new listings

I have a couple new listings up. The first is my final (for now) new rainbow creation. I made two different versions of it.

A shorter one which I photographed in about the best lighting ever.

A longer one that I photographed in less than desirable lighting but is still an equally neat piece of jewelry. I'm still getting used to the fact that the large amount of sunlight that worked really well with my old camera now creates overexposure very easily with the new camera.

While I still had part of my rainbow mix in my bowl, I created this simple double stranded right angle weave bracelet.


I have had considerably more time for beading this week than I did the week before and will have a couple more pieces to list by the weekend, assuming that I can get some good natural light photographs by then.

treasury feature

Thank you so much to Ileana of enchantedbeads (fellow EBW member!) for featuring my orange flower garden peyote cuff in her Flower Power treasury! I can't believe that this is the second time that this cuff has been featured in a treasury now!


You can view this treasury live by CLICKING HERE until Tuesday September 29 8:48PM EST.

Etsy wish list

I have some money burning a hole in my PayPal account from a few recent sales that I may use to make some Etsy purchases in the near future. Here are a few of my current favorites that tempt me every time I scroll through my favorites list!

I met this lovely lady in the Etsy chat rooms the other night. She has many gorgeous sea glass items in her shop. I can think of so many possibilities for this wonderful set of drilled pieces!

Drilled Sea Glass for Jewelry Making by akkricket

I got a new cell phone back in July. It's a slide phone (as opposed to the flip style that I had before). I'm a little worried about the screen getting scratched without a cell phone case. This one would fit my phone perfectly.

Cell phone cozy green apple by thefinickystitcher

I ordered from buttons from Kelli last year, which I was very pleased with. My tiny button supply is dwindling, and I would like to order another one of her sets. This is one of the sets that I'm looking at purchasing.

200 Buttons // Peppermint Fizz by kellwood

I'm not considering this item as seriously as any of the other items in this post. I still think that it's a great idea, though! It's something to keep in mind in the future.

Business Card Mini Notebooks (10) by PipingHotPapers

I absolutely love this shop and have wanted something from it for months. This item is really speaking to me for some reason. I know that this one has sold, but she takes custom requests...

CARAMEL DREAM Handmade Lampwork Glass Beads by blueseraphim

I cannot believe that I didn't think to include this item in my original posting. I have gotten into sugar scrubs and vanilla scents in the past year. What could be better?

Vanilla Sugar Scrub 10 oz by HeathensHearth

two fabulous giveaways

I entered two giveaways tonight that you should go enter as well!

The first one is from Carol Dean of Sand Fibers. She is giving away one of her gorgeous bead woven bracelets. If you have never seen Carol's work before, you really need to check out her Etsy shop. You can get all the details about the giveaway on her blog by clicking here.

The second one is from Kara of K9KreationsbyKara. You can win a set of custom cards from one of her sponsors. The best part is that Kara gets a free set of custom cards, too! You can check out the post on her blog by clicking here.

Good luck everyone!

Christmas already?! and a new version of She Smiles and It's a Rainbow

I went ahead and listed my Christmas leafy bracelet today. Hopefully it's not too early!


I also uploaded my new pictures of She Smiles and It's a Rainbow and changed the listing to indicate that there is a version in stock now. It's about 3/4" shorter than the previous version, putting it right around 7 1/4" which is a more standard size.


I created a new rainbow design as well while I had my rainbow mix assembled and will list that sometime in the next couple days, too. I spent last night completely redoing the green leafy bracelet that I'd made for my co-worker's niece a couple weeks ago. I put even more security knots in this one than I usually do in my leafy bracelets. Hopefully it will hold! I feel badly that that happened. I have one piece of my own that needs redoing for the clasp, but I'm going to put that off for a little longer and work on some new pieces this weekend.

leaf feature number 3

I will be listing at least one new item this weekend. I also had a sale this week on Etsy, and I completed another trade with Stationarycreations. The second trade was for a set of thank you notes, as I had previously mentioned might be a possibility. Thanks again, Deb! I have not gotten a lot of beading done this week, but I did photograph new pieces. All in all, still a good week for sure.

After you check out my newest favorite leafy creations, you should also check out BeadedTail's Friday Features for today, which also featured some lovely leafy items. Enjoy!

Maple Leaf Pendant Free Shipping US by marriageofmetal

Autumnal Garden Beadwoven Bracelet Garden by littlestonedesign (fellow EBW member!)

Fall Leaves Set of 10 Notecards by jitterbugstationary

Autumn Leaves set of 10 polymer clay beads by summeresque

Autumn Leaves by coryrenee

Vintage Enamel Leaf Pin by Suzeeez

Autumn Embers by SmileyMoo

leaf pendant by theRedCanary

Another Fallen Leaf by Rebecca Salcedo by smellyrhino

Emerald City revisited again

Before I post my pictures of the newly remade Emerald City, I'll mention a minor frustration that happened earlier this week. I went to Michael's and discovered that they have completely gotten rid of their Czech seed bead collection. It's relatively easy to find size 11 Czech seed beads elsewhere, but it's becoming increasingly difficult to find size 6, especially around here. Both of the bead shops that I frequent when I'm back in Chicago carry a wide variety of them, but the Iowa City shop does not. Neither Art Beads nor Fire Mountain Gems carry them. I like using Japanese seed beads for some projects, but size 6 Czech seed beads are a staple for many of my designs. I guess I'll have to stock up when I am in Chicago. I may not be back again until Christmas, though, and I'm a little worried about my supply dwindling before then. If anyone has any advice about where to order them online, I would appreciate it!

Since I sold the most recent version of my Emerald City right angle bracelet at the end of the summer, I decided to make another one. I ended up making two of them in different sizes. One is 6" long (the standard size for previous version) and one is slightly longer at just over 6 3/4" long. Here's a closeup of the longer version and then a picture of both of them. You can view the Etsy listing by clicking on either picture.

new banner/layout, trade, rainbows

Thank you so much to Talina of ripperarts who designed my new banner and avatar for me! She had designed my previous banner and avatar as well. I liked them so much that I decided to ask her to make these newer ones that reflect my current work, and she was so kind to do so. I changed my layout on this blog to match the colors and have gotten a couple compliments on it already. I created a new Entrecard to match as well. Anyone who approves one of my ads tonight or later will see the new card.

I completed a trade with Stationarycreations this week. She sent me a dozen of her Holy Night Christmas cards in exchange for one of my bracelets. I got the cards today, and they are beautiful. I am already looking forward to sending them this year (not that I need much to get me excited about sending Christmas cards!). She is interested in another one of my bracelets as well. She may make me a set of thank you cards to match my business cards for it.

I have been working on a couple different rainbow designs this week, one new and one remake. Here is the bowl of seed beads that I put together for my rainbow work.

treasury feature

I am honored that my fellow EBW member Lynn (nemeton) included my orange flower garden peyote cuff in her Beady Greeny treasury. I cannot remember the last time I clicked on so many items in a treasury. Stunning collection! Thanks again Lynn!


You can visit this treasury live by CLICKING HERE until Friday September 18 8:48PM EST.

the start of a new series

Thank you so much to everyone who voted for my Indian Summer piece in the EBW September Challenge! I have never received that many votes in a challenge before. Congrats to trintydj who won the challenge with her Indian Summer Sunset piece. So many amazing entries as always!

I actually completed the first piece in my new series - rock garden - at the end of the summer, right after I made my pink/purple leafy series pieces. Yes, I made two of those and still couldn't get enough of those colors so I made another piece with a very similar color scheme. I fully intended to sell it, but when I tried it on to get the measurements for the listing, I realized that it fit me perfectly. I definitely hadn't intended it to be that size when I made it. So I decided to try it out for a week or so and then ended up deciding to keep it. Here's the piece that I kept.


I love the look of this design. I made the next one in green, which is the one that's now for sale in my Etsy shop. (You can click on the picture to get to the Etsy listing.)


I thought about keeping this one instead but I like how the purple fits me a little better. I still love how the green version turned out, though, and hope that others do as well! I'm thinking about making a blue/purple one next.

I completed a leafy Christmas bracelet recently as well! Is it too early to list it?

another leaf feature

Because I am definitely still not over leaves!

Racing the Light Dichroic Leaf Pendant by Botticelli

Leafy Branch Bracelet by Peaches4me

Double Real Japanese Leaves Sterling Silver n Copper Necklace by lauralidesigns

Swirl Tree, Leather Journal, Suede by Kreativlink

double pointed knitting needle case organizer - leafy stems by knitonebeadtwo

Hand Painted Embossed Pendant Necklace / Tiny Leaves by Twist21

Golden Leaf Earrings by BlondeChick

at last - remake photos uploaded, green leafy sale completed

I finally upload the photos of my remade versions of the purple diamonds right angle bangle and double stranded purple ice right angle bracelet. I've been really into purple lately, but as many of you know, it's not the easiest color to photograph. I'm pretty pleased with the purple quality of both of these photos. I know that the background is overexposed on the first photo. I'm still learning how to create a nice light balance with my new camera. I am pleased with the clarity of the bangle in the photo, though.



I also completed my green leafy bracelet sale today. It was a custom order from one of my co-workers for her niece. Hopefully it will be well received. Here are a couple shots of it. The exposure is a little better in these shots. I may list it as a made to order piece on Etsy at some point.



It is not too late to vote for my Indian Summer piece! Thank you so much to those of you have already voted. If you haven't, please go over to the EBW blog and check out the challenge. http://etsy-beadweavers.blogspot.com. Voting is on the right side of the page. I'm #14. :)

September EBW Challenge

The voting is up and running for the September EBW Challenge. Please vote for my Indian Summer piece if you get a chance. Voting is on the right side of the blog between now and Sept. 15. http://etsy-beadweavers.blogspot.com/ I'm #14. Thank you!

Indian Summer challenge entry

I finished and photographed my September challenge piece last weekend. I listed it on Monday.


I was skeptical about these colors when I first started creating my bead mix, but I am very happy with the final result. The bead weaving process went very smoothly, which is not always the case with my leafy series. Once I set my mind to starting it, the process went quickly.

I finished the green leafy bracelet custom order this weekend. I may still try to photograph it this afternoon. My husband and I are going to a wedding tomorrow so I won't get much beading done then, but I still have lots of time tonight and Monday.

August Top Dropper features

Here are lovely items from two of my August Top Droppers who are also Etsy sellers. If you were in the Top 10 and haven't commented with an item yet, it's not too late!

These Southwest Sizzle - Turquoise with Red Beaded Sterling Silver Earrings are by BeadedTail. I love this color combination!


This Copper Square Persian Chainmaille Bracelet is by tstreasures. It's one of her personal faves. I can see why!

treasury feature

Thank you E927 for featuring my double yellow button bracelet in her YELLOW! treasury!


You can view this treasury live by CLICKING HERE until Sunday September 6 5:58AM EST.

August Top Droppers

Thank you, as always, to everyone who has dropped by my blog regularly this month! I really appreciate your support. I know that this was another spotty month for my own dropping since I was out of town for nearly half of it. Please don't take it personally when I don't drop as much as usual. It doesn't mean that I don't like visiting your blogs anymore!

Here is the Top 10 for August:
1) My gypsygoods
2) Split Rock Ranch
3) Theresa's Treasures
4) anns snap edit scrap
5) A Rose By Name
6) Ruth's Creations
7) BeadedTail
8) WillOaks Studio
9) Silver Sachet
10) Melissa's Jewelry and Gem Blog

If you made the Top 10 this month and are a fellow Etsy seller (which I believe almost everyone on this month's list is!), please leave me a comment with an item of yours that you would like me to feature. If you leave me a link, I will feature it sometime in the next couple weeks. I think that it will provide a little different mix of items if you select items this month than if I select another round.

Thanks again!