beading | Bead Happily Ever After

Double Dare

Posted on November 17, 2009 by crystal

You may remember that last week I entered a color challenge over at The Play Date Cafe.

I enjoyed it so much that I decided to participate again this week! The inspiration colors this time were blue/green, chocolate brown, tan, and cream.

Here’s my entry for challenge #4

I chose a variety of beads and components including: picture jasper semi-precious stone beads, amazonite semi-precious stone beads, Czech fire polish metallic beads, ceramic beads, and a pretty artisan-crafted polymer clay pendant.

Creating is so often a matter of the right inspiration. Sometimes the mood just isn’t there. Then there are times when we feel inspired, but we let other things take precedence. That’s where a “challenge” comes into play! It’s a fun little reminder to stop and nourish that creative side we all have!

You may have heard me say it before but . . .

“Making something is like giving your spirit a vitamin!” 😀

Giveaway – Hot Chocolate Earrings

Posted on November 16, 2009 by crystal

Greetings and welcome to my weekly giveaway! 🙂

This week, I have a pair of dangle earrings with rich earthy colors – just the thing to spruce up your Thanksgiving outfit! They’re dressy enough for a festive occasion yet they have an “artsy-look” so they’re also perfect for jeans and a sweater!

Hot Chocolate Earrings

I’ve used an array of interesting beads here, including:

*Czech Glass striped triangular beads in warm Cocoa Brown, Rust, Denim Blue, and Montana Blue.

*Vintage Lucite rounds in a mottled Copper/Brown

*Swarovski crystals in Montana Blue Aurora Borealis

All metal components are sterling silver. The earrings measure approximately 2-1/4″ in length, including the sterling silver earwires.

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:

What is it that you must have with you when you travel?

2nd Chance:

Leave a comment answering the second weekly question:

List your criteria for a good day. 🙂

3rd 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 11/22/09, and the winner will be selected on or about 11/23/09.

Play Date

Posted on November 10, 2009 by crystal

Recently, I learned about a creative group of bloggers called the Play Date Cafe! These ladies challenge each other’s creativity by encouraging themselves and others to come up with new designs in specific color palettes.

The colors for this week’s challenge are Black, Fire Red, and White! After looking at some of the beautiful entries from the past two weeks, I was truly inspired and so this week I decided to throw my hat – er, necklace- into the ring! 🙂

Here’s my entry:

I love the combination of red and black so this challenge was especially fun for me. I’ve always been fascinated by the beauty of Oriental art. This necklace reminds me of those beautifully lacquered trinket boxes that are made in Japan and China. The pearls further illustrate the Oriental theme. I so admire the way art in those countries is actually expressed by living life in harmony with one’s surroundings. From the paintings and the writing to floral arranging and origami, there’s a sense of serenity in every art form. Even the taking of tea is a ceremony. Just lovely!

Thanks Play Date Cafe for the little nudge to challenge myself this week. It was fun! 🙂

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.

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.