give aways.

yesterday I spent the day with my daughter we went to visit my dad and she took us out to lunch for a late mothers day/ fathers day celebration.......we all had a real nice time, I got home late yesterday evening, stopped to check the mail, and there was a package, I couldn't figure out what it was, I wasn't expecting anything, so I tore into it to see what it was..........it was a necklace I had won from a blog giveaway from March........I had kind of given up on ever getting it, figured the mail gremlins had gotten it
but here it was in all its big funky "chunky monkey" glory. That is the name RockHill Designs had given it, its made with all kinds of stone nuggets, a nice large smooth oval focal, some fresh water pearls, and hilltribe silver accents. Its big and weighty and different from the jewelery I normally wear, but I think it will be a fun addition to my "jewelery collection". Thank you RockHill Designs!
Then I was checking my email and found out I had won another blog give away, this time it was from Lisa at Lucid Moon Studios a 25.00 credit in one of her Etsy stores! think I need to buy a lottery ticket! who knows the run of luck might still be working??? Thank you Lisa!!
I've checked out her stores and she has some cool stuff, but can't make up my mind, there are some earrings I really love, and there is a poly clay framed resin pendant that I know my mother inlaw would love, so now I need to make up my mind if I want to be selfish, or generous and share my good fortune......hmmm

Rainbow Brights

I got my Rainbow Brights, beads from Juls today in the mail........they are incredibly vibrant and totally beautiful, they do look good enough to eat! , opening the package was like a mini party in its self........the beads were wrapped in multi colored tissue paper and tied with a bow, she gave me an extra rainbow focal (a wonky bead, but I love it!) and it was also gift wrapped and there was also a yummy chocolate mint, all of this was inside a cute little bag tied with another bow, a very nice presentation! thanks Juls!
I've been playing with the extra bead since I picked up the mail, I think its going to be a necklace......

Happy Dance.......

I'm so excited, I just found out I won the bead soup give away from Virginie at Vivi Bijoux she was offering a beautiful necklace she made with a lampwork bead made by Lynn Bauter......it is just beautiful! I love it, thank you so much Virginie!

And the winner is............

the winner for my necklace giveaway is Lynn, from Beading Heart Art please email me your mailing information, and I will get your goodies off in the mail! thanks everyone for stopping by with your comments! the bead soup party was a real blast! hope we can do it again its a good way to stretch your beading bounderies, and to get your work out there and seen by your peers.......its always fun

times running out........

there is still a few hours to leave a comment on my blog to be entered to win the necklace and earrings........drawing will be sunday morning...........so come on by and leave a comment!

julsbeads

Woo Hoo I just bought some beads from Julianna Cannon at julsbeads........a few posts back she showed some beautiful rainbow focals and I fell in love with them........well she is having a sale and I bought a set, one of the rainbow focals and some rainbow colored spacers......I am so excited!!!

ok.......where is everyone?

hmmmm........where is every one? thought I would have a few more people comment to get in on my give away.....you still have one more day, you haven't missed out yet! just leave a comment on my blog to be entered to win, I'll be using my random selection machine (the hubby.....pick a number between 1 and.......) on sunday so hurry on over and leave a comment!

jumping on the give away bandwagon

I thought I would try my hand at the give away thing......So I made a necklace and some matching earrings (you can just barely see the earrings at the top of the pic) Any way it is a y necklace with chinese crystals in various shades of green with silver tone chain and a few round silver links.....just leave a comment with your name and I will randomly select a winner at the end of the bead soup party!

The Best Bead Give Away Ever!!!

Denise at Denise Yezbak Moore is having an amazing bead give away!!! 7 1/2 lbs of beads, over 350.00 worth of beads...........So head on over to her blog and check out this amazing generous give away!

M M Good, my soup is done!

here is my finished bead soup, the focal was a large round flat bead, I treated it like a cabochon I had some olive rondels and some pale green ovals for accents, these were my bead soup ingredients, I added two beaded beads, some fresh water pearls, and some crystals and a few glass leaves to spice things up a bit!

Bead Soup Sneak Peek........

here is a sneak peek at my bead soup project...........I will reveal a hopefully much clearer picture tomorrow morning!

trying new things......

this past year has been a year of learning new things.....I have been unemployed going on two years now......and I have made so much jewelery that I don't know what to do with it all, so I am trying my hand at online marketing, which I know nothing about......AND it shows terribly, both in my blog and my store front......I have no idea how to design a blog page or a store front so both are abysmal and totally boring....I am awful at photography.......I would prefer to do a farmers market type thing, but I guess everyone is doing it now and there are no openings for jewelery makers locally.......
Any way enough boo hoos ........ I have been trying to work outside my comfort zone and teach myself new techniques, this morning at 3:30 am, when I should have been sleeping, I was trying my hand at beaded beads, I taught myself my own version of spinning tops a couple weeks ago, and added a couple to my bead soup creation!!! this morning I was learning how to do a simple woven bead from Carol Wilcox Wells book The Art & Elegance of Beadweaving.......... the first try turned out a bit wonky........so I ripped it apart, the second one was a bit better, but too much thread was showing, I guess the third time is a charm, it turned out ok.......still not perfect, but I have made a couple more and each one looks a bit better......so who knows? I might actually figure it out........I think I'll try embelished netted beads next.....
Oh Yeah.......I forgot the reason for this post was to say I am in the first group of the bead soup
groups.....so will be showing my my finished soup on Saturday the 19th!!!

Bead Wisperer

its amazing how disorganized a person can get......I blogged a while back about trying to get my beading space organized.......hubby had brought a label maker home from work to help me get all my little drawers labeled and organized, well he finally just bought me my own label maker, and I have almost got all the drawers labeled, its taking time because as I label, I am consolidating beads, that have been in other places........I didn't realize just how many beads I have till I started this project......it doesn't mean they are all beads I want to have though........because these are a compilation of over 30 years of beads, so that includes many beady mistakes, the good buys, that were just too good to be true.......the beady gifts from well meaning relatives, ect.....ect...one of my major problems is buying beady grab bags from Fire Mountain Gems.....I should know better my most recent stupid buy was some metal findings with swarovski accents......it was some thing like a quarter pound and there were a couple pieces with crystals, the rest of the bag were the toggle half of about 100 toggle clasps......what do you do with 1/2 of a toggle clasp? I'm thinking a charm bracelet with toggles as the charm? don't know........ A older native gentleman I had the pleasure of sitting next to on a bead buying road trip once told me that the grab bags were just floor sweepings, I guess I should have believed him.......any way, I am now working on all my findings trying to consolidate them........and sort them by type and style ect.....they were spread between about 4 or 5 big cases, because I had been gifted by two different people with their bead stashes and hadn't gotten around to getting it all together till now, I've been up since 4:00 am doing this with a couple breaks.....still not done
but I think I can see the light at the end of the tunnel......think I need a bead wisperer......to help the beads get where they belong.....go into the drawers you will be happy there.....

Copper Diem one pound of beady goodness!!!

Copper Diem is having a give away, one pound of beady goodness! go check it out!

a few more things.....

I found this brass reproduction opium bottle at Michaels, and really liked it so made a diamond rope chain for it with green turquoise disks and blue turquoise rounds, I think it turned out really well!










I found this clay sand dollar whistle at the beach at curio shop......it is made by an Oregon clay artist, unfortunately I lost the information on her, this is just a simple strung piece with crystals seed beads, pearls, and several different glass sea shell beads......I am so wanting to go to the beach, so am making do with some beach themed bead work.....its not quite working.....

woo hoo it feels like summer, finally!

Wow, it seems like the seasons just change over night, one day down pours of rain, the next 80 degrees and beautiful bright blue skies....... although tomorrow its supposed to be over cast again, maybe not rainy though? can always hope........ I've spent today listing a few things on my new zibbet store site.....I've never done this before so am kind of lost, but its a start, here are a couple of pics of some of my latest work, its just simple stringing but kind of pretty, a charm bracelet I call heart of gold, and a triple strand bracelet with a huge antique brass toggle clasp that I really love, I call this bracelet, mermaid's treasure, because it reminds me of sea glass, I'm almost tempted to keep it for myself, it feels wonderful on the wrist! I like jewelery with some weight to it

beading and my sick 30 yr old baby

I talked to my son in Las Vegas a couple nights ago, he was sick with some kind of stomach problem, he seemed to think it was a gall bladder attack, (his gf told him it was) hadn't been able to keep any thing down for a couple of days, and was feeling totally crappy and sounding worse....I told him he needed to go to the ER and get checked out.....he said he couldn't because the business next to his apartment was on fire and there was no way to get through the police had it all blocked off.......he called me again this morning, he has been in the hospital since 11:00 yesterday morning, they are still running tests......I worry about him, he is my baby, and I can't be there for him, damn, I hate being jobless, and poor......I want to hop a plane and go take care of him.....
I spent another sleepless night last night, finally got to bed at 6:00 this morning, and was up again at 10:00......so I beaded all night, I started a new project, a no brainer......a kit, its a lacy choker in fuchsia lined blue seed beads with fuchsia swarovski bicones in 3 & 4 mm, it is a design from Sandra Halpenny's Drop Lace Necklace Pattern Collection 2007.........I've had this kit of 10 necklaces for well over 2 years, and have tried on several occasions to make one of the designs or another, I guess I prefer doing my own thing...but for some reason this time its working for me, I guess I just needed something with directions last night to focus on......and its turning out really pretty, all sparkley and feminine....
I have been pretty productive in the past few weeks, I finished my bead soup project, and the amber stash bottle necklace, although I want to change some things on that one........also the opium bottle necklace, I am happy with that one! also a sea themed necklace with a clay sand dollar wistle as the focal, and as usual, I am waiting on some decent weather to take pics.......should be this weekend, they are predicting 80's for saturday!
well I am going to get back to the necklace.......I'll sit and bead and send positive and healing thought toward my son in Las Vegas.....

Andrew Thornton's Thursday Give away

Andrew is giving away some pretties from Green Girl Studios, that have me drooling a bit! I just love the goodies from Green Girl, so head on over to his blog and check it out!

beadsoup party

I finished my bead soup party necklace tonight, after several starts and rip outs.......it started out as a spiral chain I was 3/4 of the way done with the chain, when I decided I didn't like it...... I already had the focal bezeled and fringed with LOTS of fringe, I took it off the chain, tore the chain apart and did a diamond stitch chain instead, then decided I didn't like all the fringe so I redid the fringe using a lot less fringe this time, added the clasp and its done! and I like it!! will post some pictures after the big bead soup party reveal...I started another necklace with a similar diamond stitched chain tonight, the same color as the first one, but with turquoise accent beads, because I am going to suspend a reproduction antique brass opium bottle from the chain, and it has a turquoise cab on the cap, its looking pretty good so far

beaded beads

I made my first beaded beads today......some fairly simple ones, made with size 11 and 8 seed beads with an 8mm core bead. I used a free pattern I found online, but had problems with so changed it to suit myself, I get the same results with out the problems the pattern was giving me, I am going to make a pair of earrings out of them, and will post a picture later when the weather clears up enough to get a nice picture.
I gave into my cravings this past weekend.....I had been craving a turkey dinner for about a month.....I even went to far as to buy a turkey roast and cook it a while back.....but it just wasn't the same, I wanted drumsticks....stuffing.....gibblet gravy.......the whole nine yards a "real" turkey dinner, so now I am left with lots of left overs......since it was just my hubby and I eating, guess I should have invited some friends over for dinner, oh well it really did taste good!