Artists team. I just have to mention them, as it was a really great find! When I have decided to be an active part of Etsy, I had no idea where to start. They had all necessary information and even more! Very friendly and helpful team.
 
They also have a great blog that is open for help for a newbie. The blog is in English, by the way ;) It has tons of useful information, no wonder they have so many followers! They write about their members, about the green living, recipes, patterns, giveaways ;) and more. The latest giveaway that they are hosting is mine (it is still not too late to participate in it ;) These silver earrings are going to somebody at the end of this month!
 
(The Russian-speaking etsians may also join the team itself)
 

Bragging time!

Sunday, October 13, 2013


My squirrel necklace is on front page of etsy!

Well, if they are still available, check them out here :)

A unique gift that I have received for no reason at all, just because I am so nice :)

Have you ever seen this jewellery making technique? It looks like tatting... some of you might say. However, tatting is an old technique for making flat lace. This piece is not flat, but 3D. The tatting is only a small part of this new technique that was developed by a group of four Russian handmaders. They used the first letters of their names to come up with a name for it. They called it ANKARS.  If you are curious what jewellery is made in ankars technique, you should google and look for yourself. They are amazing!

I was lucky enough to meet one of the ankars developers a few years ago and make virtual friends with her. She is a nice lady, very intellectual and intelligent. She is also the most popular teacher of the ankars technique in Russia. I had one of her books about ankars... and now I have a set of jewellery made by her... this bracelet and earrings.

I love my jewellery that I get as a gift exchange with my friends. I have known them for years... It is so nice to have something they make. Touch what they were touching... even though I have never seen them in real life while spending hours communicating in Internet...
It is amazing, that any ankars piece of jewellery is a conversation piece. Its history is so new and the look is so unusual, that it will attract attention of anybody who likes jewellery. They can only be one of the two: either know exactly what it is or know nothing about it :) In both cases they will be interested in talking about it :) I will be putting it on only when I am in a "talking mood" (that is pretty much always :)
Who is this fairy who made me the set? Her name is Rina Stepnaya. And this is her web-site: http://rina-ankars.narod.ru/  It is in Russian. The pictures do not need a translation, though ;)

Autumn necklace

Friday, October 11, 2013

This Fall necklace was not made "yesterday". As it happens sometimes, its time just has not come until now. The smaller leaf has a color of a vintage book as well as dry leaves lost by the trees in autumn. The metal of it is nothing special, though rear. It is so called white bronze with patina.
 
This piece is one of a kind because of this. Another one can be done with gold, or brass, with or without patina, but no white bronze again and no "vintage book" patina :) 
 
This wonderful necklace is still for sale in my etsy shop. If you are interested in something unique, it might be just for you! Click here to see more pictures or purchase it.

Virtual Wish List. Victoria Antolini

Thursday, October 10, 2013

As an active seller on etsy (who I have become), I see a lot more products now and come across wonderful artists and the things that they make and sell. Etsy is a very dynamic website. The items are constantly being sold or expire. It is very difficult to save all those wonderful things that I find. I think, a blog is a perfect virtual place where I can save them together with some information about the artists and their contact info.

Look for the label "virtual wish list" to your right.


My first find is an illustration artist Victoria Antolini.

If you look at this picture (a print, actually) you will understand me, why her art has caught my eye! This is a magical picture... This deer is straight from a fairy tale! The print goes straight to my wish list for my son's room.

There is a Russian fairy tale "Silver Hoof" that I instantly thought about when saw this deer.

The print is sold here (I do not mind sharing ;)




However I do like other artwork by Victoria too.  She has a wonderful ocean art print that I am in love with. That fish is from a fairy tale too, though not Russian... I will have to think what story can be related to it...

Here is some info from Victoria's website:

"Victoria Semykina is a Russian illustrator and fine artist currently based in Bologna, Italy.

In between illustrating, she loves observing people, traveling and riding her red bicycle which features a basket that serves well collecting materials for her collages and other artwork.

Her strong passion for ships propels Victoria to spend considerable time at her shipyard working on the realization of her dream, which is to sail around the world in her largest paper vessel."





What I do not sell... on etsy

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

These pictures are courtesy of  Just Jewellery gallery. The pieces are from my Fashion Week collection, that was designed for the catwalk. If you think you have not seen anything like this in my etsy shop, you would be right :) You have not. This collection has been designed to be sold in this fabulous jewellery gallery in White Rock. All pieces are handmade by myself and they are one of a kind. Lots of black, lace and Swarovski crystals. Casual or fancy? You will have to decide for yourself! :)

 

 
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