Bead Design Challenge – Valentine’s Day

Happy 2012!
and Welcome to our 2nd Bead Design Challenge with Valentine’s Day as the theme.

Please join us! I know you’ll enjoy the experience, whether you enter your work, or simply stop by to view the awesome talent of others. 😀

For this challenge, I’ve spiced things up a bit by adding extra perks and allowing more time for you to complete your design. Read on for all the details!

We have Prizes!

I’m especially excited to announce that at the conclusion of this event . . .

    TWO lucky participants (chosen at random) will each receive a
    $25 Shopping Spree in our Bead Shop!

    ALL registered participants will receive a coupon for 30% off any purchase during March 2012 in our Bead Shop.

    ALL registered participants will have their designs publicized here on the blog, and also on my website and facebook page! I will include links to your shop and/or your website – as you wish. Look for the “Showcase of Designs” during Valentine’s Day Week! 🙂

To Qualify as a “Registered Participant” (and be eligible for the Shopping Spree Drawing, the Discount Coupon, and Design Promotion) you must do the following:

1. Create your “Valentine’s Day” inspired design using at least one product (beads or findings) purchased from EITHER our etsy bead shop OR our artfire bead shop. You may buy more than one product, of course, but I imagine you will want to use items from your own stash to complement your choice(s) from Bead Happily Ever After!.

2. Email a clear photo (just one!) of your finished design by 9:00 p.m. EST on February 10, 2012. to:

crystal (at) beadhappilyeverafter (dot) com

(In fairness to all, any photos received after the deadline must be disqualified.)

3. Include:
Your Name
Your Email address
The Link (if any) you’d like me to place with your design when I promote your work!

Optional: You can add a brief description of your design, as well, if you like!

The Boring Stuff . . .
You must be 18 yrs. old to enter. After the completion of the challenge, the names of the two gift certificate winners will be announced here and they will also be notified by email. If a winner fails to respond to email within one week from the time notification email has been sent, the win will be null and void and a new winner will be chosen. All registered entrants will receive a 30% off coupon code, by email, at the conclusion of the challenge.
When you enter, you retain all rights to your original designs, but you give permission for Bead Happily Ever After to use your photo on all Bead Happily Ever After sites to promote and showcase your work.

Remember – all entries must be received by 9:00 p.m. EST on February 10, 2012. You can find periodic updates on this Design Challenge by clicking the link in the sidebar to the right of this page!

So, c’mon! Let’s get started. 😀

I can’t wait to see what gorgeous-ness the “Day of Love” will inspire.

Hugs,

crystal-1b3-copy-flatfullwidth

Giveaway – Beads Shopping Spree!

giftwrapHappy February!

I know . . . it’s still winter.

The temperatures have been so coooold and Spring is several weeks away, but let’s not think about that. Let’s concentrate on something fun – like free beads!!! 😉

This week’s giveaway will be a little shopping spree in my Bead Shop on etsy!

Yep, that’s right! If you are the winner this week, you’ll be able to spend $15.00 on the beads and findings of your choice and get free shipping too! 😀

Even if you’ve never “played” with beads before, here’s your chance to give it a try. I’m sure all of the beaders out there would enthusiastically tell you that you are going to love it!

free-beads

Contest Rules and How To Enter

Any day you leave a comment on this blog – it is counted as a chance to enter that week’s giveaway.

For example, if you answer today’s question (you’ll find it below!) that will give you one chance.

But if you then come back another day this week and comment on a different post – you will have earned another chance in this week’s giveaway! There are usually 4-5 posts per week – Monday through Friday – so you can have multiple chances to enter!

When you comment you do not have to mention that it’s an entry in the giveaway. My blog program shows me all of the “comments” as they come in – so I do not miss any of them, and all will count to be entered into the drawing! 😀

Today’s question is:

In all of your years at school – from the early years to the later years – which one teacher was your favorite and why was this teacher memorable?

curlyline

The Boring Stuff . . .
You must be 18 yrs. old. After the completion of the contest, the name of the winner will be listed here. The winner will also be notified by email. If the winner fails to respond to email within 3 days from the time notification email has been sent, the win will be null and void and a new winner will be chosen. The prize will be mailed via USPS First Class Mail

All entries must be received by 9:00 p.m. EST on 02/07/10, and the winner will be selected on or about 02/08/10.

crystal-1b3-copy-flatfullwidth

Giveaway – Faraway Galaxy Pendant

giftwrapGreetings Earthlings!

(Oh, oh, sounds like Crystal’s lost her marbles!) 😉

Not really! It’s just that I can’t seem to get the celestial theme out of my head after Friday’s post! One glance at this week’s giveaway and I started thinking of faraway planets and twinkling stars. 😀

FarawayGalaxy

This pretty pendant is one of those items that is even more beautiful in person. (Click on it for a little better view – but a photo can’t capture the depth of this piece.) The focal point is a gorgeous artisan-crafted polymer clay bead with a color palette that includes sleek black accented with blues, greys, whites, a touch of green, and a very subtle hint of sparkling glitter. For accents, I’ve added Swarovski Crystals in Montana Blue AB and Czech glass beads in Jet Black. All metal components are Sterling Silver.

The pendant is suspended from a fabulous Bali sterling silver bail that should accommodate most chains in your collection. Or perhaps you’ll wear it on a leather or satin cord!

Measurements: just over 2-1/2″ long (including the bail).

Contest Rules and How To Enter

This week, you will have up to four (4) chances to enter the weekly giveaway.

You can choose any or all of the following 4 ways to enter:

1st Chance:

Leave a comment answering the first weekly question:

Do you agree with the following saying? “We wear 20% of our clothes, 80% of the time.”

2nd Chance:

Leave a comment answering the second weekly question:

What was the name of your favorite book when you were a child? Have you read that book again as an adult?

3rd Chance:

Comment on any other post except this one. You can do it today or another day this week. You do not have to tell me that you left a “comment” on another post. The blog program shows me all of the “comments” as they come in – so I do not miss any of them! 😀

4th Chance:

Subscribe to this blog (See the orange RSS “Subscribe” button on the right side of this page). Then leave a comment here, saying that you have subscribed! (If you are already a subscriber – you only need to leave a comment saying so! 🙂 )

The Boring Stuff . . .
You must be 18 yrs. old. After the completion of the contest, the name of the winner will be listed here. The winner will also be notified by email. If no valid email address is given at time of entry, or if winner fails to respond to email within 3 days from the time notification email has been sent, the win will be null and void and a new winner will be chosen. The prize will be mailed by USPS First Class Mail.

All entries must be received by 9:00 p.m. EST on 10/18/09, and the winner will be selected on or about 10/19/09.

crystal-1b3-copy-flatfullwidth

Giveaway – Bead Shopping Spree!

giftwrapIf you saw my Funny Money post last week, then you know how much fun I had while spending a department store coupon recently.

I‘d love to give that experience to one of you and so this week’s giveaway will be a little shopping spree in my Bead Shop on etsy!

Yep, that’s right! If you are the winner this week, you’ll be able to spend $15.00 on the beads and findings of your choice and get free shipping too! 😀

Even if you’ve never “played” with beads before, here’s your chance to give it a try. I’m sure all of the beaders out there would enthusiastically tell you that you are going to love it!

free-beads

Contest Rules and How To Enter

This week, you will have up to four (4) chances to enter the weekly giveaway.

You can choose any or all of the following 4 ways to enter:

1st Chance:

Leave a comment answering the first weekly question:

For a vacation, would you prefer pampering at a fancy hotel or camping with a sleeping bag under the stars?

2nd Chance:

Leave a comment answering the second weekly question:

Besides your family, friends, and pets, what else would you hate to have to live without?

3rd Chance:

Comment on any other post except this one. You can do it today or another day this week. You do not have to tell me that you left a “comment” on another post. The blog program shows me all of the “comments” as they come in – so I do not miss any of them! 😀

4th Chance:

Suggest a topic for a future blog post!

The Boring Stuff . . .
You must be 18 yrs. old. After the completion of the contest, the name of the winner will be listed here. The winner will also be notified by email. If no valid email address is given at time of entry, or if winner fails to respond to email within 3 days from the time notification email has been sent, the win will be null and void and a new winner will be chosen. The prize will be mailed by USPS First Class Mail.

All entries must be received by 9:00 p.m. EST on 08/23/09, and the winner will be selected on or about 08/24/09.

crystal-1b3-copy-flatfullwidth

Giveaway – “Cape Cod Breeze” Earrings

Hi!

What is it they say about expect the unexpected? I guess it’s Murphy’s Law – anything that can go wrong will go wrong.

(Thanks Chris for missing me! 🙂 )

We planned a little get-away over last weekend. I prepared Friday’s post early and was just about to schedule it, so that I could move on to packing for the trip, when all of a sudden there was some issue on wordpress and I couldn’t post. The timing was such a nuisance, because I should have been gathering stuff into the suitcase instead of tearing my hair out on the computer! I finally had to give up trying to post and off we went for the weekend. (It was a nice trip by the way – more on that later.)

From the road on Saturday night, I had some brief internet access. Lo and behold, the wordpress glitch had miraculously resolved itself, so I was finally able to put up the Friday post then.

It’s funny how unnerving it can be when the blog goes a little wonky! 😉

But enough about that…. on to the GIVEAWAY!!!

This week’s giveaway is a slightly more delicate pair of dangle earrings – perfect for the gal who likes a little dangle but not the very-long length of the typical “shoulder duster” style.

aquacarvedroses

These “Cape Cod Breeze” Earrings feature gorgeous, dimensional, carved glass “roses” in a beautiful aqua sea blue. I’ve accented them with two sizes of Swarovski Jet AB 2X Crystals, which coordinate beautifully with the rose beads

Measurements: approximately 1-1/2″ long – including the sterling silver earwires.

Contest Rules and How To Enter

This week, you will have up to four (4) chances to enter the weekly giveaway.

You can choose any or all of the following 4 ways to enter:

1st Chance:

Leave a comment answering the first weekly question: What is the strangest/most unusual gift you have ever received?

2nd Chance:

Leave a comment answering the second weekly question: What skill do you most wish you could acquire, but don’t have enough time to learn?

3rd and 4th Chance: Leave a comment on any other post on this blog. It can be left on a recent post or an old post. There are over 150 posts – take a peek at the “Categories” on the right side of the page for choices. You can leave all of your comments today, or you can come back during the week to see what’s new and leave them then.

Please note: You do NOT have to tell me that you left a “comment” on another post. The blog program shows me all of the “comments” as they come in – so I do not miss any of them! 🙂

Of course, I’d be very delighted to receive as many comments as you want to leave, but only four will count as chances in this week’s giveaway.

The Boring Stuff . . .
A valid email address must be given at time of entry. You must be 18 yrs. old. The name of the winner will be listed here after the completion of the contest. The winner will be notified by email. The prize will be mailed by USPS First Class Mail. If no valid email address is given at time of entry, or if winner fails to respond to email within 3 days from the time notification email has been sent, the win will be null and void and a new winner will be chosen.
All entries must be received by 9:00 p.m. EST on 06/14/09, and the winner will be selected on or about 06/15/09.

crystal-1b3-copy-flatfullwidth