Give a Little, Give a Little

Lorelei's Blog is giving away this beautiful bracelet. Here's what she said about the givaway and the bracelet on her blog:

This is my new motto. Sometimes you've got to give a little to get a little. And so far, it's been quite true for me. And that's why I'm having ANOTHER GIVEAWAY! Yippeeeee! WAHOOOO!!!

The lovely and Talented Mellisa of Chinook Jewelry was kind enough to donate a Daisy Connector for one of my beloved blog giveaways. I have created this earthy delight, using the Connector. It's a lovely sage green color, perfect for the upcoming St. Patty's Day holiday! Wood bar nuggets, and small copper seed beads make up the bracelet, with a large carved Unakite focal bead. And of course, this design would not be complete without one of Erin's sweet little ceramic leaves. I added a little Czech glass flower for good measure. oh yea, and I made the brass hook clasp myself!



Isn't that a great motto! I sure hope I win the bracelet as it is awesome!!!

Etsy Beadweavers "Time Machine" Challenge

I just finished my entry into the Etsy Beadweavers Team Challenge called "Time Machine." I've been wanting to make one of these cuffs for a long, long time. This is only the 2nd bead embroidered piece I've made and my very first cuff.




















First, I had to cut a piece of Lacey's Stiff Stuff to fit a 1 1/2" wide brass cuff. I had a set of three dichroic glass cabochons in colors that I love and glued them to the stiff stuff. Then I began sewing the beads around the cabs and filling in all the empty spaces. I glued black Ultrasuede to the back of the brass cuff and after the beadwork was finished, I glued it to the top. Then I connected the two together with more beads. It took several weeks to complete.

I had a lot of fun making it - sort of a "design as you go" experience. I'm always amazed how much joy beadweaving brings to my life. If you are not a beadweaver, I seriously suggest you give it a try. Happy beading to all!

I had a very nice surprise today to find my Kaleidoscope necklace included in this very colorful and pretty treasury created by The Beaded Lily on Etsy.

My necklace is on the bottom right, and you can find out more about it in my shop on Etsy.

While you are on Etsy, take a look at "thebeadedlily's" shop here. Here's an example of Sarah's work from her Etsy shop -way cool!

Fantastic! Treasury

Enchanted Beads featured my latest bracelet in her Fantastic! treasury on Etsy.

My "Red Maze Cuff" (3rd row, middle) was included in this treasury. You can see it in my Etsy shop here.

Enchanted Beads is a member of the Etsy Beadweavers Team and she has some amazing beadwork in her shop. Here's one of my favorites:

Please be sure to visit her shop on Etsy.

Button, Button, Who's Got the Button?

Remember the button game we played as kids (gave away my age, right)? Well, we never had buttons like the ones I just bought from crazycakes on Etsy. They are Czech glass buttons (new, not antique) and there were oodles to choose from. Good prices and shipping in the US was free!

I'm so excited about these buttons. When I saw them, I was immediately inspired to use them in some jewelry. I haven't started anything yet, but when I do, I'll post about it here.

Here are the buttons I purchased:

Aren't they beautiful? Don't they just make you want to reach out and touch them?

I'm thinking pendants and bracelets. Oh, the joy of beading!

Winner of March EBW Challenge - Temptation

The March EBW Challenge had 35 entries, many of them from new members to our group. With 557 votes in total, 68 of them went to our winner - #9 - The Seductress - by Rachele of RachelesOriginals. About this beautiful piece, Rachele says:

An Art of Temptation she is!! Should I or Shouldn’t I? Will she tempt you with her beautiful rounded Onyx curves, or her enchanting cat’s eyes? Will you be drawn in by her sinfully lustful red and her alluring gold and amethyst colors? This tempting one-of-a-kind masterpiece is completely hand sewn with much love and with great attention to detail. She is made with Black Onyx, Cat’s Eye, Fresh Water Pearls, Glass Seed Beads, and more.


Congratulations Rachele! It's a fabulous piece!

Timothy Adams new Blogsite Promotes HandMade

Timothy Adams is a great friend of all things handmade. He has spent untold hours developing sites to help promote creative artists in all mediums and on various sites. Here are a few of his sites that offer tons of good information on how to promote your shop on Etsy as well as on other venues such as Facebook, Artfire, 1000Markets and Twitter.

http://www.timothyadamdesigns.blogspot.com
http://www.handmadeology.com
http://www.byhand.me
http://found-handmade.blogspot.com

I just received notification from Tim that I'm being featured on his found-handmade blog. Thanks for taking time to check it out and comment.

I hope you will take advantage of some of the great promotional info and experiences that he shares.

Pink n Green

I just listed a new pair of earrings on Etsy yesterday and got a convo this morning that they were being featured in a new Pink n Green Treasury. A great way to start my day!

The earrings are made from polymer clay cane slices I created for a flower design. I used them to create a new type of fantasy flower - Watermelon Blossoms. I added a few beads and put them on earwires and here's the result.


Here is the treasury created by feltingteam. There were no items for sale in feltingteam's shop but there were lots of great "favorites" so take a peek and see some great items made with felt!

New Etsy Beadweavers Challenge

I've been "under the weather" for several weeks now and badly neglected both my beading and my blog. But today I got notification that the new Etsy Beadweavers' Team Challenge Mosaic is up.

I didn't get an entry finished for this month's challenge entitled "Temptation." but there are lots of entries and they are fabulous!

Take a peek on the Etsy Beadweavers Blog. Voting will begin Mar 9th. So be sure to stop back and vote for your favorite. I already know which one I'm voting for. It fits the theme so perfectly!