Happy Saturday at Ben Franklin

What a great day. Thanks to everyone who came to see me on Saturday at Ben Franklin. I loved meeting new beaders, hearing about projects, answering questions, and visiting with such interesting, crafty people. Don't forget to enter my giveaway!

Big Day Giveaway!

In honor of my official book launch party tomorrow, I'm giving you a chance to win big. First of all, you can pick your own prize:

A book: Absolute Beginners Guide:Stringing Beaded Jewelry
A DVD: Stringing Beaded Jewelry -- Top Techniques
Jewelry: A bracelet from the book

You can pick how you play, and increase your chances with each entry:

* Comment on this blog , and tell me about the first piece of jewelry you made.
* Link to this contest on your blog
* Become a new follower of this blog
* Review my book or DVD on Amazon

If 10 people play, I'll choose one winner. If 20 people play, I'll choose two winners, and if 30 people play, I'll give away all three prizes.

Drawing will be held on August 15. Good Luck!

Earring Giveaway -- don't forget

Don't forget to leave a comment on the Happy Spring post to be entered into a drawing for my spring-inspired earrings!

Happy Spring

Today is the first day of Spring, and after a little snowfall yesterday, we have sunny skies and warm(er) temperatures. In honor of this delightful day, I bring you my latest Artbeads creation.

When I heard the theme was "The Beauty of Spring" I went immediately to the Czech Glass and selected large bell flowers in translucent white and pink crystal. I also chose small fuchsia crystal and a blue/purple/jonquil combination. I knew balled headpins would add the detail the flowers needed. Because I would be using plain loop connections, I only needed 1 1/4" long headpins. Here's my tray of goodies before I got started:





I was going for the look of a group of naturalized flowers that had just burst forth from the ground. While we do have a few shoots peeking out from the muddy ground, we're still about a month away from flowers, so I had to use my memory and imagination for inspiration. Fixing the looped flowers to chain would give the clustering look I wanted. I started with the largest beads, since I had fewer of those. I added a tiny daisy spacer to the headpin, and then the glass flower.




Are you wondering about that out-of-place coral round? Well, that's what I use to measure so I get uniform loops. It takes 1 cm of wire to turn a plain loop. My red bead is a 10mm. So, by placing it on my headpin, making a flush cut above it, and then removing the bead, all my loops will be even. I ended up making more than 60 for this necklace, so having a guide really helped.




Here's the cut wire just before I made the loop:



Enough of the tutorial! I know you really just want to see the end result! Here's the necklace:




And a closer view:




I made these silver connectors to help space out the crowded chains. I like a lush fullness but not a jumbled mess!




I liked the connectors so much, I thought they would make nice earrings:



And just for fun, I made a hula-hoop inspired pair:


How did you celebrate the first day of Spring? To win a pair of earrings, leave a comment and let me know! Become a follower or link to this post on your blog, and you'll get a second entry. I'll draw the winning names on March 31 -- one for the hoops and one for the dangles.

Disclaimer: I have received these beads (glass flowers and headpins) free of charge from Artbeads.com. My review is my own opinion and I have not been paid for this endorsement.

I heart Mondays

This week I need an extra day! Friday's post took enough out of me, and I swore that even though there were lots of hearts in that project, I wouldn't cop out and use it for Monday. I have something in mind, but no time for photography today. So, stay tuned and I'll post as soon as I can.

PS this means an extra day for the glue give-away. Just tell me what you're "stuck on" and you'll be entered.

I Heart Mondays & a Giveaway

Today, some Valentines for you. These are my favorites, and I bring them out every year. If you do nothing else this week, get out the crayons, construction paper, and glitter and make a Valentine for someone you love.












The pink Valentine with the bow and the red and white Valentine are from my friend Susan. She made the pink one in 1996. It folds together and is latched with a small heart that shows on the back.























The red valentine isn't signed, but I distinctly remember her making this during our monthly craft night. I thought she was crazy at the time, but I'm thrilled to have one for myself! It's a fine example of Scherenschnitte, a traditional German paper cutting craft.
























The others are examples of cards I made to send to friends and family. I learned how to make most of them in a paper cutting and folding class taught by Barbara Griffeth Galley.


When my kids were little, I always felt a little overwhelmed around Christmas time, so when I thought I hadn't done a good job of personal Christmas cards, I tried to make up for it around Valentines Day. This large red Valentine cleverly folds into a self-mailer, requiring the recipient to finish the task by folding it back into the Valentine.

And now for the giveaway. Thanks to the fine folks at Eclectic Products, I have some glue for you. All you have to do is leave a comment and tell me what you're "stuck on." I'll draw a random number next Monday, and you'll get some terrific craft glue to work with.

Here's my list ('cause I can't keep it to just one...)

1. I'm stuck on my husband of nearly 19 years, and our dear, dear daughters.

2. I'm stuck on 2% plain Greek yogurt.

3. I'm stuck on the color blue.

Good luck!