#1. The Nesting Doll
The nesting doll is perfect for any mom. Really! They are so much fun no matter what age you are, and get this -nesting dolls (nested dolls, Russian dolls, matryoshka dolls, babushka dolls) are the epitome of mothers – matryoshka actually translates to mother.

One fun idea is to get a mother of four a 5-piece nesting doll to signify herself and her children. Or get any number of pieces, and put a surprise in one of the smaller dolls!

#2. The Amber Heart
Show your love with a magical amber heart pendant! Classic, beautiful, and many women’s favorite piece of jewelry; amber has been known to turn negative energy into positive energy!

#3. Everlasting Flowers
Skip the bouquet of flowers from the ground this year and give her forever flowers! Our large selection of floral themed jewelry has something for everyone! Honey amber rose brooches, sterling silver flower rings, cameo carving pendants, hand painted flowers on rostov finift rings…

#4. Favorite Animal Trinket Box 
Frogs, dogs, turtles, and more! These pewter based trinkets are studded with sparkling Austrian crystals and come in a satin lined gift box!

#5. Lucky Jewelry 
Send your mom love and luck this year! Elephants with their trunks in the air, and ladybugs are popular symbols of luck to have fun with!

#6. Russian Lacquer Boxes
Lovely little boxes made out of paper-mache with miniature paintings on them, makes this gift a practical piece of art. When was the last time mom was gifted artwork?

#7. A Fantasy Vase
Unique Russian vases that are simply breathtaking. This interesting “Fantasy” series vase glows under the light and is extremely beautiful with or without flowers!

#8. Glass Figurines
These little figurines are always a joy to receive. Set atop a windowsill where light shines through, makes these adorable animals come to life, brightening the day.

#9. Russian Shawl
Get mom a shawl that is as intricate and beautiful as she is! Check out different ways to tie the scarves here!

#10. Unique Kitchen Magnet
She’ll be reminded of love every time she opens the fridge! Our nesting doll magnets are perfect for mom, you know why because of reason #1! Only $10.99 for two!

Yay! Faberge eggs are fab for Easter! So are other Russian eggs! Stand out this year with different, fun, interesting, and/or religious Russian eggs!

There is lots to love with egg trinket boxes. Studded with shiny crystals and made for a display as well as practical use for holding small momentos, they especially stand out on Easter day.

They make unique gifts that children can respect, are excellent conversation starters for young adults, and are admired by collectors of all ages.

The Russian Store has egg nesting dolls, egg ornaments, wooden eggs (with stands), pisanki Easter eggs, pewter-based egg trinket boxes, fine crystal eggs, and even faberge egg pendants! Easter jewelry has never looked better.

Get your egg on this year and every year, all year-long! Go eggs!

Tale of the Snow Queen Nesting Doll

The Snow Queen
by Hans Christian Andersen

Once upon a time a magician made a magic mirror. In this mirror, a kind face became wicked; a look of hate was reflected as a look of love. One day, however, the mirror broke, and if a sliver of glass from the mirror entered someone’s eye, that person’s soul became evil, if another pierced a heart, that heart grew hard and cold as ice.

In a big town two children, called Karl and Gerda were very close friends, and even the sweet pea that grew on Karl’s windowsill spread across the street to entwine with Gerda’s little rose bush. One evening Karl was watching the snowdrift down, when he noticed a white flake slowly turn into a beautiful ice maiden. Karl was startled to hear the ice maiden speak his name, and he was not to know he had set eyes on the Snow Queen. Winter passed, and one spring afternoon, as Karl and Gerda poured over a book, the little boy told her: “I feel a pain in my heart! And something’s pricking my eye!”

“Don’t worry”, said Gerda comfortingly. “I can’t see anything!” But, alas, splinters from the shattered mirror had pierced the little boy.

Now in the grip of the evil spell, he snapped: “You’re so ugly!” And ripping two roses from her bush, he ran off. From that day on, Karl turned into a very nasty boy, and nobody could understand what had happened to him to cause such a change. Only Gerda still loved him, though all she got in return were insults and spite.

Winter came round again, though earlier than usual, and bringing far more snow than anyone could remember.

One day, just after going outdoors to play in the snow, Karl saw the beautiful maiden he had seen that night, coming towards him wrapped in a white fur coat. She stood in front of him and told him to tie his sled to her own, drawn by a white horse. Then they sped away. Suddenly, the great sled soared into the sky and through the clouds. Stretched out on his own little sled, Karl didn’t dare move a muscle for fear of falling into space. At last, they came to a halt on an immense white plain, dotted with lots of sparkling frozen lakes.

“Come into my arms,” said the Snow Queen, opening her soft fur coat. “Come and keep warm!”

Karl allowed himself to be hugged by the unknown maiden and a chill ran up his spine as two icy lips touched his forehead. The Snow Queen kissed him again, and in an instant, the little boy forgot all about Gerda and his past life, as he fell into a deep sleep.

In the meantime, Gerda was anxiously searching for Karl, but no one had seen him. Finally, she went down to the river.

“Great river,” she said, “please tell me if you’ve seen Karl or if you’ve carried him away! I’ll give you these, if you do!” And she threw her shoes into the river. But the current paid no heed and just swept them back to the bank. Not far away stood an old boat, and Gerda climbed into it. As she drifted with the current, she pleaded: “Great river, silently flowing and knowing all things about men’s lives, take me to Karl.”

At dusk, she stopped by a riverbank carpeted with all kinds of flowers. After resting she went into the forest, and though she did not know how she would ever find her friend, a mysterious voice inside her told her to be brave. After wandering far and wide, she stopped, tired and hungry. A crow flapped out from a hollow tree.

“If you’re looking for Karl,” it said, “I know where he is! I saw him with the Snow Queen on her sled in the sky!”

“And where is her kingdom?” Gerda asked the crow.

“In Lapland, where all is icy cold. That reindeer over there might take you! ”

Gerda ran over to the big reindeer, threw her arms around its neck and, laying her cheek against its soft muzzle, said: “Please help me to find my friend!” The reindeer’s kindly eyes told her that he would, and she climbed onto its back. They traveled till they came to the frozen tundra, lit by the fiery glow of the Northern Lights.

“Karl! Karl! Where are you?” shouted Gerda as loudly as she could. When, at last, she found the little boy, Karl did not recognize her. Gerda threw her arms round him, and teardrops dripped onto his chest and heart. This broke the evil spell. Karl woke from his long sleep, and when he set eyes on Gerda, he too began to cry. The second cold splinter of mirror vanished. They had found each other again at last, thanks to Gerda’s love, and the reindeer galloped them home. The two plants on the windowsills started to blossom again and to twine, a sign of their everlasting friendship.

Then you should check out our new Trinket Boxes!

The Russian Store is now offering cute trinket boxes. These boxes are the perfect  gift for that hard to shop person. These pewter boxes are spun cast before being hand-painted with a thick enamel-like paint. Many of these boxes are plated with gold or fine silver to add a touch of class to these fun gift ideas. These jewelry boxes feature shinning Austrian crystals in a veritable rainbow of colors. These crystals are hand-placed by skilled artisans one-by-one. It is important that these crystals are hand-placed because of the unique shape of these trinket boxes. Lower quality boxes feature crystals which easily fall off, ours are tested for perfection!

These keepsake boxes are a great last-minute gift shopping idea, they’re great to store nick-nacks, easy to lose items, small jewelry like earrings or rings, or any number of small items. They also work great as a stand-alone piece of decoration. Got a lonely shelf somewhere? Looking for an ornament for your desk? Want to send a loved one a cute reminder? These trinket boxes are great for just that.

We feature a huge selection of boxes. Over 250! So take some time and browse through, find something you like. All of our trinkets arrive complete with their own gift box!

Learn how to tie your scarf or shawl at The Russian Store:

1. On your shoulders
2. On your head tied under chin as “Babushka”
3. On your head tied on the back as in 70^th
4. “Gypsy” tie over your forehead
5. As a head band
6. As a neck tie
7. As a decorative bib
8. Tied over one shoulder
9. As a holster top
10. As a hip hugger
11. As a belt

Kristos Voskres! Vo Istinu Voskres!

How to  celebrate Russian Easter

It’s time for the Easter Bunny! This Spring millions of people across the globe will be celebrating Easter in their own ways. Christians in Russia have been celebrating this holiday since the time of Christ with public gatherings and feasts.

Russia is traditionally an Eastern Orthodox country, as opposed to the Western Christianity of the United States that is predominantly composed of Protestants and Roman Catholics. These different sects of Christianity are all celebrating the same thing, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, but they often do it on different days. The Eastern Orthodox church keeps a different calendar than the Western Church does, and therefore Easter is often celebrated at different times of the year depending on which calendar you follow.

This Spring, people all around the world and in Russia, who celebrate Eastern Orthodox Easter will be spending their family time dying and painting eggs, baking Paska and Kulich, thus continuing an age-old tradition. The most popular color to dye eggs is the red color, which  is meant to symbolize the blood of Christ. By Russian tradition, instead of hiding eggs like we do here in America, many homes in Russia will have eggs on display all year around. That’s why the wooden hand-painted Pisanky eggs were created. Russia has long revered the egg as an eternal symbol of life.

Pisanki eggs are very popular in Russian homes. Even the royal family of Russia celebrated the holiday with elaborate egg displays. First Faberge imperial Easter egg presented by Emperor Alexander III to his wife the empress Maria Feodorovna at Easter 1885.

This Spring, people all around the world and in Russia, who celebrate Eastern Orthodox Easter will be dying their eggs red,  And just like here in America, Easter in Russia is always accompanied by a large feast where family and friends come together to appreciate one another and celebrate life. Happy Easter! 

Russian lacquer boxes of course! These beautiful and sturdy boxes are made the same way they were made over 200 years ago, using paper-mache and several layers of hand-painted lacquer. Each little box takes anywhere from 4 to 6 months to complete!

All the boxes at The Russian Store are authentic pieces of art from one of the four main villages in Russia where these lacquer boxes are made –  Fedoskino, Palekh, Kholuy, or Mstyora.

These boxes make great gifts for anyone because they can be used to hold all sorts of things, or they can be left for display only. Each miniature painting is signed by the artist, and each painting is vibrant.

Fairytales on lacquer boxes are very popular, as well as floral prints. Every girl, young and old, can relate to The Frog Princess or a bouquet of everlasting flowers!

The Russian Store also has Southwestern themed Russian lacquer boxes. How unique!

Pick up a set of three little boxes and enjoy the wonderful Russian tradition of miniature painting.

Do you have a rodent problem, but don’t want to buy a trap? Well if you have a nesting doll you can make your own! (Cheese not included with purchase of nesting dolls)

If you’re like me, your top secret documents are constantly being found by spies! Well if you have a nesting doll, just hide all your plans, blue prints, and other sensitive materials in there. (Note: probably will not work on Russian spies.)

It’s raining outside, and you lost your hat. Or maybe you just live in a society where it socially unacceptable to go outside in a hat. Perhaps you just want to stay one step ahead of the fashion elite. Well then a nesting doll is what you need! You laugh now, but it’s just a matter of time before you see models wearing nesting dolls walking down the runaway.

That’s what I came up with; just imagine all the other uses for the Nesting Doll!

The possibilities are endless!

Once upon a time an old man and his wife lived on the shore of the blue sea. They were poor and lived in an old mud hut. He made a living by fishing, while his wife spun cloth. One day he caught a small golden fish in his net. The fish begged him, “Let me go, old man. I will reward you for my freedom by giving you anything you desire.” The fisherman was astonished and frightened because he had never before heard a fish speak. He let the fish go and said kindly to her, “God bless you, golden fish. I don’t need anything from you.”

The fisherman went home and told his wife the wonderful thing that had happened to him at the shore. But she cursed him angrily and said, “You are such a fool not to make a wish! At least you could have asked for a watering-trough, since ours is broken.”

The old man returned to the seashore, where little waves were rushing up onto the sand. He called out to the golden fish. She swam up and asked, “What do you need, old man?” He bowed and replied that his wife cursed at him because she needed a new trough. The fish comforted him and promised to grant his wish.

When the fisherman returned home he saw the new trough. But his wife shouted at him, “You are such a fool! Go back to the fish! Ask for a new house.”

The fisherman went back to the sea, where the water and sky had become overcast. He called the fish, who swam up to where he was standing. He apologized and said that his snappish wife wanted a new house. The fish comforted him and promised to fulfill his wish.

When he returned, he saw a nice new cottage with a gate. But his wife shouted even louder, “You are such a fool! Go back to the fish! I do not want be an ordinary peasant, I want be a noblewoman!”

The poor old fisherman went to the sea. The waves were beginning to rise and beat on the shore, and the sky had become even darker. He called the golden fish, who swam up and asked him what he wanted. He bowed humbly and explained, “Don’t be angry, Your Majesty Golden Fish. My wife has gone mad; she wants be a noblewoman.” The fish comforted him.

And what did he see when he returned home? The hut had become a great house. His wife was wearing an expensive sable jacket and had a kokoshnik (headdress) of brocade. She had on pearl necklaces and gold rings. There were many servants bustling around her. She hit and slapped them. The fisherman said, “Greetings, Milady, I hope you are satisfied now.” She didn’t deign to answer him, but instead ordered him off to live in the stable.

Several weeks later, the wife ordered her husband to appear before her and instructed him to go to the sea again, saying, “I am still subject to the rule of those above me! I want be queen of all the land!” The old man, frightened, said, “Are you crazy, old woman? You have no concept of courtly manners. Everybody will make fun of you.” At these words his wife glowered with rage, slapped his face, and ordered him to obey.

The old man went down to the seashore. The water was roiling; the sky and sea had become almost black. He called the golden fish. When she swam to the shore, he bowed and said that his wife now wanted to be queen of the land. The fish comforted him and let him go home.

When the fisherman arrived, he found a great palace, inside which his wife was seated on a throne. Boyars and other noblemen were her servants. Around her stood menacing guards. The old man was terrified, but approached the queen and said, “Greetings, Your Majesty. I hope you are happy now.” She did not even look at him, and her guards drove him out.

Several weeks later the queen sent for the old fisherman and again ordered him to go to the sea–this time to ask the golden fish to become her servant and make her Empress of Land and Sea. The fisherman was so terrified of her that he did not even protest. He submissively went back to the sea.

A terrible storm was raging there, with lightning, thunder, and giant waves crashing against the shore. The old man yelled as loud as he could and the fish rose out of the waves. He explained to her what his wife wanted now. This time the golden fish did not reply, but turned and swam away out to sea. After waiting a long time in vain for any answer, the fisherman returned home–where he found his old mud hut, his poor old wife and a broken trough in front of her.

Whether you own a nesting doll, are considering buying one, or haven’t heard of them at all, you’re in for treat with these fun ideas for things you can do with nesting dolls.

Not only do they make a great gift, but nesting dolls can give you a lifetime of memories to cherish.

Here are 5 fun things to do with nesting dolls:

1. Let your kids play with them
2. Collect them
3. Give a gift inside of them
4. Use them to learn to count
5. Create a funny animated video

1.  Let you kids play with them

Children love taking things apart as much as they love surprises, and nesting dolls offer them the satisfaction of both.  Watching the expression on your child’s face as he or she discovers each new doll hidden inside of the previous doll is a delightful experience.

The hand-eye-coordination they gain by disassembling them and putting them back together again is similar to working with puzzles.  Plus, most nesting dolls have illustrated stories with important people throughout history, classic fairytales, and other events that you can use to open the door to teaching your child about the world around them.

2.  Collect them

If you’re a doll aficionado, no collection is complete without at least one traditional nesting doll from Russia.  If you’re an old hand at the nesting doll collecting game, you can diversify your collection with various sizes, specific artists, or a complete set of themes.

With Facebook, Flickr, and other online social photo galleries, you can take photos of your collection and share them with the world!

3.  Give a gift inside of them

As the saying goes, “great things come in small packages.”  With nesting dolls, the smallest ones are nested deep within the larger ones, offering creative and fun ways to give a gift that’s cleverly hiding it inside one of the smaller dolls.

Watching your loved one open the dolls only to find that the real treasure was hidden inside all-along is a moment you’ll want to capture on video, so have your video recorder handy!  This is one memory she (or he) will never forget.

4. Use them to learn to count

While the simple joys of playing with nesting dolls is rewarding enough for most, Russian parents often use them as a way to teach their children to count.

You start out by opening them up one at a time, and counting how many you have opened as you go along.

In fact, there’s even a special type of nesting doll — a counting nesting doll — that’s designed to aid your child in learning to count.

Not only is this a fun, old-world toy, but it starts your child off on the right track in exploring numbers, puzzles, and more.

5.  Create a funny animated video

Being in the information and digital age, having access to video cameras and publishing fun animated videos has never been easier.

Instead of getting your hands dirty with clay, use nesting dolls to come up with funny skits and video clips to express your creativity.

Why not produce a video that asks a girl out to on a date, or that wishes your mom a happy Mother’s day?  The possibilities are endless and the results are lasting, whimsical memories that you and your loved ones will keep close to their hearts.