Taste of Mustard

Although I don't really know any mustard recipes, I've assembled this collection in a shade of mustard. It looks sort of yummy to me :)))

I featured my fellow Etsians in this Mustard treasury: lireca, leapinggazelle, Arfeiniel, YuliaKazansky, FunEmbroidery, katrinshine, TwoPoodlePress, StudioElenus, IrinaPhotography, TonyaUtkina, gleenashop, RosemaryManufacture, VitalTemptation, dgordon, beautyspot, sexyhandmade

Handmade bracelets in violet, purple and lavender

I've recently started twining bracelets of 100 percent wool and wire. They turn out to be elegant, stylish and very comfy. Apparently wool has some healing characteristics and is very good for a tired and over worked wrist. It adds softness and nice, unique feel. Bright bracelets will definitely add color to any dress and make our summer colorful and cheerful!

A book about Michael Haneke by Oliver Speck

I first learned about Michael Haneke, an Austrian filmmaker and writer after watching his movie The Piano Teacher a few years ago. It's a very powerful and emotional movie with an excellent performance by a leading European cast.
It turns out one of my German friends who is an assistant professor of German and film studies at VCU has recently wrote a book about Michael Haneke that is now available at Amazon.
It's amazing how everything is interconnected in our modern world and in our lives.

Lemon Candy

I love yellow lemon colors! It's all about sun, summer and happiness. I've assembled a few bright and shiny items for you!

I've featured the following artists in my Lemon Candy east treasury:
NataJane, Fairyfolk, peppermintdesigns, susanleighdesigns, Arctida, TonyaUtkina, daimblond, allmadewithlove, JaneBoFelt, IrinaPhotography, StudioElenus, KAPARA, sexyhandmade, lucysnowephotography, TomBjornDesigns, yevgenia

Caipirinha recipe

I love Caipirinha! It's just an excellent summer cocktail drink. Take Brazil's cachaça, lime and sugar and mix it up well. Add some ice and you will get a tasty and dangerous drink. It's just perfect for an evening with friends. Enjoy!!!

Candy earrings in amber gold

I like sunny bright colors and items! Golden, amber, yellow and orange are my favorites at the moment! I created these earrings of high quality amber colored Czech glass and silver plated wire. Large beads look like candy that shines and glistens in the sun making earrings very pretty. Their simple and minimalist design will go well with bright and vivid summer dresses and will add color to any business casual outfit.

Minimalist blue aquamarine fish earrings

I created this minimalist and elegant fish shape earrings of beautiful blue aquamarine glass cubes. These Czech beads are made of high quality glass and shine and sparkle under the sun. Earrings are very easy to put on and take off. They will match almost any summer dress and will add style and color to business outfits as well.

Blue east treasury

I've selected a few wonderful items in different shades of blue. I've got sky blue birds, deep blue oceans, aquamarine stones and exotic blue flowers! It's a great color!

Cheese bread Khachapuri from Georgia

Have you heard how delicious Georgian (a beautiful country in the Caucuses) cuisine is? With a wide variety of meat and vegetable dishes spiced with unique herbs it is one of the most appetizing cuisines in Europe.
The Georgian dish we like to cook is called "Khachapuri" which means farmers cheese with bread. It somewhat resembles cheese pizzas, cheese bread and calzones all together and is cooked using salted cheese or feta.

To prepare the right dough one should use Kefir a fermented milk drink available in most supermarkets across the U.S. Adding Kefir to the dough will make it soft and partly fermented. The stuffing is prepared from any type of salted cheese preferably Feta which is also available in most supermarkets. There should be enough cheese as the total volume of the stuffing should twice exceed the volume of the dough.

Khachapuri or Georgian cheese bread is cooked on frying pans one at a time. They fry very fast (approximately 5 minutes on each side) and, thus, don't require much cooking time. In Georgia Khachapuri is very popular as a fast food dish either at home or in numerous fast food restaurants all over the country.

Dark chocolate cocoa roll cookie recipe from Hungary

Dark chocolate cocoa rolls are my husband's favorite! Growing up in Hungary he used to eat them every morning hot, fresh and covered with white powdered sugar. In Hungary they are called "kakaos csiga" or a cocoa snail. Small bakeries all over Budapest bake these and lots of other wonderful pastries every morning spreading an amazingly sweet and yummy aromas all over the city.

We are now living in the US and just to remember flavors of the childhood we started baking these sweet and simple cocoa rolls.

You will need standard ingredients for the dough such as flour, butter, yeast, milk, egg yolks, sugar and salt. For the filling you will need butter, cocoa powder and sugar.
These cocoa rolls are made from sweet yeast dough. After the dough is mixed up roll it out so that it is thin. Spread a mixture of cocoa, butter and sugar all over the layer of dough and roll it like a piece of paper. Cut the roll into small pieces approximately 1 inch. thick. Bake them until they are done. After approx. 20 minutes of baking smear rolls with a mixture of butter and milk to make them look shiny and yummy.

Fresh rose and purple flowers in Richmond, Virginia

As you probably know "Virginia is for lovers". The state is amazingly beautiful in the spring and early summer with all these wonderful fresh rose, purple, pink and white flowers and bushes in bloom all over Richmond, Williamsburg, Charlottesville and all other small and big cities and towns of Virginia. On a rainy day I took my camera for a quick walk around our Fan neighborhood in Richmond.

I found a few amazing rose flowers covered with tiny rain drops, a few purple and white irises in full bloom and many other nice and fresh flowers I had difficulty identifying.

Red roses and irises of all shades of yellow, purple and white are the main flowers in the Fan gardens. I believe people like them for their intensive bloom, exquisite scent and exquisite beauty.

With all these inspiring and fresh flowers blooming around us it's easy to understand why "Virginia is for lovers".

Blue ZigZag earrings

I like to work with wire. It's so nice to be able to twist and bend it the way you want. When I add bright and shiny glass beads and stones to my twisted creations they turn into either blue zigzag, red fish or red apple earrings! It's amazing how much room for creativity a simple wire can offer!

Shades of Amethyst east treasury

It's rainy and gray outside and I felt like looking at things that are not bold and bright but rather elegant, pale and exquisite. Apparently there are so many amazing items in shades of amethyst created by talented artists from all over the world!!!

I've included amazing items by the following artists: CityCrochet, herbolution, TwistedCrystals, Arctida, EdenInvitations, papermoth, MyWayToSay, JaneBoFelt, bumblestore, embellishedbytiffany, NeroliHandmade, BreezewayArts, galafilc, lightkeeping, OlgaAlmond, VitalTemptation

Russian Art at Lazare Gallery

We just found out about this wonderful gallery located between Williamsburg and Richmond in small and beautiful Charles city, Virginia. The gallery has a unique collection of Russian realist paintings and has close and deep personal and professional connections with a lot of outstanding Russian artists.



Lazare Gallery's three major collections include New Works by contemporary Russian artists, Soviet Era (1917-1991) art and Russian Era (1992-present) masterpieces!



Being originally from Moscow, Russia, we were much impressed by the variety and quality of Russian artists represented by the gallery. It's great to have an opportunity to show our children high quality Russian art!

Bright yellow and green sparky dots necklace

Summer inspires us to wear bright and vivid dresses of all hues of red, green, blue and yellow. It's a perfect time to put on jewelry to compliment all these gorgeous outfits! Sun shines through elegant earrings and wonderful glass beads of our bracelets and necklaces. There is so much sun, light and shine around!

Mojito east treasury

It's getting hot and our favorite Mojito is turning into a lifesaver! Just mix some mint, lime, sugar, rum, refreshingly cold ice cubes and you will get a party perfect Mojito! Hurray!

I've included the following talented fellow Etsians in this new and fresh Mojito treasury:
EightSeasons, yevgenia, Lori411, JuliaFelt, TonyaUtkina, Arctida, VitalTemptation, MyWayToSay, JaneBoFelt, printube, thequietcanadian, lucysnowephotography, lightkeeping, littlebugjewelry, herbolution, NeroliHandmade

Up in the sky east treasury

Thousands of people travel by airplanes every minute. They are all up there in the sky right now! I just thought about them for a minute and about pilots and airplane crews and all other people who help us get to our destinations on time! Thank you for your wonderful work!


The following fellow Etsians were featured in this up in the sky east treasury: littlebrumble, sanagiros, manonknits, itsastitch, galafilc, bumblestore, CalvinEngel, allmadewithlove, ustwinginit, ChristopherBoswell, FlyingFun, JaneBoFelt, candycrack, TonyaUtkina, daimblond, jezek

Hand crocheted spring scarf in plum

I like crocheting from soft, cozy and fluffy yarns. They give such a smoothing feeling and are very comfy to wear. Light and airy spring and summer scarfs are ideal to wear in the evenings when it's still chilly or in an air conditioned office. They are elegant and stylish and will add a unique touch to pretty much any outfit.

Gone hiking east treasury

It's getting warm and sunny with summer practically around the corner. Let's pack our backpacks and go hiking! Be it Appalachian mountains, Rocky mountains or forests of Washington state it's great to get out and spend a good few days walking, climbing and jumping.



I featured the following talented fellow Etsians in my Gone Hiking treasury east: bellsandunicorns, jezek, theangryrobot, tonyautkina, papercutworks, yuliaart, Beesnetta, YuliaKazansky, HappyfrogfromAlaska, FunEmbroidery, IrinaPhotography, socksandmittens, stevester, wildernest, FlowersbyIrene, peacemagnetgirl

Deep red and twisted

I like to work with wire as it gives a lot of room for creativity. One can bend and twist a silver plated wire to give it the shape and form one is looking for. When I combine my twisted wire with transparent Czech glass beads jewelry pieces get even fancier!