A Tropical Breeze

I think my newest necklace reflects how much I wish I could go somewhere tropical and just forget all my cares for a little while. But since I can't, I reach for my beads instead...

I've been designing with resin beads lately. Don't really know why....I guess I'm just curious as to how much I will like them. I figure I already design with a lot of different materials, I might as well add resin to the list! Also, I recently started working with brass too. I decided to put the two together and WAHLAH!....my new necklace, "A Tropical Breeze" just listed to my etsy shop today. I think the Amethyst blended with the Antique Brass really makes the orange pop. 

Look for my new handmade resin pendants to be listed to my etsy shop next month.

Also, I'll be featuring some giveaways during Spring & Summer!

Thanks for reading & happy beading!

Shipping Discount This Weekend!

That's right, all purchases in my etsy shop receive free shipping this weekend! Includes domestic & international. I will refund your shipping fee to your paypal account OR contact me with your selection, and I will remove the shipping fee before you buy.

 

♦ Starburst Flower . Handmade Czech Glass and Japser Gemstone Hill Tribe Silver Bracelet ♦

***Free Shipping***

  

♦ Spring Bouquet . Handmade Peridot Pearls and Jasper Teardrop Earrings ♦

***Free Shipping***

  

♦ Groovy Baby . Handmade Flowers Hearts and Glass Petals Sterling Peace Sign Earrings ♦

***Free Shipping***

This weekend shipping discount ends Sunday, March 28th at midnight (west coast time)

It's Euro Week on Etsy!

I know...I'm posting this at the end of the week, but hey, better late than never. Right? Since it's Euro week on Etsy, I thought I would feature a few of my favorite items from European Etsy sellers.

"...Lucky Sheep...knitter bag" makes the coolest large & mini bags! They are located in Lithuania. Here is one of my favorites. psst...their bags are 10% off until March 28th!

 "Marbled" is another awesome bag/purse designer, located in Turkey. This green bag is all me! Oh, and their prices are fantastic!

This last shop is "Nataera," located in Paris, France. Her paintings are stunning! This one is on my "wish list."

Smoke & Mirrors

That's the name of my newest earrings for sale @ my Etsy shop.

Smokey Quartz briolettes wrapped with Argentium Silver wire and my own handmade earwires, also made with Argentium Silver. These earrings are simple, yet classy!

I use some Sterling Silver in my jewelry pieces, but for making earwires & wirewrapping, I use only Argentium Silver. Sterling Silver & Argentium Silver are equal in the amount of silver they have, which is 92.5%. The difference is Sterling Silver has 7.5% copper in it, which is what makes it tarnish, and Argentium Silver contains an element called, germanium, which doesn't tarnish. So no heavy duty polishing! That works for me! Click here to learn more about this amazing tarnish free Silver.

Thanks for reading & happy jewelry making!

Part 3 • Artbeads • The Beauty of Spring

Here are my last jewelry pieces made with components from Artbeads celebrating "The Beauty of Spring."

These lil beauties are made with gorgeous light-yellow matte Resin butterflies hovering above Antique Silver Violet Fan leaves. The intricate details on the leaf charms are featured on the back side, as well as on the front. Very sturdy too! I beaded the butterflies on Sterling ball headpins and accented them with turquoise colored seed beads to blend in with the Turquoise Sterling earwires. I'm loving this style of the earwires!

I felt like they needed a bit more, so I wirewrapped & attached turquoise Czech Glass lilies to the front of the fan leaves. I've never made an earring design such as this one, but I do enjoy making out-of-the-ordinary stuff. They turned out really feminine & girly, and I think they would look beautiful with an Easter outfit. 

These last earrings are a simple, but pretty design. I was going to use Sterling Silver, but found the pink & amber color of the Zcech Glass lilies looked better with Antique Copper, which is one of my favorite materials to work with! I used my own Antique Copper ball headpins & findings, along with the Amethyst gems. The flower outline charms are from Artbeads. They have a really pretty Antique Copper finish to them!

I had a lot of fun making Spring designs with Artbeads components! I'm very impressed with all the Resin beads (I see more of them in my future! lol) and I love the variety of Glass beads they offer. All in all, every item I used was of high quality, and I would recommend Artbeads to all jewelry makers and crafters. "Thanks so much for reading and commenting on my Beauty of Spring jewelry pieces!"

I participate with Artbeads.com blogging community, therefore, I receive products free of charge in return for honest reviews. I have not been paid for my endorsement as it pertains to the products received. Thank you.

Part 2 • Artbeads • The Beauty of Spring

As promised, here is one of my earring designs made with components from Artbeads.

I'm calling them, "Lavender Dreams."

I had a couple of Lavender Camelia resin flowers left over, so I paired them my own Peridot gemstones and accented them with Sterling Silver bead caps. Artbeads has the most beautiful colors when it comes to their Resin beads! But, I think the lavender color is my favorite right now! It's such a soft color and looks amazing when the sunlight hits it. 

I used Sterling Silver ball headpins and wirewrapped them to Sterling Silver lever back earwires and WAHLAH!...a pretty pair of Spring earrings! And very fitting since today is the official first day of Spring in the US! :)

Come back tomorrow (21st) to see my last pair of earrings celebrating Artbeads "The Beauty of Spring." And by the way...Artbeads is having a storewide Spring Fever Sale right now until March 23rd. "Thanks for reading!"

I participate with Artbeads.com blogging community, therefore, I receive products free of charge in return for honest reviews. I have not been paid for my endorsement as it pertains to the products received. Thank you.

Artbead's - The Beauty of Spring - Part 1

Here is my bracelet, celebrating "The Beauty of Spring," designed with components from Artbeads!

 The flower & butterfly ensemble was made using resin beads from Artbead's Acrylic/Resin Beads & Components collection. I'm really loving the resin beads! The colors are so vibrant and the details are outstanding! I added some Tourmaline Czech Glass fan leaves to the mix as well. The tourmaline color is so pretty and blends in perfectly! Check out Artbead's exceptional Glass beads for a wide variety of wonderful glass bead designs.

I used Sterling Silver ball headpins and added my own Spring colored Glass Druk beads to accent each resin bead. Everything attaches to Antique Silver textured oval chain, which is very beautiful. I used the cutest Sterling Daisy links  to attach 2 sections of chain to the underside of the bracelet. The 2nd daisy link attaches to a gorgeous Flower "S" clasp. I like to finish my jewelry pieces with "my signature," which can be a matching beaded dangle of some sort or maybe a charm, so for this piece, I signed it with an adorable Antique Silver ladybug charm. I think I looked at Artbead's charms for days before deciding on the ladybug! So many to choose from! I had a lot of fun making this bracelet, even though I can't count how many times I changed the layout, I'm very happy with the final result.

Come back on Saturday (the 20th) to see my earring designs. Thanks for reading!

I participate with Artbeads.com blogging community, therefore, I receive products free of charge in return for honest reviews. I have not been paid for my endorsement as it pertains to the products received. Thank you.

My Artbeads package...

arrived today! I just love getting one of these purple packages!

These are the components I chose to celebrate "The Beauty of Spring." I like to mix things up and make a few different designs.

I've been experimenting with resin pieces lately, so when I saw Artbeads selection of Acrylic/Resin Components, I just had to get some flowers. Besides, what's Spring without flowers?! The top two are Matte Lavender Camelia Flowers and Matte Smoked Topaz Daisies. The other three sets are Matte Peach Daisies, Matte Amethyst Daisies, and Matte Lavender Dogwood flowers. The colors of all the flowers are so pretty and will look beautiful in my bracelet design.

The bright Matte Light-Yellow Resin Butterflies are a great Spring color! I wanted to include leaves & bugs, so I chose Czech Glass Fan Leaves in Tourmaline,  Antique Silver Violet Leaf Charms, and Antique Silver Ladybug Charms. So cute and the details are amazing! I also wanted to add a few lilies, and I fell in love with the Turquoise and Pink/Amber colors of the lily beads from Artbeads Pressed Czech Glass Beads.

The Antique Silver Oval Chain has a really cool texture that is perfect for my bracelet! Below the chain are a couple of Sterling Silver Daisy Links that will go with the resin flowers above. In keeping with the "daisy/flower" theme of my bracelet design, I'll be using a gorgeous Sterling Silver Flower "S" Clasp. I'll be including some earrings too, so I chose two different styles of earwires. One pair of Sterling earwires is embellished with 3mm round Turquoise gems and the second pair of Sterling earwires is a Teardrop Lever Back style.

I can't wait to get started on my jewelry pieces using all these great items! I hope you will come back later in the week to see what I've created. Thanks for reading and taking a peek at my order from Artbeads.com!

I participate with Artbeads.com blogging community, therefore, I receive products free of charge in return for honest reviews. I have not been paid for my endorsement as it pertains to the products received. Thank you.

Spring IS coming...Spring IS coming...

That's what I keep telling myself...Spring is right around the corner! I'm SO ready for some sunshine! How 'bout you? I love when Spring arrives, cause I can open a few windows, leave my doors open & get a nice breeze flowing through the house, listen to the birds and watch them build their nests in the birdhouses along my backyard fence, watch the squirrels come & go, and play in my flower gardens. And lastly, I can't wait to go outside, sit under my gazebo, and fondle.....opps...I meant play with my beads!! :P :D

But...while I'm waiting on Spring to arrive, here's my newest pair of earrings. I call them, "Spring Bouquet." They are made with clusters of white Pearls & Peridot gemstones cascading over gorgeous white Jasper teardrops. Very soft & feminine. You can find them in my etsy shop right here.

It's March Madness I tell ya!

It's Dollar Days at Artbeads! 

Artbeads is having a HUGE "March Madness" SALE! Over 2000 of their most popular products are just $1.00! I don't know about you, but these days, that fits my budget to a tee.

 

Get your dollar bills out crafters & beaders, cause the madness ends March 11th!

Happy March Madness Shopping!

Get Your Entry in NOW...

and you could be the very lucky winner of a $1000 shopping spree from Artbeads.com! 

I know exactly what I'd do if I won. First, I'd probably faint, then after coming back to my senses, I'd do a major crazy happy dance and contact all my friends. After that,  I think I'd have to celebrate with some kind of foo foo drinks and more happy dancing! LOL! I know that I would share the wealth too and spread a little bead joy among my close friends. Besides, passing on some good fortune is a good thing!

So...what will you do if you win? Have any idea what you would buy? Well, you have until this Thursday, March 4th, 2010 at 11:59pm (PST) to enter. The contest is open to United States and Canadian residents (excluding Quebec) and you must be over the age of 18. Click here to enter and Good luck to everyone!

For the official rules, click here.