RED

As I was putting my Hawkeye feature together, I remembered that I compiled a red feature while I was in one of the Etsy chat rooms last week. I just didn't post it! Here are some lovely red items from Etsy chatters. Enjoy!

CHILDREN'S NEWSBOY LADYBUG HAT (FREE SHIPPING) by BIGDREEMZ

Red Crocheted Felted, Needle Felted Basket Bowl Catch All by ARTBYDONNAROSE

Bergamot and Pomegranate Glycerin Soap by HeathensHearth

Vintage Typewriter Key Pendant Necklace Charm - RARE RED SHIFT LOCK - Other Letters Available by GwenDelicious

Sale 20.00 off Carnelian and Garnet Necklace by JungleJewelry

Red Flowers Clip Set by TheRibbonCafe

Scrolls of Love - Wristlet Key Fob by jenniebgood

And finally one of my own:
red button charm bracelet

Iowa Hawkeyes

Thank you everyone for the birthday wishes! Jake and I celebrated my birthday in Chicago with family and friends and then went to the Lyric Opera to see The Marriage of Figaro that night. I've been planning this all year and was very excited to finally make it happen. We had a great time.

We took some pictures while we were waiting for it to start. They really don't do the building justice, but hopefully they'll give you an idea what it's like.



This Hawkeye feature isn't inspired by anything particular except that I haven't done one in quite a while. I like to keep mixing things up! Enjoy!

argyle armwarmers made with IOWA HAWKEYES fleece by bombshellsports

Iowa Hawkeyes Black and Gold Satin Layered Boutique Bow with Spikes - Extra Large (5 inches) by xsandbows

Muffem Earwarmer Headband Gold and Black Iowa Hawkeyes Large by ItsKarma

Iowa Hawkeye Gift Set - Soft Blocks and Bib by gardenbabies

KEY CHAIN WRISTLET EMBELLISHED with IOWA HAWKEYES RIBBON by brooksboutique

Iowa Hawkeyes Quilt by countrycraftythings

I Love Hawkeye Football Onesie or T-Shirt - Personalized, ANY TEAM, All Sizes by flyduds

And finally, one of my own:
Hawkeye right angle bangle

another aspect of orange

March is almost over, which means that my March deal in my Etsy shop is almost over. I don't have any ideas for an April deal yet. Any suggestions? What would encourage you to purchase something from my shop?

It's also my birthday tomorrow! :) I will be spending it with family and friends and most likely won't post again until Sunday or Monday.

Since I've been having fun featuring orange lately, I thought it would be neat to do a feature on handmade orange jewelry components - beads, buttons, etc. - from just a few of my favorite Etsy sellers. Enjoy!

CARAMEL DELIGHT...Free Shipping by blueseraphim

Hot Stuff Swirl Lentil Polymer Clay Bead Set 372 by tooaquarius

Autumn Splendor (handmade buttons set of 5) by TessaAnn

BRIGHT ORANGE Spiral Discs - Handmade Lampwork - Free U.S. Shipping - SRA by flamecrazy

Frosted Turquoise Orange Dots Handmade Lampwork Glass Beads by imakebeads

FILIGRANA Lampwork Glass Hollow Beads Handmade Orange by studiorickrack

ORANGE TRAPEZOID CERAMIC BUTTONS WITH YELLOW AND GREEN POLKA DOTS by BARBARAPAIGEKNITS

reaching the end of the green? for now anyway...

I listed my final pair of green earrings, for now anyway. These are sparkling green peyote bead earrings.



I have a pair of beaded beads very similar to the ones that I used for these earrings that I'll be listing sometime next week. That's the last very green item that I've completed, for now! I've had a lot of fun with the green, and I hope that others have enjoyed seeing so much of it.

Michelle (pardalote) was so inspired by my flying in lime and kelly earrings that she decided to give peyote triangles a shot this week. You can check out her post about that here. She included another pair of green earrings that I sold a couple weeks ago in another triangle post today, too, which you can check out here. Thanks, Michelle! I'm glad that you're having so much fun with triangles. :)

Also on the subject of triangles, I made my first 3D peyote triangle (something like this) last night! I'm so excited about it. Pictures and more 3D triangles coming soon.

new earring listing, turquoise and red feature II

I listed my second pair of Starfleet earrings today: flying in lime and kelly. This pair is another piece from the green mix that I originally put together for my Easter cuff.



As I mentioned over the weekend, I don't have any other versions of this design in the works yet, but I'm open to suggestions! Also, like the other Starfleet earrings, this pair of earrings qualifies for my March special on Etsy. Please check out my Etsy shop for more details.

I had so much fun with the first turquoise and red feature that I decided to do another one. Enjoy!

Beadwoven Triangle Earrings in Terra Cotta and Teal by njema

Prairie Path Cuff by SewSweetStitches

Crocheted Red Silk and Turquoise Glass Long Necklace or Bracelet by WillOaksStudio

NEW Large Zip Pouch Wallet in Teal and Red Dots by prettylittlepearls

Red Bird on a Branch Decorative Pillow by Freshline

Michael Miller Red and Aqua Polka Dots, Half Yard Set by sewdeerlyloved

Sierra - Petite Turquoise and Red Coral Beaded Sterling Silver Earrings by BeadedTail

And finally another one of my own turquoise and red items:
turquoise and red right angle bracelet

final package (for now), new book recommendation

As some of you may remember, Heather (Joy De Vivre) hosted a feature/giveaway for me on her blog earlier this month, which Sharla (BeadedTail) won. The winner was allowed to choose any size and color combination for a bead woven pendant or pair of earrings. Sharla chose my raspberry filled design. Because Sharla is awesome, I decided to make her a coordinating leaf pendant as well, and Angel decided to throw in a toy mouse for Sharla's kitties Isabella and Angel. Angel got a HUGE gift basket of goodies for Christmas from my in-laws that they won, and she's been sharing some of her toys with others. I took a picture of everything before I shipped it.


Sharla, with the help of Isabella and Angel, blogged about their goodies today. You have to check it on her blog here! Thank you so much, ladies!

I found another great beading book at the library over the weekend. This one is The Art of Beaded Beads edited by Jean Campbell. Jean Campbell always provides great directions and lots of pictures. Like the Beaded Garden book, you have to be a little more experienced with a variety of beaded stitches than I am to complete a lot of the projects. There are a lot of great projects, though, and a few simpler ideas that I'm looking forward to trying. My beading book wish list keeps getting longer haha. That's okay! I'm glad that I'm able to preview so many books at the library so that the ones I do end up purchasing/asking for as gifts are ones that I will use frequently or keep coming back to.

new listing, a couple random bits of awesomeness

I listed my first pair of Starfleet earrings today. I'm calling this one flying in purples and browns.
I also have one finished in kelly green and lime green. I don't have any others in the works yet, but I am open to color combination suggestions! I am definitely planning to visit this design again.

These earrings qualify for my March special: purchase anything in my shop and take 50% off any pendant or pair of earrings in my Etsy shop. More information about this can be found at the shop.

Everyone needs to check this Everything's Just Ducky! spotlight on byhand.me. You may or may not know that I LOVE ducks. I have ever since I was little. One of our bathrooms is duck themed. I have thought about doing an Etsy duck feature myself and still may at some point, but this one is pretty awesome, too.

Also, everyone needs to check out Linda's (beadsforever) new dichroic glass buttons. She blogged about them today here. Here's one of her newest ones on Etsy. I may have to get one of these at some point!

I hope that this week gets off to a good start tomorrow for everyone!

treasury feature

My fellow EtsyBloggers member ebogie included my Peace Piece peyote cuff in her Sky and Sea treasury with other beautiful turquoise items from the EtsyBloggers. Thank you!


You can view this treasury live by CLICKING HERE until Monday March 22 11:54PM EST.

packages

We awoke this morning to a blanket of fresh SNOW. Predicted, yes. Still upsetting.


Thankfully, as you can see in the photo, the roads were not frozen so the driving conditions were good today. Also, I took that picture a little over five hours ago, and most of it has melted since then. It's still a little depressing in mid/late March. Hopefully the weather forecast will stay true and it will warm right up again. It was 60 on Thursday!

I received several packages in the mail this week. The first was my latest set of beads from ArtBeads through their blogging program. We were allowed to pick anything from their site this time with the intention of making at least one spring piece from it. With this current order, I now have way more than enough beads to put together another leafy spring piece like my original version.


Besides the leaves, my newest stash includes delicas and Tohos. When I lined up my delicas, I realized how much I love the opaque espresso pearls with lime. The color possibilities never end!

I also got my newest selection of ceramic buttons from Lisa (LisaPetersArt) (all paid for through jewelry sales!). I purchased several from her Etsy site, and then she was kind of enough to photograph some of her smaller unlisted pieces and let me choose what I wanted.

I love all of them, but I think that the triangles are especially cool. So unique!

Finally, in unrelated jewelry topics, I got my first shipment of Proactiv.
I just started it today so nothing yet, but I'll let you know how it goes. I'm hopeful. I haven't been to a derm in over 3 years, but if this doesn't do the trick, I will look for one out here this summer.

I hope that everyone's having a good weekend! :)

Disclosure - I received my ArtBead's products free of charge through their blogging program. I am honestly reviewing their products and have not been paid for my endorsement as it pertains to the products I received.

buttons and continued orange

Thank you to everyone who left me positive comments about my last post. I still feel a little down, but overall today was a much better day than yesterday was. And now it's the weekend, which always helps, right?

Tonight I finally edited my button pictures from last weekend. Here's a sneak peak at one of my two newest button pieces. This is one of the first pictures that I took outdoors in 2010!


Continuing the orange theme from yesterday, here are a few orange pieces from fellow Etsians whom I chatted with tonight.

Sea Glass Marble Necklace by akkricket

16 inch strand of orange puff beads from MHaynes2009

Cranberry Marmalade Handmade Three Butter Soap by HeathensHearth

Celebration Clippies by expression2009