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:

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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. 

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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:

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