New Year's Eve in Haifa

I had returned yesterday from my daughter's house in the Northern area in our country, where I played soccer with my two year old grandson. Well not really soccer. He kicked the ball toward me and I kicked gently back to him. He seemed to enjoy it a great deal , and - so did I!  I then read his favorite story to him and when it was time for him to take a bath and go to bed, I left toward my home. I drove for about half an hour. When I arrived at Haifa, it was dark and I drove on through the main  down town street, beautifully decorated with lights and stars.It gave me a happy feeling. I felt as if this year is going to be a good year.
This morning I realized that it had rained at night while I was sleeping. The rain has arrived after two weeks of very warm weather. My first thought was" here we are being washed from the dust  to greet the New Year". I enjoyed a pleasant relaxing Sabbath day in my home, enjoying Eric Clapton and Winton Marsalis new disk and by reading an enjoyable book.

Out of my window - The last day of 2011 - rainy

I wish a Happy  and prosperous New Year to all My friends and loved ones!

Etsy treasury Featuring my Freeform Opal ring

I also found a beautiful blue collection with my Freeform Opal ring in it, curated by Inbar Shahak. Thank you Inbar!

Etsy treasury featuring my earrings

This morning I woke up and when I went to my computer was very pleasantly surprised, as I saw my Gold Earring Studs in a lovely green treasury curated by the artist Liz Kapiloto who runs an Etsy shop
http://www.etsy.com/people/lizarty
Thank you Liz!

Naomi's Ceramic Hanukka Lamps

Naomi Yahel is a friend of mine. we share a wall in the Artist's workshop area. In her studio, Naomi is a creative ceramicist and potter of  beautiful and outstanding ceramic items.
In the mornings I drop in to say hello. I am always searching for new items she may have created the day before.
All her pottery is handcrafted with love. I believe you will agree with me when you view these photos. Every year, around Hanukka, she creates new Hanukka lamp designs.I bought one last year, and yesterday, bought another one,  I collect them and they decorate my home all year round.

Naomi Yahel's Hanukka Lamp Blue version Added to my collection Yesterday

Naomi Yahel's  Hanukka Lamp added to my collection last year

Namoi's work table with soup bowls and Hanukka lamp

The lamps are very special .  They warm my heart whenever I look at them.
As tonight is the first day of Hanukka, I cannot wait for evening to come when I will set the candles in and light up all of them!

Thank you for watching!


My handcrafted artisan jewelry:
http://etsy.com/shop/riorita

My Besteam promotion blog:
http://rioritabesteam.blogspot.com/

It is a truth universally acknowledged...

It is a truth universally acknowledged...

Saturday - Time to take it Easy

Lately, I've been working hard in my handmade jewelry designs workshop for 6 days of the week (who of us doesn't?!) trying to keep up with orders and shipping them in time before Christmas. Today, Saturday, I decided to put everything aside, and take it easy.


As it so happens, at the end of my day, I usually get to bed only every 02:00 AM. I start reading my enjoyable novel ( now it is "The Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follet) but wake up after two hours, the book lying open on the floor and the  light near my bed still on... This won't do! I was saying to myself. So I've decided to follow the rule "when you don't have time - make time!" - and so I did.
For the last few days, in the morning, I've been preparing myself a nice mug of delicious coffee, take the book in my other hand, and sit in my rocking chair in my sunny veranda. (There are large glass windows there but as it is cold,  they are shut and the sun shines through).  During the week I limit this for 30-40 minutes every day. Today - I did this for an hour or so. What a pleasure! Thank God for Saturdays!
As for my work during the week, between working to keep up with orders, I handcrafted two band rings with the same design, but different metals:

Gold Band Ring, Handmade 22k gold plate ring

 Silver Band ring with vertical soldered strips of silver

I was wondering : Should I call this my ZEBRA ring?

I hope you like them.

Thank you for dropping by.

For more Unusual handcrafted artisan jewelry:
http://etsy.com/shop/riorita

Besteam Feature Week of 12/4

BESteam stands for Boosting Etsy Shops Team! We help  each other to promote our shops by posting our member's items in our blogs, our  Facebook pages and more. If you own an  Etsy shop and would like to join, please enter our team page on Etsy or our proboards link.


Yesterday I stayed late in my handmade jewelry workshop. I had to finish a silver bracelet  bangle someone ordered, which I have to send Sunday morning for it to arrive in time fore Christmas. While I was working, I  was listening to Tony Bennet's disk called "playing with my Friends". One of my favorites. So today I will be showing off some my BEsteam firiends' items, so you see some lovely gifts you can buy - before Christmas arrives !
First in line is Sandy Vern's soap shop where I found this most appetizing slice of cake.Oh - SOAP!

What a great idea! It is Cornmeal Scrub Soap created from Cornmeal. The other side is made of a shea butter base. The aroma of the soap is tempting too - a combination of Lavender and Litsea Cubea! Sandy tells us it is a super skin nourisher and moisturizer. I definitely take her word for it!
The second Etsy shop I've visited  is Stitchprincess run by Faith Snowden
Faith specializes in sewing and photography. She designs and sews by herself clothes for all occasions.
I loved this brown skirt:

It is a knee-length skirt, fits up to 52” hip. One side is made of 16 panels (8 different vintage fabrics); the other side is made of unbleached muslin (100% cotton). Includes white lace trim (attached to muslin but visible on both sides), an elastic waistband, and a white ribbon drawstring. WOW! Seems to me that Faith has really put her heart in it. Awesome!
KCDragonfly  is the shop run by KristineCherry.
I came across this item and said :"Oooo! That's pretty!"

It is a colorful clear glass bottle(1/8 oz) with an eye dropper lid. Small enough to sit in a jewelry or shadow box, on a desk or a nightstand. You can have a favorite perfum or massage oil in it. The beads are ruby red and neon orange seed beads with  pearl yellow Japanese delica beads and the leaves are acrylic representing oak and maple leaves.
CreativityBugs
In Sandy and Sue's Etsy shop I have found this cute handbag.

It is a 6x6 bag which can be used either as a purse for a little girl or as a  gift bag.
The color is Turquiose and it is accented by a large silk Gerber daisy (purple). A fucshia feather boa adorns the top of this heavily starched felt purse.
And if you would like to know which bangle I handcrafted under the inspiration of Tony Bennet's disk, here it is for you to view:

More handcrafted jewelry designs can be found here:
http://etsy.com/shop/riorita
Thanks for watching!

BESteam feature for the week of 11/27

The meaning of the word  BESteam is -  Boosting Etsy Shops Team! We promote each other's shops by giving support through posting in our blogs, our  Facebook pages and more. If you own a shop on Etsy and wish to join, please view our team page on Etsy and our BESTeam blog.


Welcome all viewers. This week I will present to you some beautiful holiday gift items, handcrafted by members of the Besteam on  Etsy. 

Connie Haskell runs the shop Redemptionart. She  works hard at collecting and providing a large variety of vintage items which would please beginner collectors as well as professionals and is always on the hunt for new stuff which has arrived at Hawaii from all over the world.
The item I chose to show you  from her shop is this beautiful cobalt blue hand painted molten glass vase:

twitter/facebook/blog


Ellen Mackler runs Etsy shop Gmaellen. Ellen comes from a family where both grandmothers were very talented in  various crafts and  both  have inspired her greatly. Of all crafts she crochet is her favorite. The items she offers in her shop are both beautiful and functional.
The item I chose for this post is this beautiful flower garland lariat, made of fine peach colored vintage linen and measures about 36 inches long. 

twitter/facebook/blog


Agnes runs the BeaderBubbe  shop. She loves to create jewelry by using any medium - it can be crystals, paper beads, polymer clay or stamping.
I chose these Evil Eye Bracelets shown here, in either Blue or Red, or other variations in these colors
They are made on Stretch Magic, so they will fit all wrists:

twitter/facebook/blog


Handmade jewelry designs:
http://etsy.com/shop/riorita

New Handmade Jewelry Design - Curls with Twirls Earrings

About a year ago I had a dream about my sister TalTal  (it is her nickname in Hebrew "taltal" means - a curl) when she was a young girl. In that dream she had long beautiful curls. When I awoke, I realized that what I was going to create that day would be "Curl Earrings". Under this inspiration I drove to my jewelry design workshop,  and went right ahead and handcrafted them by sawing two flat pieces of silver to curl shapes, hammering them and adding  ear wires. I loved the result. Then I started to think of more designs based on these earrings and followed, but a short while after, moved on to other jewelry designs.

This week I looked at the first design, and decided I could add round spirals to them, so I did exactly that. I have realized I could build up a whole collection with  this idea.
There will be necklacea, pendants, other variations...you'll see (if you will be interested enough - of course!)

Silver spiral earrings, curls with twirls, handmade sterling jewelry

unique silver earrings handmade hammered silver shaped as curls

Double Curl Earrings goldplated sterling silver with Peridot beads

More handcrafted artisan jewelry:
http://etsy.com/shop/riorita

Grandma's Prayers

My new ring is a simple thick 14k Gold band, hammered all around with a punch. You will find it in my Etsy shop
.

Goldplated band ring 

Saturday was a beautiful day. The sun was up and warm , the air was fresh and the flowers and trees looked their best after last week's rain. A perfect day for birthdays.I drove to the in laws of my daughter Adi's house, as we were celebrating my grandson  Koren's  birthday  there.  Koren is my adorable two year old grandson.
I brought along with me two pies which I baked. One was a mushroom pie, with many kinds of mushrooms and cheeses in it, and the other - a spinach and noodle pie. I copied the recipes from my favorite cook book and they came out real yummy! There were great salads there to accompany them and a wonderful chocolate birthday cake, baked by my son in law's mother.


Then we played with Koren and sang birthday songs to him. Before I left, I watched as Koren's grandpa placed him on his knee and read a story book to him. I could not resist taking pictures.


Happy birthday little one! May God keep you safe from all the evils in this world, and may there be peace on earth! High time!!

Koren listening attentively to the story abut Goldy locks and the three bears.

BESTeam Feautures for the week of 11/20

Another of my handmade jewelry workshop friends is this absolutely gorgeous cat called Nimer.

He kind of "adopted" me. He knows I have a box full of cat food in my workshop for him and sisters, but he also likes to cuddle up to me, look admiringly at my face, and help me type while I am at the computer.
I said to him: "today I am posting about the BESTeam, so do not disturb. If you wanna help, just go outside" which he did....

Here are this week's BESTeam featured shops:
PoisonGarden
Poison Garden is a the name chosen by three artists who love whatever is romantic but with a bit of an edge to it. In their Etsy shop they sell handmade vintage and refreshed vintage items in various styles such as Victorian, Neo-Victorian, Steampunk, Gothic and whimsical. Many of the ribbon jewelry and accessories they sell are lovingly stitched by hand.
One of my favorites is this :

BlueWhiteWear
I love this unique Buddha Bauble Necklace:

It was created by assembling a little bone bead with Buddha carved on it and a tiny Chinese coin with beads. Both were purchased by the shop owner, during a trip to Tibet.
Blog/ Twitter

Emptyontheinside
Annie sells artistic hand-painted greeting cards. For this post I chose this very special artistic design:

It is hand painted on cream cardstock Size  5" x 7" and comes with a matching envelope.
Annie's signature on it. My kind of greeting card!
BLOG/FACEBOOK PAGE/TWITTER
and another blog

AngelsNEverlastings

In this shop you will find wreaths and wall hangings with dried flowers and unique substances such as
seashells to create unusual home decor. There are also photo frames, mirrors and china with seashells and seaglass.

Twitter/Facebook

My handmade jewelry designs Etsy shop:
http://etsy.com/shop/riorita

My Handmade jewelry designs studio neigbours

This dog's  name is Mika. She belongs to a sculptor who is a neigbour of mine by my handcrafted artisan jewelry  workshop. She comes every day to the door of my workshop to greet me. Michael is a very young man who studies in a school nearby, and every once in a while, arrives after school hours, takes Mika by the leash and they have a nice long walk together. They seem to like each other quite a bit.

I have always been a dog and cat lover. Mika is a special favorite. I love to watch these large beautiful brown eyes of hers. It seems like she is talking to me with her eyes. She is adorable!

I have listened lately to a disk with Jazz musician Diana Krall, singing "When I Look in your Eyes". She sings it as a love song.. I immediately recalled where I had  heard it before. It was a very long time ago, sung by  stage and movie actor Rex Harrison in the film "Doctor Dolittle". He was singing it to a seal. His rendition was  touching , humorous ,tender.  I have lately looked it up on You Tube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAbCNtk8sOM

Perhaps you might say - "its old fashioned, too sweet. corny!"... I, on the other hand, find it very pleasurable.

Silver and Opal earrings handmade

Sterling silver and Opal Earrings

Handcrafted artisan jewelry:
http://etsy.com/shop/riorita

Singing in The Rain

In my Yesterday's post I wrote that I was lucky, never got wet in the rain! Well - today was another story altogether!
I had an appointment at my dentist's, so I grabbed  my umbrella( just in case) and what do you think? I only stepped out of my door, and it started pouring! Torrents!I rushed to my car and slammed myself inside! Luckily I got to my dentist on time. As soon as I rushed out of my car right into the dentist's door - it stopped!


I looked up at the skies. Decided to smile back at them...


The truth is I am very thankful for the rain. All countries in the Middle East have to replenish their water supplies, and this week's  rain is a blessing. 


Between rain intervals, I managed to get to my handmade jewelry workshop which is located outside of town, and handcraft a 14k Gold carved  ring:

I am a new member of the Etsybloggers team. I have chosen three items from shops of my new friends there:

This is MaureenCracknell's shop. Maureen handcrafts Home decor, fun accessories and one of a kind toys, made of natural materials such as wool, felt and more. I found some some amazing felted pillow cases such as this one:

This is Kelly's Orangiesattic Etsy shop

Kelly likes to create and collect unique items which will beautify your home

  I found this gorgeous Homco Flower Power wall hanging in her shop

In Rebecca Dillon's shp Soapdeli
you will find handmade soap made of Shea butter soaps and goat milk lotions, such as this beautiful  unique one.

I guess it smells nice too

BESTeam Features Week of 11/13/11

    

 I think I have some luck with the weather. It was raining cats and dogs in the morning, with strong winds howling outside. I stayed home with my cat, nice and cozy for a few hours. Then I felt that nothing doing! Storm or no storm, I must go out to do what I have to do - go to the post office to send a few parcels,  to the supermarket,  the bank, etc., I picked my umbrella, and what do you know? - the rain had stopped as soon as I walked out the door, and the sun was peaking here and there between the clouds. I stayed out for about two hours and returned home. As soon as I unlocked the door - a heavy shower! So what do you have to say to that? I guess somebody up there likes me... (only every once in a while I think)

. As for my handmade jewelry workshop, I've been a little more productive this week. I handcrafted two pairs of ear studs and goldplated them:

I would like to present to you three of my BESTeam (Boosting Etsy Shops Team)members and their unique shops:

Danielle Saletzki
http://www.etsy.com/people/ChickyDs
Danielle is a professional graphic designer and works at a local newspaper near her home. As much as she loves her job, she enjoys creating with her hands. She loves to handcrafte fashionable hair bows.

In her shop -Chicky D's,  you will find various accessories and gifts for women of all ages.
You will find her on Facebook and Twitter::
http://www.facebook.com/ChickyDsAccessories
http://twitter.com/#!/Danizabeth2

The next shop is Cindy's - CK Silver
http://www.etsy.com/shop/cksilver

In CK Silver you will find classic, well made handcrafted elegant silver jewelry,to be worn with pride. Cindy puts her heart into every item she creates. You can see this in her shop's images:

The shop's specialities are sterling silver, pearls, semi-precious stones, and Swarovski crystals.
Cindy is primarily inspired  by the beauty of Nature, and the amazing richness of creation. She mainly loves earth tones and other colors found in the landscapes surrounding her.

AbsolutelyKismet
http://www.etsy.com/shop/AbsolutelyKismet
When I first viewed the wine charm  in this shop, made of empty brass shell castings. I felt a shiver go through my spine! It immediately reminded me of the following verse from the Bible:
Isaiah chapter D
"... And He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. ..."

Perhaps you will think that I am being TOO dramatic. Please let me say this of AbsolutelyKismet - if every weapon in this world was turned into a beautiful item, such as the small example in this shop, the world would be a much nicer place to live in!

AbsolutelyKismet can be followed here:
 Facebook and Blogger!
http://www.facebook.com/AbsolutelyKismet
http://absolutelykismet.blogspot.com/


 More handcrafted artisan jewelry:
http://etsy.com/shop/riorita




Have a great day everyone!

My new sterling silver and Opal gemstone ring

I love freeform gemstones. I collect them one by one. Simply cannot resist the temptation. When they are cut into a small freeform shape, I feel as if part of the world is in my little hands. The richness and variety of stones never ceases to amaze me. Lately it has been Australian boulder Opal stones. Last week I was to prepare a necklace for a customer of mine. Instead I felt that  I MUST create this ring first. Of course I finished the necklace and delivered it on time, but the real fun was in making this ring. It may be one of the simplest designs I've made, but sometimes "simple" in collaboration with a beautiful stone does the job. 

Sterling silver ring with Australian Boulder Opal gemstone

Here is some information about Opal stones:
 There were times when the stone was considered an unlucky stone, probably becuase of it's fragility. Cutting this stone is rather tricky because it has a tendency of chipping.
Anyway , the stones I use, are cut with a thick layer of the basic matrix, to give it a stong backing.
The stone contains a high percentage of water, and can deteriorate if entered into hot or cold fluids.Inspite of this, some places in the world use it as a charm for luck.


One can find Opals in a numerous and awesome variety, here are 3 examples:
Harlequin Opal. This stone has a rich coloration with specs of blue, red and yellow. 
Common opal  has a dull white color with a tendency to blue but is  not as flashy as the Harlequin.
Fire opal  has intense red and yellow hues.
I  love to combine them in my jewelry.
If you love Opals too,you should know one important thing about them: 
They  should be washed in pure water from time to time to  remove traces of makeup from the stones. Never wear them while tending to house work.
You may also like the following etsy shops from the Etsy Treasury Promotion Team:
 http://www.etsy.com/shop/Jashme

Little Red Riding hood

 http://www.etsy.com/shop/monkeeboo

Monkeeboo Girls Line Plaid and Orange Skirt

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

Tin Tray Collectable Cow

For the Love of Olives

As you may know, I handcraft silver and gold artisan jewelry. I was about to show off with a new Opal ring I've handcrafted a few days ago, but I will do this tomorrow maybe.I  could not resist posting  about my love for olive trees.
Along each side of  the road, when approaching my  handmade jewelry design workshop, there is a row of beautiful olive trees standing there,  watching me go by, every day of the year.

As I get closer to my  workshop I take an appraising look at these trees. This time of the year they are laden with beautiful olives. They seem to call out to me: " Please pick my olives"!  So that's exactly what I do. I collect quite a number of beautiful black olives into a small bylon bag and then drive off happily on to my workshop.
I do this every year and fill about 5 jars with olives. We eat them all years round.


Here's how I pickle them:
First I put them all in a bowl of water and cut through each one of them with a knife.
Then I fill about 5  glass jars ( I use empty coffee jars for this) with the olives and pour fresh water over them.
I change the water every day for abut 4-5 days. This gets out the bitternes out of them.
On the fifth day I add a few slices of lemon, to each jar,
 a slice or two of a green sharp pepper,
 about 10 garlic cloves, a soup spoonful of rough salt.
 I fill up the jar with water,
and add some olive oil on top!
Then I place the jars in a cupboard, away from daylight.
Within about 10 days, the olives are ready.
I do this once a year and we have delicious olives at out  table throughout the year (if we do not finish them earlier!)

As I am a new member to the Etsybloggers team, I have chosen a few favorites' items from the  team. I hope you will like them as much as I do:
http://etsy.com/shop/ayalaart

http://etsy.com/shop/FaerieGardenFancies

http://etsy.com/shop/PacificphotoArt

Handcrafted artisan jewelry:
http://etsy.com/shop/riorita

Scorpion's Ear Hoops and Besteam favorites - week of Oct. 30th

I am a Scorpion. Anyway - that's my sign, as I was born on November 2nd many years ago.

I do not know whether all Scorpios have an obsession with ear hoops. But it definitely is the case with me when it comes to hoop earrings. I was not so aware of it until I entered my Etsy shop of handmade jewelry designs and counted them. I have spontaneously designed so many of them. It is true -  I love earrings in all shapes and sizes, but what happens is I always go back to - hoops. I love to think of an Ethnic design and present it in my own version:

                                                     

http://www.etsy.com/shop/riorita?section_id=10283301

But before I let my hoops take up all of the space in this post, let me tell you about a few Etsy shops I love:

KCDagonfly http://www.etsy.com/shop/KCDragonfly?ref=pr_shop_more

is a shop run by Kristine Cherry. Kristine has taken a close look at dragonflies and feels that something inside her identifies with them - their neverending search for something. Kristine's studio has in it a whole lot of books beads and fabrics. If you find, in her shop, something which you cannot resist, and feel you must buy it - it is the sign for her that you have found the perfect design! But truthfully, Kristine simply enjoys to create things which would make people say : "Ooooo, that's pretty!"

Another favorite shop on Etsy  is Creativitybugs. It is run by Sandy and Sue, who are two sisters with a passion for crafting. They began by creating gifts for family and friends but now it is turning into a business venture.

Sandy and Sue create  paper crafts  and gifts, handmade cards, paper craft kits and supplies, holiday gifts, doll clothing and accessories, and a whole lot more.
The materials they use are of the highest quality!

When I read the names of Etsy shops, many times they 

capture my imagination. Such is the shop name Ourhometoyours. What immediately comes to my mind is a warm cozy place which is someone's home, and it offers some of its warmth to us - visitors to their shop. What a nice inviting name this is!

It is run by Debbi and Amanda who are mother and daughter. Debbi is a mom is to 3 children who still live at home, and has a grandson who is almost 3 years old, about a year older than my own grandson. This sounds like a lot of fun! Debbi is one of these people who enjoys her job! On one hand - she lovingly creates things which other people enjoy, and still has time to spend with her family.

Daughter Amanda is a photo specialist at Wal-mart but I has a Masters Degree in Graphic Design and would like to pursue that as her career. Her background is Fine Art  and she is offering her drawings for sale along with her crafts. Amanda designs all the banners and avatars for their shop, and hopes to have agraphic design business of her own some day.

And we have a lovely jewelry designer's shp here too- jaynemarie's shop

Janynemarie Crawford started making jewelry when her daughters were small. I had made them clothes and,  accessories. She discovered about herself that she enjoys designing and handcrafting jewelry.She began by creating it for herself and when people started to compliment her for her designs, she decided to begin selling it. Jaynemarie enjoys the lustre and shapes of gemstones and fine pearls and various silver and gold chains.

For her work she uses only the highest quality gemstones and pearls.

More handcrafted artisan jewelry:

http://etsy.com/shop/riorita

Thats all  for today folks. Hope to see you here again in my next post.