making jewelry | Bead Happily Ever After

Giveaway – Sweetheart Necklace

Posted on January 18, 2010 by crystal

Welcome, welcome! 😀

It is no exaggeration to say that the answers to last week’s giveaway question were truly the best ever!!! I’ve never seen such a wide range of interesting, thoughtful, clever, and very amusing responses. You sure know how to make me feel lucky to have you as readers. 😀

And I really love that you are beginning to talk to each other here, too! My dream is that it will continue and that we’ll have even more back and forth chat as the weeks go on.

For this week’s giveaway, I wanted to do something with a Valentine’s theme – something dressy enough to wear out to dinner, but still casual enough to throw on with a t-shirt.

Sweetheart Necklace

The focal point is a Swarovski Clear Crystal Heart with gorgeous facets that dance and glitter as the light hits them.

For accents, I’ve used Czech fire polished rounds in deep garnet red, and Swarovski Clear Aurora Borealis crystal beads. Tiny glass seed beads form the rest of the strand and the closure is a silver-plated screw-twist barrel clasp. The necklace measures 19″ in length.

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 5 posts per week – Monday through Friday – so you can have up to 5 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:

Can you tell us about something that you’ve never tried, but would like to – because you think you might enjoy it?

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 01/24/10, and the winner will be selected on or about 01/25/10.

Giveaway – Blue Skies Necklace

Posted on January 5, 2010 by crystal

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Happy 2010! I hope you enjoyed the holidays, and that you were able to find a little time to relax as well!

I did and now I’m ready for more fun and surprises here on the blog. I’ve been thinking about the weekly giveaways, and how I might spice them up a bit for the new year!

I’ll need your help on this! To give your opinions on some of the ideas I’ve been considering – please click here!

And now, on to this week’s giveaway. 🙂

I can hardly believe this is my 59th giveaway! In all that time, we’ve never had a necklace and so to start 2010 off right, here’s a pretty design in blue/aqua.

“Blue Skies”

It truly is that gorgeous sky-blue color that you see on a bright sunny day, and it features Czech beads that resemble swirled cinnamon buns! These beads have an iridescent flash on one side, and I’ve accented them with coordinating Swarovski crystals and smaller Czech glass spacers. The metal components are sterling silver and silver plate. The necklace measures 18-1/2” in length and fastens with a pretty toggle clasp.

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 tomorrow and comment on tomorrow’s post too – you will have earned another chance in this week’s giveaway – so you’ll have 2 chances!

Return on the next day, comment, and add another chance! And so on through the week. 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! 😀

The giveaways end on Sundays, so you’ll have a little time to “catch up” if you missed any weekday posts.

Today’s question is:

What tourist attraction in your area have you never visited? It doesn’t have to be a world famous attraction – just a place that visitors to your area usually want to see.

{For us, it’s the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston. From all accounts it’s a fabulous place that’s rich in history with wonderful exhibits and photos. (Sir Beads-a-Lot, if you are reading this, let’s go there in 2010!)}

All entries must be received by 9:00 p.m. EST on 01/10/10, and the winner will be selected on or about 01/11/10.

Giveaway – Blue Moon Pendant

Posted on December 14, 2009 by crystal

178

Good Morning! Or should I say Good Afternoon?

Or if it’s the end of the day where you are – perhaps I should say Sweet Dreams!

Whatever time it is in your corner of the world, I’m very glad you stopped by. 😀

For this week’s giveaway, I have a bold and beautiful pendant in two shades of sapphire blue!

I used very special vintage glass beads that were made in Czechoslovakia. The facets on these beads give them a gorgeous sparkle. You’ll notice there’s an aurora borealis flash on the teardrop and when the light hits the round bead – it glitters like a disco ball.

The metal components are sterling silver and silver plate. The pendant measures a very showy 1-3/4” long, and should fit on most chains in your wardrobe.

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 are you most looking forward to in 2010?

2nd Chance:

Leave a comment answering the second weekly question:

How long does it take you to get ready in morning?

3rd 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! 🙂 )

4th Chance:

Visit again another day this week and leave a comment on any other post except this one. 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, and all will count to be entered into the drawing! 😀

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 by USPS First Class Mail.

All entries must be received by 9:00 p.m. EST on 12/20/09, and the winner will be selected on or about 12/21/09.

Lend me your ears . . .

Posted on December 8, 2009 by crystal

The lovely Julie of the The Play Date Cafe has let me know that we are not limited to one entry per week in the creativity challenges! Earlier today, I made and entered a greeting card for this week – which was really fun – but I kind of missed making a jewelry entry! 😉

Soooo, for Challenge #7 I’d like to add…

They absolutely glitter in person – truly gorgeous for the holidays! I love the combination of pearls with the Vintage Swarovski crystals in Siam Ruby and Green Turmaline!

‘Til next time,

Giveaway – Tropical Seas Earrings

Posted on December 7, 2009 by crystal

118

Greetings! 🙂

First I’d like to say a great big “thank you” for all of last week’s clever, thought provoking, and sometimes hilarious comments. You really outdid yourselves. I loved reading each and every one!

Here in New England, we finally had a little snow this weekend. The timing seemed perfect too! Sir Beads and I attended his company Christmas party on Saturday night. Just as we left to return home, we saw that the snow was falling softly all around us. The combination of the holiday party with the blanket of snow and the beautifully frosted tree branches really put us in the mood for Christmas. 🙂

But in case you’re dreaming of a warm vacation around now, this week’s giveaway is a pair of earrings that are the color of a tropical sea.

These “Tropical Seas” earrings feature faceted Czech beads in a lovely shade of teal blue/green. They have a matte metallic finish and I’ve accented them with Swarovski Jet-Metal Rondelle Spacers, which are set with Aurora Borealis Crystals. They measure approximately 1-5/8 inches long – including the 14k gold plated 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:

If you could have ANY job (pretend you already have all the skills and qualifications needed) what job would it be?

2nd Chance:

Leave a comment answering the second weekly question:

Is there something people are currently “into” that you think is no big deal. 😉

3rd 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! 🙂 )

4th Chance:

Visit again another day this week and leave a comment on any other post except this one. 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, and all will count to be entered into the drawing! 😀

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 12/13/09, and the winner will be selected on or about 12/14/09.