Beautiful Babushkas Bead-Along!

Check out these beautiful Babushkas! Our members have harnessed their "inner Russians" to create these one-of-a-kind works of art. The bead-along was in progress during March/April/May and was extended a couple of weeks into June. The results were worth waiting for! Everyone did a wonderful job! Thanks to everyone who participated!  These dolls are just a few that were submitted.  Please click on photo to view larger image.

You may be thinking, "what is a babushka?" The word "babushka" has multiple meanings. It is the Russian word for Grandmother. It is also the word for a triangular headscarf, often worn by a Russian peasant woman. Many people use the word to describe Russian nesting dolls (see photo below), but the correct word for the dolls is actually "Matryoshka."

If you're interested in the history of the Russian nesting doll, here's a very informative link for you:
http://russian-crafts.com/nesting-dolls/history.html

Spread the Love Swap and Challenge

In February 2009, some of our more romantic members wanted to celebrate Valentine's Day by beading a small doll to 'Spread the Love'. Jena, generously hosted this lovely project and clearly enjoyed her topic so much, she just couldn't stop. Some of the ladies just wanted to bead a doll for keeping, or secretly gifting to a very special loved one, whilst others beaded a little loving creation to swap with a beady buddy from the group. I think you will agree, the results are a beautiful tribute to the sentiment of Valentine's Day and will forever be a reminder of a loving occasion and beautiful friends.

These dolls were swapped between members:

and these dolls were beaded as a challenge.