Inteview with Nataliya HansHolzkopf

Today we persent enother talented member of our Russian artists Team Nataliya. She has amazing shop HansHolzkopf.

Please tell us a little bit about yourself…


Hi! My name is Nataliya and I am 41 years old . I'm originally from the Crimea (Ukraine). 15 years ago I moved to Hamburg, Germany where I now live with my husband and our 11 year old son.
During the day I work at a high school and in the evening I am an artist :)))
I like to create something with my hands, paint, take photos, sew, decorate..
My hands are like a magician. They can make wonderful things.

How long have you been creating? How did your journey in art and creativity begin?

I grew up in a creative family. My father was a great photographer, scientist and entomologist and my mother was interested in Asian art. So I grew up between the complicated technical equipment, photos from around the world, butterflies and reproductions of Japanese and Chinese artists.


As a kid I painted a lot. As a teenager I started to make jewelry and gave away much of it to my friends. I have done a lot of experimenting with different materials. My first jewelry I made from wood. But the fabric has always fascinated me with its different colors and textures.


My first flower I made for the wedding of my friends.
After that I have received many requests for these flowers for the other weddings. So I started to create wedding accessories and jewelry from silk, organza, satin and lace. I opened my shop on Etsy three years ago and I am very happy to meet here so many talented artists from around the world.

How did you come up with your shops name?

"Hans Holzkopf " is a person from the fairy tale. "Hans" is an old German name, like Russian name Ivan.
"Holzkopf" means "wooden head". We all know the adventures of Pinocchio. He was not particularly clever, but he had a dream and a big heart. I love this story!

What is currently inspiring you?

I am inspired by the colors of nature, by the flowers in my garden, by children, simply by people, by travel in the other countries..

Do you take custom orders?

I love it!!! I love to realize the ideas of my customers. I love this process - from an idea into something what you can touch. If my customer is happy, I'm also happy.

What is the best reaction you have gotten from one of your pieces?

I have a regular customer. She has already ordered many flowers from me. And once she has written me... she suffers from a disease and depression..but if she gets my colorful flowers, then they make her happy and she feels better….
It means a lot for me..

Name 3 things you can’t live without?


Hmmm…Only three? :)))) Ok.. My son, my family and the colors of nature..and I can’t live without creating something with my hands.

A day for your Mother

This Sunday think of making something special for your Mom. Spend the day together, bring her some flowers and take her to her favorite restaurant for brunch. You should also bring her a gift she will really like and maybe watch a movie together or have a fun day at the park, just like at the old good times when you were a child.

Your Mother is very special so tell her you love her!

 Photo sources from top, then left to right: 1, 2, 3, 4

 Photo sources from top, then left to right: 1, 2, 3, 4

Photo sources from top, then left to right: 1, 2, 3, 4

Story by Tanya (Socksandmittens)
Photocollages by Katrin (Karisagraphic)

Treasury "Mr" on Etsy Front Page!

I'm happy to write that treasury collection "Mr" was featured on Etsy Front Page! Curator of this collection was member of Russian Artists Team Lena from Baymut. Congrats Lena and all featured artists!

Giveaway from Albina

Today we want to "raffle off'" a single issue of the Art Bead Circle Magazine presented by Albina from AroundBeads. It has several step-by-step beaded projects (2 of them are Albina's:)) and very interesting articles.

Mandatory entry:
Visit Aroundbeads Etsy Shop , browse around, and leave a comment here telling me what your favorite item is! - 1 entry

Make sure to include your email address to contact you if you win (comments without email will not be counted)!

Extra entries (make sure you leave a separate comment for each). Current fans are eligible!
* Follow our blog - 1 entry
* Follow Albina's blog (www.aroundbeads.blogspot.com) - 1 entry
* Follow Albina on twitter / facebook - 1 entry
* Share about this giveaway on your blog/facebook/twitter -1 entry
* Purchase anything from AroundBeads, GoodWeather or SuperSupplies4U shops and come back letting know what you purchased (see shop announcements for discounts) - 4 entries

This giveaway will run from May 3rd through May 13, and the lucky winner will be chosen by random.org on May 14, 2011.
Make sure you leave a separate comment for each entry. The more entries you post, the more chances you have to win!

This giveaway is open worldwide.

Have fun and good luck everyone!

Tutorial how to color dye felting wool with KoolAid

A great way to color or dye felting wool is with KoolAid. It comes in a wide variety of colors that could be mixed up to create even more colors. It doesn’t wash away and is as natural as a food coloring could be. Another great thing about KoolAid is that it can be found in any grocery store in US.

I suggest we start with a few bright colors like red for cherry flavored KoolAid, yellow for Lemon and orange for Orange and a few felted beads of medium size. To read more about the process of creating felted wool acorns please refer to my post on How to make felted wool acorns.

I first made colored water. To make it I added powder from KoolAid packs to the water in a few small plastic containers. As a result I’ve got five containers with brightly colored water. I added approximately a tea spoon of powder to each of the containers. Then I put each of my five beads into a separate container and let the beads suck in the colored water.

One can vary the quantity of powder dispensed in the water to make the solution more or less saturated. As a result beads can turn out of either pale and pastel hues or bright and vivid colors. It makes sense to heat containers with solution and beads in a microwave up to the boiling point for color to fully penetrate the beads. However be careful as beads will be super hot! I usually cool them off in cold water afterwards.

The result is pretty impressive. All of my five beads turned out to be colored differently. The most intensive, bright and beautiful color turned out to be orange. Yellow bead was not that intensely colored but I really like the light lemon color of the bead. They smell of oranges, lemons and cherries! Yummy!

All those brightly colored beads could be turned into acorns or into an acorn wind chime.

This post describes my personal experience with a particular product.
Please be careful trying to replicate the experiment!!!

Tutorial by TonyaUtkina

"I spy mustache" on FP

And again our Team treasury was featured on the FP! This time it was collection in urban and industrial look dedicated for mans. This treasury was created by Tonya from CityCrochet and named "I spy mustache". Thank you Tonya for this treasury and congrats all featured handmade artists!

Vegan Banana Cupcakes

Our team member Alla (FleetingStillness) lives in Maryland and has two kids, 5 and 7 years old. Alla loves to cook and bake and we would like to share one of your recipes with you.



My son is allergic to quite a few things, and egg is one of them. Just like any kid, Max likes cakes and cupcakes, so I had to learn to bake without eggs. I searched the internet for recipes for the past four years and this one is by far my favorite - it is simple, versatile and delicious.

You will need:
2 cups flour
1.5 teaspoon baking soda
0.5 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup oil
4 ripe bananas
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. sift together flour, salt and baking soda
2. mash bananas with a fork
3. beat sugar and oil until white and smooth
4. mix in mashed bananas w/ a spoon

5. add water and vanilla
6. mix in flour mixture using a whisk
7. spoon into 2.5-inch cupcake liners filling them about 2/3 (1 banana makes 4-5 cupcakes)
8. bake 25 minutes at 350F


I decorate my cupcakes with chocolate glaze and raspberries.

You can also bake this as a banana cake - just add 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional) and bake in a 9-inch pan for 40-45 minutes.