Barbara's Big Book Bead Giveaway Celebration

A few weeks ago when I was up in Philly for Bead Fest Wire I had one of the best days ever sitting in the Painting with Fire workshop by Barbara Lewis and her torching & training team/family.  I was a little scared to go bigger than my little butane torch so a little MAP gas tank was overwhelming at first...but, after a few hours there in front of it spinning my own enameled goodness, I was in love!  I now have the torch at home, have only burned one whole in the carpet, and am scheduled for another class with Barbara in July.


Enough about that...this post is about one of Barbara's big successes and a giveaway she's offering on her blog to help celebrate.  Her brand new book called "Torch-Fired Enamel Jewelry: A Workshop in Painting with Fire" just got listed for pre-orders on Amazon!  I can't even imagine the thrill of seeing all that hard work out there for anyone to see.

And here are the beads you can win--picture these in any color you love!  Check out Barbara's blog for more details.

Plus, be ready for later on when the book's released...I'm going to be a part of a design team working with some of the projects and techniques in the book to really show off the drama!

Art Bead Scene: Beads 2011 Giveaway

I have to post about this giveaway because I want another chance to win it, but I don't necessarily want anyone else to join it because I am seriously coveting the big prize and don't want to decrease my chances...what a dilemma!  haaaaaaaaaaa  


The Art Bead Scene editor, Ms. Erin Prais-Hintz, has gathered bits and baubles from tons of artists and businesses featured in the recently released Beads 2011 and is having a huge giveaway!

I have a copy of this issue sitting right here in my living room and the corners are dog-eared because I spent a lot of time looking for my friends and favorite artists who I've met through blogging in there.  Luckily I found a ton of them who I already buy from on a regular basis....
- Suebeads is Sue Kennedy from Pittsburgh.  Since she's a fellow Pennsylvania girl, we've gotten to know each other with lots of bead sharing and tips, ideas, and inspiration.
- Shaterra Clay Studio has some luscious pieces and she actually just put a bunch of new goodies in her Etsy shop.  (I have to make a little note here because I just almost cramped up laughing...I put "shaterra.blogspot.com" into my navigating line and when the results came up the post at the top said, "I'm looking for cartoon characters having sex." Apparently this wasn't Sharleen's blog! haaaaaaaaaaaa)
- Summers Studio ceramics are always lovely...and really show off her style.
- Heather from Humblebeads showed off her latest components...she's been adding new things to her polymer clay line like crazy!
- Elaine Ray beads are a fave of mine...I tend to hoard them, though, rather than use them.


I know this isn't a complete list, but I have to go to work eventually.  I was there until almost midnight trying to analyze data and figure out how the Air Force's civilian hiring controls are going to affect all of our units.  With about 10K positions out there and just about as many civilians filling them, it was a bit of a challenge.  Gotta get back to it!

Blue Giveaway Winner!

Okay, so I was supposed to pick a winner on Monday.  I have a good excuse as to why I forgot...my husband's home!  Having him back threw my normal world into a little bit of a spin, so the beads and blog and all that took a back seat.  I'll write more about him and some of the wonderful things he sent me throughout the year--think shiny and faceted!

Anyway...the blues are headed to

Kate

from Tropical Blonde

Awesome graphic from Kate's blog!

I used the random number generator to pick.

Kate says she has a bunch of sari ribbon on the way, too, so I can't wait to see what she comes up with. 

Plus, I browsed around her blog a bit and found lots of cool polymer clay beads and bangles and baubles!

BTW: Blue Bead Bunch Giveaway

Bead Table Wednesday means a Bead Table Clearing Giveaway!!

My color of the month has been blue. 

It has been a good color for me, as you'll see in my Bead Soup post on Saturday, but I have been a bit too busy to dig in appropriately and get some blue goods dones or bits of blue beads listed in my Etsy shop.

So, since I gathered this big bunch of blues, I'm sharing with you!!!

It's just one big stash--no splitsies this time.  There are things I've gotten in other giveaways that I'm sharing plus lots of my own random finds.  

Recycled glass, felt, resin, trade beads, lampwork glass, polymer clay, ceramic, vintage glass, stone, crystal, pearl...there has to be at least $100 worth of beads in here and I'm not really even scratching the surface in my blue bead drawers.

The handmade beads that I can identify are from...

Lisa Stevens at Seaurchin ceramics

HMB Studios lampwork glass

Marsha Neal Studio

Everything in here is good...all things I would use myself, if I actually made time to make stuff.  There are even some of my own polymer clay pieces in there.

I'll randomly select a name from the comments on this post, so if you don't have a blog, please leave your address so I can track you down to send you the goods.

I'll draw winners on Monday, 28 February at noon, so I look forward to hearing from you!

Whoo hoo!!!

p.s. 
I'll ship overseas if you don't happen to be here in the CONUS.  (That's Continental United States for you civilians out there...haaaaaaaaa)

Big Kitty Boy Let Me Pick Some Winners!

Brando is in his normal position, in his normal place this morning...so, when I suggested that he might want to help out with the random selection of our greenie giveaway, he gave me the uh-can't-you-see-I'm-deeply-relaxed-right-now look. 

So, I took it upon myself to use the random number generator and came up with some goodness.  The greenie bead selections are going to:

36 - Rebecca - sharing beady love on her Songbeads blog--
she's recently celebrated some publishing, too!  In the U.K. magazine Beads and Beyond!

48 - Sylvia from WindyRiver - welcome back from vacation! 

and I'm so excited to have time to relax today and think beads and blogging that a little extra bit is going to go out to:

21- Cenya of Emerald Window who has some very fun photography going on!!!

I have been missing my bead blogging friends with the job transition, so I'm thrilled that we were able to get a little interaction this week.  THANK YOU for the overwhelming responses!

Hugs from the kitty boys and I in Virginia on his hot and sunny Sunday afternoon!!

Jen

(lover of exclamation points!  haaaaaaaaaaaaaa)

A Greenie Bead Giveaway!

Big kitty boy, Brando, my one-eyed honey, and I were sitting around this afternoon thinking about  new projects.  I told him that I really wanted to blog this afternoon.  He says, "Why don't you celebrate your big magazine achievements with a giveaway?"  Great idea, buddy!

I decided to dig through my stash and go with a green theme because the pieces in Stringing have green influences.  I started the bunch below with simple cut aquamarine nuggets, turquoise-colored resin disks, and recycled glass that's featured in those necklaces.

Then, I just started addingfrom the green drawer.  Let's see...on the stone side, there's prehnite, turtle turquoise, dyed bright green magnesite, ocean jasper, crazy lace agate, and green garnet and probably some other bits.  I threw in some felted beads, recycled glass, vintage glass and Czech glass.  On the handmade side, there's a pretty Artisan Clay ceramic link, a recycled bottle ring from Art by the Case, a sparkly glass green bead from Linden Avenue Designs, and a funky recycled glass bead by HMB Studios.  Oh, and there are polymer clay pendants that I made, too.  :)

I broke everything into two little boxes as the pile got high, so I'll pick two winners.

Help me celebrate having seven pieces published this summer and win some greenie bead nerd goodness!!

 All you have to do is leave a comment and tell me what your favorite color is to work with.  I always tend towards orange, or I thought so, until I realized how much green I have!

I'll randomly select two names from my commentators, so if you don't have a blog, please leave your address so I can track you down to send you the goods. Plus, if you blog about the giveaway, leave me a comment and I'll give you another shot in the drawing!

I'll draw winners on Sunday, 18 July at noon, so I look forward to hearing from you!

Whoo hoo!!!

The "My Muse" Giveaway

I love Heather Pyle's simple blog title:  "My Muse." 

It's such a great little word.

Let me quote her:  "We all need creativity and beauty in our lives and I am happy to be living my life with my inner eyes wide open."

But, what I love even more are the great beads she's offering in a giveaway:  My Muse Giveaway

Here's a pic of the fronts:

Two-sided flower beads by Heather Pyle of Aquariart

And, if you want to see more of Heather's work, check out her Flickr photo group...there is some really cool stuff!  She's a multi-media kind of girl...sewing, photography, and clay are just a sampling of the things she works with.  There's a great variety in her Etsy shop, too! 

Even if you're not a bead person, you'll still get inspiration from her jewelry and fiber designs.

A Lovely Discovery With a Chance to Have a Piece Of It

I've had a final exam to work on since noon yesterday and have about a half a page of notes.  Nice.  I have been doing a lot of "thinking" about the topic, though, so that has to count for something.  It's all about cultural divisions of humankind which then makes me think about people and differences and war and peace and love and hate and then I lose focus on the six pages I'm supposed to write on.  During some of my "thinking" (which is what I was doing when I wasn't "napping" haaaaaaaa) I decided to do some googling around for cultural inspiration and found may way here to the land of creative blogs.  Among friends and family and artists from near and far I've found a cultural phenomenon that I'm happy to be a part of.  :)  But, to the point...my discovery.  I went to Cindy's Sweet Bead Studio blog because she enticed me with a title about digital art.  Even more to the point, the lovely discovery was Susan Tuttle.  She's a multi-media artist who has shared her love and skill of digital art in tons of publications and through on-line courses to name a couple of sources.  Most importantly, though, she's just published a book called Digital Expressions that's now available a Amazon.

I'm thrilled about finding the book, but Susan's blog has so many fantastic pieces of artwork.  I just love it!!  In the spirit of all things orange, here's a sample of her work:

So, your chance to have a piece of my discovery?  Susan's having a giveaway!  Click on the link to get more information on a chance to get a copy of Digital Expressions.

Oh, and wish me luck on getting six more pages done this evening.  :)

Doreen's Backyard Beads First Etsy Customer!

I love my morning coffee and blog reading...plus, when there's an opportunity to shop and support a friend, it's even better!  This morning I was thrilled to find Doreen's blog post announcing her new etsy shop!!

Go see....go see:  Doreen's Backyard Beads.  Plus, there's even a giveaway on her blog !  Who doesn't love some free beads!! (Okay, there are probably readers who don't understand what a bead need does to a person, but most of you do!! haaaaaaaaa)

Of course I went to see right away and since I'm only on cup of coffee number two, I had plenty of time to ogle her latest polymer clay coolness...and be the first customer!!!!  Whoo hoo!!!!  Thanks, Doreen, for helping me start the day right...spending money on beads!  haaaaaaaaaaaaaa

So, now that cup number two's almost done, I have to get ready for school.  Today I'm working with my class (there are twelve of us in my "home room") to plan a pretend war based on a pretend scenario using the "official" planning process.  Luckily there are some smart folks in the room who can help me figure out what's going on! 

Congrats, again, Doreen!  Have a great "grand opening" week!!!!  Wish me luck on my war planning!  haaaaaaaa

Jen

Carnival Bead Winners!

Hi friends! Thanks for the enthusiastic responses to my giveaway last week! It's all a part of the Art Bead Scene's Carnival postings...just this month was "Beginnings." The funniest thing is that this giveaway is the beginning of a major shopping adventure for me...plus, I'm so inspired by all the different and amazing artisans out there!!

First, I'll tell you about the winners of these great Lisa New bead sets:

1. Orangy flowers: SharonP at Sharon's Jewelry Garden

2. Bluesy: Lisa Stevens at C-Urchin Ceramic Jewellery and Sculpture

3. Turquoise & orange: Greenbead Designs

4. Pink lemonade: Doreen at Backyard Beads

I'll get in touch with the winners via email or blog and get these mailed out ASAP!

Now, secondly, I accrued a wonderful list of artists, sculptors, bead makers, artisans, crafters, and bead mavens...so I'm going to post a series of resource lists in the coming week. They'll be broken down into categories, just for easy of posting, but there are an AMAZING array of beads and bead-related goodies out there so I hope you enjoy the lists!

Thanks!

Jen

It's a Carnival Bead Giveaway!!

It's officially Art Bead Scene Carnival time so as promised on my Beginnings post a few days ago, it's time for a bit of a giveaway! No cotton candy or free ride tickets here, but I do have some great glass beads to share. Lisa New's beads helped start my passion for handmade glass, so I want to give a little of that fun to you!

There are four different sets, so there'll be four different winners....

And, not only are there Lisa's beads, I've rounded out the selections with some bits from HMB Studios, Linden Avenue Designs, and Blue Heeler Glass. There's also a really cool ceramic bead (the big blue one) that I got from a guy at a craft show in North Carolina and I don't know his name because he talked so much I couldn't ask! haaaaaaaaa

How can you get some of these goodies? All you have to do is leave a comment and tell me who your favorite bead artists are...and if you are a bead artist, then make sure you share the love! Feel free to include links to websites or etsy shops of the beads you love...or that you make yourself!!

I'll randomly select four names from my commentators, so if you don't have a blog, please leave your address so I can track you down to send you the goods. Plus, if you blog about my Carnival giveaway, leave me a comment and I'll give you another shot in the drawing!

I'll draw numbers on Sunday, 20 February (I meant the 21st...haaaaaaaa nice, it took a week for someone to realize I don't have a calendar!! haaaaaa)...enjoy the Carnival!!!