Saying Goodbye To 2009...

What a better way to say goodbye than remembering 10 wonderful things from the past year?

Well, here are mine:

1. Joining the European Street Team on Etsy.

(The ring you can see in the picture was made by www.evihan.etsy.com )

2. Travelling to Holland.

3. Meeting fantastic people in Maastricht.

4. Getting a very necessary new camera!

5. Spending time with the ones I love... :)

6. Saving a homeless kitty from starving

(no pictures of the actual kitty, but here you have a lovely picture of another cute cat! :) )

7. Petting my cat and dog.

8. My first year on Etsy! (plus the first 1000 hearts in my shop and the 200th sale!)

9. Watching amazing and deeply moving films...

10. Being on my first craft fair!

And there are many other things I´m sure I forgot!

I just hope the new year will be as good as this one was.

Happy New Year!!!

Few Days Left... {Photo Mosaic}

1. Sydney New Years Eve Fireworks 2007, 2. Confeti , 3. Happy New Year 2009 , 4. Guilty Pleasure ~ Drinking Champagne for No Good Reason

Only few days left till New Year!!! :)

Come and join the mosaic game on Mitsy´s blog HERE!

Monday Moodboard - New Years Eve

French Lady with Pearls Necklace

Gold and yellow jingling stars earrings

8 pieces Organza Flowers with Satin Leaves BLACK and YELLOW

Lotus Pin/Brooch Crocheted in silver and white

You can see more Monday Moodboards HERE!

Red! {Photo Mosaic}

1. Apple Again !!, 2. Lotus Flower with Red background - IMGP7691, 3. Red ribbon 2, 4. Chess - Laser Painting

I love this color :)

Come and join the mosaic game on Mitsy´s blog HERE!

I Love Taking Pictures...

Because of my work, I´m "forced" to take pictures all the time of the new items for the shop. But when I say forced, I really don´t mean it, because I really love all the process of taking photos.

Now, that I´m back behind the camera, I feel a extremely wonderful feeling of joy, even if I have to be standing there one or two, or even three, hours to find what I´m looking for in a picture.

I´ve just made some maths and I think I´m taking an average of 1000 pictures every week! It´s scary number, when you only can pick five to use for a listing!

And sometimes, I try some "artistic" shots (like the ones I´m showing you in this post).

I love the work of all those professional photographers, who take incredible shots, with gorgeous lightnings and effects... Photography is a fantastic art.

I hope you have enjoyed my pictures :)

Have a wonderful weekend!

Wolf And Moon {Photo Mosaic}

1. Grey Wolf, 2. Where the grey moss glows, 3. just gray, Winter day..., 4. The Moon BW 1-07-06 (Redux)

Come and join the mosaic game on Mitsy´s blog HERE!

Red {Monday Moodboard}

ThongbaiTatong

milloo

Babongo

iragranteco

These beautiful designs are made by European Street Team on Etsy.com

If you´d like to see more "Monday Moodboards", go HERE!

On It´s Way... {Photo Mosaic}

1. christmas is on its way, 2. we wish you a merry christmas., 3. christmas season, 4. christmas bokeh tree

Come and join the mosaic game on Mitsy´s blog HERE!

So Cute It Hurts...

Today I´m going to share with you my "Anti-stress Therapy"...

When I urgently need a break, I spend 5 minutes watching these funny, and also very cute, pictures. That gives me a good mood and works as a charger for my "batteries", hehe.

But, where to find fun and cute in big dosis and combined? My favorites sites are these:

http://cuteoverload.com/

http://icanhascheezburger.com/

And here is a mini dosis of cute and fun :) (Don´t miss the video at the end! A really adorable kitty is in there!)

Red And Black - Passionated Colors {Photo Mosaic}

1. sunset in black and red, 2. Red & Black:, 3. Ferrari F430 Spider Black/red, 4. Black and Red, 5. Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within reach of every hand.~Mother Theresa, 6. 354 Red Sunset-Bourgogne

This is my mosaic this week, the cover from some books I bought this week was the inspiration :)

Come and join the mosaic game on Mitsy´s blog HERE!

Monday Moodboard

StarBags

Vaisto

JuliaFelt

Manonknits

These beautiful designs are made by European Street Team on Etsy.com

If you´d like to see more "Monday Moodboards", go HERE!

Black Friday - Cyber Monday Deal!

From 27th November to 30th November, I´ll be offering FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING in my Etsy shop: www.leelabijou.etsy.com

Thanks for reading and have a wonderful weekend! :)

The Artist Behind The Shop: Karen

This week, I´d like to introduce you to the lovely Karen from The Beaded Pillow.

When did you start crafting?

I started making jewelry about 3 years ago.

What was your motivation?

We couldn’t find the “perfect” necklace to match a dress my mom bought, so we bought the supplies needed to make a necklace and things just took off from there.

Which one of your designs makes you feel prouder of yourself?

I crafted a parrot pillow for my daughter; it was very ornate and seemed to take forever. I must have used a thousand beads on that pillow!

What kind of things inspires you?

Beautiful flowers/gardens and birds….the lake and its surroundings.

Do you have any favorite book, movie, comic, etc?

I love books by Lorna Landvick (a MN author) and by Mary Logue, Dick Francis, Maeve Binchey, Rosamund Pilcher, J.D. Robb, Stephen King; I’m very eclectic in my reading materials.

Which one and why is it your favorite?

I cannot choose a favorite; books are like your children.
If you could choose any fictional character (from books, movies, comics, etc), which one would you like to be?

Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz.

Why?

She had a wonderful opportunity to explore and she took it.

Do you have any mania or obsession?

Hmm, beading pillows, perhaps
Is there a place you’ve visited that left a big impression in you?

Dachau in Germany.

If so, why?

It was a concentration camp during WWII. I could almost feel what happened there. It was very emotional. I was humbled.

Would you like to share any advice with your fellow artists?

I am not qualified to give anyone advice, unless they are one of my kids.

Where can people find you?

I have a blog: www.thebeadedpillow.blogspot.com
I am also on Twitter at www.twitter/thebeadedpillow.com and on etsy at www.thebeadedpillow.etsy.com
Anything else you’d like to share?

Buy one of my pillows. Seriously. Thank you.

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Thank you very much Karen! Don´t forget to visit her lovely shop!

Cooking...

Do you remember this post HERE?
I got a really nice surprise on my mail box. Petronella (a.k.a. www.kraplap.etsy.com) sent me a very nice pumpkin and a recipe.

well, I cooked it and took some pictures of the process. It was delicious!

So here you have, a mosaic with the pictures I took (click to see it larger).

Thank you dear Petronella, it was very yummy! :)

The Future Generations {Photo Mosaic}

1. Join Baby Kylee's World Tour - See Below, 2. lil baby girl, 3. Madness, 4. looking at my baby looking at me, 5. baby violet, 6. big eyes, great light

Come and join the mosaic game on Mitsy´s blog HERE!

My Secret Santa Gift!

Few days ago I received this lovely package from Turkey. It was my Secret Santa gift!

And who was the wonderful person who sent me these pretty goodies? It was Mine from Queenece! (www.queenece.etsy.com)

Here you can see a lot of pictures of the pretty hairband and bracelet (the bracelet was made by her sister, Pinar - www.toosis.etsy.com )

Aren´t they wonderful?

Thank you so much for everything, dear Mine!!!

The Artist Behind The Shop: Crochet Addict

This week, Crochet Addict is featured on this section of my blog. Let´s know her a bit more:

When did you start crafting? What was your motivation?

I have always been interested in arts, I tried drawing and painting, but was only able to make things recognizable not anything exceptional. Then I tried photography and was a little better at that, but couldn\'t keep buying the equipment ( I loved the darkroom the most ). Finally about 4 yrs. ago my mom sat down and taught me the basics of crocheting, I fell in love with the rythm and being able to see the project take shape as I went. I started to search for books and patterns on the internet and learned as many different stitches as i could ( I still hunt for new stitches all the time) and just kept on going - I'm absolutely addicted!

Which one of your designs makes you feel prouder of yourself?

I would have to say I was most pleased with my doilys. It is such a challenge to get the sizing so that they will look just right, so when I finally work through all that, I feel that I have really accomplished something and have "Worked as unto the Lord".


What kind of things inspire you?

I am continually inspired by Creation itself. God is The Artist, I am blessed to be able to take what He has created, and the creative ability He has given me,and display His work in a new expression of beauty.

Is there a place you´ve visited that left a big impression in you? If so, why?

I went to England in the summer of '89 and was so impressed with the architecture of the old churches and the beautiful castle. If I were given the opportunity to choose which era I was born in it would have been the Middle Ages. (If all I was looking at was style!) I love the detail and hard work that went into each part of the buildings.

Would you like to share any advice with your fellow artists?

If there is anything I would say to my fellow artists, it would be to remember that all we do should be to glorify God.

Where can people find you? (blog, twitter, flickr, facebook...)

I have a facebook fan page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Crochet-Addict-homemades-by-Janice/108998321015?ref=ts which I use not only to promote my artfire page ( www.CrochetAddict.artfire.com) - but also to show other peoples work that impresses me.

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Thank you very much!