Summer Design Contest from Happy Mango Beads

I found Happy Mango Beads through an advertisement in a bead magazine and was thrilled at the selection of exotic beads they carry from far-a-way lands. They have ancient beads and modern day beads, the store is a history lesson on beads!

Some of the purchases I made from them resulted in this memorable necklace, using a handcrafted brass face mask and recycled sandcast glass beads from Ghana in West Africa.

Happy Mango Beads is now sponsoring a beading contest and the theme is 'Songs of Summer'

You must hurry as the contest deadline is August 6, 2010. The categories that you can enter in are as follows:

Summertime Blues  - all shades of blue

Under the Sea – seashells, coral, pearls, fish

California Sun – yellows that feel like sunshine, touches of orange and red

Hot Fun in the Summertime – fun & funky!

Kokomo – a tropical flare using colors such as: lime, aqua, hot pink, orange or coconut wood

Saturday in the Park – green grass, leaves, blue/green ponds, specks of floral

Rocky Mountain High – nature inspired, gemstones

Under the Boardwalk – wood, recycled glass

Summer in the City – metals, glass, ceramic

Tiptoe through the Tulips – think flowers! 

That pretty much covers every creative avenue, and you do not have to use beads purchased from Happy Mango Beads!

The overall winner gets a $100 gift certificate to Happy Mango Beads, while winners of each category get a $25.00 gift certificate to be used at the store. Check out the contest rules and lets get beading!

Christmas in July

The Child Abuse Council of Hillsborough County, FL is holding their fund raising event 'Christmas in July' tomorrow Friday July, 23 from 6 - 9 pm at the Child Abuse Council's Baby Bungalow at 3106 W Azeele St. in Tampa. The event includes a Silent Auction and Taste of Tampa Bay. It is for a worthy cause, I have heard the testimonies from the children they help, it is heart breaking! The organization is a private, non-profit agency that provides programs to prevent, educate and treat children and strengthen families.

This is the second year that I have participated in this event with a donation of a piece of jewelry for their Silent Auction. I wanted to show you the piece I donated this year.

The necklace is made of lime green chalk turquoise smooth nuggets, one larger asymmetrically placed red coral nugget and all the beads are separated by tiny red coral round beads. I finished it with some sterling silver chain and trigger clasp and a pair of matching earrings. I think this necklace is so summery and christmassy at the same time and so Florida! 

I hope they get some good bids and raise lots of money.

You can check the Child Abuse Council out on Facebook if you want to know more about the work they do.

A Gift from the SuperNicePeople

The SuperNicePeople at HipChickBeads.com sent me an email and asked that I share it with my friends, so here it is... a coupon for free shipping ... for a limited time!

How can you go wrong with a group that call themselves SuperNicePeople!

Happy Shopping!

Use the Code

NOSHIPPINGFEE

when you shop at www.HipChickBeads.com on the checkout page

Hurry, this offer ends midnight Tuesday, July 20, 2010.

The Chihuly Collection in St. Petersburg, Florida

This weekend the spectacular and colorful glass sculptures of the world renowned artist Dale Chihuly comes to town. The Morean Art Center, in St. Petersburg. FL is providing a home for an exhibition -The Chihuly Collection- which opened today. This will be the only permanent museum collection of Dale Chihuly's glass art.

The Chihuly Collection will be housed in a building specifically designed (by architect Albert Alfonso) so that the architecture enhances the artworks. Each room and exhibit space has been designed to complement the glass work to provide visitors with a unique visual experience. The exhibit will also include the 700 lb. Ruby Red Icicle Chandelier, created specially for this collection and a blue Chandelier donated by Joan Stonecipher from Naples, FL. Mrs. Stonecipher is said to have told her ex-husband Harry Stonecipher, the former CEO of Boeing that for her 60th birthday, she wanted a Chihuly "a women can only wear so much jewelry, but a Chihuly I can look at everyday!"

Ruby Red Icicle Chandelier

(photograph courtesy of The Morean Art Center)

The opening events were held this weekend with a premiere tour of the collection today and general admission begins tomorrow, Monday July 12. Combination tickets to this event also includes a tour of the Morean Art Center and a hot shop where visitors can watch demonstrations of glass blowing. Cool! 

I must confess, I had not much knowledge of Dale Chihuly, but the publicity surrounding this exhibit made me research and learn more about him. Dale Chihuly has certainly elevated glass blowing to a fine art! Check out his 2000 hand-blown glass blossoms Fiori di Como that adorn the ceiling of the Bellagio in Las Vegas. I have not been to Las Vegas, but a trip to see this masterpiece might be worth considering.  

The ticket prices for the opening events of the Chihuly Collection were out of my price range, but I certainly plan to see the collection and tour the hot shop. The Morean Art Center I have learnt, also conducts classes in Lampworking, Dichroic Glass, Borosilicate Glass jewelry and Metalsmithing.  Nice to know there is such a place so close to home that I can go to, when I find the time and money! 

Have a Great Weekend!

Last weekend was a rain event here in the Tampa Bay area, this weekend promises to be sunny, and even cooler than many parts of the Northeast USA!

No matter where or what your plans....

at the beach....

or in your backyard....

Or if you plan to do some beading, check out the discount coupon to Artbeads.com that is valid though the end of July.

Enjoy the weekend!

I Love Artbeads! Don't you?

As many of you already know, I am a Design Partner with Artbeads.com and today I received an exclusive discount code that I can share with all my fellow bloggers and friends.

This discount code allows you to take advantage of a 10% discount on all purchases until July 31, 2010.
Here is the magic code!

SCF10P-ARTBEADS-0125


Combine this with the 4th of July BLOWOUT SALE they have going on now, with prices slashed on over 1000 items and we are talking about some serious savings.

Happy Bead Shopping!

Have a Safe and Happy 4th of July!
Enjoy!

Disclosure: As part of the Design Partner program I have received free of charge beads/supplies from Artbeads.com to be reviewed. All they ask in return is my honest opinion.  I am not being paid by Artbeads.com for endorsements and/or reviews.

Thornton's Thursday Treasure

 Check out the thursday treasure that is being given away by Andrew Thornton.

This week he is giving away to one lucky blogger a copy of Kate McKinnon's book and DVD 'Sculptural Metal Clay Jewelry'. Wow!

You can read all about the book in Andrew's book review,
and check out some of Kate McKinnon's amazing jewelry at her website.
She even has room in her upcoming class for Metal Clay in Tucson, AZ in November!

All you have to do to win is to hop on over to his blog and post a comment.

If you write about it again in your blog, or facebook, or other social networking site you get your name in the hat again. Just make sure you let him know about it.
Good Luck, but I hope I win this one!

AND THE LUCKY WINNER IS....

THANK YOU, everyone for all your lovely comments.

I, like everyone else who took part in the Bead Soup Party, had a wonderful time. I have visited almost all of the blogs and was amazed at the awesome collection of jewelry created for this party. I still have a few blogs to visit and will do so in the next few days. We have been having terribly strong thundershowers and lightning almost every afternoon/evening this past few days, and sitting at a computer is not something I like to do in the middle of such a storm.

Tonight, using the random number generator I chose the lucky winner of this pair of earrings made from beads given to me by my bead soup partner Missficklemedia, Shannon.

52 wonderful people stopped by to comment and the one lucky winner is

RockerJewlz

Congratulations!

Please email me your address and I will mail your prize to you.
I leave for a 4th of July Family Reunion on Friday, so I will get the earrings in the mail to you on my return.

Thank you again, Lori, Shannon and all of the bead soup party-goers.
Looking forward to the next Bead Soup Party!
Have a great weekend and a Happy 4th of July to all!

Now, it is my turn!

What a great weekend it has been. 

Lori Anderson of Pretty Things and event coordinator, had this great idea to extend the Bead Soup Party over an 8 day period allowing us to visit with all of the 97 bloggers who took part in the second bead swap party. I have been blog hopping since Saturday, and then again on Sunday having a wonderful time. On weekdays, my day time job gets in the way, but I get back to blog hopping in the evenings!

It has been great to be able to stop and savor the unique soups of all my fellow cooks, and now it is my turn.....

As you already know, Missficklemedia, Shannon is my bead soup swap partner, and here is what she sent me...

Please check my previous posting for the delightful details of the goodies I received from her.

After I recovered from my swoon, I could not take my eyes off the glorious Shibuichi clasp from Green Girl Studios and the stunning Artistic Jasper focal.  I saw it in my dreams. I wanted to capture the warmth and grandeur of the clasp and the beauty and richness of the jasper in my necklace. So I searched my stash of beads and found wine red burgundy freshwater pearls, both round and horizontal stick shaped, then some dark bronzy green round freshwater pearls. I decided to use these darker jewel-tones in my necklace, and here it is....

I also threw in some hand-cut faceted Garnets for an additional sparkle.

And some bronze chain to one side.

The clasp had to come out front, I was not hiding it in the back.

I hope you like it! I am very pleased, no, I am thrilled with it.

Thank you Shannon.

Shannon reveals her creations, yes she made four of them on the 24th, can't wait to see them!

I am saving the other beads I received from Shannon for another time as I did not have the time to make any more pieces for this round of blogging.

But I did make a pair of earrings from some of the beads I received and I am going to give them away to one lucky blogger.

Please leave a comment on this posting and you will be entered in the drawing to win this pair of earrings to commemorate this wonderful 2nd Bead Soup Party.

The earrings are made of pink Rhodonite teardrops and rondelles, brown Chalcedony faceted rondelles and champagne colored round freshwater pearls, all dangling from gold-filled ear wires.

Good Luck and thank you for visiting.

Thank you, Lori for putting together this wonderful event.

ANNOUNCING THE WINNER!

The winner of the lot of Vintage "Twinkle Buttons" is 

Lisa of Lucid Moon Studios.

Congratulations, Lisa!

I will be in touch with you Lisa for your address to mail these out to you.

Thank you to all those who visited my blog and left a comment.

Watch for another giveaway along with the unveiling of my soup creation tomorrow June 22nd.
See you all then!

Its my turn to Giveaway - Vintage Buttons!

A few months ago my sister-in-law and her husband came down to Florida for their annual Spring vacation. They usually rent a cabin for a week or two at Long Boat Key along the Gulf Coast of Central Florida. She is a fellow beader and sells her creations at Farmer's Markets and home jewelry shows in the Seattle area, and we talk about beads, and beading, and more beads, and more beading. While she is in Florida we always try to visit a bead show in Sarasota, usually a day long buying spree, leaving the two husbands to fend for themselves.

Why am I telling you all this, well, because she found these mirror backed Vintage Buttons in a little gift shop on Long Boat Key. The owner of the shop told her that she got them from a circus family in Sarasota. Sarasota and the circus, of course. Sarasota, FL is the home of the American circus, if you are interested in reading more about the history of Sarasota and the circus, just step right up!

Here they are.... I searched online for some additional information on the type of buttons, but really did not learn much. If you know more about them, please feel free to share.

The buttons are gold tone 10 mm rounds, in fairly good condition, they have a flower filigree in front that has a mirror backing. The back is fully covered and has a 5mm high shank. There are 15 buttons in the lot. Would this be something you would be interested in?

If you would like a chance to own these buttons, you can do so my leaving a comment on my blog. Please make sure you add your name so that I can announce it should you win.

If you follow my blog, you will be entered twice, just let me know when you post a comment to make sure that I count you twice.

If you post about my Vintage Button giveaway in your blog and link back to mine, you can get your name in thrice! Just make sure you come back and leave me another comment about it.

That's a lot to ask, I know. That is why I am giving everyone time till June 20th.

International bloggers are welcome, I will get the buttons to you via USPS International Priority Mail.

I will post the winning name the evening of Monday June 21. I will ask for the winner's address at that time.

Enjoy!

Great Giveaway Goodies from Green Girl Studios

Make sure you visit Andrew Thornton's blog and get your name in for this great giveaway before the deadline on Monday June 7. He is generously giving way these five gorgeous beads from his family's famous Green Girl Studios. The beads are part of their new line of pewter beads and they will be at the Bead & Button Show in Milwaukee from June 10 to 13. If you are in the neighborhood, make sure you stop by and say hi and get yourself some of these great beads. My favorite ( if I had to pick just one) would be the baby-faced owl charm. 

I love using these Green Girl Studios charms in my jewelry designs, check out some of the ways that I used the little bird charm in a necklace and in a bracelet; and also their unique Flower Fairy pendant. I am now working with one of their Shibuichi clasps which I received from my bead swap partner Shannon and you can stop by to see this on June 18th when we have the big Bead Soup reveal. 

Have a great weekend everyone!

Soup, Shannon and Shibuichi

As some of you already know, my Bead Soup Swap Partner is Shannon LeVart aka missficklemedia. Shannon is a multi-talented lady, a wife and mom, who hosts three online shops for her wonderful creations. Her innovative and colorful jewelry components can be seen for sale at missficklemedia.com. Her unique jewelry findings are of hand forged metal and display colorful patinas, her speciality! Her finished jewelry can be found at her shops Slevart and themoonlitforest. Get to know Shannon (like I did) and her creative thoughts better by reading her blog and the interview with her at Beads of Clay. She also is one of the finalists in the Bead Star 2010 contest, check out her entries, and if you have not already voted, now is your chance.

Let me now show you what the mail man brought me from Shannon. The packaging says it all! She is comfortable creating with any medium, hence the name missficklemedia. I felt honored, and a twinge of guilt for my run of the mill packing - sending my goodies in little polythene bags. But the package was well received and she liked my selection and that is all that matters.

And inside was......
a strand of cream freshwater pearls,
some Rhodonite teardrops,
some brown Chalcedony faceted rondelles,
a grand oval focal bead of Artistic Jasper,
and the crown jewel..
a beautiful Shibuichi Sunflower and Leaf clasp from Green Girl Studios. I just about swooned...

I have shopped at Green Girl Studios for their Pewter focal beads and clasps and wondered what Shibuichi was all about. I had never heard that word before I visited GGSs. Having received this clasp, I figured now was the time to find out. Shi-bu-ichi, means one fourth (or quarter) in Japanese. Traditionally this alloy contained one fourth silver (and three fourths copper), hence the name. The Copper oxidizes and creates the beautiful patina, the silver, I understand stays pretty much unchanged. Just magnificent!

Now got to sit down to create...

Thank you, Shannon, I love my stash. Check out what she thinks of my jewelry styling (kind words, indeed) and see what I sent her at her blog. Can't wait to see what she creates! 

OMG I Won!

Got home from work and there was an email from MaryAnn saying that I was the lucky winner of her most gorgeous pendant. Yippee!

Photograph courtesy of MaryAnn

Does it not remind you of Boulder Opal or Pietersite? I love it and I cannot believe I won! I have had MaryAnn's ceramic beads on my wish list and looks like my wishes are beginning to come true!

Check out MaryAnn's wonderful array of ceramic beads at her Etsy shop it would be hard to choose which ones to buy. You can read all about her creative process in her blog. If you would like to check out the wonderful jewelry designed with MaryAnn's beads, take a look at her website.

Thank you MaryAnn.

Remember!

Memorial Day 2010

Let us...

Remember, honor and pray for those who died so that we could live free!
Remember, honor and pray for those who served so that we could live free!
Remember, honor and pray for those who serve so that we can live free!
Remember, honor and pray for their families who sacrifice so much so that we can live free!

Remember to say Thank you!