Thanksgiving Eve

....and the lucky winner of the November issue of Bead Trends is.....quiltingjewel39...please send me an email with your mailing address so I can send out your issue right out.

Here we are Thanksgiving eve, I am sure most of us are either traveling or cooking. I am cooking, the house smells wonderful! We will be spending the day with our neighbor family....the second best thing since we live away from all of our families.  I hope everyone has a blessed day and that you are able to spend it with someone you love.

"Remember God's bounty in the year. String the pearls of His favor. Hide the dark parts, except so far as they are breaking out in light! Give this one day to thanks, to joy, to gratitude!"
[Henry Ward Beecher]

Bead Trends Giveaway

 I just received my package from Bead Trends and was wowed by the cover...the turquoise pail and sand are perfect for July and the lampwork earrings by Tracy Gonzales just gorgeous! There are so many great projects in this issue especially the crochet necklace by Sharon Borsavage...this is really just wonderful and so creative. You also do not want to miss The designer highlight who is Cherrie Fick, she shares her love of nature in all of her wonderful designs. Don't you just want this issue? Well.... Seeing that I just love to share I would like to give a way a July issue of Bead Trends to one lucky blog reader and to another lucky person the pair of earrings "Midnight Dance" that  I have on page 41. Yes, that's right two winners! 

 Ok, now to all the fine print...(1) Become a follower of this blog and leave me a comment telling me what type of jewelry you wear everyday. Is there something you just can not leave the house without? 

(2) Hop on over to my JudithBDesigns Facebook Fan page and be one of my friends. Your name will go in the proverbial hat for each entry, just let me know what you did.  Giveaway ends on Saturday at 12noon. 

Ok dokey...good luck!

Bud's a new man!

I started this post three days ago and my hard drive died...I am back in business thanks to my son Nick. Luckily I was able to salvage the most important things but did loose the rest.

I have been busy getting my display props ready for my first show of the season.  I had purchased this vintage store display I call "Bud" about a month ago. You may remember him from this post. Well Bud finally got his makeover.

 I started with decoupaging vintage sheet music to his fiberglass form,

and then put a white wash of acrylic paint all over the paper. Thanks so much Renate for that suggestion. I am very pleased with the simple look.

Although Bud is still a little "manly" I think he will work great displaying my long necklaces. 

Prior to the demise of my hard drive I posted about a giveaway I am having. I am extending the giveaway until Tuesday May 24th. Y'all still have plenty of time to enter to win these fabulous antique mother of pearl buttons.

Hop on over HERE to enter!

Friendship and a MOP Button Giveaway

I teased y'all about my button stash a few posts backed, but since have decided to share a few pictures of the gargantuan carved mother of pearl buttons I have. These beauties measure a whopping 2 inches across, surely the largest I have ever seen! 

These are sure nice to look at and hold in your hand. Each one is unique with its carvings and irregularity that only mother of pearl can have. 

"BEE A GOOD FRIEND"

Was created from some small mother of pearl buttons, used as dangles on a vintage chain along with old glass beads.  I also used a brass medallion that was once used on an old dresser, this piece is the platform for another button and silver bee. A vintage dictionary definition is forever preserved in resin dangles below and gently reminds us what a friend is.  

When you move this piece the sound is like seashells rolling in with the tide...so fitting for the old shell buttons. 

You can find Bee a good friend here.   

 So tell me what does it mean to be a good friend? Has someone been a really good friend to you? Or have you been a true friend to someone...pat yourself on the back and tell us about it. Good friendships are inspirational. Share!

By sharing your story your name will be entered to win some of my fabulous buttons....post to Facebook and tell me about it and you get another entry, the same with Twitter and so on. Share the love and so will I!! 

Giveaway will end  on May 25th and the lucky winner will be posted on Wednesday May 26th.
(I changed the original end date,due to computer issues)

Here's the loot you can win!!

The largest button measures 1 1/2" across.

Share your stories with us!

Bead Trends and a Giveaway

 

The March issue of Bead Trends is out and as usual the pictures are just wonderful! I am fortunate to have two pieces in this issue. One piece is called Cerulean, I created it with antique glass beads, (they look like turquoise but are not) and a handmade pendant.

The other piece is a bracelet called Bayberry, I created this piece with a pendant focal from LeAnn of SummerStudios as well as smoky quartz and  fancy jasper rounds.

...and now on to the giveaway portion of our program.
To all my very wonderful readers and new bead soup friends I would like to offer you a chance to win the March issue of Bead Trends magazine. All you have to do is stop by my facebook page,say hi and become a friend. I will pick a random winner on Tuesday morning. 

 Ok, dokey... see you in FB land.

Open Heart and a nice little giveaway

Now its your turn, I have a nice giveaway just for being you! A Valentine treat. The kind folks at CSN stores has generously offered me a $35 gift certificate to give to one of my lucky readers.CSN Stores has over 200 online stores where you can find everything from a stylish swing set to cute cookware to chic lighting pieces! It is a great time to stock up on office supplies, yes they have those too! Need a new table for your shows,you can find it here too!

 

No hoops to jump through just leave me a comment with your email address. If you would like to share this post leave another comment letting me know. The lucky winner will be picked on Saturday Feb.12th.

Good luck my friends!

~~~~~~~~~~ 

a little something I made yesterday...

Open Heart

keep your heart open to give and receive.

I also stamped the back with a sweet little leaf pattern. Reversible earrings...hmmm who would have thought.

You can find these in my Etsy shop.

  

***CSN products can  be shipped to US and Canada only***

My Fingers are Crossed

"As with the Sign of the Cross, the Fingers Crossed action is used when the person feels the need for good luck, courage or protection". 

Tomorrow I am looking for all of the above...I am having surgery tomorrow as some of you know I was recently diagnosed with Ulcerative Melanoma. A large area on my right leg will be removed and a skin graph will also be done. I am praying my lymph nodes will be clear of the disease. So, I will be away from blog land for a bit. Thanks to everyone for all of your prayers and good wishes, it means so much to me having this wonderfully supportive network of such great friends.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

...and before I forget I want to congratulate "TopHat" for winning my sweet little giveaway. Please send along your address and I will make sure you get your little gift. 

Love My Art Jewelry Giveaway

If you have not checked out this new blog "Love My Art Jewelry" you really should! It is the collaboration of several extremely talented gals...creating handmade with handmade. In celebration of Mary Jane's birthday (one of the talented artists) Mary Jane has created a gorgeous pair of earrings. Be sure to hop on over to the LMAJ blog and sign up to win.

The Proverbial Hat Winner

Why of all days did Random.org give me a problem...somehow I could not get into my account. No problem...we always  have the proverbial hat...and the winner is.......Ashley of  Rookieyearforanewmom. I have your email so I will be getting in touch with you. Many thanks to all who entered, and to all of my new facebook fans and blog followers.

Love is All you Need Giveaway

 I breathed a song into the air....

henry wadsworth longfellow

Yesterday I was attempting to do some etching, I needed some more bead caps and had lots of discs all ready to go.I had purchased new muriatic acid and peroxide and had a nice new mix to etch with. What went wrong? I only wish I knew...not one darn thing got an etch on it. At first I checked it every 15 minutes, nothing, then...another half hour, hour, 2 hours...nothing! When the etching fails the discs of metal will not etch again... I have tried it. So now I have blank discs that I can not etch with, but who wants boring plain disks? I can't throw anything out so my lemons made lemonade. I made little pendants that I stamped, hammered, oxidized and domed, they are soooo cute! They range in size from 3/4" to 1". 

 These little necklaces look so great layered! I think I will wear a different one each day!

You can find these in my Etsy shop.

When I was making these I thought why not give one away to one of my wonderful followers...you folks are so wonderful and supportive and deserve a little love.

"Love is all you need"

1" copper pendant with turquoise bead strung on a vintage chunky copper ball chain.

To enter all you have to do is:

1. Become a Follower of my Blog and or

2. Become a Facebook fan 

3. Tweet this giveaway

4. Post this giveaway on your blog

Tell me what you did and I will put your name into the proverbial hat for each posting. Thanks so much for getting the love around! I will pick one lucky winner on Tuesday Sept.7th. Good luck!

Something Special Just For You Giveaway!!

To celebrate my wonderful readers, I have a wonderful giveaway...something just for you!

Check out all these fabulous items everything from shoes, clocks, cookware,LED lighting to furniture and everything in between. The fine folks at CSN have been so kind to offer a $60 gift certificate to one of my readers. You can use this gift-certificate on any one of their 200 web sites!

If you would like to enter this giveaway all you have to do is enter a comment on what you would like to shop for with your gift certificate.

Additional entries will be counted if you blog, twitter or Facebook about the giveaway, it is as easy as that! A winner will chosen by Random.org on Monday am June 14th, Good luck!