Giveaway Time! My 3-Year Blog Anniversary!

It's Giveaway Time!!

3 years - already?! Wow. Time sure does fly! 

As a thank-you to all of you who have followed along on my wide-ranging artistic endeavors, I am giving away my latest creation - this beautiful, double-wrap leather beaded bracelet:

 

This earthy adornment has 16 inches of light-gray leather (1.5 mm wide) with a gorgeous strand of 4mm Rainforest Agate gemstones. The multi-colored stones include tones of moss green, rich red and light cream and the closure is a small, dusty-purple/red pearly vintage button.

Metaphysically, agate is said to balance yin/yang energy, enhance creativity, strengthen the intellect and give courage. It is a protective stone and one that eases anxiety and stress. 

To enter the giveaway:

• Leave a comment on this post.
• For a second chance to win, visit my Facebook page and leave a comment on the giveaway post there.

I will choose a winner via random number generator next Tuesday, November 8, my 3rd blogiversary! 

Be sure to let your friends know about the giveaway. This would make a wonderful gift for someone for the upcoming holidays!

As always, thanks for reading and good luck!

Double Wrap Bracelet in Blue!

Here's my latest bracelet! I mixed it up in the color department this time, going with 2mm black leather cord, 8lb smoke grey Fireline thread and 6mm sapphire blue round shell beads.

Yet another button from Gram's tin. This is a very nice, faceted black button which gives the closure a subtle bit of flair, I think.

I included an "in-progress" photo in case you were curious about how this looks as it's being done. It's easiest to keep straight if you clip one end to a piece of cardboard or other flat surface. I really need to invest in a simple clip board as I have seen others use. For now, I am getting by with this, but it's a little too short for this double wrap length. I also bought a bracelet beading tray from the craft store which is great for lining up beads, sorting out ones that are too small or damaged, and generally keeping the project in one place. It also has a handy lid that I can pop on top to keep it closed off from kids and cat. :)

I had a little birthday money to spend last week, so I made a nice trip to the local bead shop the other day with my girls. Bless the bead shop - they had a kid drawer with crayons and coloring books, so I actually was able to shop uninterrupted! I bought some beautiful 4mm Rainforest Agate and 1.5mm warm grey leather cording. I hope to make a nice double wrap (at least) out of that, so stay tuned! 

I do find that at this point, at least, it's easier for me to stop and start work on a small sewing project like these bracelets than do much drawing. I hope to get back to some pencils and paper soon, but for now, I am happy to keep some creativity going with the beads!

Tiger's Eye Leather Beaded Bracelet

I am continuing on my fascination with wrap bracelets! 

 

I completed a sweet little single wrap, this one with 6mm Tiger's Eye round beads and dark brown leather cord (2mm). It actually has a surprisingly nice heft to it, which is why I chose to only do a single wrap.

I love the look of Tiger's Eye as it has a silky sheen to it, an optical reflectance effect seen called chatoyancy seen in certain gemstones. It's like seeing swirls of honey and caramel wrapping around your wrist! 

I paired the stones with another button closure from my box, this one a simple style in a matching dark caramel color.

Metaphysically, Tiger's Eye is said to be a grounding stone, bringing calmness, serenity, and harmony and the ability to see clearly.

Here's to a New Decade!

Today is my birthday and it's a big one - 40! It is such a nice, round number :) I am excited to start a new decade.

I have spent a lot of time in the last couple of years setting up my Zazzle and Spoonflower stores, creating my business Facebook page, and updating the look of my blog and my website. Now that much of the infrastructure is in place, I think that one of my big goals in the coming year(s) is to simple do more art! I always have more botanicals that I want to do, and I am very interested in doing more beading, including more bracelets, but also working with seed beads. I would love to play around with some bookbinding as well. So, plenty of interest areas - I will not be bored, that is for sure!

Speaking of creating, I did manage to finish another wrap bracelet this week - a double wrap with lighter-colored leather and white and brown swirled shell beads (6mm this time.)

Well, I am off to do some regular stuff around the house and hopefully squeeze in some playtime with the beads, perhaps. Have a wonderful day!