making jewelry | Bead Happily Ever After

Giveaway – Violet Blossoms Pendant!

Posted on May 25, 2009 by crystal

Welcome to the weekly giveaway!

As usual, great comments last week! 🙂

I’m always surprised by the variety of answers.

There were lots of great memories with the TV shows you mentioned, and maybe we should all swap household chores – so that we could avoid the ones we dislike the most! lol

This week’s giveaway is a fun and funky pendant with shades of lavender and swirls of raspberry-pink.

The focal point is a vintage West German Glass Teardrop bead, which is accented with 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 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 go back in time, how far back would you go?

2nd Chance:

Leave a comment answering the second weekly question: When your dinner plate has a selection of different foods on it, do you usually mix all the foods together, or do you eat a little bit of each one until you are finished, or do you prefer to eat all of one type of food before moving on to eat all of the second one, etc.?

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:

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 140 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 three will count as chances in this week’s giveaway.

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 05/31/09, and the winner will be selected on or about 06/01/09.

Giveaway – “Date Night” Earrings

Posted on April 20, 2009 by crystal

Greetings everyone! Welcome to the weekly giveaway. 🙂

This week’s prize is a pretty pair of dangle earrings.

They feature gorgeous, gorgeous, Czech glass beads, which were made from vintage button molds! The beads are a fabulous shade of blue (somewhere between cornflower blue and royal blue) and they have a pastel aurora borealis flash, and a textured design of soft swirls!

I‘ve accented the “button” beads with Swarovski crystals in both sapphire and clear aurora borealis! All of the metal findings are made of sterling silver!

Measurements: Approximately 2″ long – including the sterling earwires.

Contest Rules and How To Enter

1. For your first chance to win leave a comment answering this question: When you feel grouchy or down, what do you do to cheer yourself?

2. For a second chance to win, leave a second comment that answers the question: If somebody asked you to recommend a good book, what would it be?

3. For a third chance to win, leave a comment on any other post on this blog except this one. You can do it today by looking for a post in the archives to comment on, or you can come back during the week and add a comment on any post – old or new. You will receive an extra entry each time you do so.

You can choose any one or all of the above chances to enter.

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 04/26/09, and the winner will be selected on or about 04/27/09.

“Garden Fairy” Pendant Set

Posted on April 15, 2009 by crystal

Yesterday, as I was making room for lots of pretty new beads (Look for them in my store very soon!), I came across this gorgeous pendant!

I bought it from one of my favorite polymer clay artisans several months ago, and then tucked it away for a future designing session. I hadn’t planned on making jewelry yesterday but the pendant looked so lovely – the way the sunlight illuminated the colors – that I immediately began to search for coordinating beads to showcase it, in all its glory.

Double click the photo for the best view.

For the color scheme, I chose light rose pink, pale lilac, and a burnished gold. I wanted the colors to be soft and the beads to be a delicate size so the pendant itself would be the focal point. I’m happy with how it turned out and because I like it so much, I’ll have a hard time putting in my shop. I probably will though . . . but I might need a few days to look at it first. 😉

Blue Bayou Choker Necklace

Posted on March 19, 2009 by crystal

Sometimes a single bead is so beautiful that it can almost stand on its own. When incorporating it into jewelry, you want to be careful to create a simple backdrop so that the bead can take center stage.

That’s how I felt about this exquisite vintage glass bead, which was made in Czechoslovakia.

It’s a mouthwatering shade of sapphire blue with a pastel flash of aurora borealis that takes my breath away.

The bead is a bold 14mm in size and because it was machine-cut, the faceting is gorgeous.

I decided to make an uncluttered choker style necklace to highlight this vintage bead and used tiny Sapphire AB glass seed beads with Swarovski crystal accents.

Are ya proud of me for resisting the urge to add purple? 😉

Passion for Purple

Posted on March 11, 2009 by crystal

I’m a purple person. I’m always immediately attracted to anything purple. Whether it’s flowers, clothes, jewelry, or paper – if it’s purple, I usually love it!

Because I design jewelry, I have to keep reminding myself that there are other colors and that many people love other colors!!!

So yesterday, when I decided to make a pendant necklace, what color do you think I made?

You guessed it — purple. I just couldn’t help it. The beautifully muted shade of matte metallic purple on the faceted beads mesmerized me! 🙂

Oh well, back to the drawing board. I’ll try again tomorrow for a different color . . .

Maybe I’ll just leave all of the purple beads in the drawer so I won’t be tempted! 😉