Happy Holidays!

I just wanted to take this opportunity to wish everyone a safe, warm, and happy holiday. I hope you get to spend quality time with friends and loved ones...because that's really what it's all about folks.
The new year is just about upon us and it is time once again to look inward at ourselves, and at the goals we have made. Did you reach your goals? I reached some of mine. The others need attention. Why didn't I achieve what I set out to do? Was my bar set too high? Are there smaller steps I can take to achieve my large scale goals? These are all questions I will be pondering over, and I'm sure many others can apply them to their life goals.
Looking forward to 2009, I can tell you there are some exciting things coming down the pike. As an artist, I've been expanding my knowledge of techniques. I have several projects sitting in my head, anxious to get out. There's just no time right now though, so, next year!

"Snow Queen" winner announced

Congratulations to Karin of Gypsy Eyes Jewelry who won with her Queen of the Frozen Tundra necklace. Isn't it devine?!!



Karin says about this piece:
The Queen is an exquisite hand sculpted and painted porcelain pendant by the fabulous artist Pat Swyler. The patina of her complexion is a lovely icy blue. The crown jewels of her woven head-dress are a shimmering raw silver-gray diamond and magical boulder opals, their brilliant flashes of color reminiscent of the Northern Lights.The necklace represents her kingdom: frost covered branches, snowflakes and icicles - all lovingly hand-beaded/ woven with tiny glass delica beads, opal, aquamarine, rainbow moonstone, pink kunzite, blue topaz and freshwater pearls.

Second: 27. Queen of the Snow - savoystudio

Third: 18. Yuki Onna - Japanese Snow Woman - SmadarsTreasure

Fourth: 11. Frozen Waters - Cuff - triz

Fifth: 7. Snow Queen necklace - CieloDesign

Sixth: 4. A Royal Affair - beadsforever

Seventh: 19. Anastasia choker - MCDdesigns

Eighth: 1. mirka collar - thebeadedlily

Ninth: 23. Snow princess necklace - FleurDeIrk

Tenth: 21. Snowflake Fairy - BeadazzledofOregon

Congrats to all the winners and everyone who participated. Voters, the Etsy Bead Weavers really appreciate you taking the time to vote, so thank you!

Bumps in the road...

For the past couple years, I have been using Photoshop CS on my husband's desktop computer to create graphics, and also for cropping and color-balancing photos. Sunday his computer died. Ironically he had ordered a new laptop which he just recieved Monday. Maybe the desktop got jealous and decided to pout.
Because there's no need to fix/replace the old computer (other than my need for PS), I'm outta luck when it comes to photo editing. We have ransacked the house looking for the Photoshop disc but cannot find it anywhere...ugh!
So, until I can find the PS disc, or find a suitable replacement for it (suggestions welcome), photos may be a bit scarce.

I do have a couple earrings to share however, I got these done right before the computer died.

This first one reminds me of feathers. I wove them with cylon blue seed beads, black bugle beads, and matte purple/blue hex cut beads.



This second pair I call "Cabernet & Rust". Deep maroon red bugle beads really compliment the metallic gold delica beads. I finished these off with antiqued brass wire guardians, and antique brass foldover earwires.


Both are available in my Artfire shop HERE.

Etsy Beadweavers December Challenge

The entries for this month's challenge - Snow Queen - are in, and they are beauties baby!! I personally didn't have sufficient time to participate, however there are LOTS of amazing pieces to choose from. Vote for your favorite HERE. I still don't know who has my vote yet, it's so hard to pick just one!

The Spreader of Love Award

I was perusing through my comments and was delighted to find that Nicole of Beadwright has bestowed to me the Spreader of Love Award. Nicole is a super talented bead weaver, I've loved her creations for quite some time now. Head on over to her shop to see some of her lovely items.

Here are the rules to spread the love!(1) Post a copy of the award on your blog post. (2) Mention who gave you the award. (3) Pass the award on to 6 others. (4) Leave a message on their blog letting them know the honor has been bestowed upon them
Here are my choices:

1: Three Fates Design
2: Holy Cuteness
3: Modus Vivendi

4: Jael's Art Jewels
5: Womens Self Esteem

6: Time2Cre8

Holiday Delights

I wove these little lovelies over the weekend, realizing that December is here already!

This bracelet is a simple weave, finished off with a gold wire guardian and a gold-plated swivel clasp. I LOVE the swivel clasps, because your bracelet never gets twisted.

This little "Christmas Bell" was woven around a wooden bell shape with toho seed beads, sizes 11 and 15. I included a woven loop bail, and for the "bell" I used a swarovski glass pearl.

I entered this pendant in the Christmas competition on craftjuice.com. Vote for me HERE.

Doesn't red, green, and gold simply look great together?

Off the beadin' path - Ghost Hunters, TAPS

I've always been curious about the paranormal, but up until Ghost Hunters premiered on the Sci Fi channel, there were only books and haunted house stories to peak my interest.
At first, Jason and Grant, the main investigators on Ghost Hunters, worked out of a small trailer and still worked their day jobs at Rotor Rooter, a plumbing contractor. It was admitting easy to trust these 2 family men, to take their word at face value. After all, when they investigate a so-called "haunted house" they try to de-bunk, or disprove, the haunting. They try and find all the reasons why people could be hearing sounds or seeing things, other than "oh its a ghost". At least this is what I believed for a while.
I really thought they caught some unbelievable stuff on video, on the thermal camera, EVP's (electronic voice phenomenon), and as it turns out, there's a reason it's unbelievable.
My husband and I have been fans of the show for years. While my husband took the show with a bigger grain of salt than I did, I really trusted that the evidence Jason, Grant, and the team presented to the general public was what they caught, not what they made up. The more digging I do into things though, make me think that Ghost Hunters is the biggest fraud since Madame Cleo.
While looking around for random ghostly videos on youtube, I came across a video "de-bunking the de-bunkers" as it were. As you may or not know, Ghost Hunters performed a live investigation on Halloween, at Fort Delaware. During the live show, Grant really wants us to believe that his hood was tugged several times by a ghost. It is made clear as crystal in the youtube video that he has something in his sleeve connected to his hood. It's insulting that he would even try to pass off a simple parlor trick as paranormal, but perhaps the pressure of performing live makes you do things you normally wouldn't do. Even if this was a one time deal, for me Ghost Hunters has lost all credibility. I can't believe any of their past findings anymore, and certainly not their future findings. Jason, Grant...you lost 2 fans this week.

If you are a Ghost hunters fan and want to continue to be a fan of the show, I suggest you do NOT watch this video clip. It will more likely than not change your perspective and enjoyment of it. Ignorance is bliss they say.
5 minutes 8 seconds into it is what really gets my goat...if you watch nothing else, start at 5:08.

See for yourself

After watching this video I headed on over to the Taps18+ boards, where I proceed to introduce myself and ask if anyone knew anything about Grant tugging his own coat. Big mistake. These people were on me like white on rice. They got really upset that I even *suggested* the wool might be getting pulled over their eyes. They backed the Ghost Hunters to no end. I told them to go ahead and drink some more of the cult kool aid.
First time I've ever gotten banned from a forum, ever! They deleted my whole thread too. The less evidence, the better it is for them, I guess.
As for me, I feel the need to spread it around. And what better place for me to do that than my blog. Knowledge is power!
Kudos to anyone who actually read my post this far, and apologies to anyone who came looking for beady content. I assure you we will continue with our regularly scheduled programming shortly. =)

Etsy, Artfire, and some great deals

It seems like there's been an explosion of things for me to keep up with nowadays. There's a TON of different shops to sell your wares on - enough to make your head spin!
I've only dabbled with ecrater. Ruby Lane is expensive, and I've heard enough bad customer service stories to keep me away from them. Etsy is just THE popular one right now - but for the seller with only a few sales, it's hard to keep up with the favorites we keep seeing featured.

I signed up for Artfire. It was a deal I couldn't refuse...$7 a month for life to host a shop with all my items, including relisting whenever I feel like it. Maybe you've seen some people blogging about artfire, or maybe (like me) you saw a full page ad in a magazine. If you have been thinking about signing up, now is the time. After the first 5000 people sign up, the monthly rate goes up (to $20 I do believe).

They have a deal for referrals, too. Refer 10 people and your shop is free for life! That's just a jaw dropping deal, so I'm offering some incentive to sign up with uniqueyou as your referrer.
If I manage to refer 10 people, then I will give each of the ten people a 10% off for life discount. That’s right, for life. Anytime you want anything in my shop, you get 10% off. Not bad, eh?
This is open to those who sign up for the $7/month deal, free accounts do not count towards the referal.
Just comment here to let me know you have signed up, and make sure you put uniqueyou in the referal box!
This deal is only good until December 31st, so 10 people will need to sign up before then to get the discount.

Register on ArtFire.com

Exposure of course is a good thing, but it comes at a price. I am seriously debating letting most of my items on etsy expire, I just can't pour money into relisting everyday.
I'd love to hear from any shops out there that have been pondering the pros and cons of etsy and artfire.

It's a hot topic right now - to Artfire or to Etsy?

I am in love...

...with my freshly built lightbox, and the man that built it.

My husband (and knight in faded patchies as I like to call him) was quick to the rescue when I got frustrated with my lack of quality pictures. When I mentioned the lightbox he was excited to make it, he loves a good project. And I love a good picture...it's a win/win! Lol.

He says there's lots of things he could have done better but I think it came out great. He used diffuser panels on 4 sides, and some concoction of wood framing/velcro allowing it to be broken down. He even dug out an old 3 headed adjustable lamp from the shed for me to use. I have to find some cooler white light bulbs to use, but I took some test shots last night with some bulbs from around the house and I'm quite pleased with the preliminary results.

I have lots of work ahead of me. As any creative person knows, taking photos of your work is NOT the most fun part, and can take lots of time. However, I am determined to get fresh, crisp photos of my entire stock of goodies.

Speaking of fresh, I stitched up four pairs of earrings yesterday...it was addicting. I have done a couple pairs over the course of my beading days, but for some reason yesterday I just couldn't stop! I don't know why I haven't made more of them, they're so fun and there's lots of room for versatility. Here are 3 of the 4 that I got photographed so far:

Yes I KNOW it's winter, but I can't seem to stop playing with bright colors. Purple and green especially, they're one of my favorite color combos. This pendant is a funky half-beaded bead, with a full beaded back. The center is a pretty swarovski glass pearl, and woven around it is delica and toho glass seed beads.

Copyright Infringement Update

First of all, I'd like to thank everyone for their kind words and encouragement...it really helped lessen the blow.
Things have been worked out between the other person and myself. They aquired the pattern from someone at a gathering and had no idea mine even existed. One look for herself though, and she was pretty sure that her gathering friend copied the pattern from me.
She has since removed offending items, and was very kind and accomidating about the whole situation. I'm glad that it worked out.
I don't know exactly what I can do to protect myself in the future...you want a photo to represent detail, and I can't zoom in too close and detailed without giving away the pattern, essentially.
Oui.

Thanks Tote-N-Tots!

Dropping my entrecards this morning, I noticed that my "Circle Gets the Square" necklace was featured on Tote-N-Tots blog. Thanks so much! Be sure to visit her blog to see fashionable items for mommy and baby. I just love her bags. Have a look at her etsy shop HERE.

It's happened!

I've officially had a design ripped off, beaded poorly, with prices undercut.
Highest form of flattery?
Still sucks.
I've asked them to take the offending items out of their shop and informed them that they need to actually ASK permission before taking someone elses design and making a profit with it. Lets see if they at least credit the designer. Right now they are claiming that each one of their designs is "unique and original".
Yeah. Ok.
Unfortunately I relisted my item recently, so at first glance it looks like I copied them. However I'm fairly sure etsy has records of when I first put the item on there, early this year. If it really comes down to it, I've had my design loaded on various networking/beady sites for quite some time now.
I had a feeling I would have to deal with this one day...all the beaders talk about it. I feel sick to my stomach about it.

edited to add: Ok the beadwork they did actually isn't bad...and on closer inspection they changed a couple beads but..still

My Sister, the Beauty Queen

Any of you who have been regular visitors to my blog know that I rarely talk about personal beliefs and views, I tend to keep this site fairly proffesional. However, once in a while a topic/event moves me enough to break out of "business blog" mode.

This past Saturday my younger (but much taller) sister Jessie was crowned Miss Taunton. Taunton, MA is where we grew up together.


Music runs in the family (mom: piano, flute, clarinet; dad: drums; brother: guitar; me: bass) and Jessie is no exception. She had been practicing her really hard classical piano piece at home for a long time. She was understandably distraught when she found out she would be performing on a KEY-board and they would not have a piano on hand. Two nights of dress rehearsal mishaps on the keyboard had Jessie a little dissapointed, but she NAILED it when it counted.


Congratulations Jessie, I'm so proud of you! Future Miss Massachusetts? Miss America?
Keep a look out for my beautiful sister.

You can read the story from the newspaper HERE if you're interested.

"Ancestral Expressions" Challenge winner

Congratulations to Triz, who won the Etsy Bead Weavers November challenge "Ancestral Expressions" with her beautiful collar "Let My People Go".
Way to go Triz!

The "honorable mentions" include:

Second: The Hoshen - a Breastplate - beadshead

Third: hands against time cuff - thebeadedlily

Fourth: The Greek Key - BeadsAndI

Fifth: was a tie between ONE WORLD Bead Woven Embroidered Cuff Bracelet - caraway and Plaid Pride Bracelet - FrancescasFancy

Sixth: Proud to be an American - dreambeadweaver

Seventh: Another tie: Patchwork Cuff - playnwithbeads and Catching A Dream Bracelet - myfairladyvt4

Eighth: Celtic North American Native - SilkenLariat

Ninth: The third tie! Beaded Ancestral Expressions Petroglyph Totem Cane - SalamanderHouse and DNA in Violet and Blue - Wide Beadwoven Peyote Cuff - time2cre8

Tenth: Hungarian meets French - beaddiddy

Congratulations everyone!

I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone comes up with for "Snow Queen". I just may participate in this one!

Catching up on things...

It's been over a week since I posted anything that I've been working on. In part, this is due to not being able to get the quality of pictures I desire.

Hopefully soon I'll have some fresh shots of all my etsy shop items though. I've contacted a friend, Brody, over at Polarity Photo. Brody takes some amazing shots. His passion is..um...legally being escorted into abandoned buildings and capturing the decay of the untouched.
Here are a few prime examples of what he sees through his lens:

That's just a taste. Definately check out his site for more amazing photography.

Now...onto the jewelry.

This ring and earring set was the absolute biggest pain in the butt to photograph. After many attemps, I settled a little bit on the picture. I'm excited to show them and I just couldn't wait any longer.

I've done rings and earrings of this style before, but I do have to say these are my favorite. Red and black together are just such powerful colors. This was woven with matte black delicas and checkerboard swarovski crystals. Again, I was going for a vintage/flapper style, and I think I captured that quite nicely.

This next bracelet is something I made as a gift for a friend who shall remain nameless. I don't think she's a blog reader, but better safe than sorry!

It was woven with toho seed beads, and overlayed with purple swarovski pearls.

These next bracelets are purely fun. I have had this stash of plastic pony beads for the longest time. Pony beads, meet stretchy cord. =)

Ooh, a blog award!

Both A Rose By Name and rkdsign88 has passed the Butterfly Award award on me! It makes me all warm and fuzzy inside...thanks gals!I am to then pass it along to 10 of my favorite blogs, which will not be easy!! Here are the rules!

1. Put the logo on your blog.

2. Add a link to the person who awarded you.

3. Nominate 10 other blogs.

4. Add links to those blogs on yours.

5. Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs.

Here are 10 of my favorite blogs, that haven't been tagged with this award yet...not an easy decision I tell ya:

1. AlteredEvents
2. Three Fates Design
3. Aerten Art
4. Jael's Jewels
5. Designing Hilary
6. Waterrose Handcrafted Obsessions
7.Unique Charms
8. Tizzalicious Crafts and Cuteness
9. Maggies Crafting Adventures
10.Beadalicious

Voting now open for Ancestral Expressions

Voting has officially begun for the Etsy Bead Weavers monthly challenge. This month's theme is "Ancestral Expressions". I was thinking of doing an Irish flag bracelet, but didn't get around to it. I've started making holiday gifts early this year (yes November is early for me, lol) so I've been a bit choosy with my beading time.

You should definately take the time to look at these beauties closer, and don't forget to vote!


1. Catching A Dream Bracelet - myfairladyvt4

2. Florida Gators Orange and Blue Herringbone Bangle - njema

3. Beaded Ancestral Expressions Petroglyph Totem Cane - SalamanderHouse

4. hands against time cuff - thebeadedlily

5. Celtic North American Native - SilkenLariat

6. The Greek Key - BeadsAndI

7. Hungarian meets French - beaddiddy

8. DNA in Violet and Blue - Wide Beadwoven Peyote Cuff - time2cre8

9. ONE WORLD Bead Woven Embroidered Cuff Bracelet - caraway

10. Trail Mix - ThesePreciousThings

11. Roses and Pearls Necklace - SpringColors

12. Proud to be an American - dreambeadweaver

13. Let My People Go Collar - triz

14. The Hoshen - a Breastplate - beadshead

15. Plaid Pride Bracelet - FrancescasFancy

16. Patchwork Cuff - playnwithbeads

Vanilla & Chocolate, Chocolate & Vanilla

This set of bracelets was quite fun to make. When I was weaving them and counting out the beads it was fun to say "2 chocolate, 1 vanilla". Much better than 2A, 1B don't ya think? The beads almost look like wood but they are really size 6 toho glass seed beads. I usually work with much smaller beads, because I love the incredible detail that is possible. However there is something to be said for big beads. They not only give beadwork a great texture, but they work up a lot quicker than than their tiny counterparts.

New necklace - "Touch of Gray"

This necklace may be lacking color, but it's sure got personality!
When I first picked up the round lava focal bead I had every intention of turning it into a pendant, but it quickly took on a life of its own. The result is a "space-aged" necklace.
Surrounding the lava rock bead in brick stitch are layers of hematite discs, toho seed beads, and delica seed beads. Then for the neckband I wove more delicas, tohos, and hematite cubes & discs in herringbone. To secure the necklace is a beaded loop and toggle clasp, with different sized beads for a textured look.
Hope you like!

Top Droppers for October

I just wanted to send out a bit of linky love to my top entrecard droppers for this month. Thanks for stopping by!

Computer Aid
Multiply Themes
Scraps of Mind
24 Patrol
Journal of Journey
14-Year-Old Kid Tech Guru
Marriage and Beyond
Picture to People
Melissas Jewelry and Gem Blog
Time2Create

Copper Sunset Ring

When my copper swarovski crystal met my metallic iris raspberry delicas, I knew it was meant to be. Seriously, these 2 colors together are amazing! The iris rasperry delicas could quite possibly be my favorite color delica, I've been using it a lot lately. How can you not love a color that is gold with flashes of purple?! The color of the beads is best seen in the 2nd and 3rd pics...in the 1st pic the crystal is getting all the attention.

I just get tickled every time I finish one of these. They're just so fun to make, and they're so sparkly!
It kinda has a vintage feel to it...like a flapper in a speakeasy, gold tassel dress, short slicked hair, and her finger shimmers every time she raises her glass to her lips.

Visit my Etsy listing for all the juicy details.

What I've been up to

This past weekend I stitched up a custom goddess dreadlock bead for a very friendly etsy customer. She had ordered one, a purple goddess and it was a little large for her, so she gifted it to a friend (how nice of her). She wanted another for herself - in green, red and orange. I was happy to oblige. Its woven in peyote stitch with size 11 delica seed beads.

I was doing a bit of organizing in the studio, and came across some beads I haven't seen in a while, and immediately thought of doing a stretch bracelet. This one is woven in herringbone with betel nut beads, and wood beads. I love the earthy look of this...I think it would look great on the guys and the gals.

A bloggy award

Kay's K9's has been kind enough to give me this award! Thanks so much!

The Rules for the Award are as follows:

1. Mention the blog that gave you the award & comment on their blog when you post the award.

2. List 6 things you VALUE & 6 things you DON'T VALUE.

3. Then, pass the award onto 6 other blog buddies!

Six Things I Value:

1. Love - the emotional and spiritual connection I have with my husband is something I cherish above all. A different but still very strong love is something I have for family and friends (see #2 & #3).
2. Family - Families have good times and bad times, all families have them. I'm so glad my parents didn't stop having children with me. It's been incredible seeing my sister go from little girl to powerful woman in a seemingly short time. I love my family.
3. Friends. There is nothing like sharing time with a friend over dinner, or just doing absolutely nothing but chit-chatting and being goofy together...it ties into #1 really.
4. Art and the creative process - Art is another joy for me, whether creating it or observing it. The creative process is all about getting into that right side of the brain, and along with it comes a medetative state indescribable to those that have never experienced it. Music is another form of art. I could not live without music. I have to experience live music at LEAST once a month. It's healing - and I get to be with friends at the same time.
5. The earth - I try to be as eco-conscience as possible. I spend a good amount of time keeping up to date with green technologies, and try to incorporate the small things I can do on a personal basis to do my part. Recycling, composting, being aware of where my products come from (I love handmade clothing, and I *really* try to not buy stuff made in china).
6. My body - I only have one and I'm trying to treat it right. I am an avid food label reader. I know all the key "bad" words that you should NOT see in your food. I eat my fruits and veggies, try not to eat too much meat, take my vitamins and exercise on a regular basis. Balance postures and yoga are my favorite, which rolls right into hooping. Hooping is a great exercise for body and mind, and fits right in with #4.
   

Six Things I Don't Value:

1. Objects. Sure, computers are convenient, and pretty shiny things are fun...but at the end of the day if you don't have have a sense of belonging, and family/friends to love, all those things you own mean absolutely nothing.
2. Ego. I don't care if I'm better than you at that or you're better than me at this...yada yada yada. To completely let go of one's ego is something I strive for.
3. Hollywood & celebrities. I really couldn't care less who wasn't wearing panties and stepped out of a limo and flashed her who-ha, or who's in rehab or who's anorexic or who's fat (according to unreasonable and unhealthy standards anyways).
4. Junk mail and spam. Junk mail is a waste of paper, and spam is a waste of my time.
5. Negativity. I like being a happy person. I try to stay away from people who are chronically negative, I don't want it to rub off.
6. Tuesdays. Sure, every day is a gift so I do value Tuesdays a *little* bit. But they're the most useless day of the week. At least Monday is the start of something...Wednesday is the middle of the week, Thursday it's almost Friday and Friday speaks for itself. Tuesdays...they just get in the way of the rest of the week.

OK, so now I am needing to pass this on to 6 other blogs. Here goes:
http://lizzytdesigns.blogspot.com/
http://mygypsygoods.blogspot.com/
http://arosebyname.blogspot.com/ http://www.hotrocksglassjewels.blogspot.com/ http://www.outofthepinksky.net/ http://www.pandjcrafts.blogspot.com

Halloween Sale in my Etsy shop

I have some funky Halloween jewelry that I'd love for someone to appreciate for the rest of the month (and beyond).

The sale will last until Oct. 26th. Buy before then, and you're guaranteed to have your item before Halloween. I'm slashing prices on the following items, get em while they're hot kids:

What's really in your cleansing products and cosmetics?

I rarely stray from the topics of crafting, beading, and art on my blog, but I feel this information is especially important to women. It IS breast cancer awareness month, after all. (Don't forget to click on the pink ribbon on the upper left column, you'll give a free mammogram to a woman who can't afford one).
Having just been reminded by Bill Nye that some cosmetic companies put lead in lipstick, I decided to do a little investigation of the products I use everyday.
After a little 'googling' online I discovered the Cosmetic Safety Database. This site has ingredient lists and potential hazards for all of the most common "health and beauty" products found in drug stores.
I was almost sick to my stomach to discover that my soap, my shampoo, my proactive cleanser, toner, and moisterizer ALL had ingredients linked to cancer and birth defects. The industry isn't regulated at all. Cosmetic makers can put whatever ingredients they so choose, and the safety of the product is never questioned. If you want to be informed, click on the database and type in the search bar whatever product you are curious about. But beware, it may make you throw out your entire bathroom of beauty regimen products. I know I'll be doing a complete personal-care rehaul. If anyone has a natural cleansing products they recommend, please let me know. I'm a little worried that now that I've stopped using proactive, my face is going to turn into a connect-the-dot puzzle.

I've been tagged!

Kristy from the Simply Shiny has tagged me. Tagging is sort of an internet "you're it" game...allowing people to get to know each other better, while building up links.

So, here is how tagging works:

1. Link to your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blog. 4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Seven facts about Jojo:
1. From the ages of 18-20 I played bass guitar for a small local band, Gypsy Trane.
2. My favorite indulgent food is fettechine alfredo...I love it, and it *loves* my thighs.
3. I'm a hoop dancer (of the hula variety). I am ouside after work every day (weather permitting), trying new tricks, or just getting into a meditative state within the hoop.
4. I am the first child of 4 in my family, and was concieved in a cottage on Cape Cod.
5. I loooooove coffee. In fact...what am I doing sitting here right now at 8am in the morning without my cup? For shame. *grabs a cup of french vanilla*
6. I am the shortest in my family except for my mother. My "little" brother and sister are both a foot taller than me...and my youngest brother (who is 12 BTW) is exactly my height now.
7. Being of the original nintendo generation, my favorite video games are still Super Mario Bros, and The Legend of Zelda.

I’ve tagged these 7 great blogs. Be sure to check them out to see their responses.

Lapidary Queen Wannabees

Unique Charm

Three Fates Design

Bead All About It

Amy Liley Designs

RKDesign

Lizzy T Designs

Happy Reading!

Purple Beaded Pen

I've actually had this one finished for a while, but just haven't been able to take photos that do it justice until recently. This design started with me playing around with my bead-pattern program...beady doodling, if you will. What I came up with is a seamless geometric design that fits perfectly over this Pilot G-2 pen. It is woven in delica seed beads in peyote stitch. The Ink unscrews via the bottom, so you can change the ink and never have to give up the "pretty part".

Congratulations to the winner(s)!

That's right folks, we have a tie! Both the Black Panther Necklace created by Triz and the Gotcha - Beadwoven Cat and Mouse Bracelet from SmadarsTreasure have placed first in the Etsy Beadweavers challenge "Animal Instinct".

Just take a look at these beauties:

Congratulations ladies! I look forward to seeing what you come up with for the next theme!

Thank you Art Zoo!

One of my beaded rings have been featured on the Art Zoo.
Definately check out thier blog and take a look around, they have a new artsy creation featured each day!

Don't forget to vote!

Voting ends tonight at midnight for the Etsy Bead Weavers challenge "Animal Instincts".

If you haven't done so already, please take a moment and vote for your favorite!

__________________________________________________________

In other beady news, this past weekend I stitched up a pair of candy corn earrings...I think they're super cute!