Designer's Studio 365

MY BRAVE CUSTOMERS

2010-01-31T23:58:00.008-05:00

When my family sleeps I have ETSY orders to fill. For example:
One of my brave customers wrote me an email with the specific

information on what she wanted included in the composition:

"... my husband is a mechanic...His passion is his 1970 Plymouth Road Runner

(can we get that in there somehow? It is vitamin c orange) and our dogs

Sampson- 2 yr old male pit-bull who is white with tan spots and blue eyes and loves all toys

Cocoa-A rescued pit bull is a red-nosed dog whose passion is food, lol!

My 5 month old son who is a dream...his favorite toy is a frog that hangs on his car seat.

Me...mom and wife...making many changes in my life so do not have a specific profession

but can always be caught dressed with jeans, my favorite cowboy boots...

.I love bags that have long straps to cross over my body, but am currently sporting a tan with red

gingham diaper bag....Let me know if anything else is needed! Thank you!"

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=37326493

I had just TOO much fun designing it and making it!

Thank God for suh brave customers!

THANK YOU!!!

ETSY --- YOUR PLACE TO BUY AND SELL ALL THINGS HANDMADE

2010-01-31T23:11:00.006-05:00

EVERYONE who knows me is aware that I am in love with ETSY --- YOUR PLACE TO BUY AND SELL ALL THINGS HANDMADE. It is bad enough that I have two stores there, I am also a customer. For some reason I am buying lots of jewelry. But being a professional designer I am way picky. The jewelry HAS to be different from traditional and ordinary. I would like to share with you what I loved so much I HAD TO HAVE IT! And also introduce absolutely lovely artisans who created them.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/StelmaDesigns

On e of my favorite things to wear is a very long necklace made out of abalone shells buttons. I bought at STELMA DESIGNS. I love it because I can wear it long, in 2 layers or in 3 layers wrapping it around my neck. This design is double sided and flat—great to wear under winter coats and heavy jackets, because round beads would hurt your skin under such garments. I just love this necklace. And the colors of this sumptuous necklace are full of rainbow shine, that only dark mother of pearl shell might have.

A woman has to have a matching set of earrings. Not too matchy-matchy.

I have found a unique pair I HAD have at Quenchmetalworks.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/quenchmetalworks

These earrings are totally different from any I have ever seen before. They are made out of the same color abalone shell as my new necklace, plus sterling silver .However, this time they are made out of the boot buttons with a single hole. I love my new earrings.

HELLO DEAR BLOG

2010-01-31T22:31:00.000-05:00

Hello dear Blog. I missed you a lot. In case anybody has been worried about my prolonged silence, rest easy friends. I have been crazy busy! My freelance job is a booming business right now. I am creating absolutely breathtaking jewelry objects for a good variety of well known stores and designer names. Unfortunately, I am not allowed to share this information or any of my drawings, because they are ALWAYS TOP SECTERT in such small and intimate industry such as jewelry and accessories world. I have to ask permission to show the published pieces that were designed by me.

MY BEE

2009-10-19T23:02:00.020-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, when the weather was still quite warm in
The Garden State, my family and I spent a lovely day at the Van
Saun Park Zoo. The day was too perfect to be true, and as I
always say something ought to happen (remember in my earlier
entry, our perfect vacation at Wildwood, and the very first 5 minutes
back at home my 2.5 year old smashed our 52” TV?). Yes, just like
that. So we are at the park enjoying a perfection of a day; we walk
through the grassy patch; I wear my cute sandals; I get stung by
a bee into my big toe. Stung FIRST TIME IN MY 36 years!
As they say, there is always time to try new things for the first time,
but I do not recommend that one. I used an “F” word real loud several
times, and now both my kids know it well…Well, at least they
learned it from their mom, not on the street…Actually technically
from their mom on the street... Then I realized how lucky I am
because the bee bit me into an especially tough callus skin and its
stinger did not penetrate deep at all, so I removed it out of my poor
toe right away. The bee was not as lucky. As you know after a bee
stings it dies. And my bee had the end of its career announced
first by me stepping on it. Poor bee, it did not even really hurt me.
So it inspired me to make something in memory of My Bee,
therefore its end was not in vain.

I made cutie earrings out of black and orange glass beads.
I call them My Bee. They are #2 here.

Here you can see that other artists were inspired by bees,
I wonder why?...

1. By WonkyRocket "A WonkyBee named Murphy" - Tote Bag

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=30878260

2. By Maria Farber "My Bee" - Earrings

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=33597174

3. By JewlieBeads "Tutorial for Wire Wrapped Bumble Bee Pendant"-Tutorial

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=29866642

4. By Empireofcolor "Wotto Bee Pocket in Lime" - Pocket

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=14541692

SALE!!! FALL COLOR JASPER ONYX NECKLACE WITH FREE MATCHING EARRINGS

2009-10-08T11:48:00.010-04:00

SALE!
JUST REDUCED FROM $250 TO $180.
Buy SOFIA necklace and get one pair of earrings FREE!
Choose one pair of earrings from the two that are shown below.

This beautiful necklace makes a striking fashion statement. It is one of a kind, (I never reproduce any of my designs) no one else will have one just like this one.

Made of the best semiprecious and precious natural materials such as: Dalminster Jasper, Red Jasper, Black Onyx, Bali Sterling Silver.
The beads on the necklace are strung on a 7 strand steel Beadalon wire.
All metal parts are Sterling Silver.
Necklace size:

Inner loop around the neck is 21 (53.3cm)

The largest, 3rd loop is 23 (58.5cm)

MARICHIK Artisan Studio ArtFire Buy & Sell Handmade

2009-10-05T14:03:00.001-04:00

MARICHIK Artisan Studio ArtFire Buy & Sell Handmade

Shared via AddThis

THE 100th WILL BE THE WINNER! 10 MORE TO GO!

2009-10-05T11:14:00.013-04:00

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7274086

BREAKING NEWS!!

The 100th person who "HEARTS" my shop (you will have to register on ETSY to participate, it is free!) will get a free surprise custom made present and a 25% DISCOUNT on ANY item from this store!
The winner will be announced right away
at MARICHIK: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7274086
and here my blog!

GOOD LUCK!

HAPPY HOUR?

2009-09-23T23:33:00.003-04:00

The other day My 2.5 year old made me buy Dora Explorer Bubble Bath soap. At home my 8 year old protested that this is a girly soap, why couldn’t I get Diego soap?! Well, soap is soap, right? Anyway, later in the evening, my 2.5 year old used up half the bottle during his bath time, and while I was not looking, his older brother used the other half. The amounts of suds that the girly–Dora soap produced could have washed our school district, and the outskirts. To make a long story short, when finally I put them both to bed, and got rid of all foamy patches all over their bathroom, I went downstairs. And what did I see there? A downstairs toilet that looks like that beer mug over here with all that foam from the upstairs bathtub! Except not that enticing...

TRY MY BLOOMING POMEGRANATE EARRINGS, THEY ARE GOOD FOR YOU!

2009-09-16T22:55:00.000-04:00

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=31144116

On July 25, 2009 my other Pomegranate Earrings were featured on ETSY TREASURY!!!! By Kate

http://the-purple-artichoke.blogspot.com/

I am so grateful, because it was my first sale! Thank you Kate!!!!

A TIP:

If you like me love pomegranates but hate cleaning it so you do not bother to buy it? Here is a tip for you:
Fill up a bowl with cold water, precut the skin in five different places, place the fruit inside the bowl and open it under the water. All the lovely red kernels will float up, and no splashes of juice in your face!

LAUNDRY DAY

2009-09-16T11:03:00.012-04:00

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=24141365

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_1&listing_id=24140341

Having a family full of men, means lots of laundry. I spend a lot of time in my little laundry room. At some point I started to hate every minute of it. So I made a demolition movement on a circular direction all around the room, after which I had to fix the walls, spackle, sand, paint, hang some state of the art shelving from The Container Store (LOVE IT!!) , and organize everything in the beautiful organizer baskets- PINK! Did it all myself. All that labor made my artistic juices flow free; it could also be the Feng Shui of a clean pretty laundry room, I do not know. Anyway, I set down and made an Origami composition “Two on Line”. Then it progressed to “Three on Line”, “Family Line”. Well, you ‘v got the idea. This way I have naturally progressed to open an ETSY shop where I make one of a kind custom made shadow boxes for any size family. http://www.marichik.etsy.com.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=26108498

Now apparently Laundry Day is quite universal and inspiring enough that other artists express themselves on the subject. I find it refreshing and comforting that I am not alone in the world doing that mundane, but necessary common house chore. Here is my favorite Laundry Day by Nina ARTQUIRK. I love the simple English colorless houses and confetti of a line wash like a jeweled necklace pleasing the eye:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=24619404

The next artist Caro SIXHOURS reflects my feeling exactly. I am sure a lot of us have been there.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=12298060

God bless the laundress!

GETTING BACK TO MY MATRYOSHKA MADNESS...

2009-09-06T23:37:00.007-04:00

Getting back to my MATRYOSHKA MADNESS subject, I decided that it is appropriate to display my glorious set of 10 beauties. My husband bought this set for me during his last visit to Russia. I actually wanted a very simple set, something more primitive and a child-toy like. But I have grown quite attached to this gorgeous set, who wouldn't?! This is my one and only matryashkas that I own and they are quite elaborate as you can see. Since they are not exactly a child toy, they live in a glass curio cabinet with my teapot collection (that is a separate story for the future); otherwise, my little 2.5 year old son will play hockey with all 10 of them. Just as a side note: on our arrival from Wildwood NJ, in the very first 30 minutes at home, my 2.5 year old broke the screen of a brand new completely paid out flat screen LCD 52” TV. May be the glass curio cabinet will follow its fate soon, since it was paid out in full too…
Again getting back to my matryoshka subject. Each doll has a famous ancient Russian fairy tale painted on the front. They were all hand painted by a master painter T. Lukianenko, Company “Looch” in English means "Sun Ray". I placed the smallest one on the head of the largest matryoshka, so you can see the difference between them clearly.

I am afraid this is not all I have to say on the subject. More coming soon…

Your loving hostess

Maria

Wildwood Vacation

2009-08-30T21:50:00.006-04:00

Writing this entry from a vacation spot, our favorite getaway Wildwood NJ. We are only five miles from Cape May – the very southern spot of the Garden State. My family comes here almost every year. Who am I kidding?! Sometimes two times a year; and of course, we have been here so many times that we do not remember how many and now we consider it home. The beach is clean and beautiful. The sand is white and powdery. The ocean is shallow for a very long stretch this time. But we counted at least five layers of wave approach the shore. We arrived here around 4 pm. Unpacked, and ran to the beach without changing into bathing suits. I thought we could walk along the shore like the true civilized people. But when you have eight and two year old boys you have to remember to forget civilization all together. On the way back from the beach our family looked the following way: two dry adults, an eight year old boy with his shorts suspiciously soaked half way, and a two and a half year old boy in diapers so full of ocean water that they finally dropped to the ground. Thank goodness the hotel is right on the beach.
It is 9 35 PM now. All my boys went to sleep in one bedroom while I type this. The little one is singing so loud one Russian song “We don’t care! We don’t care that we are rabbits and afraid of woolf and owl!” His brother and my husband are screaming: “Mom! Take him away! He does not let us sleep!!! Mom can you give him Benadryl so he sleeps?” “NO!!!”
I just love vacations with my family. Cannot wait to get back home.

MATRYOSHKA MADNESS

2009-08-26T14:58:00.020-04:00

Matryoshka doll has always been part of my life. I grew up in the former USSR in Minsk (republic of Belarus). My family was quite poor and my brother and I were not spoiled with anything like toys and treats. But I had MATRYOSHKAS! The wooden nesting dolls were a traditional toy/souvenir and I guess not expensive. Matryoshka dolls were always handmade, and therefore always unique. I adored the bright colors and decoration of their traditional clothing, the stylized faces smiling inviting. Oh, and the smell of wood and paint! But best of all, inside each doll was another smaller one. One could play endlessly!
I just LOVED Matryoshkas. I had at least a dozen of them all mismatched with chipped paint, some cracked. But the smell of wood and paint on them never went away. My aunt who worked in a day care center brought me two old wooden toy armoires that the daycare center was throwing out. The armoires had two sliding doors each and were painted simply light green and blue. The doors had a small round hole for a little finger to fit and to slide the doors left or right. I was delighted! My Matryoshka army lived in these two armoires. I played with them for hours. There also was a toy store in Minsk called "MATRYOSHKA". It was quite far from where we lived, but my Mom would take me there when we were in the neighborhood and buy a new wooden doll for me. The smaller the better, so it would fit into my small fist. And on the way home, in the public bus, I would hold it very tight, so I would not lose it. And the smell, the aroma of a new Matryoshka! I think these were my happiest hours.
I am still mad about Matryoshkas. And I would like to share some very nice different versions, done by various artists and crafters. I hope you like them too.

1.By AmyGaines http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=28873120

2.By Loriotndorr http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=22926190

3.By Benben http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=28913856

4.By Handmadewithjoy http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16254196
5.By Carneen http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=29176726

6.By Rohmer http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=29208147

7.By Loriotndorr http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=29306481

8.By Stickytiki http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=25464257

9.By Homecraftscatalog http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=21825752

2009-08-17T14:50:00.001-04:00

I LOVE making things. Colorful things. Sometimes even during my night slumber I dream of designing something new, bright and exiting. Here are some of them that I posted on ETSY. In near future, this blog will show work of other artists. I have to acquire their permission to feature their work first. Stay tuned. AND WELCOME!!!

2009-08-17T14:22:00.001-04:00

Hello Friends!
I am so new to blogging, I consider myself a blog-virgin. I will learn this new animal as I move along. And if ANYONE has a hint of a secret they are willing to share with the newbie, I LOVE you right away.