Amethyst, February birthstone

Amethyst is a semiprecious stone and the February birthstone. It occurs in beautiful hues from a light pinkish violet to a deep purple. The ancient Greeks believed the stone can prevent intoxication so amethystos means “not drunk” in ancient Greek.

Amethyst is a beautiful stone therefore there are many stunning jewelry pieces made of it. Just take a look at our Russian Artists team members' amethyst  modern and vintage creations, we are sure you will like some or all of them!

 

1. Raw crystal amethyst necklaceby agardencottage

2. Tree-Of-Life amethyst andcopper pendant necklace by  JewelryFloren

3. Lavender amethyst and sterlingsilver necklace by LenaMer

4. Amethyst & citrine goldfilled necklace by Arctida

5. Raw rough amethyst bysmallparadise

6. Amethyst cufflinks by daimblond

7. Amethyst earrings by MyDreamBox

8. Amethyst pendant beadednecklace by SoMeJewelryShop

9. Sterling silver and amethystbracelet by NeroliHandmade

Last minute Halloween projects from Russian Artists

There is just a little bit time left for decorating for Halloween. If you are hosting a party here is some ideas for a last minute crafts and food from our team members blogs:

Falling leaves decor tutorial from Alecia's (Artctida) blog:

 

Black cat free cross stitch pattern from Vita's (DwarfsTreasure) blog:

Printable wine glass tags from Irina's (graphicland) blog (free image):

Appetizers ideas and recipes from Tanya's (socksandmittens) blog:

There are so much more great project ideas you will find in our shops on Etsy. Happy Halloween!

Victorian Halloween ephemera digital collage sheet by karisagraphic

Digital download abstract ink drawing by AlPlo

Printable Victorian Halloween gift tags digital collage sheet by graphicland

Halloween digital collage sheet by MyMidnightMoon

 

 

Natural homemade facial mask tips

Our team member Alesia, who runs Arctida shop on Etsy, likes to make skin care products on her own. We asked her to share some tips about facial masks.

Nourishing and Moisturizing mask with Avocado, Honey and Yogurt
This face mask is moisturizing, nourishing, smoothing and full of vitamins and minerals. It is perfect for dry and mature skin.

1 Avocado
1 tbs Honey
1 tbs Lemon juice
1 tbs Yogurt

Combine avocado, honey, lemon juice and yogurt in a blender. Let the mixture stand in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Apply mask on your face and neck and let set for about 10-15 minutes. Rinse off with warm water or just wipe off with a damp wash cloth.



Gentle peeling mask with Tomatoes
Tomatoes is a wonderful source of fruit acids (AHA = Alpha-hydroxy Acid). Fruit acids loosen the “glue” between dead skin cells and the cells fall away (aka peeling effect), leaving your face very smooth and soft.
1-2 Tomatoes
10 ml (2 tsp) Honey
4 g Cosmetic corn starch or 1 g Xanthan gum ***

*** if you don’t have cosmetic corn starch (or just do not want to use it), add as much cornmeal, oatmeal or any binder of your choice, as needed to produce a paste.
Combine tomatoes, honey and cosmetic starch/cornmeal/oatmeal in a blender. Apply formed paste to face and let set for about 10-15 minutes. Rinse off with warm water.






Cleansing fruit mask
Great homemade mask that helps you clean your face skin from the dead cells and blackheads
50 g Pineapple
50 g Muskmelon (any melon for that matter, except for watermelon will do fine)
100 ml Water
8 g Cosmetic corn starch***

*** if you don’t have cosmetic corn starch (or just do not want to use it), add as much cornmeal, oatmeal or any binder of your choice, as needed to produce a paste.

Combine pineapple, melon, water and cosmetic starch/cornmeal/oatmeal in a blender. Apply formed paste to face and let set for about 10-15 minutes. Gently wipe off with a damp wash cloth.

Enjoy your homemade skincare products!

Tutorial How to make homemade cold process soap

Today, our team mate Alecia who runs Arctida shop on Etsy is sharing a DIY tutorial how to make cold process soap scented with Lavender and Patchouli at home. This 100% essential oils is especially good for dry skin.

 Equipment:
· 2 mixing bowls, preferably stainless steel or tempered glass
· A cake mixer or a blender.
· A thermometer, scale and a rubber spatula
· Several measuring cups and spoons
· A microwave or a stove top (clean is good, sterile not necessary)
· Container/mold with cover
· Lots of paper towels
· Rubber gloves and safety glasses

Ingridients:
Olive Oil ~ 7.9 oz (225 g)
Coconut Oil ~ 4.4 oz (125 g)
Rice Bran Oil ~ 1.8 oz (50 g)
Cocoa Butter ~ 1.8 oz (50 g)
Shea Butter ~ 1.8 oz (50 g)
Alkanet root powder 1 ¼ tbs

Lye (3% superfatted) ~ 2.51 oz (71.2 g)
Water ~ 5.3 oz (150 g)

Additives:
Jojoba Oil ~ 0.53 oz (15 g)
Lavender and Patchouli essential oils ~ 0.4 oz (12 g)

Directions:
1. Suit up in safety goggles, gloves and long sleeves.

2. Add the lye to the water. Stir well taking precautions to not breathe in the fumes. Set the mixture to the side and allow it to cool to approximately 110F (~45°C ). You can put the lye water mixture outside if you are not in a well ventilated area.

3. Add all your fats and oils together and melt. Allow them to cool to approximately 110F, or within 5 degrees of the lye water.

Since I only use natural colorants, I had to prepare my Olive oil with Alkanet root powder in advance, hence the deep purple color of my oil mix.

4. Add the lye water mixture to the melted oils, carefully. Stir vigorously until trace occurs. Trace looks like a thin pudding. A stick blender will help speed trace along.

5. At the end of your trace, add extra oils (superfat your soap) and essential oils of your choice.

6. Pour your traced soap mixture into your molds.

7. Pop out after 3 to 5 days, cut it in bars and allow to sit for a full 4 to 6 weeks to cure and finish the saponification process. Recipe yields approximately 4 bars of soap, 4.5 oz (~ 125 g) each.

 

How to Make Homemade Moisturizing Hand Creme

Spring is here and we all are thinking of how to take care of ourselves to look and feel better. So think of your tired hands, they were working hard all winter long and now need some TLC, too!

You can purchase a ready made quality lotion or you can make it yourself. Alecia (Arctida), who is a scientist, a self-taught jewelry artist and photographer is also creating natural body care products for herself and her family. So with her step by step tutorial you will be able to make a great creme right at home to take care of your hands!

What you will need to make approximately 100 ml of product (all sterilized):

· 2 mixing bowls, preferably stainless steel or tempered glass
· A cake mixer or a blender.
· A thermometer
· A spatula and funnels
· Several measuring cups and spoons
· A microwave or a stove top (clean is good, sterile not necessary)
· Containers for the finished product
· Lots of paper towels

Ingredients:
Oil phase:
15 ml (3 tsp) Olive oil
15 ml (3 tsp) Jojoba oil
5 g ~ 5 ml (1 tsp) Cocoa butter
5 g Emulsifier (I use Cetearyl glycoside)

Water soluble phase:
55 ml (~ 3,5 tbs) – distilled or boiled water
5 ml (1 tsp) Glycerine (Glycerol)
15 drops Parabens or other preservative of your choice

3 phase:
1 ml Vitamin E
5 g Carbamide or regular Salt
10 drops Lavender essential oil (or your own choice)

Directions:

Have 2 separate mixing containers. In container #1 weigh your oil phase and heat it until all solid parts are melted, using 1 minute increments in your microwave. In container #2 weigh out and heat your water phase ingredients for approximately one to two minutes in the microwave. The water phase and the oil phase should have the same temperature around 70-75°C (degree Celsius).

Begin pouring the melted mixture in container #1 into container #2 and stir with your blender at the same time. You will need to continue blending the mixture with your blender for about 5-10 minutes (give your blender a few seconds to cool down within the 10 minute time allotted, otherwise you may burn up your motor).

When the mixture has cooled down to approximately 50°C (degree Celsius) you can start adding 3 phase ingredients. The essential oils should be last. Blend the whole mixture well.

Transfer the finished lotion into the jars of your choice.

Hand lotion by Alecia (Arctida)

Russian Artists team treasury was featured on Etsy Front Page

Today Russian Artists team treasury was featured on Etsy Front Page. Cosy and warm - Gift Guide under $60 was created by Arctida in Earth tones of brown, beige and cream colors.

The following Russian Artists team members were featuring in this gorgeous treasury: Katrinshine, Allmadewithlove, YanArt, Galafilc, BlueberryCream, Lightkeeping, TomBjornDesigns

Topaz - the mineral of the month for November.

Topaz is one of the most beautiful minerals attracting you with its beauty: the glow, transparency, shine and numerous color shades. Topaz is the color of the blue sky, golden sunshine, sparkling shades of wine, lightness of the dew in the morning. Topaz is a stone of friendship, prudence, happiness and clear spirit.


Topaz helps you to develop your intuition, protects you from curses, helps to keep you young and beautiful. It also stimulates your mind, that’s why philosophers will find it very useful. It gives you the ability of being honest, objective and liberal.


The mineral also helps you find friends: it attracts people’s affection. It brings you wealth and people acceptance. Topaz stimulates your optimism and opens your eyes for a goodness.


Topaz of any color for a man is wisdom, generosity and intelligence. For a woman - beauty and fertility. The stone protects you from people’s lies and helps you to be able to discover the liar.


The mineral is used for a good luck, material wealth, professional success. The gem is a talisman for a scientist, a businessman and a traveler.

The other stones, associated with the calendar month of November are

pearls

citrine and chrysoprase

chrysoprase



Story by Irina (BeautyLand)

Etsy Front Page!

Yesterday my (Arctida) treasury got to the Etsy front page. It contained 7 of our Team's members! Congrats girls :)


Curator: Arctida

Featured Etsy artists: MetamorphDK, dbabcock, dennisanderson, LaTouchables, Monicaj, JuliaFelt, steinschmuckdesign, BlueberryCream, lanadearg, daimblond, naiad, katrinshine, TonyaUtkina, pixiepaper, lightkeeping, yaelfran