Being crafty

I just had a crafty night. So, I sewed these pillows and 4 more other ones for the friends for Thanksgiving.
Very easy - made of felt, foam, ribbon, and ribbon flower embellishment.

Bees

This lovely bee was crafted by an artisan from Belarus. Isn't it cute? I am so grateful for bees, for all the hard work they do. Can you think of a more hard-working and useful insect? I can't. I know that in most part without them there wouldn't be any food for us (they are the main pollinators in the world), the honey would not exist (watch out Winnie-the-Pooh!), the health benefits of the pollen and other bee products are still being discovered. And just think of the enormous possibilities that beeswax opens - candles, lotions, soaps, lip balms, crafts to name a few!

Thank you, little hard workers!

Bitter-sweet art of cutting-up books

Check out the following link. It is incredible...


http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2008/09/bittersweet-art-of-cutting-up-books.html

Baltic Amber

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amber_Room

Please check out the link above. It tells the story of the Amber Room, the treasure hunt idea of my childhood...

When I was a child, I went to visit my grandma, who lived by the Baltic Sea (it also happens to be the location of the world's largest amber deposit). Imagine kids often going to the beach picking up sea-shells. Well, for me they weren't shells, they were pieces of sunshine stone - amber. Talking about happy childhood...

There is also the incredible Amber Museum in Kaliningrad (former Konigsberg).

http://www.ambermuseum.ru/museum/history

The location is incredible, as well as the building - ancient fort, which holds the most wonderful collection of amber art, jewelry, antiquity and masterpieces. The place is a true treasure find.

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There was also a memory connected with another stone - Belemnoidea (devil's finger). Ha, another B word. I did not realize it was the fossil of an ancient squid. Talking about learning something new every day...

Belarus

Of course, I am going to start with the place I come from. And of course, it begins with B. Belarus is a beautiful country with rich history and wonderful people. The facts about it can be easily found online, but here is a list of my favorite things from Belarus (absolutely random):

lilacs
lilleys-of-the-valley
wild mushrooms
long summer days
sparkling snow
birch trees
long walks in the woods
dandelions
mom's cooking
dad's stories
the longing feeling
transparent maple trees in fall
the magic of old
castles, forts, ruins
linen towels
dacha
banya
long talks at the kitchen table
friends, friends, friends