Thanks Guys!

I have been awarded two fantastic new blog awards. It always makes me blush a little when I get one, I really never thought I would ever even have a blog, and I definitely never actually thought people would read it and enjoy it. Thank you everyone.

The first one is The Best Blog Daily Thinker which was awarded to me from Pampered Papier. Thank you so much for this. Check out her wonderful blog and don't forget to check out her etsy store.



The next award is a Friendship award which was awarded to my by Kat at Soy Wax Candles. Check out her awesome blog and don't forget to stop by her store for some really great candles.



Thank you for these awards. And thank you everyone who takes to the time to stop by my little blog. :)

I finally...

Got some torch time in the other night. It has been so so long (probably about a month now). I guess I've just been so consumed with finding a new job that I wasn't really thinking about getting everything going. But I'm so glad I made time, it was really relaxing.

Here are a few the beads I came up with. I didn't really have a specific direction to go in, so I just had some fun and worked on a few different ideas.

I'm hoping to get a little bit more time again tonight. And then hopefully I'll get a few GOOD pictures taken over the weekend.

I better get going; the show season is sneaking up on me. I've also been asked to do a home show, so I better get going making things for that.

WooHoo I'm in a treasury

My Labyrinth Cuff was featured in this great treasury with the same name - Labyrinth. This treasury was created by Binkaminka. This beautiful treasury will expire Monday, so don't forget to stop by and check out all the other fantastic items.

New Pattern

Just a quick post for today. I listed the instructions for my Coexist cuff today. You can find the pattern in my Etsy Store. Now I'm off to create some new and exciting stuff. I hope everyone has a enjoyable weekend.

My Newest Addiction

So I have been absolutely horrible at keeping up with my posts lately and I apologize. Most of my time has been trying to balance finding a new research position and keeping up with my orders. Time really flies when you only have a few months before your steady paychecks stop showing up. So I'll try to be better at posting new things. I promise.

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I am really excited about my new addiction. For a long time I have been amazed by everyone that can make these beautiful beaded triangles. I actually thought that you made three little triangles and then stitched them together. It wasn't till I really looked at one that I realized that's not how you do it at all, you stitch them from the center out. Genius.

So Monday I sat down with some beads and decided to give it a go. It took me a little bit to figure out how you start one, and I know I could have gone and got some instrucitons, but I hate reading instructions and it makes me proud to be able to figure it out on my own. And this is what I came up with. I've made two so far and I'm working on a third one. I think they look pretty cool.

I haven't really ventured into designs yet, but eventually when I get a better hang of them I might. I just really thought they were cool and have always wanted to try them. Please forgive the crappy picture. I took it at work during my lunch. The colors are really off.

The Winner Of The EBW Challenge

Congratulation to Mariya of BeadCatcher on winning the EBW Challenge with her absolutely fabulous Tropical Treasures.


There were 47 entries in this challenge. That's fantastic. The runners up were:
Second: Tropical Garden by: SpringColors

Third: Tropical Holiday by: veroque

Fourth: Tropical Paradise Necklace by: CieloDesign

Fifth: Tropical Nights by: SmadarsTreasure

Sixth: Pink Flamingo Fantasy Necklace by: gypsyeyesjewelry

Seventh: Island Treasure Chest by: BeadazzledofOregon

Eighth: Tropical Rainforest Getaway by: Bead4you

Ninth: What if I'm a Mermaid by: ThesePreciousThings

Tenth: Blue lagoon necklace N961 by: FleurDeIrk

All the entries were unbelievable. This challenge really brought out the best of all the members. Congratulations to Mariya again, and everyone else.

And We Have A Winner!

After very careful consideration I have finally chosen a winner for my February Blog Giveaway. This was a very difficult decision. There were so many fantastic choices, I had such a hard time picking just one winner. But alas I have made my decision, and drum roll please..........

The winner of the black and white cuff is..................

Plow and Pony with her entry of "Eternal Daydream" You can visit her blog HERE where you can fins links to her etsy shop, ebay shop, as well as much more.

I think this is a very beautiful name for this cuff. I will be listing the blue cuff on etsy later this afternoon.

And I will be contacting Plow and Pony today to let her know she won the black and white cuff.

Thank you all again for your fantastic entries. They were all wonderful. And don't forget to keep your eyes peeled for my next giveaway (Hint - I think I'm going to give away some lampwork beads). And thank you again for all being patient with me in my hard times and craziness.

Giveaway Update!

I just wanted to let everyone know that I will not be announcing the winner to my February giveaway today. I received some pretty bad news last week, and now I'm scrambling to get everything in order. So I hope to have the winner picked by the end of the week. I'm sorry for making you wait, but I promise to have a winner picked soon, so the winner can enjoy their new beaded cuff. Thank you for your patience.

I Got Accepted!!!!

So just a quick update today. I received my first acceptance to a jurried show last night. I am so excited about this. This gives me hope that I will be excepted in a couple more this year (fingers crossed). I'll have an update as soon as I get the rest of all my information. So anyone in the Milwaukee area should stop by in May. I've also got a lead on a boutique that might be interested. I really need the good news right now. I'll update again when I get more info.

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Don't forget to stop by the Etsy Beadweavers Blog to vote for the Jan/Feb Challenge.

EBW Jan/Feb Challenge Voting Open

Voting for the January/February Challenge voting is now open. Stop by the EBW Blog and vote for your favorite. There were 47 absolutely stunning entries this month. Voting end February 15th, so stop by and vote today.

My entry is #37. My beaded necklace in bright tropical colors. It's called Mayan Sun because as I stitched, it reminded me of the ancient Mayan artifacts and the pyramids rising out of the jungle.

You can find my necklace HERE.

And don't forget to stop by the EBW Blog to vote for your favorite entry.

Labyrinth - Beaded Cuff

I just wanted to quickly show you my newest cuff. I'm trying to make the most of all my new free time, so I'm finishing up a bunch of half finished projects. This cuff is one of my favorites. It's just a simple design, but the colors are just spectacular.


I am really happy with how it turned out. It's available in my etsy store HERE, if you'd like to take a better look.

I finished it!

I finally got the cuff for my sister in law's mother done. I'm so happy with how it turned out. I hope she likes it. Now I just need to got wrap it up and get it out to her.

I can't wait to make some more of these. So keep your eyes on my store, because I'll have some new colors to offer soon.



**UPDATE** You can find this blue coexist cuff in my etsy store, click HERE for more info.

Here is a better picture of the first one I made. I'm having quite a hard time capturing both the shiny and matte blue beads. It's really lovely and really catches the light. I'm hoping to have this cuff up in my store by the end of the weekend. I'll update my blog with the link as soon as I get it up.

Well back to the grind, I'm hoping to get a lot done this weekend.

A New Design

I am very happy to show off this new cuff. I had a custom order from my sister in law's mother for a Coexist bracelet. So I sat down and tried my best at creating this design. I decided to try it out before I made her version (she want's a black and white cuff). So here is what I came up with. It's really difficult to photograph. I used the a wonderful royal blue color bead in both regular (shiny) finish and matte finish; which gives it a wonderful dimension. I am so happy with how this turned out, it's my first try at letters. So I had to show it off. Sorry for the picture quality; I wore it to work today and just had to snap a picture of it, so I should have better pictures later on. I will also be offering it in my store as soon as I get those better pictures.

My February Challenge Piece

This month's Etsy Beadweaver's challenge theme was Tropical Holiday. What a wonderful thing to think about right now, especially with the winter we're having this year.

I decided to try something I had never ever tried before, because, well this is supposed to be a challenge. This was not only fun, but it was a learning experience which has spurred a bunch of ideas for the future.

I call this necklace Mayan Sun.

I decided to go with a whole rainbow of colors to represent all the colors of the tropics. I wanted to look at this necklace and think of the deep blue sea, bright flowers, and a warm breeze on my face.

I went with beaded end caps again, I love, love, love these. But I also decided to try a beaded toggle clasp. I really like this looks. I also finally tried my own soldered jump rings. This worked great and saved me so much money by buying my own sterling silver solder and jump rings.

I had bought these great marble beads a while back and have been trying to decide what to make with them. Well when the challenge theme was announced, I decided to try this with these great marble beads. And as I worked it really made me think of Mayan artifacts (I love stuff like that, I considered being a paleontologist). As I stitched away I thought of the pyramids emerging from the jungle.

I am so happy with how this turned out. I'll have it listed on etsy tomorrow. I hope other people like it too. ☺

*Update* Here is the link to this necklace - Mayan Sun.