Preparing for Prom

The school year is coming to the end. For some students these are their last days at school and the time to prepare for Prom.

If you are a girl the dress of course is essential. You want to look one of the kind.

Accessories are very important too. Brooches are a great way to add some flair.

Choosing the right hair accessories can spice up your look as well.

The right jewelry piece will emphasize your beauty.

And if you are a proud parent of a graduate we congratulate you and invite you to check out the wonderful gifts prepared by the Russian Artists Team!

Story by Yana (WineCountryLife)

Holiday gifts shopping

The holiday season is rapidly approaching and it’s time to start buying gifts for your friends, family, and don’t forget yourself ;-) This year many people are giving a pledge to only buy handmade gifts. What a great approach to holiday shopping! Handmade gifts are always more special and unique than mass produced stuff. You can find a wide range of holiday gifts offered by The Russian Team on Etsy.

Start with choosing gifts for your family. Does your sister like fashionable accessories?
Do you think your sister-in-law would appreciate a gift of handmade jewelry?
How about something sweet and cute for your coworkers?
Have you thought about surprising your boss with a nice handmade gift?

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Make sure you find something special for your mom.
There also a lot of cool handmade accessories that would make a great gift for a guy.
If you have little ones in your family you can find wonderful gifts for them prepared by the Russian Team.
Do you have a pet? Make sure they get a gift too!

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And after all the shopping for friends, family, and coworkers don’t forget to reward yourself with something very special this holiday season.

Happy holidays!

By Yana (WineCountryLife)

3 aspects of a Wine Country Life

 Hi, I’m Yana from WineCountryLife.

I live and create in the beautiful Napa Valley of California. Napa valley is known for its wine industry, thus often referred to as “Wine Country”. Today I would like to share with you what it’s like to live a wine country life. Here are the three aspects that in my opinion define a life in Wine Country.

1. Inspiring vineyard views.
It does not take much to get inspired here. There are gorgeous vineyards everywhere and it’s fascinating to watch grape vines change year round. I often take my camera and go for a walk. I watch leaves change colors in fall making vineyards flare up with red, orange, and yellow.

When winter comes grape vines become bare exposing bright stripes of green grass and yellow mustard flowers between the rows of grape vines. In spring you’ll see vines waking up from winter hibernation with fragile leaf buds coming out. In the beginning of summer I keep a close eye on the vines waiting for them to bloom. Have you ever seen grapes bloom? They bloom so shortly and their flowers are so small and unpretentious that you can easily miss it. The entire season cycle is so beautiful in the vineyards that I decided to create a calendar depicting the life of vines through the 12 months of a year.

Fresh country air, warm California sun, and the beautiful Napa country side always rejuvenate me but there is more that makes Napa Valley such a happy place.

2. Culture of hospitality.
All of these grapes and all the wine would mean nothing if you couldn’t share it with others. Many Napa Valley wineries set a great example of hospitality by hosting wine tastings for their guests, regular parties for their club members, as well as all kinds of charity events. Napa lifestyle is big on hosting and entertaining not only at wineries but on a personal level.

I like inviting friends over for dinner that is always paired with delicious Napa Valley wine. And whenever you visit someone you bring… you guessed it! – a bottle of wine.

3. Napa Valley Style
Going out to dinner or wine tasting is also a big part of a wine country life. Most people get fashionable and dress up when going out in Napa Valley. Even though California fashion style is rather casual and you can wear your flip-flops or tennis shoes almost everywhere, when it comes to Napa Valley, people get extravagant. That’s why luxurious one of a kind jewelry and accessories are another part of a wine country life.

It’s not unusual to see limousines on the roads of Napa Valley. People often hire a limo with a driver to go wine tasting, which is very reasonable - who would want to go to a winery and not try all of that delicious wine? There is a lot of fine dining in Napa Valley, The French Laundry being the most famous. Napa Valley is also home to some modern artists and you will see beautiful art installations walking the streets in Napa or Yountville. So it’s only natural that people want to look chic when they are going out in Napa Valley. Do you think I can pull it off? :)

Gorgeous views, great hospitality, and fabulous style are the three aspects of a Wine Country Life as I see it. I’d say it’s definitely a happy life. I strongly encourage you to come and visit if you have not yet. If you have been to Napa Valley, I don’t have to persuade you for long. I would also suggest that you get yourself a piece of Napa Valley by shopping at WineCountryLife ;-)

Personalized gifts

When looking for gifts we always want to find something special for every person on our list. We search for something that will tell that person we were thinking of him/ her when we chose the gift. How can this be achieved? Through personalization!

It is much easier to get a personalized gift for someone when you are buying handmade products. Many artists accept custom orders and will work with you to make a special gift for that someone on you your list.

Custom color is one of the options you will find. It's wonderful to be able to choose the product in the favorite color of the recipient.

You can also choose to have the person’s name spelled out. That way they will definitely know it’s exclusively for them!

If you think a name is too much, how about an initial? Using the person’s initial will make any gift special.

How about having the initial embroidered?

It is also fun to a have a necklace with your initial as a pendant.

Whichever way you choose to personalize your gifts and make them special for your friends and family, have fun with it and enjoy this shopping season!

By Yana from WineCountryLife

Autumn celebrations

Autumn is a beautiful time of year when we see tree leaves change colors, enjoy plentiful fruits and vegetables, and get together for celebrations!

We decorate our homes with beautiful fall accents big and small. I personally love bringing seasonal nature elements into my house.

I gather moss, leaves, cones, and acorns whenever I go for walk. It’s fun to have a piece of autumn nature indoors.

There are a lot of celebrations in fall. We have many excuses to gather around a festive table.

We celebrate harvest (at least here in Napa Valley we do);

 many people host and attend Halloween parties;

and of course every household prepares for Thanksgiving!

Setting a celebratory table is a great way to show your creativity. Table décor is a reflection of your personality.

Do you like a simple minimalistic style or do you go all out with details?

Do you enjoy coordinating all the accents in one warm color palette or do you choose something non-traditional?

Do you use twigs and leaves as your table décor?

I’d love to hear how you decorate your house for fall and what your favorite table accents for fall celebrations are.

Harvest Time

October is one of my favorite months of a year for many reasons.

First of all, it’s harvest time! Bountiful fruits and vegetables at local farmers’ markets make it fun to cook and be creative in the kitchen. I also like to use pumpkins and all kinds of gourds as fall décor in my house.

Besides the gastronomic pleasures of autumn, fall brings such rich and beautiful colors that they always inspire me to create.

The vineyards around my house become colorful quilts of green, yellow, and red. I like walking through the vineyards and look for color combinations and texture contrasts to use in my designs.

Another reason I love October is because the entire Napa Valley where I live smells like harvested grapes in the morning.

Even when I’m driving behind a slow grape truck on our one-lane highway, instead of feeling irritated about the delay I get excited about the new grape harvest and begin to wonder how this year’s growing season will affect the wine.

What do you like about October? What are your favorite fruits and vegetables of the season? What inspires you the most this time of year? I want to hear your story!

By Yana WineCountryLife

Alice in Wonderland

“Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do. Once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, “and what is the use of a book”, thought Alice, “without pictures or conversations?”…”

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The ever popular “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” is the kind of book that does not make you bored. It sure has some conversations to keep you entertained. We know it from childhood yet we still find it fascinating through our adult years.

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The story of Alice brings out the magical world with riddles, logic games and puns, and strange creatures; it stimulates our imagination; it inspires us to blend fantasy with reality.

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“Take some more tea”, the March Hare said to Alice, very earnestly.
“I’ve had nothing yet”, Alice replied in an offended tone, “so I can’t take more.”
“You mean you can’t take less”, said the Hatter; “it’s very easy to take more than nothing.”

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Every now and then all of us need to travel down the rabbit hole to break away from bogging routines. Sometimes we need a mad tea party to give us a fresh perspective on things and inspire our imagination. Taking some time with a good book such as “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” is a great way to bring more creativity into your life.

Story by Yana (WineCountryLife)

Very berry inspiration

Recently I’ve been getting out to my back yard every morning to stretch in the sun and eat some blackberries, blueberries, and strawberries that grow in my garden. That gives me a good dose of energy to start the day and get busy creating.

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The summer abundance of fresh fruit and berries is exhilarating and we want to prolong it as much as we can. This berry inspiration goes far beyond making jams and jellies. We try to preserve summer by creating berry inspired art and crafts.

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The beauty and exciting freshness of berries is an inspiration for people working in many different techniques. Check out these works by Russian Artists inspired by strawberries. Each one of them is unique and reflects the berry inspiration in its own way.

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No matter what the techniques or materials are, berry inspired accessories liven up any wardrobe and bring a happy smile to our faces. So eat up on fresh berries and design something berry inspired this summer!

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Story by Yana (WineCountryLife)

Interview with a Star - Yana (WineCountryLife)

Today, we are sharing an interview with Yana who runs WineCountryLife shop on Etsy



- Please tell us a little bit about yourself.

My name is Yana. I was born and raised in Russia. My hometown Novosibirsk in Western Siberia is not covered in snow year around as many people think. As a child I loved those short but hot summer months. A few years ago I moved to California and love everything about this state: beautiful nature, mild climate, delicious food, and friendly people. And better yet, I live in Napa Valley, the most famous wine producing region in the western hemisphere.


- Why did you decide on Wine Country Life for your business name?

I am fortunate to live a place that constantly inspires me. When you are in Napa Valley you can’t help but admire the beauty of rolling hills covered with rows of grapevines. When you take a breath of fresh county air and a sip of delicious Napa wine - you feel that life is good. That’s the feeling I want to share with people through my creations; thus the name – Wine Country Life.


- What items do you carry in your shop?
I offer handmade cards and handcrafted jewelry. I’m hoping to extend into making some home decor items and wine accessories in the future.


- Any sales or promotions?

I’m happy to offer a 10% discount coupon on everything in my store (www.WineCountryLife.etsy.com) to all readers of the Russian Artists blog. All you need to do is enter the code RUSTEAM when you are at the checkout and 10% will be automatically deducted off your entire purchase.


- Why will people love your items?

Most of the things I make are one of a kind creations. Each one carries my love and positive energy in it. It shows in the quality of my products, my packaging, and my customer service. I know that people appreciate that personal touch. Sharing my humanity in the era of mass produced utilitarian stuff is what drives me in my work. I see it as my mission to bring more individual attention and personal warmth in place of impersonal and soulless tendencies of the 21st century.

- What is the best reaction you have gotten from one of your pieces?

Here is one feedback I got: “It's one Amazing Work of Art!!! Absolutely Beautiful!!!!” You wouldn’t think that it is about a simple birthday card. It makes me happy when people enjoy their purchase from WineCountryLife and I appreciate it when they take the time to tell me they like it.


- Do you have a Favorite quote you'd like to share with us?

“Happiness is not a destination; it’s a method of life”. I think I’ve figured out the method that works for me. I am a happy person.