A Giveaway from My Shop and a Sale

Hi everyone! It's that time again - giveaway time! Most of the month I feature other artists, but the first week of the month (or last day of the previous month I guess!) will be my shop :) Why? Well I know you guys love me so I have to give you a chance for prizes out of my shop! Let me share the giveaway - then I'll explain my new banner :)

An Outdoors Bracelet

This bracelet was a lot of fun to make! It uses my new paper beads and I made them in orange in honor of my brother! :) Yes, the brother that my banner says I'm supporting right now. I would love to see a lot of entries for this and I would be really honored if the winner of this bracelet prays for or thinks of my brother when they wear it :) Click on the bracelet title for more information.

So How Can You Win?

1. Leave a comment on this blog = 1 entry

2. Visit my FB page and "like" it. Leave a comment there to let me know your a new or returning fan! = 1 entry

3. Visit my Artfire page or Etsy page, come back and leave a separate comment with your favorite piece = 1 entry

4. Follow this blog or let me know your already following = 1 entry

5. Announce this contest on plurk or twitter, come back and leave a comment with a link = 1entry

6. Blog about it! Since this is means monopolizing your blog space it = 2 entries

7. Make a purchase in either of my stores (Artfire or Etsy) = 5 entries! 

That's a total of 12 possible entries! Please remember to leave separate entries for each entry to make my job easier! I'll be keeping track in a spreadsheet and each entry will be given a separate number (based on order received) and I'll pick a winner using the random number generator. *Winner to be announced Saturday, March 5th*

Now to Explain my Header...

And a Sale!

This is my brother, Gordon, also know online as Psycho or Psycho4Jesus. Now often called Cancer Boy. Yes, he has cancer. Stage 4 T cell Hystocite Rich B Cell Lymphoma. That's a very rare form of a type of Non-Hodgekins lympoma. It's very extensive and he's had one chemo treatment so far. The shot above was taken with my phone the first day he was in the hospital.

He was in the hospital because he had a really bad reaction to the chemo and ended up being in the hospital for 2 days and nights. It was hard, but being there was probably the best :) He's been home since Saturday and is slowly recovering! Today, for the first time since he was hospitalized, he actually asked for a second serving of food! That still wasn't much, but very exciting still. 

His next treatment is on the 16th and he will have at least 5 more treatments, possibly 7. We'll know more at the end of April! 

So what am I doing? Well, a lot actually. I'm his secondary caregiver right now. So, when Mom's at work I hang out at the house and help out with medications, food, and anything else he needs. I also took shifts while he was in the hospital and have been coming and helping out whenever needed. This means I'm not going back to work at this time. I will be doing odd jobs to help with my husband and I's finances, but I can't really look for work until he's doing a lot better. My family needs me to much! 

What does this mean to you? I'm looking for your support! There's two things you can do:

1. Your Prayers - If you don't pray, whatever it is you do :) But this is going to be a really rough road. We all covet your prayers right now. I will be providing awareness charms soon to use as prayer reminders that I'll be selling for cost. Also, Gordon's biggest wish right now is that the people would know that he has cancer, cancer does not have him and he hopes that others would be blessed in their relationship with God right now. I'm not going to shove that down your throat - don't worry! I don't want to drive any of you away, but I do feel that its very important to share, and if you have any questions let me know :)

2. I'm doing a sale! All proceeds from my shop will be split between me and Gordon. I need to help pay for my husband and I's bills, and Gordon has no other source of income right now. So I'm doing 15% off in both my shops! On Etsy you'll need to enter the code "cancersupport15" for the discount, and on Artfire it has already been applied. I appreciate your support :)

Now don't forget to enter the giveaway :P


*Update 3/2*
Jujube Jewelry asked a great question! If you want to make a donation you can make a donation through paypal to the e-mail jedimarri@gmail.com :) Please let me know how you want the money to be used. It can go towards his bills, supporting both of us as (since I'm not working and money is really tight), for him to buy something fun, or for Mom to pay his bills. :) Just let me know!

*Update 3/3*
There's been an addition to this week's giveaway! Meri of Elfling Creations wanted to help raise awareness and support my brother - so she volunteered to giveaway an earring!

Leave a comment with your favorite item from her shop  for an extra entry :) Now here's what she has to say about it: The earring dangles about 1" from the ear cuff, which is silver-plated and 3mm wide. The sun bead has a crescent moon on the reverse side. That bottom bead is a cats eye- that's hard to see in the photo, so I figured I'd mention it. 


I'll be drawing two winners now on Saturday - make sure you check back - and enter! 

Doing the Bead Soup Hop

There's been a lot of build up on my blog, and others, for the big Bead Soup Blog Hop. Well, I'm doing my best! I've had my tea, and coffee, and a smoothie, and even some water! Yet there is still SO FAR to go... I counted my cheat sheet and I've only visited 64 of the 209 other blogs so far.

I've been going through the list from 1-210 in order, but I'm also responding to any comments I get :) So I am going a little out of order for those. Its nice having it all printed up so I can cross things out, circle ones that hadn't posted yet (one because she's having a baby!). I wanted to have more done by now, but things have been a little busy. I'll talk about that more tomorrow.

That's just a quick sneak peek of what tomorrow's all about! It's going to be a busy day. I have news to share, a giveaway to host, and a surprise! I might not get it up until later in the day because I have two doctors appointments for myself and to take someone else to (nothing worrisome on my part, routine). I'm excited though and you should be too! You'll see what the orange has to do with it tomorrow :)

Handarbeitsrkam's Giveaway Winner!

It has been a busy week for me, but I'm happy to report that my brother seems to be doing better and we are hoping he'll go home from the hospital today :) I'll be heading out to see him later. First I want to say make sure you don't miss my blog soup reveal and now, let's announce the winner!

There were 30 entries this time so...

And number 15 is...

Congrats Deci!

It took me a minute to place the name with the blogger/artist, but the one thing I knew right away is that Deci has entered into several of my giveaways now, and she's submitted multiple entries each time! So I think it's only fair that she has gotten to win one! Now to visit her blog and tell you a little bit more about who she is.

Her blog is called Gem Trails

And she's one of my fellow Bead Soup participants! Here's a peek:

Make sure you head over to her blog and see the rest of this wonderful piece!

Congrats again Deci!

Everyone else - check back on Monday for the next Giveaway, and all through the week to see what I'm up to! Just a hint, I'll be doing a big sale soon! I think you guys will be really excited by it :)

Fast for Friday!

Today's post is just a quick flyby! My brother has cancer and he had his first chemo treatment this week and his in the hospital right now with what seems to be normal complications. They will be keeping him through tomorrow as of right now. So....I'm just throwing up a quick post before I head back to the hospital to be with him!

First - today is your LAST chance to enter this week's giveaway! Make sure you head over and drop off your entries. 

Tomorrow is the big bead soup reveal! I'll be putting together a post tonight to go up first thing tomorrow. I'll also be posting about the winner at some point. I'm really excited! See you then :)

Etsy Bloggers Featured Artist - Faerie Garden Fancies

Now that I'm getting back "into the flow" it's time to start catching up on my team requirements for the Etsy Bloggers Team! I've always loved these guys, and I'm more than happy to feature this month's featured team member! She's not one of the team mates I know, probably because I've been out of the loop, but I had a lot of fun checking out her shop! 

Faerie Garden Fancies

Isn't her shop banner cute? That was that the first clue I was going to love her shop! I thought I'd share my two of her awesome pieces. 

Magical Shamrock Flower Necklace

Isn't this perfect for St Patricks Day?

And this one is my favorite item...

Magical Mermaid Art Doll and Treasure

And last but not least - don't forget to enter this week's giveaway!

Sneak Peeks

I'm so excited right now I'm practically bursting! I'm going to have all kinds of new pieces up, and very soon too. I already posted a sneak peek of my first bead soup piece and now I have a sneak peek for you of the second one, and my project for the Etsy Bead Weavers!

You know copper is really underrated as a "bling" metal. I think of bling and I think silver or gold, but I made this piece and it suddenly hit me that copper can be just as bright! Not that this piece is over the top, I think the balance between the dark browns and the bright copper is actually perfect. I can hardly wait to show you!

I'm working on an 80's piece right now - and I'm loving it! I plan on submitting my bracelet for the current Etsy Bead Weavers contest, but I'm going to run with the theme and make a necklace, earrings, and rings too! Hey - when you've got a something your enjoying - you need to run with it! Hopefully I'll have the bracelet up by this weekend as well.

And don't forget to enter this week's giveaway! 

Giveaway Feature - Handarbeitskram!

Police Box - Blue Hand Dyed Yarn

I don't remember how I first met Yvonne of handarbeitskram but we have a lot of geekiness in common! She hand dye's yarn (how cool is that?), knits, and sells incredible stitch markers. I love the yarn above because it's called "police box" after Tardis from Dr. Who! Great inspiration huh? Now, to let you get to know her a little bit better ...

1. Where can we find your work and what do you create? 

I sell on Artfire, my shop is http://handarbeitskram.artfire.com. I offer handdyed yarns, stitch markers for knitting and some knit or crochet patterns. And if you don't know how to knit or crochet, you can order a custom made item from me.

2. What's your favorite part about being an independent artist? 

I love that I can be creative without anyone telling me what to do. I don't think I could be creative on a timeline with given themes all the time, with my own shop I decide about the pace and about the designs or colours.

3. Where do you find your inspiration? 

Everywhere... Sometimes it's movies or TV shows I like, sometimes flowers, trees or other things I find in nature. But it can be artwork as well or something that comes to mind when I read a book or listen to a song. There are so many possible influences when you mainly work with colour, everything has a colour or a combination of several colours and might inspire a new yarn.

4. What advice would you give to other artists?

Do what you love to do. And don't be afraid to try new things, it might sometimes lead to the best results. Be willing to break the rules, it's your work, you decide about the rules

You could win a set of 6 Millefiori Stitch Markers!

Here's what she has to say about it :)

The brightly coloured glass millefiori beads I used for this set of stitch markers are an eye catcher. 

I framed them with silvery spacer beads, iridescent black rocailles and black faceted beads. 

I can make them as crochet markers as well if you prefer those 

and if you don't knit or crochet I can make a key chain with the same beads for you. Item value: $6

So how can you win?

1. Comment on this entry
2. Share their favorite item from her shop(s) (scroll up for links)
3. Plurk or twitter about it and leave a comment with link.
4. Blog about it and leave a comment with link
5. Purchase an item from her shop (for 5 entries) (links above)

Important: All entries must be submitted by comments on this blog post.

I'm keeping track of the entries, so telling Yvonne about them won't help :P

Interested in doing an artist feature/giveaway on this blog? Just let me know!

JPride Jewelry's Giveaway Winner!

Yes, it's later in the day than normal for me to announce my giveaway winner, but I had a long day yesterday! I had a 3 yr old's birthday party that I helped throw then clean up from, took a friend to the ER (don't worry, he's ok), and then went to a roof party that my cousin was throwing! Whew. I feel I got run over by the party truck. And now for the winner...

There weren't as many entries this time :(

But there's what the random generator had to say...

But who is number 2?

Congrats SissyandJacks!

Now to share a little bit about our winner...

You can find her blog here.

Looking over her blog I quickly realized why the name is familiar ...

She's part of the Bead Soup Blog Party!

So make sure you check out her blog (and mine!) on the 26th,

for the big party reveal! 

Looking through her shop I found my favorite item:

I Love Dance

Which is perfect! If you read my love story earlier this week you found out I love dance :)

Congrats again SissyandJacks!

Stay tuned - we have another exciting giveaway tomorrow - your going to love it!

Featured Friday

Hi everyone! It's Friday - so that means my new blog feature - Featured Friday! I realized this morning the best part about doing this is that I didn't need to figure out what I was going to blog about! Yes, lazy, I know, but it does also bring some consistency to my blog, and I like that. Now...

Featured Facebook

Did you know that Facebook has changed a lot of their policy's recently? One of them is that you won't see postings from other people unless you've been interacting with their page. So...if you want to keep up with what I'm doing...come comment on my facebook page! Guess what? There is a surprise waiting for you over there...

Featured Giveaway

Have you checked out this week's giveaway yet? It's a lovely bracelet! And she needs entries! So come by and visit JPrideJewelry's Giveaway! I'm running this contest through Sunday Morning (whenever I wake up and get to it LOL) instead of Saturday! Yah, I was a bad girl and got it up a day late...

Featured Contest Winner

No - not my contest - the Etsy Bead Weavers!

Princess Montana Royal Necklace

Every month we have a contest and this month's contest was all about royalty! She won - and I thought I'd start featuring the winner each month. I love this team! Her piece was one of my top favorites too :)

Bead Soup in Progress!

A few days ago I shared about my bead soup that I received from this rounds swap partner. Now it's time to share a little taste of the soup! It's done, and I'd love to tell you about the cooking process, but I can't show you the final product yet! The bead soup party is on the 26th and I'll be able to reveal all then. For now...

I truly believe in evolution. Not Darwin's kind, but I think that so much of creating is an evolutionary process! I don't think most people realize the work that can go into even a simply strung necklace. Why? Because it's constantly changing until you settle down on the final piece!

This piece started out with a handful of bead soup from Shai. I separated the beads into two groups and I thought I knew exactly what I was doing with this set! So, a couple of nights ago I put the beads on a paper plate (don't ask) and proceeded with my plan. It failed. Completely. I later figured out how I probably could have made it work, but that was after I had finally managed to create something I liked!

So plan 1 down, I was on to plan 2! That failed as well and I was going to make a simple bracelet. I was about half way done when I remembered a focal I had noticed earlier but put aside because it was definitely meant for a necklace.

Trust me - that close up isn't the most flattering - it looks much better as a whole! But I have to preserve some of the mystery don't I? Looking at the focal, and then at the bracelet, I knew what these beads wanted to be - a necklace!

For those of you keeping track - that was plan 3 down onto plan 4. But wait - there's more!

I was originally thinking of using some heavy cream beads (they look like a coffee with tons of cream!) to accent the main beads. I got them out, looked at them under my desk light (the rest of the room is rather dim) and noticed that the shell's Shai had sent me are a dark brown to tan with white accents! Yes, I said white. Bye - bye heavy cream! Onto plan 5.

I pulled out the white beads and started to string the necklace and decided the white was boring. It also didn't complement Shai's shell beads very well by itself. Back to the bead box! Plan 6 was to add in some brown seed beads.

It took a couple of try's after that to get the write count of seed beads to main beads, but I'll leave it at plan 6 because that is such an incredibly normal part of the process that it doesn't deserve it's own incarnation :P

*Phew* That was quite a journey for a simple necklace! It turned out lovely though - and I even have a name for it! I just have to wait until the 26th before I can show it off :) I have one more piece to make with her bead soup too! I'm looking forward to working on that one - hopefully it will be a less convoluted process. Especially because I have a lot of projects in my bead box right now!

A Love Story

Before I share my story - don't forget to enter this week's Giveaway! 


I'm part of the Blogfire Guild on Artfire - only I haven't been a very good member! Working to be a good member again, and that means participating in our blog carnivals. The current blog carnival's first option is: 1. Love (this can include love items or thoughts on love or a story about love) So I decided it's time to tell you my love story!

Dancing in the Dark

Have I ever told you guys I used to be a dancer? I was. I used to be a swing dancer, in fact, I used to be friends with some of the best dancers in the area, I wasn't competition level or anything, but I was fairly decent. Then I got sick and that all changed - but that's not important to this story!

Four years ago I was at the peak of my dancing, and I had an opportunity to take a ball room course at the community college I was attending. The problem with dancing is that it's addicting, and I always wanted to learn more! It's a good thing I did.

I tried to get to know everyone in the ballroom class. I even made a few friends! I remember this shy guy who could barely dance, never took his blue coat off, and seemed to mess up more when he danced with me. I didn't think much of that, there were a couple guys I had that effect on! I just put it down to the fact that I came into the class knowing how to dance, and that gave me an edge on most of the rest. 

Love to Dance

I was part of a on campus Bible Study at the time and that shy guy, who's name is Moses, started going. We both ended up going on a trip to LA to work with the homeless. It during the preparation for that trip that I found out he wasn't 19! He was 22. Which, at 24, made a big difference to me! Yes, he looks young. 

Mo still wasn't on my radar that much, but I made a point to get to know the members of the team, especially the shy one's, so that included Moses. Some where along the line I realized he liked me. Then I realized I liked him too. We went out a week after the trip on his birthday, and the rest, they say, is history! We celebrated our 3rd marriage anniversary December 15th and we'll be celebrating 4 years total together on his birthday at the end of March! 

Giveaway Feature - JPrideJewelry

Black and Purple Glass Tear Drop Pendant by JPrideJewelry

1. Where can we find your work and what do you create?

My work is almost exclusively on Etsy (http://jpridejewelry.etsy.com), although I do sell some locally (Raleigh/Cary, NC) by word-of-mouth.  I may put an item or two on Ebay every once in a while just for the heck of it.

What  make is jewelry for women.  Necklaces, bracelets, earrings.. that sort of thing.  I'm still pretty new to selling what I create, so I haven't settled into a particular style.  If you look, my collection is fairly eclectic.  From a simple single strand of beads with a charm, to delicately linked bead units.  I'm starting to get into chain mail and wire work, so we'll see how that goes.

You can also read my blog entry about my bead soup and what I'm going to do with it.  These pieces are some that will be going on Ebay.  I'd like to get maximum exposure for this particular sale and you'll see why when you read the post! http://jewelry-by-jp.blogspot.com/2011/01/my-bead-soup.html

2. What's your favorite part about being an independent artist?

My favorite part of being an independent artist is that it gives me an outlet for my pent-up creative energy.  I have ADD, and so most things I find tedious, yet I can make a necklace with over 2000 beads without batting an eye.

3. Where do you find your inspiration?

My inspiration comes primarily from my imagination.  That or impulse.  What I mean by impulse is I'l be strolling along in the bead shop, having already picked out what I came for, and I'll see something that I have to have because I immediately see it for what it can become.  My Peruvian Pink Opal earrings are a prime example.  I saw them at the last minute, but what I saw was not a bowl of pink beads.  I saw a beautiful pair of earrings with that soft pink paired with pale blue-green.

Other inspiration comes from books or magazines.  In those cases it's a particular technique I want to try, or a new color that I've never used before.

4. What advice would you give to other artists?

Advice for other artists?  Oh gosh, I'm still looking at more established artists myself.  I think the advice I would give to those just starting out is to be persistent and determined.  Don't give up because you aren't making any sales.  Don't be afraid to put yourself out there, otherwise your chances of success are kinda slim.  If I hadn't put myself out there, I wouldn't be participating in things like Lori's Bead Soup Blog Party, or Bead Table Wednesday on Flickr, or being featured here. ;)

Now that you've met Jennifer - ready to win???

Here's Jennifer's Description about the bracelet - which is titled Golden Garden Butterflies.  Rose gold combines with Swarovski crystal to form this bracelet which brings to mind butterflies lazily fluttering in a garden.  The rose gold components are rose gold plated over copper and the bracelet is 6 3/4" long. 

Valued at $35.

How can you win?

1. Comment on this entry
2. Share their favorite item from her shop(s) (scroll up for links)
3. Plurk or twitter about it and leave a comment with link.
4. Blog about it and leave a comment with link
5. Purchase an item from her shop (for 5 entries) (links above)

Important: All entries must be submitted by comments on this blog post.

I'm keeping track of the entries, so telling Jennifer about them won't help :P

Normally I announce my winners on Saturday - but not this week!

I'll announce the winner on Sunday since I'm posting this a day late :)

Are you interested in being featured on this blog? You would receive a week's worth of free promotion from me! What does that mean? I promote my giveaway features on a daily basis (barring emergency's) and your shop will be promoted to over 100 facebook fans, 130 people on Plurk, 4 teams on Etsy, and non-site-specific jewelry/blogging group, and on Artfire! That's a lot of chances for people to discover YOUR work.  Interested? Just leave me a comment or e-mail me at roseworksjewelryATgmailDOTcom.

Bead Soup - What will it Become?

I've had the beads for about a week now - so has my swap partner - but this is the first chance I've had to blog about them! Now that Shay has her beads I can show you what I sent her!

Bead soup is supposed to be a challenge - make something with the beds that you are sent - well I ended up being challenged by what I was sending! I don't do much with pink, but while I was looking at the cab I just kept thinking "this needs pink" So I went for it! I look forward to seeing what she makes :) Now for what I received....

The full set:

Breaking it down...

I haven't decided precisely what I'm going to make with this yet, but I know it's going to be at least partially bead weaving (well, I know I'm using embroidery on the focal) but I haven't figured it all out yet :)

For my second piece...

I have some more shells that I'll add to that and this one is going to be a bracelet. I'll probably start working on that one this afternoon. I have a lot going on right now! There are 10 projects in my work box right now. These two projects, this month's bead weavers, one for me, an earring project, key chain, the beginnings of my bead weavers swap project, and I'm forgetting the rest :P And there's more in my head! I made my self stop when the box was basically full though. I've spent the last couple days working on a project for Mom and this month's bead weaver project. Here's a pic I took a couple of days ago of the box.

Fun huh?

Tilt Creation's Giveaway Winner!

I like announcing the winner's on Saturday - but gee - I'm having a hard time waking up in the morning! So announcing the winner "in the morning" might be a loose estimate - lol.

We had 34 entries this week - 4 more than last week! My goal was to get at least one more entry than last week, and we got 4 more! That may not be that exciting to you - but it is to me :) So here's what happened when I went to the random number generator!

So who's number 12?

Congrats Nancy!

So who's Nancy? Well I went to her blog and saw...

I love it! That's both an incredible blog header - I love the piece she show cases in the lower right corner :)

You really should check out her blog - I'm going to go do some more reading later :)

Edit: I misunderstood what I was looking at when I originally posted some of her links.
BUT the following is now correct :)

A direct link to some of Nancy's work is here.

Congrats again Nancy!

Stay tuned everyone - there's another giveaway next week - and more specials offered all the time!

Featured Friday

I'm full of changes lately! First I added my monthly giveaway, then I added featuring other artists in giveaways the rest of the weeks of the month (let me know if your interested!), then I added a new shop, and now I'm doing a new blog feature! It's called Featured Friday and each week I'm going to do a couple of regular sections. Featured Facebook - where I share a link to my latest discussion over there, Featured Special - where I share this week's sale or special item, and Featured Giveaway - where I give an update on this week's giveaway and remind you it's the last day to enter :P So with out further ado...

Featured Friday

This week on Facebook we'll be talking about your favorites - come join in the discussion!

Featured Special

Pink Lemonaid Ring - 15% off!

(also on Etsy)

Featured Giveaway

I'm very excited to tell you that we have 32 entries so far this week! 

Today's the last day - so pop on over and get your entry in to win this bag:

Etsy BeadWeavers - Royalty Themed

Every month the Etsy Beadweavers does a challenge - and this month's is all about Royalty! My entry was for the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland :)

Go vote! I'm #60 but don't feel like you have to vote for me unless you want to :P

And don't forget to enter in this week's Giveaway!

Introducing Rose Works Gifts!

Heart Card With Purple Beads

I've been toying around with the idea of opening a second shop for awhile now. There are always pro's and con's when doing this. A big downside, of course, is that you now how more work to do to promote and people need to find your shop. Sometimes though - you just have to take the plunge and go for it. Now that I'm doing cards I looked at my shop and decided I had no other choice! 

So here I am. A new product - and a new shop! It's great :)

The card above is just one of the products that will be in my new shop, I will also be moving my cell phone charms over, and my bookmarks. :) I have a lot more work to do - but it's a start! 

Giveaway Feature - TILTCreations

1. Where can we find your work and what do you create?

Tilt Creations on Etsy 

and on ArtFire: 

My main focus is on handbags but recently I have been dipping into home accessories like pillows, table runners, coasters and soon quilts.

Tilt Too on Etsy (destash patterns & fabric)

Are you seeing stuff you like?  Use the code ROSE15 for 15% off your order - good during the duration of the giveaway!

2. What's your favorite part about being an independent artist?

I like being able to just go in whatever direction I feel I am being carried with no one to tell me otherwise. Although, sometimes that nudge in a direction could come in handy when your mind is too full of ideas.

3. Where do you find your inspiration?

I really do not have a concrete answer for this. I know many people that look to nature or geometrics or texture - I just go with the flow. I never know what will trigger an idea.

4. What advice would you give to other artists?

Do not give up. I have been on the verge too many times to count. Am I super successful? No. Do I make enough to help support my family. Not yet. But I am always working at it, tweeking it, finding new ways to, as Tim Gunn would say, "make it work".

Now the fun part - ready to win???

Janet Handbag

You will find all the relevant information on etsy

How can you win?

1. Comment on this entry
2. Share their favorite item from her shop(s) (scroll up for links)
3. Plurk or twitter about it and leave a comment with link.
4. Blog about it and leave a comment with link
5. Purchase an item from her shop (for 5 entries) (links above)

Important: All entries must be submitted by comments on this blog post.

I'm keeping track of the entries, so telling Tilt about them won't help :P

Winner will be announced Saturday morning!

First Giveaway Winner!

It's been a long week, personally, but I'm very excited to announce our first giveaway winner! I kept track of every entry using a spreadsheet. Each time I got a name I'd put it in the sheet, that way I could keep track of names from various entry places, without having to worry about what went where or how many there were total. In the end there were 30 entries! I was very excited about that. I'm sure we'll see more in the weeks to come! What do I mean by that? You'll see! 

DRUM ROLL PLEASE....

So next I went to my spreadsheet and found....

Phew that'as a lot of entries! 

CONGRATS JENNIFER!!!

I'll be sending out your earrings as soon as I have your contact information :)

You know what else is exciting? I'm starting another new feature on my blog :P Yes, I'm going to be doing my personal giveaway every month, but on the rest of the weeks, I'll be featuring other artists and hosting their giveaways! Woohoo! The next two weeks are already scheduled, with great artists, and I'm looking for one more artist for this month. If your interested just let me know in the comments or by e-mailing me at roseworksjewelryATgmailDOTcom :)

Guess who are giveaway featured artist is going to be in two weeks? Jennifer! Our contest winner! You can check out her blog here and make sure you don't miss her OWOH giveaway on there! I thought I'd give you a sneak peek of what her work is like and feature one of her pieces from her etsy shop :)

Two Strand Amethyst and Rose Quartz

Bead Soup Surprise

Don't forget to go sign up for my Giveaway!

I'm participating in the latest edition of "Bead Soup" hosted by Lori Anderson of Pretty Things. She does these periodically, and I've had a lot of fun participating! The above picture is the soup that I mailed out today...no you can't see what it is yet :P Not until Shay gets it! Once Shay and I have each received each other's soup I'll show you an un-smudged picture so you can actually see it :) 

This is my current project - and it's been quite a journey! Every month the Etsy Bead Weavers does a challenge, and this month's challenge is to do something for a Queen, any Queen. I picked the Red Queen from Alice in Wonderland because, honestly, can really imagine me making something for a real person? If you've ever seen my reading list you know its largely fantasy, so there you go. 

Now your probably looking at that and going, "Journey? Doesn't look like too much work ... " Well, you'd be right. I started this piece earlier today. The problem has been getting to the point of creating this piece. 

I started out with what I'll call pattern 1. I was using red and white because for some reason that's what I thought the Red Queen wore. Well, I had the red right at least. Anyway, the red and white beads I had chosen were "technically" the same size classification, but didn't actually match in size. Which really didn't work for pattern 1. I really wanted to do that pattern, and had no other ideas, so I did an image search for the Red Queen. 

As you can see the Red Queen is actually red, black, some gold, and white trim. Hmm... So I tried pattern 1 again with red and black. Although this is a pattern I've done before, it just didn't want to behave. On to pattern 2! I had an idea that I tried to create (my own pattern) that didn't show up the way I envisioned it. I may still put that together at some point (after reworking it) but I'm starting to get down to the deadline! Plus I was getting tired of things going horribly wrong. That's when I got the idea for making a beadwoven heart.

Of course that's when I lost my black thread and sprained my wrist! Oh dear. Well, I finally have all the pieces together, and I'm working hard to get it done as fast I can. Sprained wrist? What's that? Ace-bandage and some tylenol and I'm still beading!