Giveaway Winner

Wow, what a great turn out for my giveaway! This was my first giveaway this year, and I had a blast reading all of your great comments. For all of you that followed me on Twitter, I'll be following you right back. Many Many "Thanks!" to ALL that entered! 

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And now....the winner of the Summer Jewelry Set Giveaway is......Jessica, with her comment, "I will rock this set!" 

Congratulations Jessica!!! Be sure to check your email. 

My giveaway was ran by Punchtab.com using their random option to pick the winner.

Thanks to my good friend, Crystal at Bead Happily Ever After, for the donation of her lovely vintage beads. I had so much fun creating with them! You are the best!!!

Watch my blog for my 2nd giveaway. That's right, I'm going to do it again! lol I'm thinking it will be geared for the upcoming holidays. ;) Have a blessed day and thanks again for making my giveaway a great success!

Summer Jewelry Set Giveaway

Can you believe August is here!? It's been a fun month for me so far, and it's only the 5th! lol My birthday was on the 2nd and my Mother's is today, the 5th. "Happy Birthday Mom! We had a special family/birthday celebration yesterday...bbq, cake, lots of laughter...an all around good time!

Now, moving on to also something very good....my giveaway. I teamed up with my sweet friend, Crystal @ BeadHappilyEverAfter and created a fun jewelry set with her lovely vintage beads. You can check it out by reading my "A Gift" post. To extend Crystal's generosity, I decided to pay it forward and give away this beautiful jewelry set I made.

The earrings are fun and perfect for Summer! The colors are vibrant!...white, aqua-turquoise and fuchsia raspberry-pink. And...they tickle your shoulders too! :) Very light-weight and lots of dangle!

The matching anklet includes some of the same beads, along with a few Swarovski pink crystals too. 

((I really enjoyed making these pieces! Many thanks to Crystal for the inspiration! ))

To enter for your chance to win, just follow the widget below. Ends next Monday - August 12th at midnight (PMT.) I will announce the lucky winner on my blog the following day, Tuesday - August 13th.

"GOOD LUCK!"

((Giveaway is For US and Canada and Must be 18+ To Enter))

A Gift

I have a very good friend....actually she's more like a kindred spirit. Her name is Crystal, and she's a blessing to me. We've got this esp kind of thing between us. When I'm thinking about how she's doing and I plan on contacting her, I get an email from her that same day asking how I'm doing! It's one of those friendships that maybe happens once in a lifetime, ya know. I'm very lucky to have her in my life. Crystal contacted me a few weeks ago, offering me a gift to design a jewelry piece and feature it on her wonderful and witty blog. Of course I wouldn't dream of saying no! For one, I love making jewelry and for two, making jewelry with her beautiful beads is like winning a prize!

So...about a week later, I received this package full of colorful pretties from Crystal's etsy shop, BeadHappilyEverAfter. Crystal...being the super sweet generous friend that she is, included some gorgeous extras for me too. Yep, made me feel special. :D

These very pretty pear shaped teardrops are a beautiful aqua turquoise color and will play a big part in my designs. They are vintage Moonglow Lucite, and the shine on them is amazing!

These little bright white ovals are going to add just the right touch to my creations.

And last but not least, these stunning beauties are my favorite! They are a whopping 22 x 18mm! They're fuchsia raspberry pink (Stunning!) and will play center stage in my upcoming jewelry piece.

As you already know...I'm creating jewelry with these vintage beads that will be featured on Crystal's blog, but...the finished pieces are also going to be the stars of a Summer Giveaway! Since Crystal was so gracious to give me these beautiful gifts, I'm going to pay it forward with a giveaway. So please stay tuned to both of our blogs and enter for your chance to win. It's going to be a blast!!! :)

••• Many Thanks to my sweet friend Crystal. Her generous gifts are much more than the gorgeous beads..."wink-wink"

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!

 

My beautiful Mother...when she was younger. She's still just as beautiful!

 

Off to spend the afternoon with my Mom, my sister and my son & fiancé & kiddos. It's a wonderful day! Hope all the Mothers out there enjoy your special day!



My Petal Boxes

Last year I was struggling with the kind of packaging I wanted to do in regard to my etsy orders. I love "handmade" and making some kind of box for my handmade jewelry to arrive in was a big deal to me. I wanted my customers to feel the whole "handmade" experience, so I was stoked to find some very pretty petal box templates from forchicsake.com!

Here are a few samples of my own petal boxes made with scrapbooking paper. They're the perfect size for jewelry, and they're great for gift giving too! I top them off by wrapping with colored twine and a pretty tag.

Making your own petal boxes is so easy! And...you can coordinate the designs for the holidays, weddings, birthdays or whatever you want. If you don't want to make your own, I'll be listing petal box sets in my etsy shop very soon.

"Happy May!"

 

We found out yesterday, and I'm shouting it from the roof-tops!

Your eyes might be green..

Your eyes might be blue..

My imagination runs wild..

With images of you.

Your hands and your feet..

How small they will be..

When you're placed in my arms..

Oh what a happy Grandma I'll be!

 

"I'm going to have a Grandson!!!"

 

 



My sister...my best friend

My sister and I spend a lot of time together. When we're not together, we talk on the phone everyday. We tell secrets that only sisters can share knowing they will stay just between us. We share our dreams, our losses, our successes and our wishes and wants for one another. We even have girl's nights with our Mother. That's always a blast! We laugh, we cry, then we laugh again....but mostly we're very blessed to have each other. Besides my Mother, I only know of one other woman I can count on for anything...and that's my beautiful sister. I thank God for her everyday.

My sister is a Leap Year baby, but celebrated her birthday this year on March 1st. I made her a beautiful turquoise cabochon ring, and she's yet to take it off! LOL That makes me happy! :D She's been making polymer clay beads and working with leather, and she gave me this very pretty bracelet....just because.



 Purple and green...my favorite colors!

Yep, it's good....No, it's GREAT to have a sister!!! :-D

I'm back!

It's been a very trying time for my family lately. It.still is, but I'm back home....at least for a little while. I would love to share everything that's happened in the past month, but there are certain individuals that look/stalk my blog. It's really a shame too. It leaves me scratching my head wondering why they would want to know what I'm up to when they have clearly moved on with their "new" family. Oh well, what's a person to do...

Anyway, I came home to find out that I was the lucky winner of this awesome jewelry book from AllFreeJewelryMaking.com. YaY!!! :D

"New Dimensions in Bead and Wire Jewelry"

I can't believe how fast it arrived in my mailbox! I absolutely love it!

It's so great to have won this book! The timing is perfect too, because I've been trying my hand at making wire rings. My first ring turned out really good, so I kept it for myself. I've got some great comments on it too. My Mom and sister are anxiously waiting for me to make one...or two for them. lol

 Here's a pair of earrings. I love how unique they are!

 Another pair of earrings. SO cute and dangly too!

This necklace is gorgeous! The photos are amazing, and the steps are very easy to follow.

A shot of the back of the book.
You can read more about this awesome book here. The author is Margot Potter. Check out her website for all of her fabulous books and products. If you're looking for jewelry inspiration, free ebooks, giveaways, and other DIY ideas, go to AllFreeJewelryMaking.com.

"Have a beautiful day and thanks for reading."

Sharing & Supporting Handmade

A few of my jewelry pieces are featured among some beautiful handcrafted items on etsy right now, and I feel like sharing. If something catches your eye, just click on the photo collages and/or the titles of the collections to learn more. Enjoy!

"Follow Your Heart"

Curated by: Flowerchild Designs on etsy.

 

"Give All To Love"

Curated by: Unique Visions by Jen on etsy.

 

"To Know by Heart"

Curated by: Overlook on etsy.

 

My heartfelt thanks to these talented etsy shop owners for taking the time to make these gorgeous collections and for including my jewelry. :)

 

~Get One Of A Kind Items by Supporting Handmade~



New Valentines Day Jewelry

Valentine's Day is coming and I've been making these fun necklaces. The pendants are collage images sealed with glass domes. I started working with glass tiles/domes last year. It's really fun....and very addicting! ;)

psst...I decided to keep the necklace on the end (far right side.) It spoke to me..well actually, it sang to me (lol) because I love music! :D

You can use collage images, a picture from a magazine or even a photo. I used scrapbooking paper for the necklace I decided to keep.

I'll be listing these necklaces to my etsy shop this week, along with some new bracelets too.

I forgot I bought these heart chandeliers sometime last year. I don't know why it took me so long to make earrings with them! They adorn beautiful blue opal swarovski crystals. If you want to see more pictures of them, just click on the photo.

 

Thanks for taking a peek at my blog.

Have a wonderful day!



Meet Ayden

"Ayden Lucas Abel"

7lbs.- 1oz & 19" long.

 

A few hours ago today, Saturday-Dec. 29, 2012, this little adorable bundle of joy arrived at 1:15pm. His name is Ayden, and he has made our family SO SO SO happy!

 

He made a first time Grandmother out of my oldest niece, a first time Daddy to my oldest Great nephew, a first time Great Grandmother to my sweet sister, a first time Great Great Grandmother to my beautiful Mom, a first time Uncle to my 2nd Great Nephew, a lot of first time Great Aunts and Uncles to some of my neices and nephews, and lastly...he made me a first time Great Great Aunt. That's a lot of "1st's" and a lot of "Greats!"  What a Great Great family we are! :-D

"Happy Birthday Ayden!"



Pantone's Color for 2013 is...

Emerald!

 

"Lively. Radiant. Lush… A color of elegance and beauty
that enhances our sense of well-being, balance and harmony."

 

Pantone is the global authority on color. They inspire artists of all kinds all over the world. You can read all about the 2013 color of the year here on Pantone's website.

This is for anyone out there stuggling...whether it's with weight loss, a failed relationship, a new beginning or even health issues. After you watch this video, you will be inspired. It inspired me and so I decided to share it with you.

Wishing all my friends and family a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Moose Sighting

Last week, I took a drive to Spirit Lake, Idaho with my hubby. Even though it was a rainy wet day, we just wanted to get away and go for a drive. We both love Idaho...and we live so close that it only takes 15 minutes to drive to the state line. Spirit Lake is a little bit farther away though, but so worth the drive.

The mountains were so beautiful that day! I love when the fog drapes over them like a blanket...it's like looking at a 3D painting.

I've lived in the Northwest for a long time, but I had never seen a moose. I know....sounds crazy, huh? I've seen all kinds of other wildlife, even a few bears, but last week, I finally got to see not just one moose, but a family of moose! A mama moose with her two babies! I was so excited....I felt like a little kid seeing santa clause for the first time. lol! I'm sure some people think they're funny looking and not so pretty to look at, but I think they're beautiful creatures. The mama was very protective of her babies and rightly so. They were only about one year old.

As I was sitting (safely) inside our truck, I kept talking to the mama. She just kept glaring at me with this look on her beautiful face like I was some deranged human that had never seen a friggin moose before! LOL!

This one's a little blurry due to the rain and me using my super zoom feature. She was stunning and her babies were so cute. Seeing the moose was so great! In fact, the entire day was great! On our way home, we made a stop at my sister and her hubby's place. We laughed so much and had a wonderful visit. My sister is an amazing strong woman. My brother-in-law is one lucky man...plus he's pretty amazing himself.  All in all, my moose sighting, scenic Idaho drive, and family visit turned out to be a very good and memorable day. :-D

Baking time

Fall weather is definitely here! The leaves are changing into the most glorious colors...and falling big time, especially in my backyard. My home is surrounded by trees, which I absolutely love, but raking them is not my favorite thing to do. Thank goodness we are replacing our old leaf blower with a brand new one tomorrow!

Anyway...back to the Fall season. When Fall arrives, I go into major baking mode. I love baking breads, pies and all kinds of yummy treats! Makes my house smell good too! ;) Since I'm busy making jewelry today, I wanted to bake something yummy but simple. So I searched my Pinterest board, "In My Kitchen" and found the perfect treat, "Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie."

Melissa from No. 2 Pencil shared this cookie recipe on Tidy Mom, and I'm SO happy she did! :)

Cookie mixture spread into one of my cast iron skillets. Ready to bake and fill my home with the most wonderful smell.

"WAALLAA!"...20 minutes later, and it's done. I'm sure it's going to tastes as good as it looks and smells! I love how easy it was to make! The recipe calls for semi-sweet chocolate chips, but I used Reese's chocolate chips. If you want to try your hand at making this yummy cookie, click HERE for the recipe. Be sure to leave a comment and thank Melissa for sharing her delish recipe. Make sure you have lots of milk too....you're gonna need it!  ;)

I'm having a sale

I'm so happy today is "officially" the 1st day of Fall! I just love this time of the year and everything it brings. Time for cooler weather, leaves changing colors, hot chocolate, apple cider, Halloween and Thanksgiving and some good ole pumpkin pie. ;) 

To celebrate this magical season, I'm having a 3 day sale. Starting today, receive 20% off your entire order with the coupon code, "FALL2012." The sale includes all jewelry pieces in my shop, including my newest pieces and any new jewelry added during the sale.

 

Sale ends Mon.- Sept. 24th @ 11:59pm (PDT)

"Brenda's Jewellry Box"

"Happy Fall"



A September Treasury

Anthony from ArtHarmony sent me a sweet convo earlier today telling me that my coral rose ring is included in this stunning treasury.

"September Finds"

Isn't it striking?! I'm honored to be in it so I just had to share it. By the way, ArtHarmony is filled with gorgeous polymer clay jewelry. You will want to check it out for sure!

If you want to learn more about each item in the treasury, just click on the title and/or the treasury photo..

"Thank You Anthony"

my brother's birthday

My brother, Robert, would be turning 54 today. He passed away when he was 50...just 3 months shy of his 51st birthday. He died way too young. He left behind two beautiful daughters....one that was the apple of his eye and one that he never got to know. He also left behind his Mother, an older brother, 2 sisters (including me), lots of neices and nephews and distant cousins and Aunts.

In honor of Robert's birthday, some of us are getting together for the meteor shower later tonight. The peak of the 2012 Perseid Meteor Shower is here. This will be a great way to celebrate Robert's birthday. I know he would love it! In fact, he will probably be right there with us watching it all.

Happy Birthday Robert!

You are missed SO much! You will forever be in our hearts.

Earrings for my Mom

Last Sunday, Aug. 5th, was my Mom's birthday. She looks young for her age, which by the way is 82. She has always looked younger, and thankfully, it runs in the family. **wink-wink** I made peridot gemstone earrings for her last year, since her birthstone is peridot. It's my birthstone too, as I was born 3 days before her birthday. I put peridot chips inside sterling silver round bezels and sealed them with epoxy resin. They turned out so beautiful and sparkly! I forgot to take pictures though. Oh well...

This is my Mom when she was 18.

I was going to make my Mom a bracelet or a necklace this year, but I decided on another pair of earrings when I found my vermeil teardrops. I got them from a friend a few years back and completely forgot about them. I made a necklace using one of the drops as part of the focal and it ended up getting published in the Jan. 2009 issue of Bead Trends. That was my 1st publication. I was on cloud nine for a long time! lol Anyway...I had 2 of the vermeil drops left, but I put them away and never used them. Now that I think about it...I think I was waiting for the right time to create with them. And this time I took pictures. ;)

And here they are! I paired the vermeil drops with antique bronze filigree cones that I bought from my friend, Cairn @ OverstockOutlet. The filigree cones are stunning! They look like they were made for the drops. I made the earwires with 14K gold wire (20ga) and hammered them only a little around the curves.

I'm super happy with the earrings, and my Mom is too. She even went as far as to send me a "thank you" card. That made my day! She was absolutely thrilled with them, and I'm so happy about that. I'm even more happier knowing I put a smile on her beautiful face on her special day. :)