Indonesia: Wayang Golek

A beautiful traditional puppet card I got from Indonesia. And it's a surprise card that traveled for a long time. As far as I can tell it was sent sometimes around Valentine's.

Thank you! :]

Vietnam: Lanterns

A beautiful and colorful lantern postcard from Vietnam. First one in this blog, by the way. :D

Thank you! :]

Riin & Eri's Shop - this week's specials

So, before this week ends, I want to present you some specials we have in our newly opened shop.

Cute flowers brooches by Eri.

Custom beaded rings and earrings.

Some other jewelry like this elegant necklace with mother-of-pearl and basketball earrings.

Cute and useful linen bags to keep different items in.

Come in three different sizes.

Reminding you of 20% discounts we are having now and the coupon giveaway.

Next week - more springtime sunny jewelry, rings and brooches. And dolls, of course. :]

Stamps: Japan

As promised quite a while ago, I'm finally posting a set of stamps I have. This time those are stamps from Japan.

Russia: Art postcards - Repin & Vasnetsov

This time I'm posting three postcards with reproductions of famous Russian painters.

Ilya Repin. 1844-1930

The Zaporozhye Cossacks. 1880-91

Oil on canvas. 203 x 358 cm

Victor Vasnetsov. 1848-1926

Russian Legendary Warriors (Bogayri). 1881-98

Oil on canvas. 295.3 x 446 cm

Victor Vasnetsov. 1848-1926

Knight at the Crossroads. 1882 

Oil on canvas. 167 x 299 cm

Romania: Traditional Clothes

Today's postcard shows traditional clothes in Romania.

Thank you! :]

Riin and Eri's Etsy Shop

Good news, Riin and Eri now have a handmade Etsy shop, so please take a look at our offer.
The prices for all items are under $ 15 USD, except for big and heavy sets/items which are under $ 50 USD and will never be even a cent pricier. What a great deal!
We'll be uploading new items I'll be posting about here too, so keep a look for good offers. :] Most of the items are custom made, so just let us know your wishes!
And I'll be making giveaways on special occasions, so be sure to take part in them too. Next big one will be here in about a month when I turn 1 year on Postcrossing. I'm planning to do a postcard lottery on the official forum and a Riin and Eri item giveaway here. But, shhhh..., the cutie I'll be giving away is yet a secret. :]
And, the best thing this time, as a new shop we offer a 20% discount for all our items for the following two weeks! This offer ends on 07.04.2011, so be quick!
Here's the discount code:  PDISC001
In return, write a comment here and let us know how you like our handmade goodies and what would you like to see else in our shop.
Have a sunny Wednesday! :] 

Update: And I decided to giveaway an extra - a free shipping coupon too (for any possible amount of items) and 30% discount coupon. I'll be drawing two lucky winners on the same day the discount closes - 7/4/2011.
To join this part - post separately for every action with links and your e-mail address:
 - Become a follower of this blog, we are a new blog and want to meet our readers! (mandatory)
and you can also
- Heart our Etsy shop (1 voice)
- Become a Twitter follower (1 voice)
- Write a post about our giveaway with a link to this post and our shop (3 voices)
- Buy something from our shop (with or without the coupon above - 5 voices)

Have fun! 

Crafts and Handmade Giveaways #1

As I already stated that so far I'll posting all possible topics together in this blog, but keeping it mostly postcards related as it was the main purpose to write this blog, I think I'd love to participate in some crafty giveaways and also give you a chance to participate in them too. :] Lotteries are great even if you don't win anything, participation is what matters! :]
So I'll be posting all giveaway information in one post for a week - just come and check the tags section for giveaway posts and keep checking the particular post of the week.

This week's features:

Cute earrings giveaway. Ends March 31.

 Ladybird's giveaway. Ends March 25.

Cute bracelets giveaway. Ends March 31.
Visit the Orphaned NO More site too. :]

Beautiful organic fabric giveaway. Ends March 26.

Cute backpacks and hair accessories giveaway. Ends March 30. 

Taiwan: Sunset + Some Smalltalk

Today posting a postcard from Taiwan I received last year. See the cute pagoda type building in the shadows? :]

Thanks!

As for smalltalk - I got my Postcrossing Ambassador badge yesterday. :] Quite a nice thing. I love this hobby and love spreading the word about it. And I'm in the top 40 Postcrossers from Latvia. And that's with only less than one year active and 125 official postcards sent. When I imagine the number seems not to be so many people active.

Currently I'm very busy with my Bachelor paper and depressed about the fact I haven't got a single clue about my future (about 2,5 months away). I'm sure many last year students get this feeling, but still. I'm happy with the job I'm doing now, but I don't see it as solid ground under my feet just yet. And I long for changes and to do something creative and useful, but the job doesn't seem to give me much opportunities to express my self creatively and I also am really not sure if my skills are enough to do something worthy. And, of course, not getting any feedback from anybody is harsh. I'm sure there are many many people who's lives suck much more than mine, but damn... (closing this topic or I'll depress myself even more)

Life is great, people, no matter how you loot at it. Let's cherish the life we have. :]

Japan: Donations

Reposting some information from the homepage of the Japanese Embassy in Latvia.

Here are some bank accounts you can transfer money to donate:
Japanese Red Cross
(1) Donations to victims
Bank Name: Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
Bank Department: Ginza
Account No.: 8047670 (Ordinary Account)
SWIFT Code: SMBC JP JT
Receiver's Name: The Japanese Red Cross Society
Receiver's Address: 1-1-3 Shiba-Daimon Minato-ku, Tokyo JAPAN

(2) For rescue operations
Bank Name: Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
Bank Department: Ginza
Account No: 8047705 (Ordinary Account)
SWIFT Code: SMBC JP JT
Receiver's Name: The Japanese Red Cross Society
Receiver's Address: 1-1-3 Shiba-Daimon Minato-ku, Tokyo JAPAN


For Latvians - transfers to the Japanese Red Cross through Embassy:
Konts pārskaitījumiem Japānas vēstniecībai Latvijā
(Uzmanību!) Kontā saziedotā nauda tiks konvertēta uz Japānas jenām un pārskaitīta Japānas Sarkanajam Krustam. Veicot pārskaitījumu, lūdzu, informācijā par maksātāju norādiet jūsu vārdu, uzvārdu un adresi.
Bankas nosaukums: AS SEB Banka
Bankas filiāle: Ziemelu filiale
Konta numurs: LV60UNLA 0050 0168 3412 1
SWIFT kods: UNLALV2X
Saņēmēja nosaukums: Embassy of Japan

Riin and Eri: Dolls

Two new cute dolls are living on my notebook. :]
Riin and Eri dolls (keychain version, but currently without a chain), crocheted, acrylic yarn, stuffed with padding polyester, so can be washed, eyes are made from Czech glass beads, dressed in Latvian national colors, about 7 cm tall.
I'll be keeping the original copy, one extra can go to Eri, if she wants (I can make her one when I have time), and an unlimited number of copies can be swapped if someone wishes to.

They are much cuter live, but I just can't catch the expression with my camera.

Ukraine: Tea with Sweets

Posting three postcards I got for my collections. Something very tasty looking. :]

Thank you! :]

Belarus: Wolf and Rabbit from "Nu, pogodi!"

Today's postcard from Belarus.
The characters are from a very popular (even still) Soviet cartoon called "Nu, pogodi!".

Thank you, Boris!

Riin and Eri: Fairy Tales

So, I was away for a few days to my university. Have to admit that the evening alone in a room with nothing in it was quite boring, so I went to the store near by and got me a set of coloring pencils. Now presenting the results of my scribbling. A little bit more of Eri this time.
All pictures are available for trade as postcards.

Whom did Little Red Riding Hood Eri meet on a walk through the woods?

(Answer below)

 Blowing bubbles. :]

 Eri and her Owl.

 And a bit bigger.

Well, the (Big Bad) Wolf Riin, of course. :] 

Riin: Exploring the City

Today a set of pictures about Riin and the Cat exploring the city.
Disclaimer: Belongs to me.

Walking in the Streets

Nya~ni?

Exploring some Playgrounds

And also colorfully inverted. 

Japan: Fuji

A card I received today from USA.
I'm very touched when I randomly receive messages from my Japanese friends saying "Japan won't go down!". Really touching and really positive in a way. Please don't loose hope!

Meet Riin and Eri

Tonight I'd like you to meet two new characters of mine. One is my little avatar, the other - avatar of my very good friend. Coming in a bonus set with two cute totem-animals. :]
I'm planning to do a series of hand-drawn and printed postcards with them, as well as dolls and other small items. All available for swaps of you like them.
And of course a disclaimer: all copyright and other rights for those two characters and items with them belong to me as the artist and creator and partially to my friend as a co-author in some cases.
So, here come...

Riin the Dreamer with a cat.

Enjoying some music on a rooftop. :]

And Eri the Romantic with an owl 

(supposedly a white polar owl).

Admiring the moon. :]

Good night and nice dreams to you. 

Nouvelle Images

And today another yummy and colorful batch of Nouvelles I received from different countries.
Thank you for helping my collection! :]

 Flavors of Morocco

 Jams

Red Fruits

Austria: Seebach bei Villach

It's still "today" here, so I'm posting one postcard before going to bed.

This is a real retro postcard, no reprint, in very good condition, so I'm happy to have it in my collection.
The place on postcard is Brandstätter's Gasthof, Magdalenensee, Seebach bei Villach, Austria.
Well, I tried to google some info about the guest house, and there seems to be one in the same area with the same name, but it's near another lake nearby. There are also four guest houses directly by the Magdalenen-lake, but no idea which side of the lake is on the postcard.

Today I had a day-off and had a chance to do two post related things. First I updated the gallery with stamps' images and will be posting quite a lot of them in the nearest future. Later on I'll be adding new stamps from the yet coming postcards. Second thing - I finally have all 4 packages for sweets/teas swaps together and will be sending first thing in the morning.

Not really the one to complain, but I do not like censure (or what they have there) in China. Got one postcard expired from long long ago, another one expired two days ago, and another one expires tomorrow. And also a fourth one traveling over 40 days now, so probably gets the expired status in about 1,5 weeks too. I really wish the people to get their postcards. Chinese government and postal service do not agree with me though.

Oh, and if someone is wondering - circus was really great. ^^ Never thought the places I got were so great, we were were in the first row, right in the center and the circus actors were all doing their stuff "at us", especially when they were doing something that interacted with public, we got to see/feel it first. Liked the performers from Russia, Moscow circus, very charismatic people. Got to see quite a number of live animals. I'm not a fan of animals in circus a as such, but was my first time seeing live elephants so close I could almost touch them. The guy from Spain walking the rope did really a great job, can imagine how much work was spent to make the performance work. Unfortunately he fell, one could see he was shocked a bit and also hurt his leg a bit, but as my mom said, "There's really no shame in not managing to do the stunt with the first attempt." And as for looks in general, I have to admit I love the burlesque style as a show, as long as it's nothing perverse. Well, really a lot of good thoughts and a great experience. ^^

Belarus: Red Again

A lot of red pictures coming in lately. I'm really happy about it, because that's one color I do like for the energy it has within.

Today's postcard.

Thanks to Jagor and Kasia! :]

Woke up early, totally relaxed, wrote all the postcards I'll be sending today, currently listening to some very positive rock'n'roll and enjoying myself. :] And tonight we're going to circus with my 3 y. o. sister - quite a handful to get her ready, she's quite disappointed with everything around her today. If I have time, I'll be finally putting together the packages for item swaps and sending them early next week. Monday is going to be another hard day, so I really hope I won't forget some of the tasks I have to do then. And yes, I'm definitely happy to finally meet some great friends I haven't seen in ages and to hear that at least some of my friends in Japan are safe and doing well.

Netherlands: Cute&Weird

A postcard I received today. A really weird and cute one. Thanks!

 

So, the speech contest is over, I didn't get a place, but still I'm very thankful to the embassy of Japan for the great opportunity, to my friends who helped and held the fingers crossed for me, and I'm happy I got my will together and participated in the first place. Off to the next goal. Hope I do better with it than today. :]

I was really shocked with the news from Japan. I really hope none of my acquaintances, friends, their families and friends suffered in the earthquake and tsunami disaster. My condolences to everyone who did suffer. I wish you lots of strength and hope. Please take care of yourselves!

Finland: Cute&Red

So, I'm not updating often anymore. This way it'll be till the end of this month probably.
As today's postcard I'm posting something I got in my post this morning. It's a very cute Orient-style art card from Finland. In red color that I love.

Thank you Tuija! :]

Germany: Rügen Island & Thank You to Great People

A lottery postcard.

Rügen Island, Jasmund National Park, Germany

Thank you! 

When I study I'm so incredibly lazy to do the updates here...
This week started in a magnificent way - I hope it will end this way too. :]

In today's post I got a mega great package from Kenji, Japan. Thank you very much!
In the package there were: a beautiful sensu fan, a cute blue maneki-neko cell charm, an ukiyo-e postcard, Daigaku Imo and Kuchidoke Almond Kit Kats, blueberry yogurt Mintia mints, very tasty looking Alfort Chocolate Biscuits, Grapes Gaburichuu (I have little knowledge about Japanese dagashi, so no idea what it is and how it tastes - probably grapes as stated :D), also drinks with tastes of ume (plum) and karin (quince).

And today was a very active day for Angels (people who generously send packages to people who never received anything in swaps because of unreliable participants), it even surprised me. Two packages for Tea Time Swap Round 1 (the September! one) were sent out today (I did send one of the Angel packages and it was a really great feeling to do so) and we have also an Angel to send packages to two participants in Round 3. Thank you people, you're magnificent!

Netherlands: Voorjaar

The beginning of the week wasn't rich with post, but today is a happy day for my post box. :]
Today I received 7 postcards, one of them is displayed below, three herbal teas from Germany and also a notice of a package, but no idea from whom. Will know later tonight.

 Alphonse Mucha, Spring

Thank you, nimmoe!

And happy spring! :]

Maslenitsa: Pancakes with Strawberry Jam

Today's recipe for big pancakes.

Pancakes with Strawberry Jam

Ingredients (for 2-4 people):
2 eggs

500 ml milk
200 g flour

2 tablespoons oil
2 teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoon sugar 

pinch of salt

Cooking (cooking time about 30 minutes): 

Beat eggs with sugar and salt. Add oil and stir well. Then add milk and stir well again. Add baking powder, flour and mix the dough with a mixer. Preheat a pan, smear it with some oil and bake the pancakes. When the lower side is yellow, flip and bake for some more seconds on the other side. If the pancakes tear and won't flip, ad some more flour. Eat with berry jam (you can make a quick one by cooking some berries with water and sugar, adding some starch if needed) or sour cream. You can also wrap fruits, ice-cream, or any other filling like meat in the pancakes.

Enjoy!

Netherlands: A Card From France

Quite a normal thing when I receive a postcard from one country that was printed or originated from another.
This official card was sent from Netherlands, but printed in France.
On the card Frenchmen are leisurely playing the "jeu de boules" game and one of them is asking a racing car driver who's trying to pass through, "Are you in a hurry?"