Refunkit repurposed upcycled recycled gifts and goodies store in Ashland

I've been today to a totally great store with a fresh idea behind it. Refunkit (re.funk.it) sells upcycled, recycled and repurposed handmade items created by local artists. Each item in the store was created out of treasures found in thrift stores, neighbors' backyards, family attics and grannies' jewelry boxes. All of the beautiful jewelry art, home decor creations, furniture pieces and accessories are unique. Most of them look pretty funky, fresh and different! Such a lovely and inspirational place!

Cashmere pieces made of upcycled cashmere by Irina Baranova and felted scarf handmade of repurposed silk and merino wool by TonyaUtkina.


Flowers and plant arrangements.


Necklaces hand crocheted of reused wooden beads and stones.


Metal chandeliers and light fixtures.


Brooches hand felted of wool.


Wooden toys.


Scarves hand felted in nuno felting technique.


Hand crocheted mobiles.

Lampwork beads handmade by glass artist Katerina Koroleva

Handmade lampwork always fascinated me! There are amazing artists out there who turn glass into art beads of different shapes, colors and sizes. I can easily imagine people collecting glass beads as some of them are as beautiful as gem stones. I've recently came across lampwork of glass artist Katerina Koroleva of MayaHoney. She works in her own studio creating totally amazing glass beads. Katerina was kind enough to share her aspirations and inspirations.



My name is Katerina and I'm a Russian artisan currently living with my family in Slovakia (EU). I started lampworking in 2008 after my daughter was born. I'm now a proud member of American organizations: Self Representing Artists in lampwork and Self Representing Artists in Jewelry Design.



I create glass beads out of my studio in Slovakia which is a beautiful country located right in the middle of Europe. Slovakia is known for its manufacturing traditions. It's a close neighbor of Czech Republic famous for its glass beads and traditions of glass making. Bohemian crystal glass of Bohemia region is known all over the world.



I always dreamed about living in a small town or a village surrounded by nature. My dream has finally come true a few years ago. The place we live in right now is a huge source of inspiration for me. We live next to the most beautiful lake Slnava that looks and smells like the sea. Our house is surrounded by woods with plenty of squirrels, hairs, foxes and even bears. So I just try to replicate in my organic beads all designs nature displays to me every day.



I just adore the sea and you can track sea-ocean theme in my lampwork beads. I make a lot of shells, starfishes etc. I just love to make my customers happy. When I think of how many people own my jewelry and beads - oh, it's a really good feeling, trust me!

DIY How to make Halloween black cat felted coasters

It is so much fun to decorate your home for Halloween. If you have children it is even more fun as they usually love Halloween and craft projects that go with it. I have come up with an idea of making Halloween themed glass coasters. I already tried scary pumpkins. This time around I'll put a black cat on my coasters.



To make felted wool coasters we will need white, black and orange felting wool, water, soap and bubble wrap plastic paper.

On a piece of bubble wrap plastic paper arrange pieces of white felting wool so that they form a circle. You can put one layer of wool for future coasters to be thin or a few layers for them to be thicker. Don't forget that wool will shrink by about 30%. Depending on the size of future coasters add 30% to their original size.



Once the white circle is there start working on a black cat. Let one piece of black wool be the cat's tail, another - its back. Form a circle out of black wool and make the cat's head. Decorate your cat with additional features like orange eyes, whiskers made of black thread, etc. Use your imagination to make your cat funny, scary or cute! It's important you arrange all the details carefully so that they don't mix up later on.



Once the cat is ready start felting. To felt add soapy water and cover the wool with another layer of bubbled wrap paper. Make sure the original image of the black cat stays as much intact as possible. Start carefully rubbing the plastic paper. Felting shouldn't take long. Once all the wool fibers attach to each other the coaster is ready.



Rinse your coasters well and let them dry overnight. If you wish to make more that one coaster keep in mind that it's almost impossible to completely replicate your original image. You can more or less follow the steps of replicating your original design but at the end all cats will look different. If you love handmade and are ready for all your cats to look special and different go for it!

DIY How to make a maple leaf brooch

Let us make a felted brooch in a shape of a maple tree leaf. Autumn will be here before we know it. Fall inspired accessories will look great on our coats and outerwear. The maple leaf brooch is relatively easy to make. You will need a table to put a piece of bubbled wrap paper. It's great if the table's surface can endure water and soap as with felting you will get your table wet.



You will need felting wool in red, burgundy and brown. For felting you will need soap, water and bubbled wrap paper.



On a piece of bubbles paper arrange five pieces of burgundy red felting wool. They will be our maple leaves. In the middle add a piece of brown wool. To add color put a few small pieces of bright red wool here and there. I suggest you experiment with colors and add a bit of green, black, dark brown or ever blue. Colors will add volume to the leaf and make it look bright.



Once the leaf is arranged wet it with soapy water and cover with another piece of bubbled wrap. Start gently rubbing the plastic paper. The leaf is felted when all the wool fibers stay intact and attached to each other.



The brooch is almost ready. Rinse it well in water and let it dry. Attach a safe pin at the back of the leaf to turn it into a brooch. You can wear this brooch with pretty much any outfit. It will look great on winter coats and outerwear.

Crochet and plush toys by RomeoShop

I came across bright and cute toys by RomeoShop looking for a gift. They look very cheerful and radiate a lot of positive energy. That's exactly what we are look for in toys. We all want toys to be fun, to make our children happy. Helen who makes these amazing toys and is originally from Ukraine talked to me about her own childhood and the art of toy making.



Helen: I love toys! I don't remember if I ever played with toys but I remember very well as I actually made them with my own hands. My mom had a sewing machine that I mastered by 8. For inspiration I used patterns from a magazine Burda that was available in Ukraine back then. If for some reason I couldn't use my mom's sewing machine I would crochet my toys using a simple thread and a hook. My mom still owns a few of my first handmade toys.



At some point of my life I abandoned toy making and led a life of an ordinary person. I had my full time job and all the corresponding routines. But when I gave birth to my son Romeo something has changed. I'm making toys again and that's how it should be!



My main inspiration is my son Romeo. We explore outside world together looking at butterflies, chasing cats, reading beautifully illustrated books, watching cartoons. It all helps me to come up with new ideas. Inspired I draw a picture first and then transform my picture into a toy. If for some reason I cannot sew my toy I crochet it.

I've got a lot of plans for the future. I'm a realist and perfectly understand that probably not all of my ideas will turn into real toys. I sometimes regret that I don't make enough toys for boys. That's why I plan to make a set of bugs boys could play with. When we think about bugs we have a picture of something not very attractive. My goal is to make my bugs cute and funny. I plan on making a toy chain saw and a drill.



I love bright colors and simple forms. All my toys are funny, happy and cute. Children are exactly the same. That's why children really like my toys!

Summer Wedding Essentials contest results

Russian Artists team on Etsy just had its Summer Wedding Essentials contest. Fifty six team shops took part in the contest submitting their hand made wedding-themed items. All of the entries were fantastic! They can be checked out at Russian Artists Facebook Page.

Although all of the items submitted were amazingly beautiful, creative and unique, I picked up a few of my personal favorites. All of the wonderful items presented will make any wedding an unforgettable experience!

1. Dog Crochet Wedding Floral Collar by mailo


2. Event Decor for the Wine Glass by MamaTita


3. Tea Set, Original decorative painting by Yury Tarler


4. White earrings with pearls by HoneyCase2

My First Fall GIVEAWAY results

Thank you for participating in my Red Berry handmade earrings Giveaway. Believe it or not but the number generated by Random Generator was 66!

Let us congratulate Lee who won Red Berry handmade earrings today!!! Congratulations Lee!!!

GIVEAWAY: Red Berry Earrings

Fall is a lovely season with so much vivid and beautiful colors around us. It will be followed by a rather colorless winter so let's enjoy this feast of color while it lasts! I handmade this juicy Red Berry earrings of bright Czech glass and silver plated wire. They are absolutely unique and each piece is carefully crafted in an eco-friendly and inspiring surroundings.
I'm hosting my first Fall giveaway! One lucky giveaway participant selected by True Random Number Generator will win my handmade Red Berry earrings next Thursday, October 14, 2010.

To enter:

Please visit my Etsy shop TonyaUtkina and leave a comment about your favorite item in my Etsy shop. Don't forget to leave your e-mail address so I can contact you in case you win. Your e-mail info will NEVER be used for any other purposes!!!

Extra entries:

Please leave one separate comment for each entry. (So if it is 2 extra entries for example, leave 2 comments, etc.)

1 entry - follow my blog with Google friend connect

1 entry - follow me on Twitter TonyaUtkina

1 entry - like my Facebook Fan page TonyaUtkina Jewelry

1 entry per day - retweet the following message and post a comment about it (just copy and paste the following into the twitter window). Can be done daily:
RT @tonyautkina GIVEAWAY Red Berry Earrings! Visit my blog http://tonyautkina.blogspot.com/2010/10/giveaway-red-berry-earrings.html

2 entries - grab my button and put it on your blog

3 entries - blog about this giveaway

No purchase is neccessary, but if you happen to buy something you will get extra 5 entries .

Open to US and Canada only. Winner will be chosen by online random generator. Winner will be notified by e-mail on Thursday, October 14, 2010 and will have 3 days to reply or another winner will be chosen.

Good luck!:)

My first GIVEAWAY results

My first ever Giveaway ended yesterday, June 24th. Thank you so much for participating. I very much appreciate your time and attention!

I ran the number of comments through a random generator.


Let us congratulate Tina Reynolds who won the set of my handmade beach bracelets in berry cream sherbet!!!

Congratulations Tina!!!