Let's Play - Name That Bracelet! (LoTR Themed)

The current theme for the Etsy Beadweavers is Lord of the Rings - and I've been inspired! So far I have a bracelet (see below) and two pairs of earrings that I aren't necessarily LoTR specific, but I used the beads from the bracelet :P I also have a small embroidery hoop with green fabric in front of me to make a broach :) Yep - I'm a happy girl!

My only problem? The bracelet has no name! Let me share it with you before I go on:

I'm in love with this one! I used large seed beads in dark green for the base, and embellished it with two sizes of crystals, silver beads, and of course, leaf beads!

Now for what I need from you:

I need a name. 

I know that I want to name this after something to do with the shire and the hobbits. I know there are a lot of forests and stuff in LoTR, but for some reason I can just see a Hobbit wearing this at a party something like the one Bilbo threw (I might even disappear at the end, you never know! I don't really want to simply call it "The Shire Bracelet" though. So suggest some names for me! If I pick your name I'll give you a $5 gift certificate valid in either shop :) I'll announce the name of the bracelet (and list it) on Tuesday! Why Tuesday? Because tomorrow the next Giveaway goes up!

Edit: My elf-sister has informed me this may need to be something different because Hobbity is more earthy. I'm conceding your point so I will take any and all suggestions - not sure Shire related (and now I may have to make something earthy :P)

Social Networking Karma!

Check out this week's Giveaway featuring Mama's Little Monkeys!

Celtic Camo Bead Woven Bracelet

What is Social Networking Karma? Why am I talking about it? First let's back up and examine the idea of Karma...

Karma, the Golden Rule, "What goes around comes around," - whatever you call it, it's a concept that has been around for for a long time. When you do nice things for other's, it often comes back to you in wonderful and unexpected ways. Right? 

Now let me ask you a question. Do you ever get tired of promoting yourself? I know I do! There have definitely been times when I get tired of tooting my own horn and where I feel like I'm just blabbing to the universe with no feedback. The various social networking sites were starting to feel pointless. That's when I started thinking about Social Networking Karma. 

Green Kabbalah Jasper Pendant

Now, I don't want you to think I came upon this idea on my own, this has been a long process and I know that there have been a lot of different artists who've given me individual ideas that I eventually pulled together into a whole!

How it works: 

Social Networking Karma happens when you promote artists (authors, bloggers, etc), other than yourself. You can do this in a lot of ways! See something you like? Share it on Twitter, Facebook, Plurk, or your blog! Then, and this is key, tell that person where you've shared it and send them a link. You'll be amazed at the results! 

Since I've started practicing this habit the results have blown me away. I've had people e-mail me and tell me that I've made their day because they had a horrible day and having someone do something nice just totally floored them. I've had people tell me that they were considering shutting down their shop, then I promoted them, and it made them think that maybe there is some value to their work. I've also had a lot of people return the favor and promote me in one way or another.

There's no feeling like it! When they return the promotion, it's great, but it's the people who's day's I make, or who I end up building a relationship with them as a result, that I love :) 

Damask Pin Cushion by Destash City

One of our featured giveaway artist's shops!

I'm going to be talking about some different approaches to practice Social Networking Karma over the next few weeks. Specifically we'll be talking about Twitter, Facebook, and Blogging. I may add to that list as I continue to explore the topic! 

How I Relax

I love this week's blogfire challenge! I'm supposed to tell you how I relax - which is a great topic! There are two main ways I relax. Reading and beading. Since this is my jewelry/craft blog - I'll tell you about the beading. Is that ok? Good.

Now some pieces, while I love the results, actually take a lot of work. I fiddle and fight with them, and while I may love the results, the journey to get there isn't exactly restful. This piece is one of those:

Spring Bubbles Necklace

This is one of my favorite necklaces, don't get me wrong, but the beaded beads I used took me a awhile to figure out! These were the first one's I'd ever done, and if I remember correctly there were at least 4 that ended up in the garbage because they were just way too wonky. 

Other beaded projects are very relaxing to work on. Especially when I already know the pattern and its something repetitive that you don't have to really think about a lot. This is the perfect example of that:

Spring Beaded Lace

I often work on pieces like this when I need a break from things that are more mind intensive. So I'll pick this up when I've been stressed out, or when a project isn't working the way I want and I need a break, and I can watch things online and just zone out. I call this my zen beading. It's very therapeutic! I turn off all of my chat windows, laugh at my shows, and bead. I love it :)

Go check out this week's giveaway! Perfect for coffee lovers :) 

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!

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!

Etsy Beadweavers - Time to Vote Again!

I absolutely love the Etsy Beadweavers! This team is always pushing me to be a better beader, and I love the monthly challenges we do! I wasn't able to enter this one for two reasons. For one, I'm just not that familiar with Simon and Garfunkel (this month's theme!) and for two, I'm just getting back into the swing of things! I absolutely love everyone's entries and I haven't decided who I'm voting for. I don't think I've seen all of them... I know just from looking at the mosaic 9, 19, and 28 stick out at me! After I post this I'm going to go double check out all the entries again and decide once and for all!

Speaking of which - we need your votes! Each month's winner gets to pick one of the following themes, which I think is a great prize! So go VOTE!!!

My Projects Right Now!

As promised - a picture of the headband I made myself!

It's just a simple knitted strip that I tied in the back.

And you even got a pic of me out of the deal :)

This is my bead weaving board at the moment! 

Working on a vampire bracelet that I designed :)

I might put it aside temporarily to knock out a couple of pendants though...

A Hopeful Post

Pink Lemonade

I know, I know - I've pretty much been absent for the last two months. Seems like every time I think I'm going to get back to a "normal" routine something else comes up! I'm hoping that's going to change though and that I'll be back to my normal blogging and listing and creating self :) So far - so good. One morning accomplished! Oh wait...that's not much of a start is it? Well here's hoping for more than just the one morning!

Seriously though, I had some pretty massive migraines this week and we're not really sure why it was so bad. I had about three days where all I did was sleep! Argh. I think it was just a bad convergence of factors, but it was still frustrating. So I stayed home from my Market today (probably good, it's wet out) to relax some. Having said that - I'm still kinda "working" around the house :P But this way I can rest!

I'm so bad at relaxing >_>

Come Vote for Us!

It's time again to vote for the Etsy Bead Weavers Challenge! I'm in this one too :) I'm number 29 - but don't feel obligated to vote for me - just go vote for your favorite!

Spring Fling

One question I hear over and over again in artists interviews is, "Where do you find your inspiration?" It's a question that I personally have struggled to answer because it changes so much depending on what piece I'm working on! For me many of my creations are simply born from the beads in my stash or that I find in the store, but others have a much more complex story.

For my newest necklace, "Spring Fling," it started in two separate places. When I bought the leaf beads I was planning on using them in a necklace, but I had no idea how or where. They got put in a bead box for when I had time to use them to create something. That's the hoarder in me, I'll often buy beads just against future use, without a real plan in mind!

Next came this month's challenge "Light as a Breeze" with the Etsy Bead Weavers. I immediately knew that this was the perfect time to pull out these fun leaf beads!

I already had the blue beads that matched perfectly, so I went to the store to pick up some yellow beads. Some how I managed to pick up size 15 beads instead of the 12's that I usually use. Which means my original beading pattern got thrown out the window.

This was a good thing!

I was really frustrated at first, but I decided to find a way to use the beads I had bought, and I'm much happier with the necklace I came up with than with what I first envisioned!

Mention this blog and I'll give you $15 off your purchase of this necklace (and any accompanying items) in my etsy shop.

Crafty ADD #31

It's the start of another week - and more crafty stuff to report! Woohoo!

Crochet

I was a bad girl and did not get anywhere near as much done on this as I should of. That's because I was really focused on the two jewelry projects below. I have one more that I REALLY need to get done, but as soon as I'm done with that I'm going to have to bust out the mad crocheting skills...

Cross Stitch

I think I only worked on this one day this week. But it was an important day! I added purple! Always a landmark day right?

Jewelry

The butterfly is finally finished! Well...almost... *sigh* I still need a proper pin back for it. Haven't found one in the right size yet. This little bugger took me HOURS longer than I think it should have :P I can't even begin to tell you how many problems it caused...in fact...I don't think I'll even try :P The good news is as soon as I find a pin back it's going on my back pack that I carry everywhere! Yay for a beady project for me! To show off!

This is my challenge piece for the Etsy Bead Weavers monthly challenge. It's what I've spent the last three days working on (when I could). I'll tell you more about it tomorrow. It deserves it's own blog post :)

Craft on!

Crafty ADD Weeks 21 - 30

I've had so much fun doing my Crafty ADD posts! And one of my favorite posts of all is when I get to the end of a 10 week (approx) stretch and look back with a slide show on all I've done. It's a lot of fun to revisit my projects, frustrations, and triumphs. I hope you have fun looking at the slide show as well :)

Catching Up Once Again :)

Well everything has been a little sporadic from me lately do to the medication withdrawals and the migraines from 'em...but here are my latest listings from etsy and artfire! Tell me which one is your fav and I'll give you an extra entry into my top commentators contest!

Crafty ADD #29

Last week was a mixed bag for me. I did really good the first half of the week, and then I had a really massive migraine that laid me out flat for three days. Despite that...I actually have a lot to show off! So let's dive in :)

Crochet

Don't know WHY that picture turned out so...yellow. Oh well. I finished the core part of the second strip. Next I need to tie in all the ends and do the border!

Cross Stitch

It's almost done! I just need to fill in the blue on the bottom symbol. Another hours worth maybe?

Jewelry

I'm making paper beads! This is the very first set I made, and as you can see, I did NOT do well on some of them. This is definitely a skill with a learning curve to it! I have since made three more sets in different colors and done a little bit better each time. I didn't get a picture of those for you though. Ooops! I'll do a post just about my new paper beads where I explain the process a little bit more and you'll see the rest of them then :)

I whipped these up early last week. They are now in my consignment shop. :)

Didn't make much progress on this necklace because I spent most of my time working on my other beady project. Which is fine - because this one will be sitting there waiting for when I need something that doesn't take a lot of thought!

This is my current favorite beady project - and it's for ME! I'm using a pattern from this month's Bead and Button magazine and I can hardly wait to see it all done! I love butterfly's :)

Crafty ADD #28

Wow - It's been two and a half weeks since I've done an ADD post - if that's not confirmation that I've been pretty out of it, I don't know what is! I got a wee bit done in that time though...

Crochet

The first strip is complete and I've gotten a start on the second. Waaaaay behind on this project!

Cross-Stitch

The quote reads "Nothing is hopeless, we must hope for everything." It's just cut off by the embroidery hoop :P And it's by Madeleine L'Engle. I'm getting close on this one! Which is good - cuz it's a present :P Well that, and the next project is for ME and I want to start on it.

Jewelry

Another ring! I really need to get these posted on-line huh? I'm feeling pretty sick today, but I'm going to try to get at least one ring on-line by the end of the day. We'll see how I do...

This hemp necklace started out with a plan for different beads, and then I discovered that the beads didn't have a wide enough diameter! So I went shuffling through my boxes and found these beads that I'd totally forgotten about! I think they go perfect with the white hemp.

And this is my current project. I started it because it's basically "mindless" and all the other projects I have in my head right now take thought, and I just haven't had the brains to work on them lately!

The good news is I seem to be getting back into the swing of things, even though I'm still not feeling good, so hopefully this will be a more productive week on many different fronts :)

Crafty ADD #27

It's been just over two weeks since I posted a crafty ADD update - and with good reason. I lost my Granny last week, for any of you that didn't know, and that put the rest of life on hold. I did get a wee bit of crafting done on the trip up for the funeral (hey come on, this is how I cope!), and of course I got stuff done before, and even a little after! So here's my loooong ADD update :)

Crochet

Have I ever mentioned that I hate rolling the yarn up into balls? Oh wait, I'm sure I have... Ok, so maybe hate is the wrong word, but after spending an HOUR rolling this up (there were some massive tangles to unravel) that was all I was doing that particular night.

This picture doesn't show adequately the progress I've made, so I'll just tell ya :P On the first strip I've done the first edging row around all the squares and tied in all the ends. I need Mom's help to do the next edging row so I started in on the next strip. I need to step up the pace on this project >_>

Cross Stitch

I started another book mark! This one's going to be a present :D I'm having fun with it - don't think it will take me too long either - which is good :)

Jewelry

I'm in love with making rings! I know I haven't gotten any up on my site yet (hey, I have a GOOD excuse this time!), but I'm still having fun making them :) And they don't take that much time! Hmmm...in fact...I may make another one when I'm done with this post :P

This pretty bracelet is going to my consignment shop - but if anyone falls in love with the colors I will gladly make it for you!

Remember seeing this one in one of my previous ADD posts? I bought a clasp and finished it :)

I have a couple more pieces to show off - but I'm saving those for a specific post :P

Laughing At Myself....

Why am I laughing? Because this latest collection on my latest promoted items CLEARLY shows the difference between items I've recently renewed - and items I've taken new photos with my light box! Ah well.

So here's my plan. I have a lot of inventory (a lot) between my two shops. For Etsy I'm going to slowly replace the photos by rephotographing items whenever they come up for relisting. For Artfire, since items don't expire, I'm going to alternate between one new listed item, and retaking the photos for two old items. It'll probably take me a few months, but hey, at least this way I won't get stressed out! That's really important with the way my lungs have been misbehaving lately.

Anyway, you know the drill, tell me which piece(s) are your favorite(s) and why and I'll give you an extra entry into my Top Commentators Contest!

Crafty ADD Update #26

Another week - and more crafty stuff! I have officially created a new category in these updates - the miscellaneous category :P Why? Well I have some random things that I do (like paper stuff or whatever) that I don't do frequently enough for them to really have their own category. This way I no longer have to worry about that. You'll love my Misc. item this week :) Oh - and a note about crocheting - it didn't happen this week. Oopsie. I got very caught up in beading, which you'll see!

Misc:

I made myself a light box! That picture makes my living room look a lot darker than it is...but I have a light box! *bounces* The box is a little cockamamie which is why you see a pill bottle peaking out from one corner. I need to figure out a better solution to that... I also want to get a third lamp that can do overhead light because I'm still get some shadows just having the two lights. So my project isn't finished...but it's a big improvement over where I was at!

Jewelry

I made the rope to go with my Peso Pendant that I made last week! I'm really please with how this turned out and I'm looking forward to taking more pictures so that I can list it :D

Rings! I've made my first rings! Woohoo! Plan on listing these this week as well :) And making more!

I actually *gasp* made things for myself this week too! The spirals I made earlier today to go with the shirt I'm wearing, and I did the bead woven earrings earlier this week. The seed beads are kind of an iridescent peacock color. I bought them last week and knew right away that I wanted to weave some earrings with them. By the time I was half way through the first one I knew I was keeping it for myself! Which really is a good idea since I don't have any of my own bead woven earrings. Bracelets - yes, ring - yes, necklaces -yes, but I had no earrings! i had other styles, but it was high time I had a pair of my own bead woven earrings.

This lovely bracelet is made using a chevron weaving technique that I learned from this month's issue of Bead and Button. I love how delicate it turned out! All it needs to finish it is a good clasp, I want to go buy a really cute one for it :)

Oh yes, and I finished my paw prints bracelet, and forgot to take a picture of it completed before I gave it to my friend! Ooops! Don't worry though, I do plan on making one for my shop, eventually....

Renewing Frenzy!

I haven't been feeling too good the last few days, and that meant my shop got quite neglected! I had a whole bunch of items expire because I didn't renew them (I generally renew on the date they are going to expire), so today I had a renewing frenzy! Here's most of them...tell me your favorite and get an extra entry into the Top Commentators contest!

Crafty ADD #25

It's Monday - so it's that time again - time for me to share all the stuff I've been working on this last week! I had a pretty good week craft wise :) Let me share with you...

Crochet

I didn't get quite as much done on this as I would have liked last week, I kinda got caught up in beady things, so I'm resolving to do more this week!

Drawing

That's right - I actually drew something! Now if you ever ask me I'll tell you that drawing and all that "traditional" artsy stuff is entirely NOT me. But... We're doing monthly challenges with one of my groups now (Bittersweets Daily Challenge) and this month's was ACEO's! I've got another idea (in a different medium) up my sleeve but I decided to pull out my pencils and do this as well :)

Jewelry

I re-did and finished my ring for myself! Now I'm excited to get a ring stick so I can start making them for my shop - I've gotten a lot of positive feedback from this!

"Treasures of the Sea." This broach is my entry into the Etsy Bead Weavers Monthly Challenge. It's simple, probably won't win anything, but I had a lot of fun with it :) Hopefully I'll have it listed later today or tomorrow.

Remember that coin I showed you earlier this week? Well I reworked the beading around it. It's a lot tighter and looks much better now! I'll be doing the necklace for it soon :)

This was the first piece I did while lying on my back with a migraine this weekend. See, as long as I'm lying down my migraine stays at a semi-tolerable level, so I decided to figure out a way to bead lying down, and I wanted something easy to start with! I picked up this assortment of beads a few weeks ago, planning on making a necklace like this, and so that's what I worked on as I adjusted to lying down and beading :) Hope to get this one listed soon as well.