We Have a Winner!!

I asked my husband to give me a number between one and twelve and he did. Number nine on the comments list is the winner of the Renaissance Angel Wing I sent out to my fellow 12 Days of Christmas gift swap.

# Nine swopemelmel wrote:
Oh please pick me, I LOVE giveaways (LOL) and what a super cute package!!

Please send me your address so I can get this in the mail to you. artymeziaATyahooDOTcom

If you were not the winner this time, you can order a similar piece from my Etsy Shop HERE

On a more serious note, My Dad is recovering from surgery. My family and I thank you all for your prayers and positive thoughts.

Cindy's Giveaway

The Lampwork Diva, Cindy Gimbrone, is having a fabulous bead giveaway to celebrate five year (5 YEARS!) blogging. Go on over to her blog {HERE} and sign up to win this bead stash.

And the winner is . . .

Pam from Klassy Joolz.

Pam won this pair of wings:

I cannot wait to see what she does with them!

Thank you all for your comments. I guess I will have to do some more giveaways in the future.

Hmmm, I saw some really cool bat-wings the other day at work, I wonder,

would anyone be interested in them for

a Halloween-ish giveaway? (Do tell!)

(Pam, Send me your mailing info via my email: artymeziaATyahooDOTcom)

Reminder -- Wings Giveaway

Don't you just love these beauties from Reaper Miniatures? They could be yours. Leave a comment on the previous post to have your name put in the drawing. The deadline is midnight Friday September 10th.

If I had but Wings to Fly . . .

. . . and I do!

Click on the photo to take a look at the lovely details.

A four-pack set of angel wings is just $10 {HERE}

I have been enjoying working at Reaper Miniatures (as I mentioned in my last post). Along the way I have collected some gorgeous pewter pieces and the photo above is only a sampling. All these components are part of a larger piece or grouping, but I think each one would make a beautiful component for jewelry. My fingers are itching to get some time to play with these pieces and to come up with a stunning jewerly design.

It is not quite like visiting a hardware store and being inspired by the "cool stuff" you find there, but have you ever found jewelry components from way out in left field, so to speak?

I am having a giveaway of the large curved wings on the bottom left. Who is interested?

Here is what you do by September 10th at midnight:
* Leave a Comment on this post (yeah, the one you are reading!) for one chance to win
*Another chance is yours if you:
1) become a follower and post another comment to tell me
2) go to my Etsy Shop and "Heart" a piece (and post another comment with the link to the item)
3) Blog about the giveaway (and post another comment with the link)

There. That is four opportunities to win the angelic pewter wings.

Good Luck!

Look What Our Postal Carrier Brought -- Part #2

Yesterday I posted about one of the great packages our postal carrier delivered. Today's post is about the second package.
A few days ago I won a batch of goodies from Amanda Davie. at Articulation. She sent everything in this fab little quilty bag. I love the "Blessings" and the tape measure.

Inside the bag were all these little wrapped bundles. The paper is from an old dictionary and each one is tied up with hand-dyed silk ribbons I can reuse!

Amanda wrote in her post that she was including a surprise which is this great necklace. The hand stamped copper says "We need not think alike to love alike." The dangles include pieces of coral and pearls with a chain linked with green glass beads. I love the resin image of two women and a large sleek dog.

Here is the whole collection of bootie -- lovely copper and resin components. I am so excited and pleased to receive these amazing pieces.

THANK YOU Amanda!

You Won't Believe This!

My Birthday Giveaway garnered 21 participant.

These lovelies are heading off to. . .

The Winner is . . .
(drumroll, please) . . .

Heather Pyle! -- My Bead Buddy
SHE MADE THE BEADS!

A Big Thank You to:

Copper Diem, Spirited Earth, moonlitfantaseas, Regina, Nicki, tyneboden, MoonRae, Loretta, Kate, Alterity Button Jewelry, Boot ~C, Marianna, yogavq, dfherden, Beatnheart, Emerald Window, Rebecca, Alesha, Heather, Moags and Smeet, and Paige for participating.

Psst -- Heather, I think I still have your address, but please email just in case.

In My Shop Now

I wrote about these two wall-hanging in this post a couple of days ago. Once again the local gallery has decided to overlooked my artistic endeavors. However, I have posted these two art quilts in my Etsy shop and will sell individually or together. I see a few more of these pieces in the future.

If you have not already, sign up for my birthday giveaway {HERE}. It is going on all week, so come back at the end of the party to see who won. It could be you!! -- (I will do a Random Drawing on June 30th, that way, if you are slow at reading all these wonderful blogs, you will still have a chance to win.)

I Won!

The Bead Soup Party was a huge success (Thanks Lori!) and along the way I found more fabulous artists to follow. There were giveaways along the way too. I found Amanda Davie at Articulations and fell in love with her eclectic, magical style. She had a giveaway and I just found out that I won!

Look at these luscious goodies! Mmm!

All Wrapped Up

And a little surprise something! Can't Wait!!

If you have not already, sign up for my birthday giveaway {HERE}. It is going on all week, so come back at the end of the party to see who won. It could be you!! -- (I will do a Random Drawing on June 30th, that way, if you are slow at reading all these wonderful blogs, you will still have a chance to win.)

Bead Soup Part Day #7 -- My Partner's Reveal!

I have waited almost a whole week (well, actually a lot longer than that) to see what Heather Pyle from My Muse did with the bead soup ingredients I sent her in May.

This is what I sent . . .
And this is what she did with it.

and this . . . and this . . . .

Now get on over there and tell what a great job she did! (She is #81 below)

June 25th

72. Cindy, Cindy Dolezal Designs

73. Valerie, Hot Art

74. Courtney, Beads by Breul

75. Johanna, Fire Phoenix Creations

76. Shea, gr8findings

77. Julie, Pryce Designs

78. Jeannie, Jeannie's Blog

79. Patricia, Verre Design

80. Christa, Adventures of One Beady Woman

81. Heather, My Muse My bead swap buddy

82. Susan, Night Beader at Large

83. Sonja, Drachenei

84. Jennifer, Glass Addictions by Jennifer

If you have not already, sign up for my birthday giveaway {HERE}. It is going on all week, so come back at the end of the party to see who won. It could be you!!

Day #6 of the Bead Soup Movable Feast

Have you been seeing all those giveaways while checking out the Bead Soup Blogs? I have and so has Cenya over at Emerald Window. I think she will be adding to the list as she finds them, but if you are having a giveaway, let her know and she will post a link to your blog too. These are the latest giveaways she has listed.

Song Beads
Star Girl Jewelry
Artemisia Studio <= Have you signed up yet? No? Click {HERE}*
EB Bead and Metal Works
Andrew Thornton
Second Surf
Spirit Rattles
Denise Yezbak Moore
Organic Odysseys

Now, for Day #6 of the Bead Soup Movable Feast.
June 24th
60. Carol, Carol Bradley Designs
61. Wanda, A Frayed of Fibers
62. Diana, Vintage Blue Studio
63. Marieke, Marieke's Blog
64. KJ, Silver Parrot
65. Maire, Maire Dodd
66. Shannon, Miss Fickle Media
67. Dana, Dana's Jewelry Designs
68. Charlene, The Bead Dreamer
69. Elisabeth, Beads for Busy Gals
70. Cathryn, Chile Cats
71. Missy, Melissa Rappaport

*If you have not already, sign up for my birthday giveaway {HERE}. It is going on all week, so come back at the end of the party to see who won. It could be you!!

Bead Soup Bash -- Day #5

Giveaway Prize -- Alamo Stone Earrings

Some of my favorite artists are in this next list. Stop by and leave them a comment (we all love comments, don't we?)

June 23th

48. Nan, Spirit Rattles
49. Amy, Copper Diem
50. Malin, Beading by Malin de Koning
51. Anne, Gardanne Glass Lampwork
52. Alice, Alice's Beads and Baubles
53. Barbara, Second Surf
54. Amanda, Articulations
55. Heather, Humble Beads
56. Melissa, Melissa Meman, Art, Life, Love
57. Kate, Organic Odysseys
58. Patti, PJ Clark Designs
59. Stefanie, Stefanie's Sammelsurium

If you have not already, sign up for my birthday giveaway {HERE}. It is going on all week, so come back at the end of the party to see who won. The prize is the pair of earring shown above.

Bead Soup Party Day #4

Here is another set of Lisi's beautiful lampwork beads made into earrings. There are a dozen such lovelies in my Etsy Shop. Please take a moment to take a look around.

June 22th

37. Filomena, Pink Velvet Bird
38. Lyn, Lyn Foley
39. Tari, Pearl and Pebble
40. Rebecca, Song Beads
41. Regina, Regina's Writings
42. Nancy, The Rabbit Muse
43. Whitney, Whitney Lassini
44. Maria, Garden Path Beads
45. Michelle, Life in the Bead Lane
46. Ann, My Critical Eye
47. Lisa, Lucid Moon Studio
(and now we are half-way through the Bead Soup participants -- more to come!)

Also, if you have not already, sign up for my Birthday Giveaway {HERE}. It is going on all week, so come back at the end of the party to see who won.

Bead Soup Party Day #3

Day Three of the Bead Soup Swap -- If you have not checked the blogs from the previous two days, you need to do it! They all are just amazing! Below is a list of today's Bead Soup Swap Participant Reveals -- But first . . . .

My Necklace over my black mock-turtle neck blouse. I hope this give you a sense of scale of the piece.
Also, here is a pair of earrings I made with some of the "leftover" Soup ingredients.

June 21th

27. Lisa, Alterity

28. Dale, Dales' Flights of Fancy

29. Melanie, Kookie Designs

30. Christine, A Hot Piece of Glass

31. Nancy, Beading From the Heart

32. Laurel, Rue's Daftique

33. Sandi, Do Be Do Bead Do

34. Nicki, Nicki's Reef

35. Virginie, ViviBijoux

36. Janeen, Wild Vanilla

If you have not already, sign up for my birthday giveaway {HERE}. It is going on all week, so come back at the end of the party to see who won.

Parr-Tay! Day #1

The Bead Soup Swap Party has begun!
Visit these artists and return to tell me who is your favorite!

June 19th

June 19th
1. Lori, Pretty Things The Hostess with the Mostess! Thank her for starting the whole thing
2. Lorelei, Lorelei1141
3. Norma, Moonlit Fantaseas
4. Beth, EB Bead and Metalworks
5. Katie, KatieBead
6. Kimberly, Bahama Dawn
7. Debbie, Prairie Emporium
8. Lisa, Joolz by Lisa
9. Kate, Tropical Blonde
10. Janet, Singing Woods
11. Julianna, Juls Beads
12. Erin, Treasures Found


If you have not already, sign up for my birthday giveaway {HERE}. It is going on all week, so come back at the end of the party to see who won.

What a Birthday!

Today was my birthday (also Kelly Morgan's over at Silver Parrot). It was one of my best birthdays, and I mean that too. My husband has taken a day off here and there this past couple of weeks and, of course, took today off to help me celebrate.
.
It was such a lovely, leisurely day.
.
First, we watched the USA vs. Slovenia World Cup Game while I photographed my finished Bead Soup Swap piece. Here is a sneak peek.
I wore it last night to Quilt Guild and today when we went to my favorite museum and got loads of compliments! I cannot wait to do the full fledged REVEAL on Sunday. (One of my online friends sent me a note stating that the dates in the previous post were incorrect -- so I changed them to the correct dates - sorry 'bout that!)
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Well, we drove from Denton to Fort Worth with a short stop at Cabela's for my sweetie. Then we went to the Kimbell Museum for the remainder of the day and had a lovely lunch there as well. The Kimbell is a small, very fine museum that usually has to put most of their permanent collection away when they have a traveling show. But today I saw more of their collection than I ever have before, plus the newly acquired Michelangelo (click on the link above to see it). It was a real treat!

Okay, I promised a birthday celebration giveaway. Here is how it works -- post a comment on this blog post with your email address and I will draw a random number at the end of the week (at the end of the Bead Soup Blog Party!) Keep checking here for the Party participants revealing their masterpieces each day.

Friday is my Birthday

A lot is going on this week:

*I need to finish my Bead Soup Swap piece for the "reveal" this weekend.

*My dear husband is taking off a few days of vacation time (we are not going anywhere, but staying close to home).

*Our local Quilt Guild is having a silent auction and fundraiser

*I am volunteering with our local health-care center.

*Next Sunday is Father's Day.

*And this Friday is my BIRTHDAY!

Yep, another year older (-and wiser? mmm not sure.)

Please help me celebrate my birthday.

I am having a giveaway of a piece of jewelry made from some of the elements I received in the Bead Soup Swap from my buddy Heather Pyle. I have two piece: one is the "Official Bead Soup Swap Piece" and the other is from some of the remaining pieces I did not use in the "official" piece. Obviously, I cannot show either piece until the scheduled reveal (which starts June 19th, but I do not show mine until Saturday June 20th). I will announce the rules of the game on my birthday Friday 18th of June.

Shepherding

Laurel Reflection by Richard Shilling

I was reading Richard Shilling's {Land Art} blog this morning where he was musing about spring and little lambs leaping through the meadows, and about the cycle of life. It came home to me again while I was sitting in church and heard the readings, which mark this Sunday as "Good Shepherd Sunday".

Adoration of the Lamb, the Ghent Altarpiece by Jan and Hubert van Eyck (detail)

I also thought about one of the most awe-inspiring works of art I have seen in person, the Ghent altarpiece also called the Adoration of the Lamb. (My husband and I saw it this past May when we were in the Netherlands, we went to Belguim.)

.

Spring is here, new life is all around us, new ways of looking at life and our place in it also surround us. I have had a lot of changes in this past year and I have learned so much about myself. I have been out of work for most of the year and I have been fretting about it too. So often we define ourselves by what we do, I know I do anyway, and not by who we really are.

.

I worked very hard for two weeks and quit my "new" job because of the toll it was taking on me, on my husband, and on our quality time together (oh, and the doggies didn't like it much either!). I was one the road two hours a day and the salary did not compensate for that. Doing the math opened my eyes to that fact.

.

So, I am unemployed again, but with a difference this time -- I know who I am and what I am worth and also what I do well.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Now, for something completely different: I did not hear from Loretta, so I did another drawing and picked Katie Nelson as the new winner of the Bindweed Beetle bracelet. Email me with your address and I will get it out to you in just about no time!

Post #100

The Winner of this lovely Bracelet, inspired by a photograph of the Bindweed Beetle is

~~~~~~~~ Loretta ~~~~~~~~~~

Send me an email with your address and I will get it out to you in the next two days

Thank You, everyone, for helping me celebrate my 100th Post!

~~~~~~~~

I took my camera to work today. We have tons of chalk-turquoise (sold by weight), mother of pearl, crystals, lots of semi-precious gemstone beads, lots of base-metal findings and lots and lots of "fashion jewelry" all at wholesale prices. The majority of the beads are $1, $2, $5 a strand.

This first photo reminds me of Lindipearls (see previous post), but it is actually dyed mother of pearl. ;^)

Mother of pearl, "gemstones", and findings . . .

Crystal bead strands . . .

"Fashion Jewelry" . . .

And "fashion jewelry" made on site.

The Brazos Collection has an online store so that you can shop in your pajamas. Here's the link {HERE}. If you shop online, tall them I sent you!

Lindipearls

What a week! I started a new job in the Stockyards of Ft. Worth that is an hour commute from my home. It is a tourist destination now, but it was the end of the road for billions of cattle in the old days.

The shop where I work, the Brazos Collection {online HERE}, is a bead and fashion jewelry wholesaler that sells direct to the public at wholesale prices. It takes all of my reserve to not bring home all my wages in beads and finding! As a matter of fact, I bought part of the gorgeous beads for the Bindweed Beetle Bracelet (in the banner above) from their main store in Salado, Texas a year ago.

I am loving learning the stock, you know, petting all the pretty beads and fondling all the findings. What I do not love is that do not have any is free time. I leave the house for an hour drive and return home ten hours later, exhausted.

Before I go any further, I wanted to show you these:

The large ones are the size of a large chickpea and they are graduated on down from there to about 3mm.

Pretty aren't they? Well, I will not be making a necklace or bracelet from these even though they cost over $600.

They were home grown and harvested Lindi-pearls. What are Lindi-pearls? I will get to that in a minute.

On Tuesday of my first week at a new job, my little Mini-Schnauzer went under the knife for bladder surgery. She has apparently been suffering for a very long time, but we had no idea why. The vet was astonished when he looked at the x-ray film. Her bladder was filled -- FILLED -- with over 35 stones of varying sizes from small marble to tiny chips. Well, see for yourself -- part of the harvest is in the photo above!

So now we believe Lindi is full-blooded mini-Schnauzer with a recessive oyster gene.

Lindi is feeling a whole lot better now.

Thank you for asking.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Next time I post, I will have drawn the name of one of the entrants to the Pass It On Challenge. You have until Midnight Sunday April 18th. Go {HERE} to enter.