Merry Christmas to everyone!

We wish all our team members and our readers a Merry Christmas!

May all the sweet magic of Christmas conspire
To gladden your hearts and fill every desire.

Photo by IrinaPhotography

I love you, Mom!

Mother’s Day is coming up and it’s a great reminder to tell your Mom that you appreciate everything she’s done for you.

I know we should not need reminders but we get so busy in our everyday routines that we sometimes forget to tell the ones we love that we really care.

So this time don’t forget to let her know how important she is to you.

If you live far away send her a nice card.

If you are able to visit you should plan to spend the day with your mom. Find her a nice gift.

Put the gift in a nice box that will become a keepsake and you are set!

There are so many wonderful gifts that the members of the Russian Artists Team have created for you to choose from. Head on over to Etsy and find something for your mom!


By Yana (WineCountryLife)

A card for your mother

Today Alisa from GraphicMarket shop on Etsy is sharing great story and ideas for making a greeting card.

We all have our own little traditions, the way we do things – my personal little obsession is card making. Christmas Cards, greeting cards for birthdays, thank-you cards and so on. Of course we never have time for such things, but the process can be so relaxing that you can make cards for half a year ahead just in one go.

Lot’s of my friends told me that they are waiting every year for my Christmas card to arrive. It was so sweet when I realized that people are keeping my cards, they don’t throw them away! It makes my hobby very special.

Here you can see my latest creations that will suit perfectly mother’s day theme.

For this project you will need:
 - Thick cardboard (I used watercolor paper)
 - Ink (or a felt pen)
 - Ribbons (preferably 2 shades and 2 different width)
 - Glue (any paper glue will do, but I prefer to use double sided tape, it creates less mess)
 - Printable digital paper or digital collage sheet – that’s my favorite! This magic stuff turns any card into a masterpiece! Try to find 2 matching patterned papers, just like I did – polka dot and flower pattern – they work well together) I used a usual printer to print the patterns on A4 format thick paper.

That's probably all we will need. :)

For your cards you can try the ideas on the photos. At fist glance it seems you really need to have some drawing skills, but look again and you’ll notice that the best cards that I made are dead simple!

For example little cute dress on the drying line – easy to make and it’s such a cutie! Or hearts in the shapes of balloons – that’s another great idea for you – be creative and be confident – you’ll get it right)

Tips:

• Simplicity is the key! Keep it simple, keep it fresh and don’t clutter all you scrap booking elements on one card. Even if you put just one shape out of scrap booking paper (a heart for example) and write a name of the recipient underneath it will look stylish and elegant
• Have a color scheme. 1-2 colors that work together will look better than a rainbow of all your favorite colors together
• Add personal touches – even if it’s just a hand written message or doodles around the edge – it will help your card to stand out and will show the recipient your true affection.
• Ribbons and bows are simple but very effective tool in card making - they are cute and they add 3D to your card. (The easy way to attach the ribbon, when you’re using it horizontally, is to make a little cut at the side of the card, thread the ribbon through the hole and glue both ends of the ribbon inside the card – you’ll get clean ends of the ribbon and no glue on the front of the postcard) 

You can find lot’s of cute scrapbooking materials in my shop (GraphicMarket) so next time you are thinking about card making or just need a background for your website, please stop by.

I highly recommend card making as a hobby. Scrapbook collages made it so simple and enjoyable. Just try to make a card yourself next time you’re invited for a birthday party or mother’s day!

Lot’s of my friends told me that they are waiting every year for my Christmas card to arrive , it was so sweet when I realised that people are keeping my cards, they don’t through them away – it makes my hobby very special.

Be creative and have fun!

With love,
Alisa (GraphicMarket)

Happy New Year!

Dear team members and readers!



We wish you a Happy 2012 year. We wish you a lot of happiness topped with loads of fortune. Have a great year ahead!

Cheers!

Merry Christmas!

Dear team members and readers!


We wish you a Merry Christmas. May Peace be your gift at Christmas
and your blessing all year through!

Happy holiday!

Halloween free graphic

This lovely vintage image is perfect to use in your greeting card or a scrap book Halloween project. Katrin at karissagraphic is sharing this with us today and there is much more in her Etsy shop!

 
We'd be happy to hear about your creative ideas on using this image for your crafts*. Please let us know what you think!

Happy crafting!

*This image is for personal use only.

Father's Day free graphic

This free image is perfect to use for your Father's day craft! Use it as a tag or card, or just add this to your scrapbooking collection!

The image is kindly offered by Katrin (Karisagraphic), please see her shop for more great images!

Happy Mother’s Day

We are wishing all mothers on Earth all the beautiful things. We wish your life to be filled with love and peace!

Vintage Mother's Day graphic

This vintage card is so great, your Mother will love it! Attach it to your gift and lovely roses and cheerful colors of the card will make her day even more delightful!

This image was kindly offered by Katrin (Karisagraphic)

Interview with a star - Nadezhda (MamaTita)

Meet our fellow teammate Nadezhda who runs MamaTita shop on Etsy. She is creating beautiful hand cut paper cards and decor items perfect for weddings and memorable events. Everything in her shop is hand made, her main tool is an exacto cutting knife and a calligraphy pen. In her free time Nadezhda is enjoying being an actress at the local Theatre Of Improvisation.

- Please tell us a little bit about yourself
I am a very adventurous person - life does not stay at one place - I always need something new in my life. It started from my birth - I was born in the east side of Soviet Union in the city called Hakhodka (near Vladivostok), then we changed our place to Latvia - we had a flight through the whole Soviet Union to the west. Now I live in the west of Russia. But all my life my places were close to sea. I do not why - I even can not swim. 5 months in my life I lived in a wonderful place in Slovakia but it was not easy - to be far away from big water.

- How long have you been creating? How did your journey in art and creativity begin?
I am an artist all my life. Not very good artist, because I did not want to learn about painting, but I am an artist in my heart. What I really like - it is different kinds of decoration. I love smooth, delicate works - like the lace. Love very small details - I can make them all the day.

I had many interests in my life. The newest one is paper cutting. When I started it some months ago, I understood that I would like to make business with paper ideas. This is wonderful material and there are so interesting kinds of paper in the paper-shops now!

Another my passion is calligraphy. I love the way of stylus and ink very much. The beautiful hand writing always has its own story and soul.

- What items in your shop do you most enjoy making and why?
I like to make my butterflies very much. Because I feel myself like butterfly or feather in my life. This is why I want to add feather sign in my future works, too. I know that butterflies are very popular, may be even too much popular. But I think that my paper butterflies have their own life and soul and they are like alive.

- What are your main sources of inspiration?
The people who like my work, who want to have them in their house or event. They inspire me because when they order my works, they trust me. They trust that I will make their area more beautiful. When I make every order, I imagine it in that person's area and imagine his smile when he see it at first.

 - Do you take custom orders?
I love them! I love when my customer brings his own idea to my things. He helps me to do something new and his ideas can be wonderful!

- Where would you like to go with your business?
I would like to earn enough with my business and then I can work everywhere in the Earth where is a good paper shop and good work of the post. It is difficult for me to live more then 2-3 years in one place. I always need to change my area.

- What is the best reaction you have gotten from one of your pieces?
I love reactions from my husband. He is a very good designer and when he likes what I do, it means that it is really good and other people will like it, too.

- Name 3 things you can’t live without?
The sun and colors of nature. My family. The life full of adventures.

Free cross stitch chart "Happy Easter!"

Easter is one of my favorite holidays. Everything is so sunny and fresh and I just love to see the colorful eggs and first blooms on a spring flowers!

I wish to share my love of spring with my friends but some of them live far away. So I am sending them a note, just to let them know I am thinking about them!

Sometimes I am purchasing greeting cards but I am also making them when I have the inspiration and time.

I made this design in the spring of 2009 for some of my friends in England. It is very easy to stitch and you will make it in no time!

You can buy a tri-fold card for your stitching or you can make one yourself (for step by step instructions please visit my blog).

I am always happy to see your finished projects made by my charts. Please send me a photo of your finished card through the conversation at my Etsy shop (AGardenCottage) and I will publish it on my blog!

I am sure your friends will be happy to hear from you this Easter. Please enjoy this complimentary chart and have a wonderful spring!

By Tanya (AGardenCottage)

Happy New Year!

Dear readers and team members!

We wish you this season of joy open doors to new opportunities, success, happiness, and joy. We appreciate our association past year, and we look forward to see you next year. :)

Best wishes for the pleasant and successful New Year!

Photo by Irina (IrinaPhotography)

Holiday Greeting Card

Tutorial by Albina (GoodWeather)

This step by step tutorial will demonstrate how to make a personalized zig-zag greeting card.


You will need hard white paper, stamps with inscriptions and ink for them, colored paper, glue and scissors (or trimmer).

Cut a 20 x15 cm rectangle (long square) out of hard paper and fold it by half. You now have a blank 10 x 15 cm card. If you wish, you can change the card’s dimensions according to your preference.

Now create a background pattern and add the greeting phrase on the front of the card with stamps and ink. In this case snowflakes and “Merry Christmas” stamps were used. The paper should be stamped in such a way that one picture does not push into another.


The card is almost ready. If you do not have much time, this could be your finished project:)


If your are not in a hurry, there are more things to be done with the card.
Cut strips of paper 5-6 mm wide out of colored paper sheets. I also put stamp pattern on some paper. Moreover, I cut the gold colored paper in even thinner strips:). The strips are 15 cm long.


Put a layer of glue on a 5 х 15 cm thin white paper sheet and stick strips of colored paper on it following a pattern. If you prefer things to look chaotic and unpredictable, you could stick them with no pattern in mind at all.


Take another sheet of thin paper 5 cm wide. Keep in mind that all dimensions mentioned are optional. Glue the striped sheet of paper to it under the angle of 45*.



Turn over the sheet and cut the striped parts that are sticking out on both sides.

Glue the segments that had been cut to create zig-zag effect.


Cut any sticking out pieces to get a rectangle.


Glue the zig-zaged rectangle to a background sheet and then to the stamped greeting card.
It is also possible to glue thin ribbons or thread in addition to the stripes of paper.

Your new card is ready!



Translated by Anastasia (Lightkeeping)

On this Thanksgiving day…

… Our thoughts turn gratefully to you, dear readers and team members, with warm appreciation.

We are thankful for having you in our lives! May your Thanksgiving celebration be filled with Peace and Harmony!

Happy Thanksgiving!


Photo by Irina (IrinaPhotography)

Wonderful Things Wednesday - Tea party in a garden

It’s time for your 5 o’clock treat! It’s tea time!

A perfect tea always tastes better when served in the garden, but if you live in a city, a garden is not always an option so your balcony or private area will work just fine!
What do you need for a fun tea party in a garden? Well, here is a list:

1. A way to boil your water,
2. Your favorite tea pot or cup to steep you tea in,
3. A knitted tea cozy to keep you tea pot or cups warm
4. Your favorite tea, loose or packets
5. Milk, sugar, little cakes, sandwiches, apples or whatever you fancy!
6. Some flowers to enjoy
7. Some butterflies to fly around while having your tea
8. A wonderful tree to provide you some shade
9. And last but not least some good friends to giggle and share you tea with!

Here is our virtual tea party in a garden – enjoy!



Photo sources from top, then l-r: 1, 2, 3, 4
1. Handmade gold plated Butterflies in the Garden earrings with Garnet by Lightkeeping
2. Photography aceo Butterflies by YuliaKazansky
3. Red Butterflies earrings by Beautyspot
4. Greeting Card Butterfly by FunEmbroidery



Photo sources from top, then l-r: 1, 2, 3, 4
1. OOAK 2 large mugs - Grass fields by Yevgenia
2. Tea cozy by Socksandmittens
3. Knit crochet tea cozy by Allmadewithlove
4. Knitted cozy set by Cuffeshop




Photo sources from top, then l-r: 1, 2, 3, 4
1. Felted handbag Bouquet of Poppy and Daisy flowers by Galafilc
2. Tree of Life necklace sterling silver by Arctida
3. Pink black polka dots ruffled apron by NStrelkova
4. Poppies Art Print by SunriseArtGallery

Story by Tanya Socksandmittens
Photo collages by Katrin KarisaGraphic