Play Date

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.

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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! πŸ™‚

Here’s my entry:

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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! πŸ™‚

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Giveaway – Gift of the Nile Earrings

giftwrapAs 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? πŸ™‚

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! πŸ˜‰

Gift of the Nile Earrings

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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? πŸ˜‰

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! πŸ˜€

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.

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Giveaway – Cafe au Lait Necklace

fruitbasketThanks 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. πŸ˜‰

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! πŸ˜€ 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

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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! πŸ˜‰

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! πŸ˜€

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.

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Giveaway – Violet Dawn Pendant

smallwitchWelcome to my weekly giveaway!

It’s Halloween week and maybe YOU’LL be the winner of this jewelry “TREAT” πŸ˜€

Speaking of Halloween reminds me of pumpkins!!! Have you tried Edy’s Pumpkin Ice Cream, yet? It’s made with real pumpkin and spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg. We had some this week and give it a definite thumbs-up. But hurry! This is a “limited edition” flavor that will be in stores only through November!

Now, on to the Giveaway! πŸ˜€

Today, I have a lovely pendant with shades of lavender purple and swirls of raspberry-pink.

Violet Dawn Pendant

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The focal point is a vintage West German Glass Teardrop bead, which is accented with sparkling Swarovski crystals. The pendant is suspended from an artisan-crafted sterling silver bail that should accommodate most chains in your collection. Or perhaps you’ll wear it on a leather or satin cord!

Measurements: approximately 2-1/4″ long – including the sterling silver bail.

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 was the first thing you thought of when you woke up today? πŸ™‚

2nd Chance:

Leave a comment answering the second weekly question:

I asked my daughter if she could think of a question for us this week. She winked and then suggested the following: “When was the first time you were in trouble at school? What did you do? And what was your punishment?” (In tomorrow’s post, I will give HER answer and also my own!)

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! πŸ˜€

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 11/01/09, and the winner will be selected on or about 11/02/09.

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Giveaway – Pepper and Paprika Earrings

jugroseWelcome 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! πŸ˜€

Pepper and Paprika Earrings

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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! πŸ™‚

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! πŸ˜€

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.

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