Spring post cards exchange

I've recently received four amazing post cards from my Russian Artists fellow team members. The original idea of the post cards exchange belongs to Albina from AroundBeads. Albina came up with a great idea of writing a few with warm words about spring to a few members of our team. I got beautiful cards from Albina AroundBeads, Lena SFBeads, Lena Lazo, Natalia HansHolzkopf and it was a surprise. Although I expected to get post cards I didn't know where they would come from. Thank you so much for wonderful cards and your sincere and kind words!!!

Hand crafting at home

Hand crafting is a great way to relieve stress and to spend some time creating unique and beautiful art pieces. The result usually looks amazing and all the relatives and friends end up catching the same crafting bug. Be it crocheting, felting, beading or yarn hand spunning it will all make you happy and feel a real artists and craftsman.

We all have spare supplies of buttons, glass and plastic beads, yarn and threads in our homes. They are stuck somewhere in the basement or deep inside our closets.
I encourage you to go and find them! You will be amazed by all the treasures you find in your house!

When I was small I loved to sort my mom's buttons she inherited from her granny. They were so shiny and colorful, of different shapes and sizes! I loved the glass buttons the most. In the sun the light would go through them and make everything around shine! Look for a few glass beads and buttons in your house! You might find some vintage pieces that are priceless!

After you dig out all the treasures it's time to start crafting. Every person is different. Some like the feel and touch of yarn and fiber and, thus, enjoy knitting, crocheting and yarn spinning. Some like vivid and bright colors of beads and are eager to spend hours beading and wire wrapping. It's actually fun to try everything possible craft and technique as you never know what you fall in love with at the end.
The result of hand crafting will always be unique and rewarding. It's such a joy to end up with a beautiful necklace or a cool hand knitted scarf.

I beg you not to waste your spare time at home! An hour or two of crocheting and beading will make you feel better! I promise!:)
I was myself inspired by an example of Ira Rott who has recently made her first hand spun yarn. It's an exciting process you should definitely try! It’s next on my personal list of home crafting techniques.

Giveaway: Beach bracelets in berry cream sherbet

I so much like summer colors of pink, berry, strawberry, raspberry, sherbet and fuchsia. They add color to any summer outfit. In combination with grey these colors look very elegant and stylish. I handmade this set of three bracelets in pink for a summer at the beach. They are water resistant and easily adjustable. The bracelets attach well and will fit any wrist.

I'm hosting my first giveaway ever! One lucky giveaway participant selected by True Random Number Generator will win my handmade beach bracelets in berry cream sherbet next Thursday, June 24.

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 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 Beach Bracelets berry cream! Visit my blog http://www.tonyautkina.blogspot.com/2010/06/beach-bracelets-in-pink.html

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

4 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, June 24, 2010 and will have 3 days to reply or another winner will be chosen.

Good luck!:)

A green dragonfly in the Fan

I accidentally noticed this beautiful emerald green dragonfly in our front yard in the Fan, Richmond, Virginia. It was very calm and tranquil so that I could rush back home to grab my camera and be back in time to take a good shot. I actually like this combination of emerald green with green background and a few black spots on dragonfly's tail (I'm not sure it's called "tail" though). I wish someone could tell me how this beautiful creature is called!

Beach bracelets blue green yellow

I love the summer colors of blue oceans, green mint from cocktails and yellow sun and sand. For a perfect day at the beach I've created this set of three colorful bracelets that are water resistant and adjustable. They will add color to your summer gowns and beach outfits.

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

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!

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!

Etsy EAST treasury Paris in bloom

I was in a romantic mood yesterday and came up with this Paris themed collection of items. It's all about pink airy and light flowers, elegant and beautiful women, streets and rooftops of Paris. I've been to this wonderful city a few times and wish I could return back every year! I just wanted to share a small bit of Paris with you!

The following wonderful fellow Etsians were featured in my Paris in bloom East treasury:
JaneBoFelt, Justlena, Kristybee, AliciaBock, moonbeamwishes, daimblond, CafeSprinkles, JuliaFelt, cushyadornments, Beautyland, afiori, TonyaUtkina, plumprettysugar, wickedpen, VitalTemptation, SucreEtCannelle

I just found out that my Paris in Bloom east treasury was featured on Etsy Front Page. Nice! :)