How to make a nautical knots bracelet #etsycraftparty

Today Katrin from katrinshine will show how to make a wonderful knotted bracelet nautical style. She choose a pale pink color to make hers but you can always make it in traditional white, red and blue nautical colors. 

Materials you need:

• pliers
• cord about 0.5-0.7m/20-30"
• cord ends
• 2 jump rings 5mm/0.2" diamete
• lobster clasp
• if it's possible, the chain-extension
• ruler
• scissors

So, lets begin. Take the cord and divide it into two halves. Then, from one half make out the knot shown in the figure below.

Pass the second cord besides the first one. Here's what you should have.

Tighten the knot.

Measure your wrist. Cut out this length from the the cord with knot wrapping the place before with scotch tape. You can put a drop of glue. Do not be afraid that the bracelet will be small - we are still going to add the lobster clasp and chain extention, at the end the length increases.

Attach cord ends to both ends of the bracelet.

At one end attach the lobster clasp, at another end - the chain-extension.

Your bracelet is ready! Happy crafting!

Special Gift for Drew Barrymore

Beautyland by Irina Kupryukhina with the association The Artisan Group is excited to announce that they were recently selected to gift some of their jewelry and accessories products in an exclusive collaborative gift bag, prepared especially for celebrity Drew Barrymore and her family.

One of the gifts is a set of earrings and a bracelet with white Swarovski pearls, gold seed beads, and gold orchids. They were created professionally in her home studio, set up by Irina.

Beautyland was created by Irina Kupryukhina about four years ago. She specializes in jewelry and accessory design. The main focus of her work is the creation of felted accessories from natural wool, gemstone jewelry, and jewelry for special occasions. Her accessories are popular not only in Oregon and the US, but also outside the U.S. All items are unique and are in a limited edition. Irina constantly searches for creative ideas and studies new and different techniques.

 Take a look at Beautyland shop on Etsy. Here you will find a great selection of unique artisan designed custom hand made jewelry. All pieces are Irina Kupryukhina's original designs utilizing thousands of beads that she has mixed using semi precious stones, pearls, high quality glass, crystals and wool. Every piece is handmade for you and your special event.

To learn more about Irina's products please visit Beautyland, her shop on Etsy.

Felted bracelet giveaway results from galafilc

We are happy to announce the winner of our felted bracelet giveaway from galafilc. 

Comment #63 by BearyAnn was chosen as a winner, so the bracelet will be packed in a next couple of days and sent to the winner's address!

 Congratulations to the winner and thank you for participation, everyone!

Beaded bracelet tutorial from Svetlana (LiriGal)

Today, Svetlana who runs LiriGal shop on Etsy.com is sharing a simple tutorial how to make this gorgeous bracelet.

This bracelet is made of Japanese seed beads and freshwater pearls. The instructions are very simple!


Using this great tutorial, you can make a great piece of jewelry on your own. It'll be great gift for friends, family, or for yourself. Enjoy!

Team treasury on the front page of Etsy

This morning was beginning with great news - our Russian Artists team treasury was featured on Etsy front page! It begin to be a good tradition. This is very beautiful collection in fresh turquoise color named "Awaking". It was made by Russian Artists team member Inessa. Thank you, Inessa and congratulations all featured artists!

Stylish things, Anastasia lightkeeping

Have you ever taken a walk in a birch grove during the summer? Bright sunshine pierces the lacy birch foliage. Small white and blue wildflowers are flirting with each other. Ripe berries of wild strawberry are playing hide-and-seek with sunrays. A light breeze brings with it the aroma of wild grasses and flowers. You get the same wonderful feeling when you visit the 'lightkeeping'.


The owner of the store is a charming lady named Anastasia. You can definitely tell a lot about a person from looking at her works. Looking at Anastasia's creations, you can immediately see that she is kind cheerful, and her store radiates happiness.


Anastasia is a talented jewelry designer. Most of her pieces are made with lamp-work beads, which she complements with Swarovski crystals, genuine precious and semi-precious gemstones, pearls, etc. Earrings, bracelets, pendants, necklaces, hair clips – everything made by Anastasia - immediately attracts your attention. All her creations are simple, elegant and original.


Anastasia keeps her relationships with her customers very personal. She respects her customers' taste and does her best in listening to their wishes. She says: «Custom orders are always welcome; if you see an item in my store that you like, but would like it better if it were put together in a somewhat different way, I'll be happy to accommodate! And if you like my "style" but don't see a particular color you'd like, I may be able and will be glad to put something together for you.»





Tomorrow is Anastasia's birthday. Rusteam would like to congratulate Anastasia and wish her to always remain her charming self and keep amazing us and her customers with her wonderful works.



Happy Birthday, Anastasia!


Story by Lana (FineEmbroidery)

Translated by Alla (FleetingStillness)


The story is also available in Russian there.

Christmas giveaway - Fabric bracelet

We are proud to announce another Holiday giveaway today!

Katrin, owner of Katrinshine shop on Etsy, is a professional seamstress from Italy who creates lovely historic dresses, corsets, textile jewelry, patchwork bags and great quilted pillow for a cozy home. Here is just a few:




Katrin is kindly offering this wonderful organza bracelet “Holiday Shimmer” for her giveaway. Can you imagine wearing this gorgeous piece at the Holiday parties? Now you can have it for free if you win our giveaway!



The rules are simple, here they are (leave your e-mail in the entry):

1. Visit her shop, browse her collection and leave a comment here on what you like the best (1 entry)
2. Heart Katrin's shop (1 entry)
3. Follow/ subscribe our blog (1 entry)
4. Grab our button and place it on your blog (include a link to your blog) (2 entry)
5. Follow/ subscribe Katrin’s twitter/ facebook/ blog (1 entry each)
6. Tweet about this giveaway (include @KatrinFedotova in your tweet) (1 entry)
7. Tweet about three most appealing to you products from Katrinshine shop (include @KatrinFedotova in your tweet) (2 entries)
8. Share this giveaway on facebook/ your blog (include a link to your post) (2 entries)

This giveaway will run until Friday, December 10, 2010. The winner will be chosen through Random.org and announced on Saturday, December 11th!

Have fun and good luck everyone!

Wonderful things Wednesday - Serenity

Early in the morning I like to come out on my deck with a cup of coffee and take a moment just looking at the trees in my backyard. The sun is not quite out yet, everything is quiet and milky fog is floating in the air.

It is nice to carry this feeling of piece and serenity into the hectic day routine. Use a soft shawl, a pair of white felted gloves, or your favorite brooch as a magic object that will transport you to a quiet sanctuary even if only for a brief moment.

1. Beige Leather Double Cuff Bracelet by Justlena
2. White frosted berry felt wool brooch by CityCrochet
3. Rock Crystal Clear Quartz earrings wire wrapped in oxidized sterling silver – Leda by Arctida
4. Perfect day/ Fabric rosette necklace with brass leaf by StudioElenus


1. Crocheted white mohair flower brooch by TomBjornDesigns
2. Gentle tiger ...Nuno Felted Bag by Svetusha
3. Bridal purse lace crochet by Allmadewithlove
4. Lace White Crocheted Christening Baptismal Gown Dress, Beret and Booties Set For Size 0 to 6 months by IraRott



1. Ear Flapped Style Wool Felt Hat – Unisex by Woolsolution
2. Socks hand knit oatmeal by Socksandmittens
3. Nuno felt scarf white with brooch Tenderness by Galafilc
4. Wool felted eco friendly wrist warmers by JaneBoFelt


Story by Alla FleetingStillness
Collages by Katya KarisaGraphic

Interview with a Star – TonyaUtkina

Today our featured guest is TonyaUtkina who is a member of Russian Artists Etsy team. Tonya has two completely different shops on Etsy. In CityCrochet Tonya offers hand crocheted and hand knitted items for urban style fashionistas as well as home décor items and hand felted accessories. In TonyaUtkina Etsy shop she offers happy and bright jewelry items made of high quality Czech glass, silver plated wire and felt.

Q: Could you please tell us a bit about yourself?
I grew up in Moscow, Russia and I am still in love with that beautiful and vibrant city. It’s not only a place of my childhood but a city with history that dates back to 1147 AD and diverse, fast pacing urban life. I still have a lot of friends and family members in Moscow and go back every year. In my mid 20s I moved to New York following my husband who got accepted to a university. It was a difficult but manageable transition as New York actually remind me Moscow a lot. Later on we moved to Richmond, Virginia where I reside now.

Q: How did you pick up crafting?
I love to create things with my hands! I’ve been crocheting and knitting since I was little. Hand crafting runs in my family as my mom has a great taste and wonderful hands. As so many Russian moms back in 80s and 90s she sewed and knitted for all my family. My brother and I always had beautiful and neat clothes hand made by my mom. I remember myself crocheting home décor items, making small sculptures out of wood, creating figures of paper mache. It was all back in my childhood when I had plenty of time to just hang around and experiment. Since then I had my own kids. While observing my children grow at some point I felt a need to resume my crafting. It’s great that my kids watch me actually make things with my hands and even try helping me sometimes.

Q: What are your favorite materials?
I love glass for its brightness and transparency. There are so many things one can create of glass beads and wire. One’s creativity is pretty much the only limit. Recently I’ve discovered felting which in some sense is similar to knitting and crocheting but gives much more room for experimenting. The result can be totally unpredictable.

I’m a fan of minimalism that has nothing in common with a traditional Russian ornamental style rich in flowers, curves, swirls, stylized animal and nature images. I guess I’m not a typical Russian in that sense as I adore simple lines and bold colors.

Q: What can you tell us about your Etsy experience?
I actually discovered Etsy by pure chance through an article in Wired magazine. I really liked the idea of an independent portal for artisans and craftsmen from all over the world. Besides I always thought that Etsy layout and design is very friendly and well thought out! I had no prior experience with on-line sales and marketing and Etsy came as a sort of revelation to me. I’ve been on Etsy for a bit more than a year now and I’ve learned a tonne since I started. It’s amazing how much more I now know about the world of on-line sales, SEO and marketing!

Wonderful things Wednesday - Holiday gift guide: gifts under $20

Every year we have a Holiday gift exchange between our friends. We are pretty fluent in what we are going to buy as a gift but we have our limits: all our gifts are supposed to be under $20!

If you are trying to find the perfect gift within a budget here is the solution: shop online at Etsy! It is easy, convenient and you don't have to spent hours to find something great and wonderful which will fit your budget!

To prove that great gifts don't have to be expensive and they can be cool without breaking your piggy bank please check our collection!


1. White Christmas/ Fabric rosette statement ring by StudioElenus
2. Sterling silver handstamped Zodiac earrings by BlueberryCream
3. Organic Strawberry Facial Scrub Sample Size Natural and eco-friendly no soap vegan cleanser great for acne by Herbolution
4. Knit felted purse cellphone holder by Allmadewithlove



1. White felted wool acorns set of 5 by CityCrochet
2. Deep red flower brooch by Cushyadornments
3. Snowy Owl Necklace Polymer Clay Medallion by ArtHarmony
4. Winter House Clay Ring by Smafactory


1. Cordoba tile patchwork pot holder by RizalaYa
2. Felted flower brooch by Galafilc
3. Ornament - red hearts by AleksandraRoo
4. BLUE gamma striped felt bracelet by Soroka

Wonderful things Wednesday - Wonderful felt

Felt is a process of creating material from sheep wool and other animal fibers like camel, llama, alpaca, mohair, cashmere goat and e.t.c.

There are a lot of legends around felt on where it appeared first. It was practiced by many cultures around the world since the Iron Age. Some legends say that wool was packed once into sandals of Saint Christopher to prevent blisters and became firm under the pressure of the body weight and presence of moisture. Some old felt hats 3500 years old were found in Scandinavia. Some felted horse adornments dated back to the Bronze Age were found in the Altai Mountains of Siberia. Felted clothing was used by Asian and Mongolian warriors of Atilla the Hun and Genghis Khan. The clothing was light and comfortable, wind- and waterproof.

The most popular Russian historical felt products were Valenki. These are traditional felted boots which will keep your feet warm even at the coldest winter! They were used for centuries and long ago had served a single family for years being sometimes passed from generation to generation.

Today we have a wide variety of felt products. Some of these are scarves, slippers, purses and even jewelry and home decor items. These are getting more and more popular these days. The felt makers now can use their imaginations to make a variety of products. Sometimes the felt artist makes items that are both practical and a piece of art.

Here is our collection of wonderful felted item today - enjoy!


1. White poppy felt flower a brooch by Soroka
2. Felted Wool Baby Booties with Flower in Natural Gray Color for 6- 12 month by IraRott
3. Hand felted grey necklace city style by TonyaUtkina
4. Nuno Felted silk and wool scarf Ashes of Roses OOAK by JaneBoFelt



1. Nuno Felted Bracelet with Jasper by Jezek
2. Nuno Felted scarf wrap Rowanberry OOAK by Galafilc
3. Felted brooch red heart by SweetNumber
4. Oriental tales ... Felted slippers by Svetusha



1. Blackberry hand felting scarf by Beautyland
2. Felted Ring in lavender by Daimblond
3. Nuno Felted Scarf/neckwarmer with Brooch by SilkMagic
4. Felted floral Art scarf / necklace by VitalTemptation

Wonderful things Wednesday - Crochet with heart

Crochet is one of the most popular needlework arts around the world today and has been practiced in Europe since early 1800s. Men & women, youth & adults all are creating beautiful pieces. Many of them came to the hooks at the very young age and learned how to crochet from their mothers. Others fall in love with crocheting in their older years finding this hobby very relaxing and stress relieving.

Many things can be made in crochet, some examples are anything from beautiful lace doilies to the sophisticated scarves and jewelry. You can find some lovely crochet pieces in almost any home today. Some of the pieces you might find in any house might be baby blankets and afghans. These are becoming heirloom pieces that are being passed on by family members for generations. What can be better then a crochet baby blanket and a pair of baby booties as a gift for an expecting mother!

Some of our team members are also dedicated to crochet. Crocheting is part of our lives and heritage. This is something we enjoy and will do for the rest of our lives!


1. Baby Love Red Heart Booties for 0-6 month by IraRott
2. Red crocheted stole by Socksandmittens
3. Black Lace Cotton Hand Crocheted Tunic by Inessa
4. Halloween pumpkins - crocheted earrings by TomBjornDesigns


1. Crochet knitted ruffled handbag tote retro by FlowersbyIrene
2. Crocheted Freeform Necklace Bracelet by HappyfrogfromAlaska
3. Crochet Romantic True Lilac scarf by VitalTemptation
4. iPhone / iPod touch Crochetted Cover Cozy by CuffeShop


1. Crocheted Earrings by Vikulya
2. Crochet freeform brooch with sea glass by JaneBoFelt
3. Victorian crochet scarflette and cuffs ruffle by Allmadewithlove
4. Crocheted Daylight Scarf by CityCrochet

Wonderful things Wednesday - Stone of the Month: Sapphire!

Sapphire is the most precious and most desirable of the blue gemstones. This is one of the most popular stones in jewelry making and is one of the gem varieties of corundum.

Some facts about sapphire:

The name Sapphire means Blue Stone in Greek.
Red or dark pink varieties are called rubies.

Sapphires can be also blue, yellow, green, white, colorless, pink, orange, brown, purple, gray and black. The most desirable color is pure cornflower blue.

The most desirable sapphires used to come from Kashmir, India.

Sapphires were first synthesized in 1902 by French chemist Auguste Verneuil. In 2003 the world’s production of synthetic sapphire was 250 tons and it was mostly produced by the USA and Russia.

Here is our blue collection today – enjoy!

1. Blue Lagoon Hand Painted Silk Scarf by SilkMagic
2. Fridge magnet recycled glass bubble blue by GiftsUnder10
3. Blue Link bracelet by AroundBeads
4. Necklace blue fiesta by Beautyland
1. Crochet Art scarf by VitalTemptation
2. Deep navy blue flower clip by Cushyadornments
3. Sapphire Blue Teardrop Glass Bead Bracelet by Daimblond
4. Royal Blue Ring Pillow Bearer Flower Freshwater Pearl by VioGemini
1. Phone or Ipod Suede holder by FunEmbroidery
2. Deep Blue Earrings by TonyaUtkina
3. Chained Rose necklace by StudioElenus
4. Bracelet Sapphire by Vikulya