AMAZING FOLK ART FROM TURKEY

Photo by Star of the East

A few days ago I received a package from Turkey... from a small town just across the sound of Aegean Sea which separates Rhodes from Turkey. I had eagerly been awaiting it, because I knew how gorgeous my new treasure would be! About two weeks ago I was the lucky winner in Estella's giveaway on her blog Star of the East. The giveaway prize was a wonderful hand crocheted traditional oya!

Photo by Star of the East

Oyas (needle lace and crochetted lace) are a traditional Turkish handicraft that is still accomplished with loving work and skill. Esther and Estella say: "We've known this 'auntie' as long as we live here and she hasn't changed at all in fifteen years. She wears the traditional şalvar and headdress of the region and her hands are hennaed. She has a small stand at the market where she sells her oyas. While she waits for customers she keeps working at them. Handmade at its best!"

Photo by Star of the East

As a lover of all things handmade, and in particular of traditional handicrafts, I was thrilled!

And when I opened my package what was my surprise when I found a wonderfully and lovingly packaged gift! How beautiful even the shell flower embellishment is!

Thank you so much, dear Esther and Estella, this is a wonderful piece of traditional art that I am going to cherish and wear with lots of joy! :)

Greek Island Lovers Team Challenge: AND THE WINNER IS.....

A Day In The Island - Handmade 3D Display by Tatiana from ILaBoom

My dear Greek Island Lovers, thank you so much for taking part in our first challenge! The theme was "My Favorite Island", and the entries were all amazing and expressed the theme in wonderful and creative ways... through shapes, suggestions and especially colors. You can see them all here!
It was really a hard task to choose only one "winner", so I would like to tell you that you are all WINNERS because each one of you expressed her love for her favorite island through ART!

But I have a lovely collaborator in this hard task... my lovely cousin Sylvia, who is a true Greek Island Lover! Sylvia says:
"First of all I want to thank Anna for choosing me as the external judge to her first Greek Island Lovers Team Challenge... My Favourite Island!
I am a Greek Island lover myself... so it was a honor but believe me it was a very hard task!!
All the works are beautiful and creative and each expresses so well the image of an idylliac Greek Island.
BUT....the one that touched my heart the most was Tatiana's from ILa Boom.
I am a Cyclades lover and that cubic whitewashed little house with faded blue windows... on the bare ground (the big stone was a great idea) and the bare tree... and the paper waves of a rough winter sea... reminded me of the total beauty and peace of a Greek island in the off season!
Brava Tatiana! You could really translate this concept in a little art piece. That is why I chose your creation!
EUXARISTO SE OLOUS!
Sylvia"

CONGRATULATIONS TATIANA!

Tatiana will have the honor to choose our next Challenge Theme and to post a guest post about her little dreamy island Antiparos on my blog whenever she wants!
And again, from me too... THANK YOU ALL!

CREATIVE CORNER

Winter blues anybody? Here's the remedy! Colorful rings-to-be... wooden disks with glass cabochons.

CREATIVE DAYS

Late autumn-early winter days are a perfect time for being creative... The days are short and it's nice to be inside! What's nicer than digging into creativity after a lovely walk in autumn nature?
This time of year is always very creative for me! These days I've been painting wooden butterflies that will become colorful brooches...

... and I've been making some colorful earrings using lampwork beads...

... and wonderful glass beads from a vintage Venetian necklace... Vibrant, juicy orange-coral tones...

... and sky blue-Aegean blue tones...

See more beautiful creations of the week on Zsazsazsu's Saturday Shopping Day.

NEW OLD TREASURE CHEST

I love finding pretty boxes for storing jewelry or for displaying it at shows or fairs! This lovely find comes from a thrift store...

It is lined with beautiful handmade paper with embedded leaves and flowers... really unique indeed.

And it even has a mirror inside... Such a pretty box!

Experimental Jewelry: FISHES MAKE WISHES

I love experimental and unconventional jewelry! In this series 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.

As you all know by now, I passionately love COLOR! So it was quite impossible not to fall in love with the happy, colorful, cheerful and playful work of two talented sisters from Greece, Aleka and Georgia, my Team mates in the EGST (Etsy Greek Street Team)!

Aleka and Georgia's brand, Fishes Make Wishes, stands for a colorful and whimsical world of unique handmade goodies that will make any color and one-of-a-kind jewelry loving girl's heart beat faster!

They work with many different materials, which allow them lots of possible variations on their favorite theme: color! As Aleka and Georgia tell us, "papier mache, felt brooches, bead jewelry, wood jewelry, silk necklaces are the unique & one of a kind jewelry we make! Fun brooches, colorful necklaces, playful earrings, clay necklaces and clay home decorations are just a few of the things you'll find in our shop!".

Aleka says: "I love playing around with paper, stitching funny animals with felt, needle felting badges and painting balsa wood! I am bored easily and don't like to repeat myself so everything is mostly one of a kind!".

Georgia says: "I love beads, small and big, colorful waxed cords, wet felting (soap bubbles are the best!), painting on silk and buttons".

You can find Aleka and Georgia's unique jewelry in their Etsy shop Fishes Make Wishes, and you can get to know more about their colorful world in Aleka's blog.

Heart Brooch - Hand Painted OOAK Papier Mache Brooch

 Yellow House Papier Mache Brooch

Turquoise Bird Hand Painted Papier Mache Brooch

Yellow and Pink Clay Necklace

An Orange Fish Clay Necklace

Turquoise and Orange Clay Necklace

Mermaid Original Wooden Earrings

Turquoise Branch Wooden Brooch

Felt Heart Brooch

Heart Brooch

TREASURE TROVE FROM GREECE!

A few days ago I received a wonderful package from Greece, a large box full to the brim with amazing goodies that made my heart beat faster and my eyes gleam like a little girl's eyes when opening a surprise package! Yes... because it was a surprise package, and the most amazing surprise package!!! I had ordered some beautiful wooden disk beads (you know I love wood, don't you??) from Elsa, who is a talented textile designer but also sells a few quality supplies...

... but Elsa told me that, since she is moving, she would send me some other supplies as well... She said she knows I am creative and she is sure I'm going to make good use of them! I couldn't wait to see my surprise package, but... boy, what was my surprise when I saw the incredible contents of the box!!! I was blown away and absolutely speechless...

Wonderful beads in all possible shapes, sizes and materials...

I love these large wooden beads...

... and there are even gorgeous lava beads!

And lots and lots of other goodies!

My creative juices are already flowing, so many new projects will come from these treasures!!!
It's so heartwarming to know there are such wonderful and generous persons who love to give and to make other people happy with a spontaneous gesture of their heart! Thank you Elsa for being one of them!