Happy Easter!

Today is a great day, it is Orthodox Easter. My best wishes to all who celebrate!

Easter fun

Easter is such a beautiful holiday. Everything is so gentle and tender, the colors are soft and the food is simple but delicious.

Some painted eggs, an Easter bread and a cup of tea in the garden, what a great treat!

 

This morning I saw a couple of birds through the window. They were trying to get some pieces of branches and ribbon off my wreath in the garden. Then they found some other nest building materials under the tree and flew off to the nearest tree. What  fun watching it!

 

I was happy to see some beautiful flowers open, a gift from friends which I got several years ago. Right in time for Easter!

Happy Easter, dear friends! May you have a great spring!

Easter wishes

Our best wishes this Easter morning, everyone. May peace and love be with you and your family.

Happy Easter!

Pretty dolls at CherryGardenDolls shop

The search for Easter party ideas continued. I was looking for some pretty house decor and I found these happy rug dolls in the CherryGardenDolls shop on Etsy.

A couple of these would really add some charm to my home! I was also  wondering about their maker so I contacted Sveta, the shop owner, and asked if she would tell us 3 things  about her. Thank you for sharing with us, Sveta!

1. What is your favorite spring project?

My  favorite Spring project is the preparation of gifts for Mother's Day, because for me it is a grand opportunity to pay more attention to feminine, delicate gift ideas, fabrics and decorative elements.

2. What’s your favorite part of your job?

My favorite part of the job - it is inventing, designing and sewing clothes for dolls. When I was  a child I dreamed of being a fashion designer – so my dreams came true.

 

3. I've noticed you are donating some of your proceeds to the World Wildlife Fund. Can you tell us little bit more about it please.

I write free DIY lessons for people who wish to sew a simple beautiful things and I have created  some products  sewed as examples, I decided to donate the proceeds from the sale of some of them to WWF. I get great pleasure to make these things and somebody  will be glad to receive it as a gift, so two lucky person are very happy to help endangered species together.

More cute dolls and ornaments can be found at the CherryGardenShop on Etsy - please visit soon!

Felted dreads for Easter egg hunt DIY

Here is another great idea for an Easter eggs hunt, felted wool dreads. I've got this from Nadia (learn2felt shop on Etsy) who is passionate about felting. The dreads are so colorful, they remind me bright colored Easter eggs. I think the kids will love to wear these and I am sure they would love to help you with making them!

Here is how to make the Rainbow felted wool dreads - you will need wool that comes as roving (picture 1), a piece of bubble wrap and a bowl filled with soapy water.

2. Tear pieces off.
3.  Divide into strips.
4. Combine colors you want.

5. Wet in soapy water.
6. Roll on bubble wrap.

7. Ready with all 7 dreads.

8. Attach with wisp of wool.
9. Rub between palms.
10. Rub every dread on bubble wrap again.
11. Rinse and dry.

If you'd like to see the expanded version of this tutorial please visit learn2felt shop on Etsy. You might find there more great projects.

Nadia's second shop is crafts2love and it is full of great items also!

Vintage tea cup collection at agardencottage

Have you seen our vintage tea cup collection yet? They are perfect for a spring tea party, a gathering of friends or just a quiet moment for yourself. If you are in a mood for little vintage charmers this spring they might be the thing!

This one reminds me of St. Patrick's Day because of all the green ivy. This set of fine bone china teacup and saucer is made in England by Royal Chelsea.

This pretty tea cup and saucer is covered with gentle spring yellow and purple flowers. It's perfect for Easter or spring! This is also an English teacup and saucer but made by Royal Dover.

Roses and violets are perfect for a Mother's Day gift. So is this English Paragon teacup and saucer:

And finally, something for a Father's Day. This is a set of 2 ceramic teacups and saucers (one for her, one for him) made in Japan by Tougei. Black and brown here is a perfect combination and will look great on your morning table! I am sure, a cup of morning joe will taste even better in these. Great for tea or coffee lovers.

 So please visit our agardencottage vintage shop to see if we have anything you like. Spring is a great time to get something special for your loved ones or for yourself and these little pleasures will brighten your day.

There are more teacups in our shop that we have not listed yet so stop by often! Don't forget, the vintage teacups are not just a perfect gift, they are great  to use as photo props for photography.

Free cross stitch design "Happy Easter"

This is a very easy design to stitch and it looks great on your handmade Easter greeting card. I made it originally for my friends in England but it is so easy to make that I used it more since then.

You can buy a tri-fold card for your stitching or you can make one yourself (see my previous post for step by step instructions).

 Enjoy this complimentary chart and please always give us a credit when using it.  

I am sure your friends will be happy to hear from you this Easter :)

Easter Fun

Spring is here with more warm sunshine, birds singing and the first flowers appearing. Easter is early this year (March 31st) so I am already shopping online. I have so many favorites that it is hard to choose from but I would like to share some of my finds with you today.

A very special bouquet of lilies photocard from JudyStalus shop:

Cute miniature bunny sterling silver dangle earrings from KapKaDesign:

 Lovely Easter bunnies from TimoHandmade: 

The prettiest spring upcycled  dress for a girl from kateblossom:

Gentle white flower leather napkin rings from katrinshine:

Fun digital images Easter Bunny Babushka from KartinkaShop:

... and wonderful rabbit gold plated wax seal stamp from BackToZero shop on Etsy:

I love them all!

Happy Easter!

Easter Egg free cross stitch pattern

This chart will work perfect for your Easter tri-fold card.


You still have time to stitch and send your card by April 24th!


You might choose to stitch it in different colors to compliment your card, please feel free to do so.


I would be happy to see how your design will turn out!

 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!

The colors of Easter

Wishing you all a wonderful Easter!

Easter Baking

I was so happy today to see a pretty bloom in a garden and to hear the birds songs early morning! Spring is here! Easter is here! It is time to bake!