Free Beads – Jewelry Challenge

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Greetings Kids! 😀

Today, I’m adding a new feature to the blog.

I’m offering a set of FREE BEADS to five designers!

The only condition is that each person who accepts the beads will make something and send me a photo of the finished product within 10 days of receiving the beads.

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All of the designs will be featured in an upcoming post, and I will link to your etsy shop or website if you wish! You can use the beads for any form of jewelry or in any other craft you enjoy. Because this is the first time I’ve offered a Free Beads Design Challenge, I’d like to ask your help in deciding which beads to send . . .

Take a look at the photos below and please let me know in the comments if you think #1, #2, or #3 should be the bead that all 5 designers will use this time! 😀

While you are commenting, be sure and tell me if YOU are interested in participating in this Design Challenge and receiving the free beads.

If there are more than 5 interested, I will use the random number generator to choose the winners. The deadline to enter is Friday, Oct. 21, 2011. and the beads will be shipped very shortly thereafter.

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Ok, ready?

Should it be . . .

Beads #1? (Set of 10 beads, Size: 13 x 9 mm) Vintage Lucite ovals in fuchsia with a delicate trace of white marbling and a subtle sheen on their surface – so pretty!

OR

Beads #2? (Set of 10 beads, Size: 12mm in diameter) These very cool little Vintage Lucite beads are an “antiqued” silver color, with a pretty “beaded” border. The beads are slightly tranlucent so they have have a soft inner glow when the light hits them.

OR

Beads #3? (Set of 10 beads, Size: 10mm) Fab Vintage Lucite Beads in a yummy shade of turquoise aqua with an iridescent aurora borealis finish! Elegant ribbed texture and a geometric shape.

It isn’t necessary to use all ten beads in your design – whatever you decide will be perfect!

And even if you don’t want to enter the challenge, you can vote for which beads we’ll use. 🙂

It should be fun to see how things turn out!

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Hugs,

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Little Things Mean A Lot

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It’s important to practice what you preach . . .

Don’t you agree? 😉

If you’ve been visiting here for a while, you know that good ole Crystal (me!) passionately believes it’s crucial to carve out a little time on a regular basis to create something . . . anything.

It doesn’t matter how well your “art” project turns out, it’s the process that counts.

Wait… You say you don’t have a creative bone in your body? Well then, you must do something else that’s pleasurable and captures your full attention. Read a book; watch a movie; make a new recipe, work in your garden; or listen intently to your favorite music!

Spending an hour or so “lost” in this type of activity will help lower your blood pressure, reduce your stress level, and most important of all – will bring you to a state of calm relaxation, which can have a powerful effect on your physical well-being. You truly owe it to yourself, not to mention those who love you (me included!).

Ok, Crystal. Enough talk.
What have you done lately to keep yourself in tip-top shape?

Glad you asked! 😉
Well, there was this woven pendant . . .

Swarovski crystals in my favorite color combo – amethyst purple and olivine green aurora borealis!

Then, inspired by the autumn chill, I grabbed some warm browns along with golden topaz, and made these earrings. When they were finished, they somehow reminded me of one of my favorite paintings by Edward Hopper, “Automat“. Love the mystery in that scene.

And finally, I have a light sapphire blue with purple.

What can I say? Those purple beads just keep jumping into my hands. Really!

Hugs,

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Sticktoitiveness – Japanese Crocheted Flowers

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stick-to-it·ive·ness. n. tenacity; perseverance

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In the beginning there was *new* yarn . . .

colorful new yarn!

Time passed . . . and it was still colorful . . .

but there was less of it!

The reason?

Some of the yarn had been turned into a stack of “flowers”.

Weeks went by . . .

and suddenly there were double that amount!

By midsummer . . .

there was only a hint of what was to come.

Right now though . . .

It’s finally looking much more like a shawl. 🙂

Of course, I’m not finished – still need more flowers. In these photos, they’re not arranged in any particular order. I have a feeling it will take lots of arranging and rearranging to find the layout I like best.

Hopefully, it will be ready to wear this winter. 😀

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What is it that you are trying to finish these days?

A book? closet organization? fall cleaning? craft project?

I’d love to hear about it!

Hugs,

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Fun at Forty

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Hi kids,

It’s been a couple of weeks since I promised to report on our 40th anniversary getaway.

The thing is – I’ve discovered it just isn’t easy to whittle down the photos and adventures into a reasonably concise blog post.

I’ll do my best, though. 😉

(Remember to click photos twice to enlarge!)

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So, we began on the dazzling coast of Maine.

We continually had to stop the car to jump out and snap photos of scenes like this . . .

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Our home base for the first 2 nights of the trip was a little motel on Old Orchard Beach. Here’s what we found when we walked a few steps from our room . . .

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Dinner the first night was at a wonderful restaurant right next door. We began with a toast . . .

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I am telling you the food was truly INCREDIBLE! I had a lobster dish with summer vegetables, roasted shallots, and fregula pasta. It just melted in my mouth! (Sir Beads had something called “The Best of Both Worlds”, which was lobster with beef tenderloins.)

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While in Maine, we relaxed, we breathed in lots of fresh ocean air, we visited a bead store, where I bought some very pretty ones, and we ate like kings (at least it seemed that way!).

On the second day, we toured the lovely Kennebunkport. We had lunch there and you guessed it – lobster. This time, it was lobster rolls. C’mon, now! We were in Maine; it’s the lobster capital!

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On day three, we were on the road again on our way to Vermont through the majestic mountains of New Hampshire.

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For the next 6 hours, we oooh-ed and ahhh-ed at the breathtaking mountain vistas we passed at every turn.

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We finally arrived in Shelburne, Vermont just before dinner. The innkeepers knew it was our 40th and so, along with chocolate hearts, they had balloons waiting for us in our room!

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It was a very romantic place with skylight windows and a huge jacuzzi tub – complete with tall pillar candles.

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On day four, we visited the Shelburne Museum, which houses a magnificent collection of well . . . collections! . . . in every category under the sun. There are 39 exhibition buildings located on 45 acres of land near Lake Champlain. We spent at least 5 hours there. Our legs were aching but oh was it ever worth it. We saw some absolutely wonderful things! In the photo below, we’re just entering the grounds from the parking lot. Although the flowers are not really part of the exhibits, they were especially striking.

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I’ll leave you with this close-up of the garden at the entrance, but the highlights of the museum are topics for another day.

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We’ll definitely remember our 40th as a very special time.

It was fun to share it with you! 🙂

Hugs,

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