giveaway | Bead Happily Ever After

Giveaway- Signs of Spring Earrings

Posted on February 8, 2010 by crystal

Oh, hi there. 🙂

Welcome to my weekly giveaway!

You know, winter can be so beautiful when everything is covered in a fresh blanket of snow . . . but once that snow melts – the bare brown landscape looks awfully bleak. It’s then that I begin to look for signs of Spring.

Now, when I think “Spring”, the color green, um, “springs” to mind. (Sorry for the pun; I couldn’t resist.) 😉

I designed these earrings as a reminder that the trees will soon be in bud again!

“Signs of Spring”

I chose shades of peridot and olivine green. You’ll notice both artisan-crafted lampwork glass beads and Swarovski crystals, which are embellished with lacey bead caps. All of the metal components are sterling silver – including the artisan-crafted sterling silver earwires. Total length: 1-5/8” inches.

Contest Rules and How To Enter

Any day you leave a comment on this blog – it is counted as a chance to enter that week’s giveaway.

For example, if you answer today’s question (you’ll find it below!) that will give you one chance.

But if you then come back another day this week and comment on a different post – you will have earned another chance in this week’s giveaway! There are usually 4-5 posts per week – Monday through Friday – so you can have multiple chances to enter!

When you comment you do not have to mention that it’s an entry in the giveaway. My 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! 😀

Today’s question is:

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

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 the 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 via USPS First Class Mail

All entries must be received by 9:00 p.m. EST on 02/14/10, and the winner will be selected on or about 02/15/10.

Giveaway – Sweetheart Necklace

Posted on January 18, 2010 by crystal

Welcome, welcome! 😀

It is no exaggeration to say that the answers to last week’s giveaway question were truly the best ever!!! I’ve never seen such a wide range of interesting, thoughtful, clever, and very amusing responses. You sure know how to make me feel lucky to have you as readers. 😀

And I really love that you are beginning to talk to each other here, too! My dream is that it will continue and that we’ll have even more back and forth chat as the weeks go on.

For this week’s giveaway, I wanted to do something with a Valentine’s theme – something dressy enough to wear out to dinner, but still casual enough to throw on with a t-shirt.

Sweetheart Necklace

The focal point is a Swarovski Clear Crystal Heart with gorgeous facets that dance and glitter as the light hits them.

For accents, I’ve used Czech fire polished rounds in deep garnet red, and Swarovski Clear Aurora Borealis crystal beads. Tiny glass seed beads form the rest of the strand and the closure is a silver-plated screw-twist barrel clasp. The necklace measures 19″ in length.

Contest Rules and How To Enter

Any day you leave a comment on this blog – it is counted as a chance to enter that week’s giveaway.

For example, if you answer today’s question (you’ll find it below!) that will give you one chance.

But if you then come back another day this week and comment on a different post – you will have earned another chance in this week’s giveaway! There are usually 5 posts per week – Monday through Friday – so you can have up to 5 chances to enter!

Today’s question is:

Can you tell us about something that you’ve never tried, but would like to – because you think you might enjoy it?

All entries must be received by 9:00 p.m. EST on 01/24/10, and the winner will be selected on or about 01/25/10.

Can We Talk?

Posted on January 6, 2010 by crystal

As I mentioned yesterday, I’ve been thinking about new ideas for the weekly giveaway! 😀

Some have asked me why I have a giveaway every week. Well… I do it as a way for people to find this little blog among the countless others out there in cyberspace.

Most of my regular readers first came here to enter a giveaway, and then returned time and time again. I’ve met many warm and wonderful people who have genuinely enriched my life. And along the way, I’ve also discovered that I truly enjoy the chance to brighten someone’s day by telling her she won for the week and then sending her the prize. It’s been a delight to have the opportunity to communicate with winners around the world – most of whom I never would have had the chance to meet had it not been for my giveaways.

If you are a new reader – welcome!
If you’re a regular reader, you know that for the past year, on every Monday, I’ve asked a couple of questions which could be answered for chances to enter the giveaway. Many of you have mentioned that it’s fun to answer those questions and that you like to see how other readers will answer them, as well.

But, to quote the old saying, “Variety is the spice of life”. So, would you mind expressing your thoughts on some of the following ideas I’ve been considering as ways to add more fun to the giveaway contests?

1. Should we keep the weekly questions for some weeks and then think of another way to enter for the other weeks?

2. Instead of 1 prize per week, do you wish there were 2 or 3 prizes so it might give you a better chance to win? For example, instead of one pair of earrings or a necklace with all sterling silver findings and rare vintage beads, would it be better to have 2 or 3 items with silver-plated findings and less rare (but still high quality) beads, sometimes?

3. Would you like the weekly prize to be a colorful assortment of beads from time to time?

4. Would you enjoy a gift certificate to my bead shop as a prize?

5. Would you be interested in creating a design with free beads that I would send to you – with the condition that you make something with them within one week, and then email me a photo of your creation to post on the blog?

6. Would you be further enticed to do #5 if after the photos came in, we all voted on the best design for that week, and that person got a $25.00 gift certificate to spend in my bead shop?

7. In general, do you like the random winner every week or would you think it was fun to have the winner be chosen based on the best comment for that week? Or someone who guessed the right answer to a question?

So, what do you think? All input is welcome. If you have an additional idea, please suggest it!

I’m looking forward to your opinions. 🙂

Giveaway – Blue Skies Necklace

Posted on January 5, 2010 by crystal

148

Happy 2010! I hope you enjoyed the holidays, and that you were able to find a little time to relax as well!

I did and now I’m ready for more fun and surprises here on the blog. I’ve been thinking about the weekly giveaways, and how I might spice them up a bit for the new year!

I’ll need your help on this! To give your opinions on some of the ideas I’ve been considering – please click here!

And now, on to this week’s giveaway. 🙂

I can hardly believe this is my 59th giveaway! In all that time, we’ve never had a necklace and so to start 2010 off right, here’s a pretty design in blue/aqua.

“Blue Skies”

It truly is that gorgeous sky-blue color that you see on a bright sunny day, and it features Czech beads that resemble swirled cinnamon buns! These beads have an iridescent flash on one side, and I’ve accented them with coordinating Swarovski crystals and smaller Czech glass spacers. The metal components are sterling silver and silver plate. The necklace measures 18-1/2” in length and fastens with a pretty toggle clasp.

Contest Rules and How To Enter

Any day you leave a comment on this blog – it is counted as a chance to enter that week’s giveaway.

For example, if you answer today’s question (you’ll find it below!) that will give you one chance.

But if you then come back tomorrow and comment on tomorrow’s post too – you will have earned another chance in this week’s giveaway – so you’ll have 2 chances!

Return on the next day, comment, and add another chance! And so on through the week. When you comment you do not have to mention that it’s an entry in the giveaway. My 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 giveaways end on Sundays, so you’ll have a little time to “catch up” if you missed any weekday posts.

Today’s question is:

What tourist attraction in your area have you never visited? It doesn’t have to be a world famous attraction – just a place that visitors to your area usually want to see.

{For us, it’s the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston. From all accounts it’s a fabulous place that’s rich in history with wonderful exhibits and photos. (Sir Beads-a-Lot, if you are reading this, let’s go there in 2010!)}

All entries must be received by 9:00 p.m. EST on 01/10/10, and the winner will be selected on or about 01/11/10.

Giveaway – Tropical Seas Earrings

Posted on December 7, 2009 by crystal

118

Greetings! 🙂

First I’d like to say a great big “thank you” for all of last week’s clever, thought provoking, and sometimes hilarious comments. You really outdid yourselves. I loved reading each and every one!

Here in New England, we finally had a little snow this weekend. The timing seemed perfect too! Sir Beads and I attended his company Christmas party on Saturday night. Just as we left to return home, we saw that the snow was falling softly all around us. The combination of the holiday party with the blanket of snow and the beautifully frosted tree branches really put us in the mood for Christmas. 🙂

But in case you’re dreaming of a warm vacation around now, this week’s giveaway is a pair of earrings that are the color of a tropical sea.

These “Tropical Seas” earrings feature faceted Czech beads in a lovely shade of teal blue/green. They have a matte metallic finish and I’ve accented them with Swarovski Jet-Metal Rondelle Spacers, which are set with Aurora Borealis Crystals. They measure approximately 1-5/8 inches long – including the 14k gold plated earwires

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 have ANY job (pretend you already have all the skills and qualifications needed) what job would it be?

2nd Chance:

Leave a comment answering the second weekly question:

Is there something people are currently “into” that you think is no big deal. 😉

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:

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 12/13/09, and the winner will be selected on or about 12/14/09.