April showers bring May flowers

Welcome to April and welcome to real spring! I just can not wait for all of lilacs and peonies to bloom.

                                                                                   Photo by GoldenSection

April still can not decide if it's going to say goodbye to the winter or it is going to jump into summer. So there is a lot of weather surprises, from rain to snow in some areas!

But nevertheless, you can see that nature changes everywhere and flowers are coming to life.

Soon there is gong to be lots of flowers, just wait a little!

1. BelleBlooms 2. FleetingStillness 3. IrinaPhotography 4. Rozibuz 5. YUNILsmiles 6. peraboom 7. Yuliaphotography 8. crafts2love
 

Story by Tanya (Socksandmittens)

Interview with a Star - Elena (Roltinica)

Please, welcome our team mate Elena, who runs Roltinica shop on Etsy.

Please tell us a little bit about yourself.
My name is Elena and I live in the beautiful city of Naberezhnye Chelny, Russia. I'm a felt maker and I make my felt flowers using a wet felting technique.

How long have you been creating? How did your journey in art and creativity begin?
I began making felt jewelry about 2 years ago. My daughter Tatyana was browsing the Internet and suddenly found a felted purse tutorial. She thought it would be nice to learn how to make things like this, so we shopped for wool and I made a felted purse out of it. My daughter’s joy knew no bounds! That was the moment when I actually realized that I fell in love with felt.

Felting is very popular in Russia and you can also find many books and tutorials on different felting techniques. I love flowers so flowers have become my favorite subject for felting. I read a lot, studied the techniques and was experimenting with felt every single day. I tried to make smooth petals out of fluffy wool and the result was I found my own way to work with felt. I was so excited to see what else I could do.

In your opinion, why is felted accessories are so popular these days?
I think, the felted accents are a lovely way to complement modern clothing. Decorate your handbag, hair or clothes with a felted flower and you will be noticed! Nature creates beautiful flowers but they have a short life. A felted flower will never wilt!

 Do you take custom orders?
Yes, I do take custom orders. Sometimes it is challenging because from time to time my customers are asking me to create a flower I have never seen because they don't grow here in Russia. So I am making my flower from a photograph and I am so happy when it becomes a realistic-looking one! I am getting great feedback on my work from my satisfied customers.

Which one of your orders was the most extraordinary?
One of the most unusual orders was two blue roses for a bride's dress. I made these with a great pleasure.

What is your family’s attitude to your creativity?
My family supports and inspires me in everything and I’m very thankful for that. My mom is my most authoritative critic – if she does not like the flower, I will remake it.

Do you have a Favorite quote you'd like to share with us?
If you want to be happy – be happy! (Kuzma Prutkov)

Fabric flowers DIY

Today, Tanya who runs Soroka shop on Etsy is sharing a great tutorial of a flower made of mesh fabric.

So how she came up with the idea:
"Recently I made a dress and had a lot of mesh fabric left over. It was all cut into strips. So I decided to make some flowers.

Summer giveaway - poppy flower earrings

Aren't these poppy flower earrings gorgeous? This poppy will enhance your natural beauty and will bloom forever!

The poppy is a favorite flower of Olena Mysnyk, a jewelry designer from Ukraine and she is also the owner of HoneyCase2 on Etsy.

This giveaway is from her! She believes that the bright red poppy is a very passionate flower and will suite a self confident artistic person perfectly.

If you would like to receive these poppy flower earrings that will never wilt for free, join our giveaway! These earrings will make you a center of anyone's of attention!

To be a lucky winner please follow these rules:

1. Visit HoneyCase2 shop, browse Olena's collection and leave a comment here on what do you like the best (1 entry)

2. Heart HoneyCase2 shop (1 entry)

3. Follow/ subscribe our blog (1 entry)

4. Grab our button and place it on your blog (1 entry)

5. Follow / subscribe Olena's twitter / facebook / blog (1 entry each)

6. Share this giveaway on twitter / facebook (1 entry each)

7. Share this giveaway on your blog (3 entr.)

7. Purchase anything from HoneyCase2 shop and come back letting us know what you purchased (3 entr.)

Please leave a separate comment on each entry and don't forget to leave us your email address so that we could contact you!

This giveaway will run July 19 through 29th and the lucky winner will be announced on July 30th!

Circus in the town

Did you hear, the greatest show on Earth in the town?


Don't you love that the circus is in the town? The circus has great performers, smart trained animals, funny clowns and of course, a magician. All of them make our hearts beet faster. The bright colors and music are a great part of the show, so you feel like you just stepped into a fairy tale as soon as the show begins. 


The summer is the perfect time to visit a traveling circus, so check your city's schedule if you'd like to see the best show ever.

 Photo sources from top, then left to right: 1, 2, 3, 4

 Photo sources from top, then left to right: 1, 2, 3, 4

Photo sources from top, then left to right: 1, 2, 3, 4

Blooming garden

My garden is all I can think about now. I caught myself stopping regularly by the nurseries to see if they've received anything new I could add to our garden. I am hoping for peonies and lilacs to arrive but it's too hot for them where I live.

Instead I am getting petunias and roses, even though my garden is full of them. I just can not resist to see the colorful flowers and smell the wonderful fragrance every spring!

So many people are enjoying gardening right now. Some of them are also trying to save the moment by creating the wonderful items by any possible means. Jewelry, felted brooches and scarves, pretty clothing, art photography and paintings, there is so many ways to remember the spring garden at any time of the year!

Then it will stay with you forever.

Photo sources from top, then left to right: 1, 2, 3, 4

Photo sources from top, then left to right: 1, 2, 3, 4

Photo sources from top, then left to right: 1, 2, 3, 4

Story by Tanya (Socksandmittens)
Photo collages by Katrin (KarisaGraphic)

Three Russian artists treasuries on Etsy front page!

It happened again! During three days three treasuries made by Russian artists team members was featured on the Front Page of Etsy!

Let's begin!
The first treasury named "Distance" was made my Katrinshine. It's very funny and cute collection:

The second named "Time for purple tulips in Europe" was created by Baymut. It's very colorful and beautiful:

The third was amazing wedding collection "Euro wedding". This treasury was created by Arctida. This collection is so tender and romantic:

Thanks for all curators and congrats all featured Russian artists!

Post by Katrin (Katrinshine)

Beautiful Spring Contest by Russian Artists Team member shops

To celebrate this year’s beautiful spring one of Russian Artists team members Lena Baymut came up with an idea of a spring contest. Each of the Russian Artists team shops could submit one item that best reflects the mood of beautiful and vivid spring. Depending on where you live the spring might be already in full bloom with pink, white and pale yellow flowers all around you or if you live to the north the spring might not be there yet. In any case March is the perfect month to celebrate clear skies, warm sun and fresh breeze.

With so many talented artists our team has a lot to share with the Internet community! Our craftsmen create amazing items from wool, cotton as well as wood, metal, glass and semi-precious stones. Crafting is something we all support and appreciate. We hope you will see some truly unique and exquisite items hand made by Russian Artists team members exclusively to celebrate spring!

Over 50 Russian Artists shops took part in the contest with a lot of amazing entries being submitted. All of our team member shops create unique and beautiful items. It's always hard to choose the winner in our team’s contests. All our followers and guest visitors on Russian Artists Facebook Page voted for their favorite item. Four most voted for items are featured below.

1. Irises Hand painter silk scarf by SilkMagic


2. Spring Blooming flowers by IrinaPhotography


3. Spring Flower Birch Ring by HansHolzkopf


4. Flowers and Dreams painting by Serdomania


Congratulations to wonderful Russian Artists winners!!!

posted by TonyaUtkina

Bridal Shower and Wedding Party Gifts

The tradition of a bridal shower is believed to date back to a time when it was expected for a bride to bring a dowry with her into her marriage. The dowry was meant to give the married couple a start in life by giving them a little financial help. The times have changed, but to this day it is customary for female friends and relatives to throw a bridal shower party for the bride and give her gifts to help her move to the next level.

Bridal shower gifts are supposed to be thoughtful and practical. Items to be used in the new household, such as silverware, dishes or a bedspread would make a wonderful gift. If you are more adventurous, you can give the bride a very avant-garde moss garden:

Photo sources from top, then left to right: 1, 2, 3, 4

On the other hand, the gifts can be fun, romantic, or even for use during their honeymoon. A soft feminine wrap or a scarf, a nice evening purse will make the bride happy, just as they would make happy any woman at any point in her life. A set of organic body butters or massage oils could also go a long way.

Photo sources from top, then left to right: 1, 2, 3, 4

Another gift-giving tradition associated with weddings is for bride and groom to give gifts to the members of their wedding party. These gifts are a way of thanking bridesmaids and groomsmen for all their time and effort, and making sure they feel loved and appreciated. Usually, all bridesmaids get the same or similar gifts, and so do the groomsmen.

While giving a piece of jewelry or a monogrammed item is on the more traditional side of gifts for bridesmaids, there are a lot of other things that can be given. If bridesmaids love art, a framed art piece could be a great gift for each of them. A fun beaded necklace that can be worn in multiple ways would be a wonderful gift too. Candle holders are always popular, especially those with a more modern spin on the traditional idea.

Photo sources from top, then left to right: 1, 2, 3, 4

Traditional groomsmen gifts offer a touch of class: monogrammed scarves, watches, flasks, cufflinks and money clips. While most men now don’t wear shirts with cufflinks, keep a flask in their pocket and prefer a credit card to cash, the timeless significance of these gifts is what makes them special. A modern groomsman gift generally reflects the taste of the man receiving it. So, a necklace with a silver coin for a pendant would be a good money clip substitute, and a bracelet could be given in place of a watch.

Photo sources from top, then left to right: 1, 2, 3, 4

Story by Alla (FleetingStillness)

Winter Weddings

Your winter wedding will be so special! Nature itself is wearing white at this time of year so there will not be a wrong color choice while taking photos outdoors! Any color wedding dress will look gorgeous on white background!

Photo sources from top, then left to right: 1, 2, 3, 4

Take lots of photos. This is your day and these are the memories which will be cherished by your family forever. Your happiness will shine through and you will be the most beautiful bride this day!

Photo sources from top, then left to right: 1, 2, 3, 4

Please check our selection of lovely things which will help make your day even more special!

Photo sources from top, then left to right: 1, 2, 3, 4

Text by Tanya (SocksAndMittens)
Collages by Irina (IrinaPhotography)

Hello everybody!

Hi there!

Well.. Let me start. It's always difficult to start. There are so many things to write about. And I don't know what should be first. Anyway...

I would like to share our treasuries in this first post. Yeh... our team members make a lot of treasuries. :) We love it... So let me share a couple of them which are most cute in my opinion...

Look at the gorgeous Sunny country treasury by HealthyJewelry ! It gives energy and a piece of sun in this gloomy day. Well at least it's gloomy where I live :)


One more treasury that I really like is The Color Teal by BlueberryCream. Look at this! It's very tender and fresh... like tender spring breeze. :)


I hope you'll enjoy the treasuries as I do. :)