Beads | Bead Happily Ever After

Giveaway – Gift of the Nile Earrings

Posted on November 9, 2009 by crystal

As always, thank you so much for your warm and witty comments last week! You had me pretty hungry as I read some of those menus you’d request from a personal chef! I guess most of us will never have that luxury, but it sure is fun to imagine, don’t you think? 🙂

For this week’s giveaway, I have a flirty pair of dangle earrings! I am simply crazy about the vintage lucite beads that I used in this design! They’re a mouth-watering shade of bright blue – somewhere between lapis and cobalt. It’s that deep, rich blue that you might see in an ancient exhibit at the art museum. Cleopatra and King Tut loved cobalt blue, you know! 😉

Gift of the Nile Earrings

These earrings feature vintage coin shaped beads that have flecks of glittery gold under their surface. Then there are cone shapes – which have a lustrous iridescence that shimmers when they catch the light! For accents, I’ve added tiny gold-colored Czech glass faceted rounds and gold-plated bead caps. The artisan crafted, petal-shaped earwires are 14k gold filled.

Overall measurement is a very showy 2-3/4″ in length.

Contest Rules and How To Enter

This week, you will have up to three (3) chances to enter the weekly giveaway.

You can choose any or all of the following 3 ways to enter:

1st Chance:

Leave a comment answering the first weekly question:

How has your life most benefited from the Internet?

2nd Chance:

Leave a comment answering the second weekly question:

What do you do to relax and unwind after a tough day? 😉

3rd Chance:

Leave a 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! 😀

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 11/15/09, and the winner will be selected on or about 11/16/09.

12 Ornaments of Christmas – Part 6

Posted on November 6, 2009 by crystal

Part 6 in this series is technically not an ornament but an ornament hanger! Actually, they’re so pretty; they could almost stand alone as ornaments if you wish. 🙂

But imagine how dazzling your tree would look if you used a bunch of these little sparklers to hang your ornaments!

And talk about quick and easy! I made them in just a few minutes.

Supplies Needed:

1. A few pretty beads!

2. Medium gauge wire

3. Pliers

4. Wire cutters.

Directions:

1. Use wire cutters to cut a 5″ piece of wire. (You may decide you want your finished piece to be smaller. In that case, experiment with shorter lengths of wire until you arrive at the size you like best.)

2. With pliers, make a flat spiral shape on one end of the wire. (See photo for guidance.)

3. Next, thread your beads onto the wire in a pleasing arrangement.

4. Finally, bend the top of the wire to form a small loop, and then wrap the rest of the wire around a pen to form a “hook” shape. (Again, refer to the photo.)

That’s it – all ready for the tree!

Perfect for gifts, too!!! If you’re giving a fancy glass ornament – make a lovely hanger to accompany it, or make a set of them for a teacher, hostess, or that “hard to buy for person” on your list. 🙂

Giveaway – Cafe au Lait Necklace

Posted on November 2, 2009 by crystal

Thanks so much for stopping by and welcome to my weekly giveaway!

Hope everyone had a great weekend and that there’s still a little candy left. 😉

If you’re like me, it’s going to take a few days to get used to this time change. Even though we gained an hour, somehow I always feel a little off schedule for the first week or so.

Luckily the giveaway is right on time! 😀 This week I have a pretty necklace that would be especially nice to wear with earthy browns, bronzes, rusts, golds, warm oranges – the Thanksgiving colors! Of course, it’s really neutral enough to blend with a variety of colors in your wardrobe.

Cafe au Lait Necklace

I used some lovely Czech glass beads in a shade of light brown that looks just like coffee with cream. The beads have a glossy finish and little splashes of dark brown and tiny hints of blue. For accents I added Czech glass faceted beads in a muted gold and a rich bronze.

The necklace measures 18-1/2″ long and it fastens with a heart-shaped, gold-plated, toggle clasp.

Contest Rules and How To Enter

This week, you will have up to three (3) chances to enter the weekly giveaway.

You can choose any or all of the following 3 ways to enter:

1st Chance:

Leave a comment answering the first weekly question:

When you’re writing a quick note or a shopping list, do you prefer using a pen or the keyboard?

2nd Chance:

Leave a comment answering the second weekly question:

If you had you own personal chef, describe the meal you’d ask him to cook for you tonight! 😉

3rd Chance:

Leave a 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! 😀

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 11/08/09, and the winner will be selected on or about 11/09/09.

Giveaway – Pepper and Paprika Earrings

Posted on October 19, 2009 by crystal

Welcome to my weekly giveaway and thanks so much for the wonderful comments last week!

And, speaking of comments, I need your help in trying to figure out how I can best respond to them. Try as I might, I never seem to be able to respond to every comment – every week. I do love reading all of them and I really appreciate each one. One of your choices for entering the giveaway this time will be a question that seeks your input regarding comment responses.

Now, on to the Giveaway! 😀

Pepper and Paprika Earrings

Today, I have a pretty pair of earrings that feature a striking contrast of colors – coral and black. I’ve used lovely, three-dimensional, “Daisy”-shaped beads in sterling silver and then accented them with Czech Jet Black faceted teardrops, and sparkling Swarovski Crystals in a glorious shade of coral called “Padparadscha”. All metal components are sterling silver including the earwires. 2″ in length.

Contest Rules and How To Enter

This week, you will have up to three (3) chances to enter the weekly giveaway.

You can choose any or all of the following 3 ways to enter:

1st Chance:

Leave a comment answering the first weekly question:

For fun . . . imagine that you’ve just given birth to octuplets. (Yikes!) What would you name them? You can assume there are four boys and 4 girls, or whatever combination of boys and girls you choose! 🙂

2nd Chance:

Leave a comment answering the second weekly question:

When you comment a blog, do you like to get a response? If so, do you prefer that the response come in an email, or as a comment on the same post, or as a comment on your blog?

3rd Chance:

Leave a 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! 😀

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 10/25/09, and the winner will be selected on or about 10/26/09.

Giveaway – Faraway Galaxy Pendant

Posted on October 12, 2009 by crystal

Greetings 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. 😀

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.