back to the grind

It's always hard to come back after 5 days of being away from home, and get back into the grind of every day routine. It's Monday morning. It couldn't FEEL any MORE like a Monday.
We had a great time in Connecticut for Thanksgiving. I got to see my little Max and Alex, cuties! We had a good time playing with them and catching up with relatives. Thanksgiving dinner was a small get together of 6. It was delicious! Luckily we were able to bring home some homemade turkey soup too!

We had planned on going to Joe's 20th high school reunion this past weekend. Saturday morning we decided to head to Ikea for the day and then come back, nap and get ready for the reunion which was at a local banquet hall at 7:30. As we were getting ready, Joe got an email from a high school friend that said, sorry we missed you last night! Joe ran for the invite and read that the reunion was Friday night, the night before. We missed it altogether! DOH!
We had a good laugh and picked on Joe about it all day. Usually I would have been able to catch that blunder beforehand but since we got the invite months ago, I've always just believed Joe when he told me it was Saturday night. Never even read the invite.

So anyway, we headed to Ikea and I lucked out and found a cool new computer desk, and a new bistro style table and chairs for the kitchen. Joe put them both together last night.
I'm happy with our choices. I think we are going to plan on staining the legs of the table to more match the dark legs of the chairs. They weren't a set, we got them separately.
So the bead diet is going well and kind of useless since all I do is spend my money on big things like pieces of furniture from Ikea. What's up with that? Aren't I supposed to be saving my money for an iPod? I guess it was just burning a hole in my pocket. Actually Joe bought the table and chairs and I bought the desk with my own money. It worked out and lessened the blow for Joe a bit, which he was thankful for.

This week is going to be CRAAAZY. My open house is Saturday! I have to make a TON of new jewelry for it. Get the house decorated for Christmas. Come up with an appetizer menu. PLUS make a couple of more pieces and write tutorials for another project. I don't know how I'll ever do it all with my pesky full time job.
Hope you all have a good Monday.

6 things

For those of you who were secretly hoping I would blog in the midst of this holiday madness,
here you go...
How it works (in case you forgot): I will answer the below very random questions - then you can answer the questions as a comment.

1. Today I feel... Thankful that my family is healthy. and a little tired.

2. This week... is going to be crazy busy and chaotic as I try to whip up many many pieces of jewelry to sell next weekend at my open house!

3. Last night... I was stuffed with turkey and all the fixings, and then enjoyed watching Home Alone with my nephew Max.

4. Lately the song stuck in my head is... "Paparrazzi" by Lady Gaga. over. and over. and over. and over.

5. Whats your favourite pet memory? In Marley's younger days, she used to be a very good acrobat and play on the railing of the stairs inside my apartment.

6. What is currently at the top of your Christmas wish list? I want many things. Like this. and this. and this. or this.




Reminder: Black Friday through Cyber Monday sale: 20% off your purchase. Coupon Code: ABS Thanksgiving. Check out like normal and I'll send you a revised invoice reflecting your discount!!!

Garden of Good

now listed on etsy!

Important News!

1. I will be away for the holiday - Wednesday through Sunday. I will be reading blogs, but will not be blogging til I get back.


2. My shop will stay open while I'm gone but all packages won't ship til Monday November 30th.


3. As part of the Art Bead Scene crew, I'm participating in the Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday sale- Take 20% off of your purchase! USE COUPON CODE ABS THANKSGIVING.
Check out normally, do not pay, leave your email and I will send you a revised invoice. SALE STARTS THURSDAY and ENDS MONDAY night!


4. I am so lame and haven't been able to blog about my fun day with Kerry. She wrote a great blog yesterday about our day together, on Sunday when she drove up. And Kerry took all the pictures too because I forgot my camera. We had a blast. Lunch was great, and shopping around the antique mall was the BEST. Kerry is a pro at spotting really cool things that I wouldn't normally see! So I scored some cool things like a special gift for my Sister for Christmas, some cute bird postcards that will make great props, I got a small pink hardcover Black Beauty book, it's the sweetest! I found these really cool and rustic and RUSTY metal plates that having chipping green paint. I bought one and already used it as a photo prop. And Kerry assured me that it was okay for me to buy the buttons on my bead diet because they are not beads. So I went a little nuts and have enough buttons to last me 3 lifetimes. I'll be divvying them up and will listing some button destash in my Bead Pod shop.


5. Oh yea! The winner of the giveaway for the Classic Bead set!


CONGRATULATIONS NICKI!
You left your email so I'll send you a note to get your address for your beads!
Thank you for the great participation in the this giveaway!

Thanks for stopping in and I'll see you all when I get back!
xox
L

A great cause, and a new SHOP!

I was approached by my friend, Marsha Neal, of Marsha Neal Studio a little while ago, and was asked if I would be interested in helping her raise money for a good cause. Marsha's mom passed away in 2007, after battling Leukemia.

Marsha, that clever girl, had an idea to open an Etsy shop. All of the proceeds from the item sales from this shop will be donated to a non-profit organization. Right now the monies are being collected to donate a room to "My Mom Pattie" at the Tri-State Bird Rescue (DE) annex project. Marsha's mom loved feeding, providing habitat in her garden, and watching birds. And with the help from your purchases, there will be a permanent place in her memory where sick or injured birds can be taken care of.

I couldn't be more proud of my friend for her bravery and feel so honored to have been asked to be one of the contributing artists.
So, basically you'll be able to find handmade jewelry made by me (and a few other talented designers) that all incorporate Marsha's awesome ceramic components!

Take a minute to read through the My Mom Pattie blog, and then run over and start your Christmas shopping early- I've listed 8 new pieces in the shop, adding to Mary Jane Dodd's collection. The shop can be browsed by artist, just click the name in the menu on the right.

Thank you, in advance, for all of your love and support! I hope you find something you can't live without!

Weekly Links

See this cool ceramic charm?
My friend Marsha Neal made it.
She's having a HUGE sale right now, BUY 2, Get one FREE! In both of her shops!
Etsy and her online store!
Don't miss this one because, this will be the last big sale before her baby Riley arrives.
Not only that but she's having GIVEAWAYS too when you spend a certain amount in her shop, you'll get put into a drawing. Check out the details on her blog here.



I am waiting patiently for Kerry to arrive! She's driving 2-1/2 hours to come hang with me today. I am excited to see her.
The last time I got to see her was when I went to her house, and picked up the Bead Cabinet. Remember that?
Don't really have a day planned, just lunch, maybe some antiquing... if we can places open on a Sunday. The bead shop is closed so that's out, good thing, because I don't need another temptation on this bead diet.
Sorry for not blogging yesterday. Yesterday is a blur and I'm not even sure what I did all day, but the day was gone before I knew it.
Til tomorrow, please enjoy this weeks cool LINKS!

A Bead A Day
Do pearls go with everything? Lisa pairs glass pearls with chain and interesting findings. What do you think?

About.com Jewelry Making
What do you do with a weird piece of chain made from wood? How about making a fabulous necklace out of it.

Art Bead Scene
Art Bead Scene gives you the scoop on findings worth finding - check it out!

Barbe Saint John
I've been a bad blogger!

Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi makes a brooch with a cameo and other odds and ends.

Cindy Gimbrone aka The Lampwork Diva
Cindy has a new shop on Etsy - the bleeding heart. Check it out!

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles
Melanie shows the piece she made for the new book Chain Style, and talks about her struggles with letting go of her published jewelry pieces.

Jean Campbell
Jean kicks off a new era of self-indulgence with a funky Steampunk necklace.

Jewelry & Beading
Gather up some little beaded flowers and turn them into a very special necklace!

Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio
Lorelei's annual craft fair adventure is over and she share's some photos of the Aftermath.

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Artbeads teamed up with Nintendo DS to create a fantastic virtual learning game for jewelry lovers! Style Lab! Jean shows it off in a youtube clip! FUN for the HOLIDAYS! :)

Strands of Beads
Melissa discusses the virtue of buttons in jewelry-making

A lot on your plate?

Why not have some fun with a challenge, right?

Since I'm the over-achiever type of beader, I created a bracelet for each
of the bug pictures in KJ's blog challenge.
Excuse the blurry and nasty dark photos.
It's raining and dismal today and well, I just couldn't help it.
But you can get the general idea of what I was trying to achieve here.

the beetle: glass rounds, copper metal seed beads, a Marsha
Neal Studios ceramic charm, wood slices, Vintaj Brass bead caps,
handmade brass hook and eye charm with filigree round.

the catepillar: Playing off the colors in this lovely creature,
I used an orange lampwork flower from Gardanne Glass, lampwork glass
nuggets in that perfect teal, black and pale blue color palette from
Crazy Cat Glass, Black vintage buttons used as "bead caps", bronze artist
wire

the grasshopper: Ok, so I cheated a bit on this one. I had made
this bracelet over the summer but it fits so well into the color
palette of this picture. Ceramic toggle: Mary Harding
Glass drops, vintage glass tulip bead, Sue Beads lampwork, The
Orange Bell lampwork, Kelleys Beads lampwork,
and an inside out painted glass bead with grasshopper.

the moth: It's hard to see in this photo but I take that color
on the top of the moth as a light lavender color.
So I beaded this simple elegant bracelet with
Grass green heishi pearls, and top drilled lavender pearls,
with small lavender seed beads in between. Silver lobster clasp,
and silver flower charm from Hip Chick Beads.

the butterfly: This is my favorite out of the bunch.
I used a new Transfer ware toggle ring from Marsha Neal Studios,
Vintaj Brass toggle bar, heavy cable cahin, and lampwork glass from Kelleys Beads,
and a nice little Jade Scott charm. I went with colors from the butterfly,
and not the flower in the photo.

I hope you all enjoyed my challenge pieces! I had fun diverting my attention to something a little more challenging and FUN!
TGIF!!
xo
L

happy thursday

Good Morning.

Another day another dollar. But all I want to do is bead. Isn't that always the case?
Thought I would tell you that the bead diet is going really well. It is day #11 already! But I must confess. I have been tempted by beads on more than one occasion. And yes, The Orange Bell is holding a set for me til my diet is over. ;)
Seems like we are all gearing up for the craziness that is the Holidays. I'm not looking forward to all that. Every year we go through the same issues. Buying gifts at the last minute and dealing with crowds of people and settling on gifts for family. gah.
I wish I could do without all that this year.
Since my show this weekend, it seems like all of these deadlines and projects fell in my lap and I immediately felt overwhelmed. I wish I could tell you all about what I'm working on but one of the things is top secret, and super exciting, and work intensive.
Other things... I was asked to create jewelry for Marsha Neal's Mom's shop, My Mom Pattie. I'll talk more about this in another post. I'm busy trying to restock my studio for my open house in December. A nerve-wracking event that could be really super great if I have enough stuff. And then of course, the deadline is really quickly approaching for Stringing magazine and I've only got 1 project finished. *sigh. There is never enough hours in the day. Seriously.
For me it's easy to get caught up in all the busy business stuff and forget to slow down and enjoy life for once. But this weekend I'll have a day to do that. My friend Kerry Bogert is coming to spend Sunday with me, and I can't wait to see her. We are gonna hang out, let our hair down, relax, have lunch, and just enjoy some girl time together for once. Enjoy LIFE for once.

Hope you have a relaxing Thursday- and enjoy life!

The Classic Bead- Giveaway No. 1

Tracee Dock, of The Classic Bead, loves you.

Wanna know how much?

So much that she has donated this super hip and cool pendant and bead set for a giveaway!

This will be the first of 2 giveaways- the 2nd will come in December. So stay tuned for that.

In the meantime- relish in this current gift!

Large funky swirl Ceramic pendant in a matte black and matte gold metallic finish. Comes with a set of 6 coordinating ceramic round beads, and a coordinating ceramic button for the clasp!

Create a whole masterpiece using everything on this card!

Please leave 1 comment, include your email, and I will draw a winner on Tuesday November 24th!

Cold Winters Night

Feeling overwhelmed today.
Many many things on my to do list.
Trying to take it one step at a time.
Deep Breath.
Just take a deep breath.
............................

Buggy Bead Contest

Have you heard about the newest challenge? KJ, of Silver Parrot is hosting a Buggy Bracelet Challenge on her blog this week.

All you have to do is create a bracelet after one of these inspirational, colorful bug pics, and post it on your blogs and leave links on her post!

Hmmm,

I wonder which one I should pick?

Bead and Blogger Links- a bit late.

A Bead A Day
A surprise package of beads arrives and provides a week of fun on abeadaday!

About.com Jewelry Making
Tammy has another installment of Make It Merry this week.

Art Bead Scene
November is full of fairies at the Art Bead Scene. Come check out the inspiration painting for the monthly challenge!

Carmi's Art/Life World
Carmi has a give-away offer on "the ugly necklace."

Cindy Gimbrone aka The Lampwork Diva
Cindy reflects on how to live life at a slower pace. Her reflections inspire a pair of earrings.

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles
Melanie starts a new project, an upcycled film themed jewelry line called Now Showing! Read the story behind this fun new idea.

Jean Campbell
Jean finds her first piece of beadwork in a junk drawer and discusses how important it is to reinforce your work

Jewelry & Beading
Gorgeous jewelry designs by artist Paula Huckabay!

Katie's Beading Blog
Katie's combining resin, chain, and tubular peyote stitch in a project for Beadwork magazine - download the pdf for free!

Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio
Setting up a table at a craft can be daunting, but Lorelei put together a perfectly Vintage Chic display that will hopefully lure people in.

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
In the spirit of the season, whereby "you can get nything you want" as in the famous Alice's Restaurant song by Arlo, you can get some fascinating things at Andrew Thornton's store. Great for holidays to come!

Strands of Beads
Melissa shows off a necklace she made...for herself!

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
Using a hand-painted Russian pendant from Artbeads.com, Andrew creates an enchanting response to Art Bead Scene's November prompt: Dadd's The Fairy Fellers' Master-Stroke.

The Aftermath

me.

the aftermath.
excuse the bags under my eyes.
if you can even see them
in this dark video.

The Display


My first Philadelphia roll. Yummmm!
Also, first time having Lox. It was tasty!
This was my lunch on Sunday at the show.
They had all kinds of great local food at the craft show.
I had a delicious cupcake too but it ate faster than I could photograph it.

I also got to meet a couple of blog readers, one from Rochester NY, Cindi Lynch and a local woman too that reads regularly. That was so cool. I felt a bit like a celebrity for those moments.

Getting to the weekend...

So I don't have anything new to show today, I didn't get to create last night. After work I had to stop by the Temple just to kind of check out the space and scope out my tables. The ladies there were very kind and set me up in a nice spot by an interior door, against the wall, with plug access for my lighting! YAY!
While I was there, they asked me if I could bring any of my setup that night. SO I went home and ate a quick dinner and headed back over with 1 trip. Brought the table cloths, the table risers, a couple of jewelry stands, my drift wood pieces, the Bird bath prop, a couple of cigar boxes. I set up the tables with black table cloths as the skirt of the tables, and used nice organic looking Khaki colored table cloths on the tops of the tables. I also brought 2 lamps, tall table lamps with red shades.
Then had to run back home again to bring in the Silent Auction donation (a necklace and pair of earrings), and grabbed a few more things like the leaded glass window, my big metal owl, an earring rack, my wooden table top bench- more things to help weigh down the table cloths so they didn't slip off.
I thought maybe it was a little early to set up all this stuff (the show isn't until Saturday night) but then figured, lots of people were setting up already and they assured me that the space would be all locked and safely secured til the show. I didn't bring in any of the jewelry yet. I still have to price a few stray things.
What's nice about this show is that there will be a cashier at the door that will add up purchases and tax, and then people will be able to pay any way they want, including with credit cards. At the end of the week I'll get a check for my earnings. I hope it's successful. I got many nice compliments about my table set up and they were convinced I had done this sort of thing a million times before. They were quite surprised when I told them that this was in fact my first one man show.
I think I want to go shopping for a nice dress to wear, something black or gray, classic. Unfortunately our local shopping here isn't that great and I have a really hard time finding something specific. I normally find things like dresses when I don't NEED a dress for anything.
I still have to get more tissue paper. I am completely out of boxes and will probably just wrap the jewelry purchases in tissue and put them in small gift bags that I am bringing, I have some with handles. Then I have some brown paper lunch bags that I've embellished with cute little bird stamps. Good enough, right?
Can you tell I'm nervous?? Putting myself out there locally, to strangers- is nerve wracking to say the least. Last year I had my first open house at my home and that went really well but mostly because I sold jewelry to lots of friends and coworkers- people who have seen my jewelry before. I hope to be received well. I know there are at least 4-5 other jewelry vendors at this show this weekend. Will I stand out? I think my table will speak for itself. As of last night, mine was the most elaborate set up at that point.
Well anyway, TGIF. p.s. my shop will close tomorrow for the weekend.

And the winner is....

Congratulations goes to

QUILTING JEWEL 39!

YIPPEE!

Send me an email with your address and I'll ship your Enchanted Adornments book out to you today!

Thank you for everyone's nice comments- 86 comments this time around! NICE!













disclaimer- if you are going to sit and count each and every comment to find out if I counted correctly this morning, just know that I did not count Gaea's 2 comments because she asked not to be in the running.

Last Night's Creative time

I created this necklace in memory of my Grandmother, Ellen.
My grandmother was born in Greece. I'm not sure what part of Greece, but I know she met my Grandfather when she was just a teenager, and came to live in the United States with him and his family.
I am calling this necklace Santorini. I was caught up in dreams last night of going to Greece. I've always wanted to go but now that I've been traveling more for work, I feel like I really could handle a nice trip to Greece. At this point, I just hope that maybe they will contact our museum to borrow something in the collection. Otherwise, I think I will have to do a bit more than just a bead diet for 30 days to save some cash to get there.










I literally started with the pendant and just started adding stuff to this piece, until it was finished. The stick pearls are reminiscent of the white hill side buildings in Santorini. Although the colors are much more subdued than the pictures I saw online of the island, they play well with the metal pendant which as actually a Mykonos metal bead that I got at Saratoga Beads.
I was thinking last night that maybe the last minute addition of the pewter fish bead was a bit over the top but I think Fish are quite the staple in Greece and so, I think it works.





These are the bracelets I created last night. I was in a real bracelet mood, although one of them started as a necklace (the blue and green one) but then I got impatient and it ended up a bracelet instead.
These will head to the show with me Saturday. Unless someone contacts me and has to have one before then.
Some shoppers have done that. You never know.
My sister is going to come up and help me with the show on saturday night. The show continues on Sunday as well but I think she'll have to go back home Sunday morning. :( Maybe I can get Joe to come help me out.
I am just doing some last minute stuff to prepare.
Oh, a heads up. The shop is closing Saturday and won't reopen til next Mon or Tuesday. So if you have your eye on something, better grab it now.
HAVE A GREAT THURSDAY!
xo
L

My Enchanted Adornment

Now that the book is finally out on bookstands, I thought it was finally safe to show off the jewelry that was included in the Gallery section of Enchanted Adornments by Cynthia Thornton.

I created two pieces for the book- a necklace and a matching bracelet. As soon as I was asked to create something magical, a piece that exudes natural elements, and shows off the versatility of polymer clay, I immediately knew who to contact for my art beads.
I asked Michele Garrett Gesing of Gabriel to recreate a set of beads that she had made before- that looked like seaweed in the depths of the ocean. She made me a bunch of beads and sent them and I picked out the ones I wanted to use, as the necklace came together.
I also contacted D'Arsie of Mamacita Beadworks and she sent me these really cool pewter double drilled links that have interesting texture on them. To add to the whole underwater theme, I purchased these lamp work glass bubbly beads from Jill Symons. The necklace took no time at all to create. I used some deep green Fairy silk cording up around the back and tied some of Michele's polymer twisties onto the ends of the silk, creating a really cool effect.

Here is the matching bracelet. I linked Mamacita's pewter links together using jump rings, and and placed one of the oval focal beads asymmetrically next to the clasp. Tied some ribbon on and strung a few more twisty beads for some interest. The fine silver wire hook was handmade by Jennifer Stumpf, and hooks into one of the pewter connectors, as the clasp.

Here is a nice detail shot of the focal bead. Look at the colors and textures, and little swirls indented into the surface making it look like water ripples. Michele is really such a great artist. I love her work.

I am so glad I was able to collaborate with these fine artists to create a special piece for this amazing book. This book is an important timeless creation that teaches many lessons even outside of jewelry alone. I love that it teaches you, the creator, to be inspired by the things around you. You don't always have to just be inspired by other jewelry. In this day and age, where copying is at it's highest, most aggravating point- this book comes at a most excellent time to teach, inspire, and help you find beauty in all things amongst reality and fantasy. Be inspired by shapes, by colors, by textures. Look inside yourself for the creative and imaginative elements that help you become a better artist.

I Puffy Heart Cindy Hoo

I found Cindy Hoo on Etsy way way back in the beginning of my Etsy days. I've always admired her silversmithing masterpieces, and have several pieces of her jewelry. I recently contacted her to get a few of her new rings. I was drooling every time she listed one. So we traded a few necklaces and she sent me these! Aren't they great? I've been wearing one every day, they are so comfortable and completely my style.
Have you checked Cindy's shop?
You won't be sorry that you did!

Thanksgiving Earrings Exchange

My blog friend Leslie Zabel of Bei Mondi, hosted a nice little earring exchange in honor of the Thanksgiving Season. I jumped on board because- earrings are fun and it was kind of like a secret Santa but Thanksgiving style- cool!
Leslie's hubby Shawn drew names and put together the pairs. Yesterday I received my earrings all the way from France!


Veronique of Narrative Jewelry drew my name and she put together quite the package. Check out that envelope alone! The rubber stamping really added a nice touch. Makes me want to dig out my rubber stamps! She also made this custom earring card, including my name on it and everything. I was just floored. and of course, she gets extra points for sending me some wonderfully delicious French chocolate- I ripped that open and had some immediately!
Check out Veronique's blog, she's mega talented and you'll enjoy every bit of eye candy that she provides!

Enchanted Adornments is in the HIZZOUSE!

COMMENTS FOR THIS GIVEAWAY ARE NOW CLOSED.





you must watch
to find out
what
I'm doing
with this
book.

and you are not allowed to leave comments about what a major nimwit I am in this video.

other rules:
only 1 comment allowed.
Don't leave anonymous comments
Make sure you leave your email in the comment!

I'm drawing a winner friday Nov. 13th morning.

Trial Run

Today I decided to give my display a trial run, for next weekend's craft show that I'm doing. I borrowed a couple of things from my friends over at Beaded Bird. They have a new display going for their upcoming shows so they let me use some of their "bird" related items, some table risers, and table top risers, mirror and earring rack. Plus I got this really cool old rustic wooden mini "bench" from Patty too.
So I cleared off one of my tables in the studio and set up my first table. I don't have table cloths yet, but will be getting them this weekend...and I didn't set it up with the lamps, but I'll be using 2 tall lamps from my dining room.

I hope it all looks cohesive. I don't really have a theme going here, but was just rooting around the house to find cool props. Found this light green plate that was my Grandmother's.... a couple of old cigar boxes, and my driftwood from my trip to Amesbury Mass., this summer.

I love how my second table turned out. I used one of our old leaded windows that Joe just removed from our Dining room to put in our replacement windows. I am planning on hanging this beauty on chains on the porch in the Spring but in the meantime, it makes a pretty cool
jewelry display!

I also found a nice wooden box, my wrought iron bird jewelry display, a metal tray, and a cool bronze Owl sculpture that I got from Patty. This table is a bit lighter but I still have a whole week of jewelry creations ahead of me so it shouldn't be hard to fill this one up. I put some of my Chain Style postcards, Open House post cards, and business cards on this table as well.




What do you think? I took little videos too so you could see the whole thing in action. That empty frame there, I plan on filling with some sort of signage. I don't really have a logo or anything so I'm not quite sure what I'll use but I'm sure I'll come up with something. With an owl on it I'm sure.

Bead Shopping

I'm sure you've all said this at least sometime in your beading career:

"I've gotta take a break from buying beads."

or, maybe not? Maybe I'm the only one that has a serious addiction to buying beads online. Maybe I'm the only freak of nature that blows every dime that flows into the ol' paypal account on beads or beading supplies! Maybe it's only me that needs a support group for bead addicts.

Well, I've been faced with a challenge. To try to save my money for 1 month, to stop buying beads. 30 days. is a looong time. for reals. is that even possible?

An interesting concept. This will force me to use beads in my stash that I've been hoarding. and beads in my stash that I've been ignoring. This might even force me to bring out the big guns and you'll start seeing jewelry with the best components, the prettiest art beads, the blingiest doodads.
Of course, I can't have a challenge like this without some sort of reward to work towards. So I've had my heart set on buying an iPod touch for some time. If I can do this, I'll allow myself to make that purchase.

So all you beady artbead designers- I am normally easily tempted. But this time.... an iPod is at stake. Try not to be offended when I am not coming to shop as often, or am non-existent in the blog world. That's my biggest downfall- reading blogs and seeing the new stuff and wanting the new stuff. I'm telling myself that "This is not the ONLY time you'll be able to get that bead. It will still be around (hopefully) at the end of 30 days." This is my mantra, repeating over and over in my brain.
I could use your support. I know I can do this. But it's gonna be hard.

To share some bead shopping love, since I cannot- I got a great package in the mail yesterday from ArtBeads.com. They said I can share the love, and so here is a nice little coupon code you can use on their website to save you 10%! Code: SCF10P-ARTBEADS-0424
Coupon expires 12/31/09 Oh and did you know, they have FREE SHIPPING?

So that pic above is a nice little silver button clasp that I found on their website. It's on my bead wishlist for when my bead diet is over. :)

I created this bracelet last night. I submitted it to this month's Art Bead Scene challenge.
The shimmery golden pink glass brios reminded me of the painting that was chosen this month.
check it out here.

And the Winner is...

I used the Random Integer Generator to pick the winner of this week's
Beaded Opulence winner!
Comment Number 37 was chosen!

Congratulations to
SABINE!

You've won!

Please send me your address and I will
mail your book immediately!

Thank you everyone for playing!

i have 2 more books to giveaway.
you definitely want to stay tuned!!

A big Sale on Art Beads@ Fusion Beads!

Head on over to FusionBeads.com! All
Art beads are 20% off only til November 9th!
Better Hurry!

Oh Snap! 900 is coming!

UPDATE: I made it to 900! Woot woot! thanks for everyone's well wishes. did I ever think I would get to 900 sales? Nope. Never dreamed this, in a million years.
I am so amazed.
You like me.
You really really like me!
xo
-L-

Guess what! I'm 4 sales away from 900 sales in my Etsy Shop!!

Be my 900th sale and receive a gift certificate for $10 off your next purchase!

ALSO! Enjoy free shipping in my shop til Thanksgiving!

Thursday Newbies

So ASYMMETRICAL it's almost Symmetrical! At first I wasn't sure about this necklace.
But today I'm really digging it. I created this piece for the fun with focals challenge over at Heather's blog. The challenge was to use a finding in a new way, so I split the toggle from Every Heart Crafts, and used one half for a connector, and the other half as the toggle for the leather loop. These ceramic pieces, including the leaf connectors, are part of Erin's new line. I just love them, they are versatile and you can use them with any color beads. Oh and the best part, the leaf connectors are double-sided, they have green glaze on the backs!

These are some simple stretchy layering bracelets that I created. I tied them all
together by using ceramic art beads in each one. They look really cool when worn all
together. But I think I'll list them all individually in my shop.

This necklace is one of my favorites. I love the pink and orange color palette.
Bright colors in the winter months make me one happy gal. I'd like to do this style
again but in a blue and green or green and brown color palette.

Hope you all like my new stuff! I'm off to put these in the shop!

A custom necklace for Mari

Mari asked me to recreate one of my previous necklace designs. I created the original in silver, but Mari asked for other metal chain instead, so I paired 2 similarly shaped chains in copper. The ceramic flower is by a newly discovered ceramic artist, Kylie Parry. I love Kylie's work, it's happy and her glaze colors are beautiful. The pewter Dragonfly focal bead is from Green Girl Studios, and the pewter flower charm at the center, is from Mamacita Beadworks. Mari asked for brighter colors in her necklace so I used some Fluorite rounds, coral seed beads, all playing off the colors of this cool Orange Bell lampwork bead. I am quite happy with how this piece turned out and it's on it's way to Puerto Rico today!

p.s. Check out the sale section in my shop... newly added items today! SHOP HERE!

Book Giveaway!

The lovely folks at Lark Books sent me a couple of books to giveaway to my awesome blog readers. Not only that, but they are SIGNED copies!! How cool! The first one I'm giving away is Beaded Opulence. A very fitting title, as it shows off some of the most beautiful beadwork by Marcia DeCoster, that I've ever seen!

Leave a comment on this post and on Friday Nov. 6th, I'll pick a random winner using the Random Integer Generator!

And here is the finished Bracelet!

I created this piece to give to my Aunt. My mother's oldest sister, who has been going through some tough times in her life right now. She has recently moved into a rehabiliation center very near where I live. I hope to become closer with her while she's so close by, and hopefully will develop a solid relationship. She's recently started beading too, which will help! She started beading and has continued because it's so therapeutic. I hope it plays a pivotal part in her growth, her healing, and wakes up her creative spirit.


Thank you to Cindy Wimmer for such a cool project in Easy Wire. I think this might be the first time that I actually created something from start to finish from one of the magazine projects. I had a lot of fun creating this and I think I may do one for another special person who I can't mention because I don't know, she might read my blog. ;)