ANTIPAROS, A Little Gem of the Cyclades

Tatiana is a lovely person and a talented artist who has chosen the magical, little island of ANTIPAROS as her permanent home. Tatiana, whose wonderful and inspired work you can find in her Etsy shop ILaBoom, was the winner of the first Greek Island Lovers Team Challenge. The theme was "My Favorite Island", and of course Tatiana chose Antiparos as the inspiration for her entry! 

A Day In The Island

Here Tatiana tells us a little about her lovely Island Αντίπαρος, in both words and wonderful images.

Welcome Tatiana! :)

Hello world! This is Tatiana from ILaBoom residing in a cycladic island, Antiparos. First of all I would like to thank Anna for the honor of hosting my post in her lovely blog. I know how much she loves Greek islands and she shows it in every way she can :)

I am here to tell you a few things about my island, my world. 

First time I put my foot on Antiparos was several years ago, just for a quick visit, only for a few hours. From the first minute I walked on the main street I felt like I was in the most well hidden shelter on earth. An incredible sense that all of a sudden lead me several years later on holidays once again, with my future husband to be.

We visited Antiparos in any chance, as often as we could. We got married here and after six months we moved permanently. We both know that this island was our destination.

I love this island, I love its nature, its seas, the village, the animals around, I enjoy long walks, the sunset, the air. Here I have the opportunity to enjoy all the seasons, one following another, the wild and cold winter, lovely spring were everything goes green, amazing summer with all the starry nights and hot lazy days and fantastic autumn where everything calms down.

Most amazing thing for me is that I will have the chance to bring to the world a new life in autumn that I so hope to love this place as much as I do :)

Oh I'm sure that tiny new life will love this little unspoilt paradise as much as you do, Tatiana! :)

My heartfelt congratulations, and thank you for sharing your world, your little safe haven with us in such touching images and words. You made us feel like we were there... Enjoy your little island paradise! :)

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

Mermaid Tears - Sunset by LaPerLaA

My dear Greek Island Lovers, thank you so much for taking part in our challenge! The theme was "Summer Sunset", and the entries were all amazing and expressed the theme in wonderful and creative ways... through shapes, suggestions and of course 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 his/her inspiration 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: “Geia sas se olous kai oles, I feel very honored for being the judge of such an amazing Challenge! Trust me, it was really difficult to choose, as each of you is so talented and expressed the theme in such a personal and beautiful way.

Ok… *deep breath*… drum rolls… And the winner is… Antonella of LaPerLaA with her Mermaid Tears – Sunset!

Looking at Antonella’s artwork brought me back to 2008, when I was in Symi with my daughter and my dearest cousin Annuk. At sunset, the three of us were sitting at a sea-front kafeneio, peacefully sipping our frappe. The sea was calm and the light was soft and golden… and we felt so relaxed and so happy to be there. Antonella’s photo of her work brought back that dreamy atmosphere and that unforgettable Symi sunset.”

CONGRATULATIONS ANTONELLA!

Antonella will have the honor to choose our next Challenge Theme and to post a guest post about her favorite Greek Island on my blog whenever she wants!
And again, from me too... THANK YOU ALL!

New GREEK ISLAND LOVERS Team Challenge: SUMMER SUNSET!

The new Greek Island Lovers Team Challenge is up and running!
The lovely theme, picked by our previous Challenge winner Tatiana from ILaBoom, is… SUMMER SUNSET! This makes for a lot of possible variations! Feel inspired by the colors of a beautiful summer sunset on a Greek Island!

These are the rules for Team members for entering the challenge:
- It would be nice if you created a new item for this challenge, but if you don’t have time and/or you already have an item in your Etsy shop that fits the theme, it’s ok too!
- Convo me with the link to your listing;
- Last day for entering the challenge is Friday, 2 March 2012.


I will post the Challenge entries under this post, and the entries will be juried by an external, non-member Greek Island Lover, who will pick the winner. The winner will be announced on both my blog and our Team thread, and he/she will have the honor to pick our next Challenge theme and the possibility to publish a guest post about his/her favourite Island on my blog!

Thank you and I hope to get lots of beautiful entries!!!

Happy creating!

****************************************************************************************

We have our first entry!

Ancient Greek Necklace by Feminine Boudoir

Leather Cuff - Summer Sunset by ChrisOsCreations

Bronze beaded and gold tone chain necklace warm earthy colors spring fashion by Akamatra

Greek Evil Eye Swim ans Surf Bracelet by Ammos

Santorini at Sunset by Myartspace 

Turquoise Waves Sea Bracelet by StellaCreations

Nuno Felted Scar - Nostalgia by QaraQul

Sunset on Mykonos by Apostolos Tsoris

Triangle Shawl Scarf by Cyberwezz

Orange Sunset & Tree on Crete by apieceofcrete 

Mermaid Tears - Sunset by LaPerLaA 

Summer Sunset on Crete by BlackRedDots

Newborn Baby Headband by elsahats

Beaded Stretch Ring by CraftLuxuries

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!

First GREEK ISLAND LOVERS Team Challenge: MY FAVORITE ISLAND!

The first Greek Island Lovers Team Challenge is up and running!
As this is our first Challenge, the theme is easy: MY FAVORITE ISLAND. This makes for a lot of possible variations!
In the future we’ll have more specific challenge themes – for example the Aegean Sea, a specific color or feature of the Greek Islands, a specific island etc.

These are the rules for Team members for entering the challenge:
- It would be nice if you created a new item for this challenge, but if you don’t have time and/or you already have an item in your Etsy shop that fits the theme, it’s ok too!
- Convo me with the link to your listing;
- When you convo me with the link to your listing, please answer this question:
 In which way does this item express the theme “My favourite island”? (for example: colors, shape, materials, memories, etc)
- Last day for entering the challenge is Sunday, 27 November 2011.
I will post the Challenge entries under this post, and the entries will be juried by an external, non-member Greek Island Lover, who will pick the winner. The winner will be announced on both my blog and our Team thread.

Thank you and I hope to get lots of beautiful entries!!!

Happy creating!

****************************************************************************************

We have our first entry!

Necklace Olives by soulmadeshop2

Ilse from soulmadeshop2 says: "My favorite island is Crete, the island I live on, I love that you can walk between the olive groves, go up in the mountains and have the sea just there but if you need a shot of city life and some action there's all you need in Heraklion. So what more can you wish for?
I chose to make a necklace with olives because for me Crete and olivetrees go together, I love to cycle or walk between the olivegroves, it always relaxes me."

Two entries inspired by the beauty of Santorini!

Santorini Beauty - Fine Art Original Painting by Myartspace

Myartspace says: "I am in love with the Sea, Sunset and I could daydream forever in a location as this!"

 Greek Windmill by SuSebghatiArts

Su from SuSebghatiArts says: "My favorite island is Santorini/Thira. I love the dramatic landscape and the architecture. I've been going to Santorini for nearly 20 years."

Inspired by the Sea:

The Harris Tweed Two Tone Purse Inspired by the Sea by Pesky Cat Designs

Elisa from Pesky Cat Designs says: "One of my favorite Greek islands is Anafi. I have a dear friend who is Greek and lives in Athens. She often vacations in Anafi and one year she invited me to come along. It's a very peaceful and quiet island with only a few restaurants and places to stay. I had such a relaxing and wonderful time there. My Harris Tweed bag is inspired by the various tones of blue of the sea, a wave and a sand dollar found on the beach."

Again inspired by Santorini:

Santorini Map Sterling Silver Pendant by SunSan

Evy from SunSan says: "this is a pendant featuring the map of Santorini , the island I have decide to live, dream and create..."

Handmade Unique Knitted Shoulder Bag by Lintschi

Gerlinde from Lintschi says: "My bag expresses the theme 'My Favorite Island' through its colors!"

A Day in the Island by ILaBoom

Tatiana from ILaBoom says: "This creation is devoted to my favorite island, the island I live, Antiparos. An alternative small rock in the aegean sea with white houses and a lot of sun."