Celebration

I've done it!!! I've reached 500 hearts (well actually 501 hearts). And to celebrate my wonderful fans I am going to be offering free shipping from now until Sunday night. That's free shipping on everything in my etsy store. EVERYTHING!!!! So from today (Thursday, September 24, 2009) till Sunday (September 27, 2009) there is free shipping. Yay!!! It's the least I can do to say thanks to all 501 of you that have hearted my store since I first opened it two years ago. Thank you all so much!!!

Kokino - Beaded Hoop Earrings

So I've been hard at work the last couple of days. I'm trying to get some winter items done (not ornaments, lord knows I have plenty of those done) and I've been working on some items for next month. I can't wait to get pictures of those up.

I also am working on a custom order. It's for a really cool customer and I'll share some pictures soon of the progress.

But for now I have these fantastic beaded hoops to show today. I love these beads. They remind me of strawberries, good enough to eat.

I'm really liking these hoops. I was pretty tempted to keep this pair for myself, but alas, I decided against that. So now they are available for someone else to love HERE in my etsy store. I know they will make someone very happy.

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Here's a quick pic from Yoda, enjoying herself outside, playing with her mommy!!!

Finally Friday

Well It's Friday, Yippee!!! I have had such a week, I really hope this weekend will be better. Lets just say I had a little bit of a crazy week.

The good news is, I finally sat down and finished taking pictures. Ok, so I didn't actually finish, but I made really good headway, and that's all that counts, right (and after yesterday's mess, I'm surprised I got anything done).

First up is the second small "cuff" I've made.

It's the same width as the first one, 3/5 of an inch wide. I love anything checkered, so I really love this one.

It's again, super simple to wear, you don't even really realize you have it on. I like the way the "crystal" button makes it a little bit "fancy". (Wow, I really like quotes today) I think it dresses up the more casual pattern of the beadwork.

So I'm pretty happy with this one. Part of me say 'keep it for yourself', but the other part of me says 'no, you can always make another.' So I'm going to part with it. You can check it out in my etsy store if you are interested.

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Here is one of the pictures I took last night. OH MY GOD do I love this picture.

I spent the majority of my time last night taking new pictures of older items. Ones that I took pictures of a while back before I learned how to use the SLR. The pictures weren't bad, they just weren't great. You can see an example of an earlier picture of my seashore necklace below. I just didn't know what setting on the camera to use or how to set up proper lighting. I think I've gotten better at both of these things.

So I just wanted to share one of my new favorite pictures with everyone. I'm in love with how the colors of the coral and beads really come through in this picture. I never thought the pictures did this necklace justice until now.



Okay I'm done raving about that picture. Everyone have a good weekend. I know I'm going to try.

More Lampwork

Like I said earlier in the week, I have been really busy taking pictures of my lampwork. Just one bead after another, it sometimes seems like a never ending process.

But here is a bead I'm pretty happy with. It's the second "flame" bead I've made.

Originally I was asked to make a bead for someone's wedding (it's a Harley wedding, gotta love WI), but I loved the bead so much I've decided to make some more.

This is a round bead with flames, and I like it just as much as the first one (I'm also impressed that I could recreate the flames a second time). I really think it's fun.

I'll definitely have to make some more. And then maybe I'll get them listed in my store (someday)!

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And just because it's been a while, here's a picture of Yoda. She's now 4 lbs, still such a little thing. She's going to need a "nose job" in a few months because her nose is so small, but it's a simple procedure, so no worries.

This is one of her favorite places to sit, between mommy and her bead tray. I woke her up as I was taking the picture, so she looks a little sad. That's my little potato.

Introducing - Tiny Cuffs

So I've been working on a few new bracelets. I would like to call them cuffs, but at only 1/2 in wide, I guess they are not cuffs.

They are really simple, but still really pretty. And they look great on, most important feature. They are also very easy to wear. Perfect for the person who doesn't want to sport the 2 inch cuff. This one is the first one I've listed on etsy.

I'm really happy with how they turned out. I'll have to get more pictures taken so I can show off the rest of them I made.

A Fun Treasury!

I found my purple beaded hoops in this fantastic treasury, For Some Who Hearted My Shop! This wonderful treasury was created by Pen Rose Designs. Make sure to check out her lovely shop and don't forget to check out all the other great items in this treasury.

Some New Lampwork!!!

A few new lampwork beads from me. I've been working with browns lately. Not normally a color I work with, but I've seen some really nice things using brown, so I thought I would give it a try. I've also been trying to improve my control, so I've been practicing with a whole lotta dots. Hope you enjoy.

New Bracelet

This cute little bracelet was a custom order I just finished. I really think it turned out pretty cute!

Don't forget to Vote for the BEM Challenge

Yesterday I asked everyone to head on over the EBW's blog and vote for your favorite entry (voting is still open, so if you haven't voted yet, you have time). Well now it is time to vote for your favorite BEM challenge piece. There were only 5 entries this month, but that will grow as the market grows. All 5 entries are completely stunning, so choosing will be hard. So please stop by the BEM Blog to vote for your favorite!!!

GO AND VOTE!!!

It's that time again, time to vote for your favorite in the Etsy Beadweavers September Challenge. The challenge this month was Indian Summer Dream, and boy are there some fantastic entries this month. Please stop by the Etsy Beadweavers Blog to vote for your favorite. Voting is on the right hand side of the blog (don't forget to hit the vote button at the bottom). Thank you for voting!!!

Some New Lampwork!

So I finally got the photo tent and camera out the other night. I have been putting this off for a long long time.

I have a large container of lampwork beads that I needed to get a few pictures. Here are a few of those beads.

The first is an orange set that I had done a while back, but wanted to re-take the pictures. I really love this set. The orange color is very vibrant and fun. I'm not normally an orange person, but I really like these. I love the way the orange pops on the black background.

These are listed in my etsy store, you can click HERE for more info.

This next set is using one of my favorite colors, TEAL. I love green and especially love teal. And I really love this set.

It consists of a fun focal bead that is bumpy. It is then accompanied by two black spacers and two teal doted spacers.

This is will make something really cool. I can't wait to get this one listed. I'm sure this set will make someone very happy in the future.

I have many more pictures of my beads, but I'll wait until another day to show some of those. I think I may have taken 4,000 pictures. Okay, so I took about 75, but it sure felt like 4,o00. But those are for another day.

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I hope everyone had an enjoyable Labor day, we had a fun filled weekend here.

Another Red Treasury!

I found my Liquid Fire Necklace in a treasury, YAY!!! This is a beautiful treasury with all the red items. I love the colors. Please check out Fire Storm, created by Slap Happy Drums, and all the amazing items in this treasury.

I got some time to sit down and take pictures yesterday, so I promise some new beady goodness by the end of the day!!!

Red Treasury

My Sea Urchin Ring has been featured in this incredible red treasury. It is among some of the pretties beadwoven items I've ever seen. Thank you very much for including me in this treasury. Please check out the Red means STOP!!! EBW work treasury and don't forget to stop by Krafty Max's etsy store for all her lovelies.