Autumn butterfly

Autumn is upon us! With very few bushes still in bloom we see less and less of beautiful butterflies. They will be all gone pretty soon. I took a picture of this beautiful butterfly in our front yard. It will help me remember warm days and beautiful colors of autumn!

Ginkgo hand felted yellow leaf brooch

Ginkgo tree is an amazing plant. It is a true living fossil which means that its fossils date back 270 million years. The plant survived all major planet Earth's cataclysms and extinction events. At some point of its history Ginkgo trees were widespread all over our planet. In our times they have long been cultivated in Asia where its seeds are widely used in local cuisine.

Ginkgo leaves are of a very peculiar shape. They look like fans with veins pointing towards an edge of a leaf. During the summer leaves are of a regular green color but in the fall leaves turn canary yellow making Ginkgo trees excellent ornamental yard and street plants.

Ginkgo leaves have long been used in medicine. Some studies suggest that extracts of Ginkgo leaves improve blood flow and enhance memory. Seeds of Ginkgo trees are considered by some Asian nations to have aphrodisiac properties and are sometimes offered at special occasions such as Chinese New Year or weddings.

A unique shape and bright yellow color of Ginkgo leaves in the fall are very inspirational. I always wanted to create a brooch that would remind me of these canary yellow fans. There is something really ancient and pre-historic in the way these beautiful leaves look.

According to The Sibley Guide to Trees "four Ginkgo trees about a mile from the 1945 atomic blast at Hiroshima, Japan, were among the very few living things that survived, and soon regained their full health".

Summer suncatcher by FleetingStillness

I've recently received an amazing gift from a very talented stained glass artist FleetingStillness who lives and works in Maryland.

It's always nice to receive gifts from fellow artists who are members of vast and diverse hand made community. When such gifts turn out to be beautiful hand made pieces of art it's twice as nice!

I always had a soft spot for pieces made of glass. I praise glass for its transparency, variety of colors and opportunities for creativity. The suncatcher I've got is made of bright yellow and blue glass and a copper foil. It was created in a "Tiffany" style meaning no lead was used to attach pieces of glass.

The suncatcher is a perfect summer gift. The sun shines through brightly colored glass lighting up everything around and making me happy! Yellow and blue colors are of the warm sea, sand beaches and vacations! This piece of art will always remind me of the summer. From now on I'll have a small part of an ocean beach in my room.


Alla, thank you for such a great gift!

How to dye in green with blue and yellow drink mixes

Since I bought Kool Aid brink mix in blue raspberry I now have all prime colors I need for dyeing. I am eager to start experimenting with mixing different colors and creating new ones. My first experiment will be in mixing a bright green color. We will need one pack of yellow drink mix. For that we can use lemon Kool Aid. In addition we will need a blue drink mix and blue raspberry Kool Aid works just fine.

I mix both drinks in a plastic container. It makes sense to first make a yellow mix and start slowly adding blue drink mix into the container with yellow water. Keep stirring for colors to mix well. I suggest you do it slowly so that you can control the hue of green and stop when you think the color of the mix is the one you are looking for. I've noticed that for a pack of yellow mix I used about 2/3 the blue one.

I dyed my hand felted white wool pieces in the mixture of two drinks and got brightly colored green stripes.
Now it's time to turn them into something nice and beautiful. I assembled white and green pieces of wool on a base that I hand crocheted from jute earlier. The green color turned out to be even better than I've expected. It's a true positive and happy green. The brooch is bright and vivid making it a great accessory.

Spring flowers in blue red and yellow

It's so beautiful outside with all the trees, bushes and early spring flowers like daffodils and tulips beginning to bloom. Since I now have a new macro it's the perfect time to try it out and preserve all that spring beauty. Inspired by a few amazing photographers on Etsy I went out for my hunt. Ideally I would love to take pictures of flowers in a wide palette of colors with all possible hues, shades and color combinations. I've started with blues, reds and yellows.

Here are beautiful pale blues with hints of yellow on a greenish background.

Bright reds of a Japanese maple look so fresh and juicy. The flowers are bitten by cold a bit but I'm sure they will survive! The shape of the flower head is very peculiar and unique.

Bright yellow of a daffodil caught my eye. The flower looks like a porcelain with its petals being so fragile and light.

Felted Acorns wind chime

Spring is a rather windy season. Some people get irritated by strong winds but some actually try to take advantage of them. It is not only wind turbines I have in mind when I think about wind. Don't you like the sound of wind chimes or the sight of flags flapping happily on one's house? The felted acorns home decor item I created was inspired by wind chimes that make out back yards look so welcoming and peaceful! My wind chime is different though. It is not made to hang outside but rather inside adding color and style to any space in your home.

The acorns could be of bright yellow, orange and red colors reminding us about upcoming spring and summer seasons with their vivid hues and shades. Knowing that acorns are eco-friendly and natural adds to the pleasure of decorating my or anyone's house with a set of acorns wind chimes.

Bright canary brooch hand crocheted from jude

I'm currently experimenting with different materials and techniques. The new material I recently discovered is jute which is a yarn made of natural and vegetable fibers. It's pretty sturdy and rough but looks great when combined with elegant and light lace or soft and cozy wool.

The neutral color of jute works well with bright and vivid yellow, orange and blue colors. The brooch I created is an ideal accessory for spring and summer so I'll definitely keep experimenting with combining jute with other materials.

Yellow wool hand felted acorns

Yellow is such a happy and positive color. I plan on creating more items in yellow as spring and summer are approaching. Pale and dull shades of winter dive way to vivid and bright colors and hues of warm sunny days! Let's celebrate spring and summer with lemon yellows!

Spring necklace in lime yellow and blue

I totally fell in love with felting yarn of that bright yellow lime color. It radiates so much positive energy and besides is a perfect color for spring and summer. To contrast bright lemon I added dark blue beads. Those two colors look beautiful together. The necklace will go well with bright spring dresses!

Flowers in lilac and purple

Flowers are beautiful. They are so fragile and exquisite! Every flower is different and there is no way one can find two similar ones! They come in different colors and shapes. It's amazing how creative nature can be! My favorite Fall flower colors this season are lilac, purple and yellow.
Fall colors tend to be warm.
They remind us of the last sunny days before winter strikes. This feast of colors is our last chance to picture all these yellow, purple, red shades and hues before we enter a monochrome world of winter.
Don't forget about animals, insects and birds of the sunny Summer and Fall days! Some of them are as vivid as any flower or brightly colored Fall leaf. Some damselflies, dragonflies and butterflies remind us of flowers and some look more like exotic aliens from different planets but they all add beauty to our everyday life.

Damselfly at Camp Merryelande

I came across these Dragonflies - Damselflies at Camp Merryelande, a really cool spot for summer vacation at the beach. It's a rather undeveloped and wild place but that's exactly why we like it so much.

Surrounded by tall grass and pine trees the camping is very secluded. One feels being in a jungle full of unique birds and beautiful damselflies.

These insects are actually ideal models as they normally freeze for a minute or two on a leaf or a piece of wood before leaping to a similar object nearby. A photographer has enough time to make a good shot. These are beautiful creatures definitely worth being photographed.

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.

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

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

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.

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".

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!

Blue, yellow and green colors of summer

Green trees, blue rivers and oceans, yellow sand and flowers in bloom are the colors of the summer. While spring is mostly about tender pink, airy white and fresh green colors, summer offers us a completely different palette of bolder blues, yellows and greens.

I've created my bracelets our of wire and wool making them easily adjustable and eco-friendly.

Summer jewelry for a day at the beach

Forget work! It's sunny and warm and all I can think about is white colors of the sand and shells, inviting blue colors of the water and bright rainbow colors of summer and spring flowers! Let's go to the beach!

More Summer jewelry items at Tonya Utkina