Miniature crochet from FancyKnittles

Can you resist cute and tiny? This post is for lovers of sweet miniatures and small dolls. I'd like to introduce FancyKnittles shop today, it is full of charming crochet dolls, animals, flowers, vegetables and holidays ornaments. All of them are made by Irina, miniature crochet dolls designer. She manages to combine the creativity and high quality in a tiny shape. Visit her shop to see for yourself!

I was curious about how this all has started for Irina, so I approached her with some questions to share with my readers.

Please tell us a bit about yourself.

My name is Irina and I live in picturesque South Wales, on the border of a small town in a valley. I love the countryside, traveling and photography and I think I'm quite a romantic person.

 

I would like to do what I love and earn some money at the same time. I was an architect when I lived in Russia and I think this profession generally helps me to see the harmony and beauty all around me. I gave up my profession when I moved to the UK. Here I started to make small crochet dolls and a lot of cute things that make dolls lives look similar to peoples lives. I've been crocheting all my life so it was quick and easy choice. Crocheting was a hobby at the beginning and step by step it transferred into business.

What is it about making small objects that intrigues you?

I don't know exactly why I love small things. Probably it's about my personality. A lot of people love small things, collect and play with dollhouses and little fairies.

How did you get started?

I've been crocheting as long as I can remember. I love small forms and enjoy making cute tiny things that mimic a real big-scale subjects. Every doll I make needs some accessories to give her charm, unique character and tell a little story about her everyday life. 

This is how I start making tiny flowers, potted plants, fruits and vegetables, tiny dolls, bears, bunnies, cats, dogs ... even umbrella and miniature Christmas trees. I love to hold them in my palms and imagine those things are real.

What are your favorite items in your shop?

I love my tiny plants and flowers but dolls will always be my favorites. Sometimes I get so busy with my orders that I don't have time to make new ones but summers are an inspirational time for me. People are busy with their daily lives, vacations and will come back soon for their Fall and Christmas shopping. So I am working on my new dolls right now and my shop's doll section comes to life again. 

 

Have you ever had a custom order that was especially meaningful for you?

I love my customers, they help me create some great things from time to time. Last Christmas my customer wanted to order a group of Angels to give them as a gift to friends and family. What a fun order! I made nine of them, they were all different with their own personalities. 

The other memorable order was four hats, one for each season, for my return customer's felted mice collection.

What are your hopes for the future of your business?

Life is always changing and you can not predict the future. I hope I will continue to create my tiny girls, boys and their fancy stuff and surprise my fans with new interesting ideas.

 Visit Fancyknittles shop on Etsy to see more of Irina's creations. You can also find her on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.  

You can never have enough quality yarn

I was searching for more quality yarns another day and found this lovely peruvian shop BelPunto on Etsy. Marisol, the owner of this shop is offering lovely baby alpaca and puma cotton yarns in pretty colors and gladly accepting custom orders to accommodate the customer's needs.

Alpaca yarn is one of the finest yarn nature has to offer and is made from the hair of alpacas, a domesticated species of South American camelid. They are kept in herds at an altitude of 11,500 ft to 16,000 ft above sea level and resembles small llamas in appearance. Alpaca yarn is soft, warm, fire and moisture resistant and naturally hypoallergenic. 

 

Baby alpaca yarn  is the most precious and finest type of alpaca yarn. Alpaca wool is light weighted, stain resistant and durable. What better natural fiber can you think of for a making adult and baby clothing!

I wanted to know more about Marisol and her BelPunto shop so I contacted her to find out more about her. Here is what she is sharing with us today:

"I do not remember the first time I held knitting needles, but I have been knitting my whole life! This is a past time that my grandmother passed to my mother and she did the same with us. When my son Renato was born, and many people admired the clothes he was wearing - made by me and my sisters - we decided to start a baby clothing company, which we called Renattoni. 

I love using these beautiful fibers and am now starting to write some of the patterns, in order to share them... there is only so little we can knit, so much else can be done!!!"

So if you are looking for some quality yarns for your new project please stop by BelPunto shop to see if there is anything for you. 

Or, if you are looking for already made children clothes made with either pima cotton or baby alpaca wool please stop by Renattoni shop. Marisol and her sisters will be glad to help you with your order!

Children with llama

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!

Interview with a Star - Yana (WineCountryLife)

I love to see new sellers and their creations on Etsy. Etsy is full of very talented artists and every time you see one you want to know more about him/ her.

When I came across WineCoutryShop I loved the greeting cards and lovely jewelry which is offered there. So I contacted Yana, the shop owner, and ask her some questions to share with you on my blog. Hope you will like her creations as much as I did!

Please meet Yana at WineCountryLife!


Q: Please tell us a little bit about yourself

A: My name is Yana. I was born and grew up in Novosibirsk, Russia. I graduated from Novosibirsk State University where I studied linguistics. Ever since I started studying languages I’ve been fascinated by words. I love thinking about how forms and meanings of different words are shaped through the culture of people that speak the language. Did you know for example that the word “family” comes from a Latin word that means “servant”? Isn’t it ironic?

While linguistics is still one of my interests it’s no longer my everyday profession. My day job is called “orientation and mobility specialist”. This fancy title means that I teach people with visual impairments how to get around independently and stay oriented with limited or no vision. It’s a very narrow specialization within the vision rehabilitation field. I feel privileged to be able to provide a service that changes people’s lives and makes them more independent. I would not change those occasional smiles of achievement for any other job.


Q: How long have you been creating? How did your journey in art and creativity begin?

A: I think I’ve always been creating. I’m grateful to wonderful people around me who’ve encouraged me. When I wanted to go to children’s art school, my parents took me to the art school without doubting my decision. When I cut flowers out of the curtains in my room, my Mom smiled and said that the curtains looked even prettier that way. When I wanted to sew, my Mom offered me her sewing machine and admired every single thing I made, even the first crooked pillow cases.


When I moved to the US I found out about scrapbooking and got hooked on it immediately. My wonderful mother-in-law who always inspires my with her creativity shared some of the scrapbooking supplies that she had in storage. She was the same person who got me into jewelry making by giving me a toolbox full of beads and tools. My creativity takes different forms through time but I feel that making things is integral to who I am.


Q: What do you sell and what is so special about your works?
A: At this moment I only sell handmade cards and jewelry. Everything I make is one of a kind. Every single item has its own inspiration behind it and is made in the moment with a lot of love and care. Even if I make something similar later on, it’s going to be different in shape, color, or something else – because the moment will be different. So when you get something from my shop you know it is special.


Q: Do you use any special techniques or tools?

A: I love experimenting with techniques and trying new things. One of my current favorites is iris folding technique for making cards. It involves folding strips of paper to form a design. I love the way it looks and the texture it gives to any design. While traditionally iris folding is done with paper, I often use ribbon which makes it even more beautiful.

Q: What are your best marketing tips?

A: I think it is very important to be open and friendly, to share your story and connect with your customers on personal level. I believe that if you wish well and do good, it comes back to you. So my best tips are: be out there, don’t be afraid to share who you are, support your colleagues, help people, and be kind.

Halloween ideas from the jewelry girl

Albina (AroundBeads) is very passionate about making jewelry. I thought of her immediately when I was thinking of nice accessories to wear for a party. 

So I asked the following 3 questions:

Would you share with some easy tips for Halloween jewelry?

I believe Halloween jewelry can be simple and it does not have to be expensive. You just need to match your costume with some spooky or fun jewelry. 

 

Get a combination of skull bracelets, spider rings and earrings, and bat necklaces. You can also wear pumpkins, candy corn, skeletons, coffins, spider webs… Black and orange are the traditional colors – so use these colors too!

 

What would be fun Halloween jewelry for a child to wear?

It depends on child’s costume of course. Princess would wear a tiara, fancy pendant and earrings; pirate could wear a hoop earring (one on a clip-on will work perfect). My daughter wants to be a witch this year. I am thinking to make her a spider ring.
 

Name 3 things that you cannot imagine Halloween without?

Jack-o-lantern, trick-or-treating kids, and candies.

But wait, there is more! 

 Albina is also going to share an easy to follow tutorial for this beautiful Gothic ring! 

See my next post for the tutorial.

Interview with A Star - Julia at JuliaFelt!

I never paid enough attention to felting before. I once saw lovely blue felted slippers on someones photos and I thought: How cute! That was my first impression. When I saw Julia’s felted purses at her shop, JuliaFelt, I thought: Wow, I just have to have one of these! I’ve already pointed to her shop to my husband and reminded him of my birthday coming soon … a lovely one of a kind birthday gift, maybe? I hope so! :)

So I contacted Julia and asked her if she would like to share her vision of felting art with us today. She kindly agreed, so here is Julia from JuliaFelt!

Q: Please tell us a little bit about yourself

A: My name is Yulia. I was born in Russia but moved to Montenegro by the beautiful Adriatic Sea a year ago.

Q: How long have you been felting?

A: I discovered felting 4 years ago. It seems that I can not stop making felt since then! At first I was making scarves and purses for myself but then I started to receive custom orders. People saw my one of a kind items and they were wondering if I could make one for them. So felting is not just a passion for me now but also my job.

There is a lot of creativity in felting, scarves, purses, gloves, clothing, rugs, toys, lamp shades of different shapes and textures. You can make almost anything from felt! Felt is like nothing else, it is light and pleasant to the touch.

Q: What items do you carry in your shop?

A: You can find all kind of things in my store, from personal items like scarves, gloves and coats to jewelry and home décor items.Q: What would you say makes your shop unique?
A: I think that would be my purses. They are one of a kind, very fashionable and the ones with a vintage metal frame are very unique. I love making them!Q: What are your main sources of inspiration?

A: I am inspired by the beautiful nature, the sea and the mountains around me. I love art, paintings both modern and old world art. I also love folk art and modern eclectic fashions.

Q: Do you have a favorite item you have made?
A: My favorite purse named Svarog. It has the elements of old Pagan symbols of my Russian ancestors.Q: Do you take custom orders?
A: Yes, and I am good at following my customers needs. My clients usually love my creations.

Q: Name three things you can’t live without?
A: It is hard to name just three. I would say it is freedom, the ocean and creativity :).

Thank you so much, Julia, for being with us today!

You can find her work at her Etsy store, JuliaFelt or on her web site

Please visit today!

Interview with a Star - Katrin at Katrinshine

During my time on Etsy I met so many talented people that it is natural for me to want to know more about them and their creations. I also thought that my readers might be interested in this subject, too, that’s why I have decided to do a series of interviews with wonderful Etsy sellers under the tag Interview with a Star!

So today is my first one!

I am very pleased to introduce you Katrin from Katrinshine, an amazing person who is creating wonderful quilted bags and pillows, gorgeous corsets and wedding gowns, and also lovely silk jewelry.

I asked her a few questions:

Q. Please tell us a little bit about yourself

A: Well, my full name is Ekaterina Fedotova and I am 30 years old. I am happily married to my husband of 2 years and currently living in a small quant town named Brindisi. It is located in the south of Italy, a historical region of olives and wine Puglia with many traditions. I am originally from Russia and I have been creative as long as I can remember. My grandmother taught me all kinds of needlework and crafts, so I started with sewing dresses for my dolls and then for myself and the whole family! Later on I graduated from an Art School in Russia and worked for many years as an advertising designer at the publishing house. This improved my skills and allowed me to do what I love on a professional level.

Q. What items do you carry in your shop?
A: I create textile jewelry, bags and pillow covers in Patchwork spiral style. I also make boned corsets and bustier and medieval and historical dresses.

Q. What items in your shop do you most enjoy making and why?
A: Patchwork bags because each of them is one of a kind. It is almost impossible to repeat any of them! I like to sew historical dresses because I love to participate in historical festivals. I like to make corsets because they makes us look so feminine!

Q. Do you take custom orders?
A: I love to work on custom orders! If you see something in my store you like but would like to see it in a different color or size please let me know, I will be glad to make it for you!

Q. What is currently inspiring you?
A: I am getting my inspiration from color and texture. When I see an amazing fabric I am instantly getting lots of ideas what I can do with it.

Q. Where would you like to go with your business?

A: I would love to open a store front and trade mark – not just working at home. I would also like to be very successful.

Thank you so much Katrin for sharing some of your thoughts with us today!

You can see Katrin beautiful creations at her Etsy shop and blog, please visit today!