Our new Etsy friends

Our trip to Canada was one of the best vacations I've ever had. We get chance to see Montreal and Quebec City and we met some new friends!

It was a wonderful time. There is so much to see! Historical sights in Quebec City are combined with beautiful nature and lovely people. Montreal is a large friendly city where everything is so convenient and you feel like you are home.

One of the trip highlights was meeting with Monique and Geneviève who also owns shops on Etsy.

Monique's shop is blueberryfields (you will find such pretty crochet and sewed items here!) and  Geneviève (MademoiselleG) is a great artist, I just love her paintings!

 

I corresponded with Monique from time to time since 2009 and it was a great chance to meet in person!

 

We met at the cute coffee shop right across the street from our hotel and chatted for hours. I even got some very pretty gifts!

Monique and Geneviève are such lovely people! I wish they lived closer to be able to get together from time to time.

It is always nice to meet a good friend. Friendship warms the soul and that's what is important.

My birthday

I had a really great birthday this year.

 I was not planning to celebrate it and did not think people were going to remember it but they did!

 I have receive a lot of calls, emails, cards and cute gifts.

 I even got two surprise parties from my friends this year!

 It is so nice of all of you, thank you so much. I really had a great time!

Interview With A Star - Lana from FineEmbroidery!

You never know where you will find a friend. It can be a coworker, a salesperson at your favorite store, an Internet friend or a neighbor next door. Sometimes you know someone for years and sometimes you just need a couple of conversations to feel like you known them for a life time.

So, I am happy to introduce my fellow etsian and friend – Lana from FineEmbroidery!
She creates wonderful embroidered pictures, cards and also makes beautiful purses. You can see her work at both of her shops, FineEmbroidery and FunEmbroidery. Since it is the beginning of fall wedding and the holiday seasons, I’ve asked Lana to tell us about her passion to make embroidered cards.

Q: Please tell us about your journey to art of card making
A: I started to make embroidered cards about 10 years ago. I always wanted the gifts I gave to my friends and family would be very special and unique. So I made my first card for my friend. Later I found out that Stitches magazine was holding an international Great Greeting Card Contest for the best embroidered card in several categories. I decided to give it a try and I was pleasantly surprised to see my card was one of the winners! My modest card got first prize in General Category!

Since then I got this passion for card making. I entered the very special world with unlimited possibilities but with some minor rules and limitations. The card should be a certain size to fit an envelope. It does not have to be loaded with details like an oil painting, for example. It must be pretty, festive and it should be desirable to most people. The best part in card making is I am not limited in my creativity!Since then I started to make lots of cards for kids and friends, for the holidays. Also for those who just fell in love and those who are planning their wedding ceremony I have romantic cards.
It is like a game to me. I have to be different all the time while making these! I sent 2 or 3 different style cards to contests and I was winning in 2 or 3 categories! Since all participants remained anonymous until the last moment, the judges were so surprised to see that the winning cards were made by the same person!

Q: What would you say makes your cards unique and why will people love them?
A: To make a great card you need to think of the person who will receive it. You have to think of what he or she would like to see on their new card.
For a child I would choose something magic, like a gingerbread house for Christmas:The walls of this gingerbread house looks like they are made out of cookie dough and the snow covered roof seems to be made out of frosting. The colorful dots look like they are made of little sweet candies and chimney looks like it is a candy cane. This gingerbread house was stitched on transparent organza so you can even look through its windows! This card will look wonderful as a Christmas Tree ornament too.

The next card I offer is a charming romantic card for the bride-to-be:Everything here reminds me of a lovely gentle brides image: the soft lavender background, the elegant white lilies and the lace border embellished with little tiny pearls:
The next card I am presenting was made with the thought of my friends who I love dearly. I named this card a “Present From The Depth Of My Heart”. It features a lovely bouquet of pink flowers on top of a wrapped gift:I won two prizes at the same time for this card, a Grand Prize and also First Place in the Birthday category.


In conclusion I would like to compare myself with a bee. When a bee is not making honey it is dying. I can not live without embroidery, it’s my life!

Thank you, Lana, for being with us today!

You can find Lana's beautiful cards at her stores:
FineEmbroidery
FunEmbroidery