From Finland with Love!

This is one of those wonderful stories that happen through Etsy... where in my first year I have met such wonderful people, amazing artists and lovely friends! My friend Jana from Finland belongs to all of these three groups! She is such a warm and lovely person, a talented jewelry artist and a sweet friend! And she is really generous! Well, I came across her blog recently, and this made me get to know her beautiful work better. I decided to follow her lovely blog and I fell in love with her amazing creations! What happened was that by chance I was Jana's #100 blog follower... She was so sweet to contact me - a total stranger at that time - and ask me if I would accept a gift she would create especially for me! Such a sweet, wonderful surprise!!!!! I was really touched by her warm offer, and after that I discovered a sweet, warmhearted girl whose beautiful inner world reflects in her passionate creations.
My special surprise gift has now arrived... so lovingly and beautifully packaged! And when I opened it... OMG... I saw the most wonderful, amazing hairpins I've seen in my life!!!!!!!!!!! They are just too beautiful to be true!!!!! I can really see how lovingly Jana works, even the backside is so beautiful! And the color... I LOVE LOVE LOVE turquoise!!!

You can find a post about Jana's amazing jewelry here: Experimental Jewelry: HELMITARHA.
And please make sure to visit Jana's Etsy shop Helmitarha to see her great work! You can learn more about her lovely world and her "Secret Garden" in her blog. By the way, if you are jealous of my awesome artwork by Jana, you can win a breathtaking necklace created by her! Check her Blog Giveaway, maybe YOU will be the lucky one :)!

Thank you SO much dear Jana!!!!! You really made my heart smile, you are one of those sweet lovely persons who are still able to give with your heart and to give happiness to the people you meet, it's such a joy to know you!

ISLAND A WEEK: Aegean Collection - KOS

 My AEGEAN COLLECTION features rings and pendants that have been inspired by the light and color of my beloved Greek Islands. These pieces are mixed media jewelry, where each piece has a ceramic shard as its focal. For each ring or pendant, I have completed the ceramic shard in a different way, using different materials and techniques such as metal (aluminium or copper) sheet, copper wire, polymer clay and acrylic paints.
Each piece of my Aegean Collection is named after a different island, so I thought I'd introduce them one by one! Welcome to the wonderful world of the Greek Islands of the Aegean!!!
Here is a beautiful and complete website about the Greek Islands:
http://www.greek-islands.us

KOS (Greek Κως) is the island of Hippocrates (father of medicine) and the third largest island in the Dodecanese after Rhodes and Karpathos, lying close to the Asia Minor coast, between Nisyros and Kalymnos. Kos offers varied landscapes and a healthy mild climate most of the year, which made it, along with the Greek sunshine and its marvelous golden beaches, an international tourist center and one of the most attractive and beautiful of the Greek Islands.

KOS 1

KOS 2

More islands in this series:

LEROS
PATMOS
KARPATHOS
LIPSI
NISYROS
KALYMNOS
TILOS

Win a Wonderful Creation by HELMITARHA!

Helmitarha is now having a great GIVEAWAY on her blog!

You can win this amazing necklace! Click here to read more and enter!

Experimental Jewelry: HELMITARHA

I love experimental and unconventional jewelry! I've started a series in which I'm featuring jewelry artists who work with unconventional materials and techniques, and who see a ring or a pendant as a canvas to express their art and creativity.

I've recently come across Jana's work on Etsy and I immediately fell in love... The way she creates wonderful, intricate designs reminiscent of Art Nouveau paintings or mysterous oriental carpets using bead embroidery fascinates me beyond words. Jana is a talented Latvian jewelry designer based in Finland, and she works under her own brand Helmitarha -- a fascinating name that means "bead garden".
Jana's pieces start from focal pieces -beautiful stones, shiny crystals, interesting cabochons or vintage buttons- around which she works to create her amazing designs. The Nordic love for clear lines and brightness is evident even in Jana's most intricate and colorful designs, creating a very personal and unique style combining elements of her native culture and her own dreamy visions -- a Nordic trip to Oriental worlds!
You can find Jana's wonderful creations in her Etsy shop Helmitarha, and you can get to know more about her inspiration and her "secret garden" in her lovely blog.

Winter Sunset

Golden Spring

Dancing Dragon

Lemon Sunshine

When Leaves Turn Red

Silver Peacock

Lady with Fan

Chocolate n' Raspberries

Night's Rest

Phoenix Bird

A Sweet Surprise from my Beloved Greece: THANK YOU SIVYLLA :)!!!!!

There are people who really know how to warm your heart... and my friend Sivylla definitely is one of them! I met her through the Etsy Greek Team, and she has always made me feel at home in the Greek community on Etsy -- exactly like when I'm in my beloved Greece! She thanked me for my support to the Greek community while actually I was getting SO much support from them! Well, Sivylla is one of those sweet lovely persons who can really make your day! And she DID -- oh, and HOW she did!!!
She sent me a lovely surprise gift package, it was such a pleasure just looking at it! Everything is so nicely and lovingly packaged... and I can really see how professionally she works! Here is what she wrote to me: "Because I know you love Greece so much, I'm sending you some pebbles from my collection, so you'll feel more close to us :)". How sweet is that?
The pebbles from my beloved Greece are so beautiful and made round and smooth by the sea, and the two little "cat's eye" sea shells... OMG, they're just amazing - I HAVE to make something out of them! A pair of earrings, maybe?

Ευχαριστώ πολύ Sivylla μου!

Sivylla is a talented jewelry designer and she creates happy and colorful jewelry, as well as wonderful Greek leather sandals ("santalia") turned into pieces of art, that you can find in her Etsy shop Sivylla. She also creates beautiful paper art that you can find in her Etsy shop Paper Fairytale. Do visit both of them, you'll be enchanted!

Eve Gothic Ring

Midnight Dream

Shells On Your Toes

Red Red Paper Heart Bag

Hortensia Gift Tags

Flower Tango Mini Gift Boxes

AWARDED AGAIN :)!

WOW! I've been awarded again! I have been given the Stylish Blogger Award by one more lovely friend, Tatiana, the Stylish Blogger of La Boom! Thank you dear Tatiana!
You can find my original post with 7 little things about me and the 10 Stylish Bloggers I have passed the Award on here.

ISLAND A WEEK: Aegean Collection - TILOS

My AEGEAN COLLECTION features rings and pendants that have been inspired by the light and color of my beloved Greek Islands. These pieces are mixed media jewelry, where each piece has a ceramic shard as its focal. For each ring or pendant, I have completed the ceramic shard in a different way, using different materials and techniques such as metal (aluminium or copper) sheet, copper wire, polymer clay and acrylic paints.
Each piece of my Aegean Collection is named after a different island, so I thought I'd introduce them one by one! Welcome to the wonderful world of the Greek Islands of the Aegean!!!
Here is a beautiful and complete website about the Greek Islands:
http://www.greek-islands.us/

TILOS (Greek Τήλος) is a small Greek island and municipality located in the Aegean Sea. It is part of the Dodecanese group of islands, and lies midway between Kos and Rhodes. It is surrounded by imposing mountains, rocky and steep coasts, beaches with transparent water and caves. Tilos boasts Medieval castles, a Byzantine monastery, many small churches and a village that is a declared cultural monument. Its natural beauty is unique, with more than a hundred bird species, hundreds of wild flowers and herbs and sixteen different types of ecologically balanced habitats.

TILOS SUN

More islands in this series:

LEROS
PATMOS
KARPATHOS
LIPSI
NISYROS
KALYMNOS