Bead Trends & A Give Away!

My first published piece of jewelry came out in this months Bead Trends. I'm sort of tickled pink, especially because I don't really think of my self as a jewelry maker. But they had a call for jewelry made with art beads and I thought, what the heck. I make beads. Might as well give it a try.

This is the piece that was published. It's got one of my porcelain and bronze branch toggle clasps. It was quite exciting to see how it was photographed in Bead Trends. I love the beautiful photographs in that magazine. The staging and lighting is always superb.

So to celebrate, I'm having a giveaway! I've got a copy of the October issue of Bead Trends that really needs a home and I've got one toggle clasp like the one on my bracelet to go with it. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post by Sunday at midnight. I'll mail this out anywhere in the world that the USPS goes. I'll get out the ole random number generator and announce a winner on Monday. And if I can't get that to work I'll have Alice pick a name from her dog dish. She loves paper. She'd love to pick a name.

And if one give away on a Monday isn't enough. Check this one out.

Mary Jane is celebrating her birthday today by giving away this beautiful pair of earings at Love My Art Jewelry. I want these for myself, but it will be OK if you win. So go check them out here.  I love Mary Jane's work!  You can see more on her blog and I highly recommend following her if you don't already. Not only does she make beautiful jewelry using her own hand made components, she writes about her thoughts and inspiration in a beautiful way as well.

Happy Birthday MJ!!!!!

I'm heading back into the studio to finish up a few bits and pieces. But after that I am settling down to an evening catching up on all of your blogs.  Thanks for stopping by!

Things that make me smile, part 2

Mary Jane, aka Maire Dodd, sent me this photo of a pendant she made that incorporates a few of my porcelaine beads. I actually got this photo on one of my most down with the nasty virus days. She asked 'does this make you smile'? Oh yes, indeed, it made me smile, and it still makes me smile. MJ made this piece for the fun with focals challenge hosted by Heather Powers at Humble Beads. Mary Jane said she wasn't sure what to do with the beads, wasn't sure why she had gotten the faceted glass beads, and that she was sure you must carry an inventory of beads around in your mind. And then it clicked for her and out came this focal piece. I love that! And this definitely makes me smile. And what MJ doesn't know is that this in fact is one of the first set of beads I ever made. I hung on to them for a long while and then it was time for them to find a new home. And what a lovely home they have found. Thanks Mary Jane!

If you'd like to see more of the 'fun with focals' challenge you should head over to the Flickr group. There is a lot of very innovative things happening there.

And the other thing that makes me smile all over today is that it is my son's birthday. He's 29, my first baby, and I remember his birth as if it were yesterday. I can still see him with his scrunched up beautiful new born face. Blinking at the world as if he was just not quite ready to be in it but taking that deep, deep breath and then letting out a most healthy new born, I am here, wail. What absolute beauty.