newest ocean piece

I listed the newest version of my ocean fantasy right angle weave design this week.  Here's the original version.

I made a custom version of the design for my big wedding order back in August.  It was for a little flower girl so it's shorter than my normal short length.

 I would love to find more lime with white dots beads like I used for the original version.  I may have to custom order something like that at some point.  But I haven't yet and didn't have any more of the green beads above so I went with blue accented this time.

 You can purchase the newest version here.

wedding, repeat customer

Jake and I took a short road trip this weekend for one of my good college friend's wedding.  We drove 13 hours (not counting the in town traveling) in 3 days, but it was worth it.  In addition to the wedding, we got to visit with other friends and family along the way, most of whom we don't see very often.

During the trip, I sold half a dozen bracelets to a friend who did a large portion of her Christmas shopping with me last year, too.  Four of the bracelets are pieces that I've made in the last few months, including my newest silver links ocean piece that I hadn't listed on Etsy yet.  I actually hadn't even edited the pictures of it!  Here's a newly edited picture for you.

 

This is the third version of this design that I've sold so I will be making more of these in the future.  I have a few ideas for link bracelets in other color combinations, too.  As always, I'm open to your suggestions, too.

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

back online at home, Jan./Feb. EBW Challenge

I got a new cable modem at home today! This past week hasn't been the best one ever for several reasons. I don't want to get into all of it here, but I am very relieved to have one thing fixed. Thank you so much for everyone's continued support during my online absence! I'm really excited about how many drops I've had on Entrecard and how many new followers/fans I've had here, on Facebook, and on Twitter.

Voting is up for the Jan./Feb. EBW Challenge Ocean/Sea! You can vote on the blog by clicking here now through Feb. 15th. My entry the leafy series - ocean is #3.

I don't have any pictures of sneak peaks or finished pieces yet, but I finished another pair of earrings and a new pendant over the weekend, both in green. I've also made progress on a couple new cuffs. More details on everything soon.

$1.00 shipping on everything and no charges on additional items still holds in my Etsy shop through the end of the month!

treasury feature

I am blown away by the fact that I am already posting about my THIRD treasury feature for 2010. I am so flattered! This treasury is by my fellow EBW member Ileana (enchantedbeads) and includes my bracelet the leafy series - ocean. It's called COLORS (5) and features ocean, sea, and beach themed pieces in honor of the Jan./Feb. EBW challenge. Thanks Ileana!


You can view this treasury live by CLICKING HERE until Thursday January 14 11:21AM EST.

Art Beads certificate giveaway winner, Jan./Feb 2010 EBW Challenge entry

And the winner of the ArtBeads.com e-mail gift certificate is my fellow EtsyBlogger member Margaret of Splendid Little Stars! Congrats Margaret! I contacted her on Etsy to get the information that I need for ArtBeads. As soon as they have her information, they'll send her the gift certificate. Thank you so much to everyone who participated in the giveaway!

I listed my Jan./Feb. EBW Challenge entry today for the theme ocean/sea. I've wanted to do something with coral recently, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. I decided to combine it with my leaf design and a few other recently acquired components. I used some of my funky nuggets from Jen (blueseraphim), the vintage fish button I got from one of my button exchanges with Kelly (kreatedbykelly), and some swarovskis and cubic zirconias from the ArtBeads blogging program. The components I got from ArtBeads are bicone aquamarine swarovskis, faceted roundelle caribbean blue opal swarovskis, and peridot CZ round beads. I think that the swarovskis and zirconias added just the right amount of sparkle. I'm really pleased with the overall result.



Voting for this challenge won't be until February 9-15. I will post more information about it then.

One of my goals for 2010 is to do a better job updating my Facebook fan page. I have stuck with it over break. Hopefully I will continue to do so! I know several people who have had a lot of sales/Etsy exposure from their pages and hope that I can have similar success. If you haven't already become a fan, please consider doing so! You can click on the link above or this one right here.

Enjoy the rest of your New Year's Day!

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.

EBW ocean challenge ideas

I finished my new blue square stitch bracelet this weekend so I'm feeling a little better about my productivity. I will photograph it when we get another sunny day here. I also laid out a basic plan for my next EBW Challenge piece. I know that the current voting is still taking place (you can vote until the 15th on the EBW blog), but I don't think it's such a bad thing to be thinking ahead. The Jan/Feb challenge theme is ocean/sea. You can read more about it here.

I'm going to work up a piece that is leafy and coral-filled in ocean themed colors. Here are the leaves for it. Yes, they are laid out on my library copy of The Beader's Color Palette by Margie Deeb. I know that the book is kind of distracting as background, but I actually think that the colors of it coordinate pretty nicely with my leaves.


And here are the seed beads, coral, and other glass beads. You'll notice four of my funky beads from blueseraphim and a handful of Swarovskis and CZs from Art Bead's blogging program.


I'm pretty excited about it! My husband is already on winter break (he finished up on Friday), and he's been working on some hobby stuff again this weekend, as he will be all of break. Here are a couple pictures of what he's been doing. He did all of the building and the base coat of paint back over the summer and the previous school year. He finished the painting this weekend.


He's going to use the building for Warhammer. (He already has a couple times actually, but it will look cooler now that it's painted up.) Here's a picture of his latest Warhammer figures that he finished painting this month.


I can't resist posting this final picture. Angel thinks that Jake's painting/building assembly process is fascinating. :)

continuation of the ocean theme, June EBW Challenge

Here are the other two ocean themed pieces that I made. They are both listed in my Etsy shop now. :)



Voting for the June EBW Challenge is now up and running! The theme for this challenge is humor. You can vote at the blog by CLICKING HERE from now until June 15th. I am not in this current challenge, but I am entering the July Challenge: Here Comes the Bride.

first of several ocean themed pieces

I indulged in my blue/green weakness a couple weeks ago. I started one the pieces in the middle of all of the craziness with my cousin's wedding and it took me a lot longer than usual to finish and photograph. I made the other two pieces relatively quickly afterward. Here is one of the final, quicker pieces, which I just listed today.


I made one piece like this before. That one was Hawkeye themed. I'm very pleased with this one and will likely make more in the same design in the future. As always, color suggestions are welcomed! :)