Year's End

This past year flew by so fast... I can't remember half of it, it just vanished so quickly.

One thing I remember, is that I started the year off feeling ill... and I'm ending it off the same way >.<

It did have it's good points though, make no mistake... for all the downs, there were some ups. I hope to continue the 'ups' into the new year, and leave this batch of downs behind ;)

My resolution for 2012 was to continue with my art and create so much on a monthly basis. That went not too badly for a few months until it died off. I did continue to create, but not within any timeline, for the most part.

2013 sees a similar resolution, only this time it's strictly for my jewelry. I joined a new group on facebook, The Year of Jewelry Project. The goal is a bit more ambitious than my previous one, with it being one piece a WEEK, however, I'm in a group so there is support should I seek it out, plus they offer a list of themes to help inspire you. 

As well, I discovered that opening my own shop isn't as financially unreachable as I'd been lead to believe, so I'll be using this 'challenge' to build enough stock to get that done :)

Oh, and I purchased a jewelry class online. It's mostly basic stuff, but I thought but would help me refine a few things and maybe learn different ways of doing things :)

I decided to do a 'year in review' kinda thing... but being me, I had to do it differently :) And so... a year of jewelry ( mostly... some aren't in there, and some... might be from last year... I 'think' I did them this year, but it went by so fast I can't remember >.< )

Some of those I've shown here... some I haven't :) Looking at the different backgrounds, I love the wood in natural lighting... not as much in artificial light. I rather like the black though... I think this year I'll have to consider ordering a light tent. I've tried some of the 'do it yourself' versions, but all have failed miserably >.< I can't follow instructions. I just can't. I NEED to take instructions and

 figure out how to do it my way... that doesn't work all the time ;)

Oh well.

And so, you've read all this way through and are no doubt wondering if I'm going to say who won December's F.F. giveaway....

... I guess so. I mean, you guys DID read all the way through this.. so.. you know...I suppose I could let you know that little bit of news... ;)

Out of 81 entries, Rafflecopter says the winner is #10

Kristi Jaro :D

Do I even need to remind you of the rules? lol You know the time limit by now, Kristi...give me a shout and crush everyone's hopes of a redraw ;)

I'll be posting a new giveaway on Friday, so be sure to pop back in and check it out :) Plus, I'm offering up a bundle of goodies to one lucky designer at the Bead Soup Cafe's 'Non-blogger/ blogger 3rd challenge, ' 'Fur'liz Navidad' .  It's a 'closed group', but everyone is welcome :)

Hope you all have a great night and enjoy ringing in the new year in whatever way you chose to :)

Holiday Bling Blog Hop #2

I missed out on number 1 since I just had too much on the go at the time, but when Shelley and Marlene decided to hold an encore, I had to jump in :)

For those who stumble across this form outside of the hop list,  Shelley of Fabric of My Life , and Marlene Cupo of Amazing Designs tossed all the applicants names into a hat and pulled out two at a time to partner us up... 

... well okay, I don't think that's EXACTLY what they did, but you get the idea ;)

We contacted our partner to get mailing addresses and some ideas on likes and dislikes, and discuss what type of gifts to exchange. Jewelry, non-jewelry, religious or non-religious... etc etc etc.  I'm not sure what all everyone discussed... I just know we were supposed to decide between the two of us any specifics without giving away what we were doing.

Both my partner, Jo-Ann and I were very open and easy going and didn't really set any limits, leaving the floor open to lots of possibilities.

As all of you creative types know... that is both a blessing and a curse >.< It leaves you wide open to any inspiration... and to ALL inspiration >.< I did have a few likes  to guide me, as well  a 'do not use' colour.... which of course became a prominent colour in my layout until I remembered it >.< lol

I blame the owl for that though.... seriously. He was the one demanding I use pink >.< Him plus some gorgeous multi coloured fabric that, due to the pink issue, I ended up not using.... nor did I use the fuzzy non-pink multi coloured yarn I'd grabbed as a substitute.  As a matter of fact, in the end, I didn't use any fabric at all :)

Instead I used some gorgeous cranberry colored, top-drilled potato pearls that I'd been hoarding forever, that had been sent to me all the way from Sweden in a bundle of goodies I'd won from ' Maneki' of Wild Roses & Blackberries :)

Want to see?

alright, alright... here...

Cranberries & Ice

Cranberry Potato pearls & quartz chips, with a cute owl from TreeWings Studio :) 

Oh.. btw... that one pearl is not backwards... the strand is flipped since I have it curled around and I didn't notice it until after I'd put the camera away. You can see the two above it are the same ;)

I was playing with buttons at the time too, and while going through the whole' pink/no pink' issue, I made these...

She can add a hook and hang them on her tree... or add ear wires and make them big chunky earrings ;)

So now you've seen what I sent her.... pop over and see what she made for me at It's A Beadiful Creation ;) then pop through the rest of the list to see all of the other goodies made this round :)

Shirley Moore http://www.beadsandbread.blogspot.com Lori Bowring Michaud http://artfullyornamental.blogspot.com Catherine King http://catherines-musings.blogspot.com Dyanne Cantrell  http://deelitefuljewelrycreations.blogspot.com Sonya Stille http://dreaminofbeads.blogspot.com Elaine Ray http://elaineray.blogspot.com Gina Hockett http://freestyleelements.blogspot.com Jo-Ann Woolverton http://itsabeadifulcreation.blogspot.ca Debbie Rasmussen http://kepirasmussen.blogspot.com Renetha Stanziano http://lamplightcrafts.blogspot.com Ginger Bishop http://lilmummylikes.blogspot.com Miranda Ackerley http://mirandack.com/category/thoughts Tammie Everly http://ttedesigns.blogspot.com Alicia Marinache http://www.allprettythings.ca Melinda Abrahamson http://www.firstreetcrafts.com Rita/ Toltec Jewels http://www.jewelschoolfriends.com Chandra Merod http://www.junipergoods.blogspot.com Mary Govaars http://www.mlhjewelrydesigns.com Kelley Fogel http://www.mylifeonebeadatatime.blogspot.com Tiffany Goff Smith http://www.southerngalsdesign.blogspot.com Heather Rats Otto http://www.thecrafthopper.com Anitra Gordy Boyers www.leelucreations.blogspot.com  Marlene Cupo http://amazingdesigns-marlene.blogspot.com Shelley Graham Turner              http://www.shelleygrahamturner.blogspot.com

F.F.#12 & Randomness

..well... randomness first, maybe ;)

I'm actually going to get this written and scheduled to post early... it's 9pm thursday as I'm writing this.

okay... 9:02 ... but the point is, I decided not to make you wait until I got home on Friday and found the energy to get it done. this gives you several more hours to get your entries in... for a giveaway that's open for an entire month, anyhow...

I WAS actually going to do this even earlier, but.... got distracted. No no making things... I do have things that need to be made, including a no-knit scarf that is currently sitting on my photo background board in little piles of yarn with tacks holding my top knots in place. That's as far as I got... and that's attempt number two... attempt one I had tacked to my door to work on and keep things from getting tangled but...that just killed my shoulders, back and neck...after five minutes >.< 

So yeah, that came down and I attached it to my board instead... and it's been sitting on the chair behind me for two days now, untouched :)  So no, that's not what distracted me.

Shaiha's ( of Shaiha's Ramblings ) hubbie, Saje, is an author. I've known this for as long as I've known her. I kept meaning to check out some of his books but never got around to it.

 Until today.

This evening, actually.

 I dropped in to Samhain Publishing and bought two of his ebooks. I'm half way through the one already. THAT's why I was distracted.

 A book nabbed me.

I made myself stop reading so I'd have time to get this posted before I head off to bed. 

Otherwise, I'd have continued to read.

Right, okay... had other things to say, but my distraction distracted me so... giveaway time?

By the way, sorry everyone, but Renetha was on the ball and nabbed her prize before there was even a chance of me giving it to someone else ;)

That just means you'll have to try to win this bundle instead.

And yes, as mentioned, it's another soup centered around a Marsha Neil focal :)

A collection of  gemstone, Czech glass, copper, and porcelain beads, plus a copper toggle... that kinda got half buried under the one coin.. sorry.. >.<  It's a pretty flower/vine toggle ;) Oh, and two little bundles of  cording.

And yes..I DID include two of my skulls... because.

... don't ask why...I'm really not sure... they just kinda jumped into the pile and I grudgingly let them stay there ;)

Anyhow, want to try and win them?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Follow the instructions on Rafflecopter to enter as many times as you can. Some may offer the chance to enter once a day, so read carefully ;)

Whoops!

Sorry.. been partly busy, and party blahed... and between the both I haven't posted in quite a while >.<

Still not really in the blogging mood, but I figured you all might like to know who won November's F.F. giveaway, hmmm?

Renetha ,  as per the rules, you've got a week to give me a shout to claim your prize.I have your addie already on file, I just need the shout to let me know you're awake and paying attention ;) If I don't hear from you by the first Thursday in December, when I post the new FF next Friday, I'll chose a new winner!

... and now everyone is crossing their fingers and hoping Renetha doesn't see this so they get another shot at it ;)

No worries everyone :) I was bad and placed another order with Marsha, so December's FF might just end up being another soup featuring a Marsha Neil pendant :)  Just gotta decide if I can bear to part with another of them... or if I should decide on something else ;)

In the mean time, I have some light display photos, and snow photos, and jewelry photos to share.... and the pink hair is gone ( for now ) so maybe I could show you the new do... Just gotta park my butt and BLOG lol

Not now though... now I still have one more day of NANOWRIMO  ( National Novel Writing Month) to see if I can't get my word count up a bit higher. I'm no where near the 50,000 goal, but I've managed to beat what I've done the past two years. It's amazing how all year long I can sit down and whip out acres of words, fill file after file of stories with no problem... but the one month where you have to actually keep track, everything gets in the way to prevent it >.< lol 

Plus, I have a commissioned jewelry piece that, while being done, still doesn't 'feel' done... and another that refuses to even start due to a focal issue... and two handmade Christmas gifts that need to get made and into the mail this week....

November is a crappy time for NANO!! lol

Anyway, I'm wasting my word count on blogging... Renetha! ( I want to call you 'Ren' so bad >.< lol ) give me a shout! The rest of you, check back later on for an actual blog post about STUFF :)

~ Skye

 It's been a few of those days.

Lots to do... no drive to really do them.

I have my HBBH gift mostly done... just have to finish off one little bit and then take pictures... which I was planning on doing today..no wait... this is Monday...I was planning on having it done to take pictures on SUNDAY because it was a beautiful day out.. lots of sunshine and just .. wow.

Then I got home and it was too nice to stay inside, so I turned off the heat, cranked open the windows and headed out. Unfortunately, my feet were against a hike, so I headed down to the library for the last day of their big book sale... then kept walking when I saw the massive line up to get in. Then after wards, I got caught up in a few little things and never got things finished to be able to take photos.  Maybe I'll finish tonight then cross the fingers for some sunlight tomorrow.

And today?

Oh well...I kind stayed up way later than I have in ages last night so I slept in until 8 this morning... then I was up for about an hour, felt draggy and got nailed by a head ache... so I laid back down to get rid of it... and really didn't think I fell asleep. I felt more rested, but thought I'd just drifted off and on... Nope, fell asleep at some point because it was ten to one when I got up again >.< then an hour or so later, I lay down with a book for a bit.  Just no 'get up and go' for today. I didn't get my laundry done either.. and I don't feel like going out to do it now. Luckily I have another clean uniform for work so I'm good. I'll just have another massive load to haul down on thursday >.< My procrastinating only makes things more difficult and time consuming.. I know this.. and yet I do it anyhow *sigh*

So... why am I telling you guys this?





No clue.

 Maybe so you can all feel better about your lazy days and procrastinating, too ;)

Yeah, that works. Feel better now? I'm much lazier and messier than you are, so if any one whines at you about it, point them to me and they'll leave you alone ;) LOL


Anyhow, just felt I should post before I fall back out of the habit. I promise next time I'll have something 'real' to say or show :)  Maybe a picture of my newly cleaned desk/studio? Maybe... no promises, but.. maybe ;)
Or maybe a picture of my 'in shambles' living room so when I get it back in place you can fully appreciate how crappy it used to be? lol .. Cause it's not like it's gonna be great once it's done.. just ... not as crappy ;) Hopefully.


:) Okay...I'm gonna go make myself DO something and avoid that couch the rest of the evening /night.

Post Office Day& Envlope Tutorial

...yup... that's what today was...

Today I spent the entire morning  making envelopes, addressing them, stuffing them, then filling out customs forms.... sixteen of them to be exact. Then I went to the post office, where I handed them all over in order of weight/size to make it quicker... then one of her coworkers helped slap the sticky parts on while she input all the info and weighed them. 

Why so many? Well, I saved up all the giveaway stuff from October to do at once... plus there was one left over from September that didn't get me her info on time, and a couple from just this week that I slipped in there too.

Don't believe me?  Here's SOME of them...I actually did up four or five more after I took this picture.

The giant butterflies are photoshopped in to hide the addresses ;)

So Pam, Kristen, Tiffany, Jami, Kimberly, Marla, Gina, Zan, Rita, Susan, Jennifer, & Beti  .... your giveaway goodies are in that pile there. Along with two prizes for Marlene Cupo's Non-Blogger & Blogger challenge at BSC, a thank you to Marlene for starting it & hosting it, and one PIF.

So all of you I just named, watch for the butterflies in your mailbox... I didn't stick any notes in them to let you know what it is... I was lazy >.< lol So  butterflies = goodies from Skye ;)

AND... since I made all of those, I took pictures to give you a simple tutorial on how to snazz up your mail, or recycle those bubble envelopes :)

    First off, you'll need the following items :

Pretty paper - here I'm using butterfly giftwrap

tape

scissors

gluestick

envelope - I'm using a new one in this photo, but you can use an old one as well... trust me, several of the packages in that photo above are recycled bubble mailers.

  

Lay your envelope on top of the paper to measure how much you'll need. 

I cut a long strip to fold up from the bottom, leaving the top open.

Take your glue stick and run it around the outer edges on the BACK of the envelope first, then across the middle in an 'x' . I find this gives good coverage, but you can cover the entire envelop if you want.

No, my glue isn't pretty colors...I just photoshopped it to show where the glue is....if you look, you can see that the glue covers MORE than just the colored part.

Place glue side down on the paper, putting the edge of the flap at the edge of the paper. Smooth it down so it sticks firmly. 

Add glue to this side as well, stopping at the edge of the ENVELOPE .. do NOT glue the flap.

Add this point, if you want to, you can fold the side in to make a nice crisp edge. I didn't >.<

Your envelope should look like this. 

Trim the edge around the flap. Fold the sides of the paper in to fit the envelope.  IF you folded the edge inside in the last step, you'll only have the one layer to fold over, and it will be considerably neater. If you didn't (like me), you can trim one side to make it shorter, then fold the longer piece over top. 

I taped all the sides down for security, but if you feel your glue is strong enough, you could just glue them.

 So now all your paper edges are folded and secured, and you have a completely covered envelop. 

Write the addresses out on plain white paper and tape them in place - this lets the address stand out from the picture.

I COMPLETELY cover the address with tape to seal the ink to prevent it from smudging and becoming difficult to read.

You now stuff it with whatever  you're putting in it,  fold and stick the flap ( I tape it down as well... extra secure ;) )   And you've got a pretty package already to go!

If you're using a 'pre-used' envelope, leave about an inch of paper extra to act as the 'new' flap to seal your envelope when it's done :)

Easy Peasy :)  If you have spray adhesive, this would be even easier...I don't ;) I think I'd make waaaay too much of a mess with that.. but that's just me :)

So now you know, if you open your mailbox and see a pretty package with butterflies on it, it's from me :D

I also have rainbow paper with butterflies on it... I used up an entire roll of the blue and white paper today and went to buy more...but they were out >.< so I got the rainbow butterflies instead ;)

~ Skye

Freebie Friday # 11

First Friday of the month.... most regular readers know what that means ;)

... of course, they also know I'm going to babble on about other crap for a while and make everyone wait :D

Marla Gibson won last months F.F. goodies, for those who didn't check the Rafflecopter widget to see if their name appeared ;) 

I also did a couple surprise giveaways that I never even mentioned. I popped into my Blogger dashboard a few days ago and saw my 'followers' had reached 50... AND that Blogger had FINALLY FIXED IT! For almost a year now, when I clicked on my follower list, I'd get a blank page - I knew I had so many followers, but I couldn't tell who they were. BUT NOW I CAN!  So I copied out all the names, assigned a number to each and used random.org to pick three. Two of them had emails attached to their blogger accounts and have already been notified - Pam aka The Crazier Sister has already replied, and her little soup mix has her name on it ready to go. I'm still waiting on a reply from  Cynthia.  And the third follower had no way to contact her, so Sarah Singer, give me a shout ! 

Some of you know that I follow several blogs, and among my faves is Fancifuldevices. I found out I won a pair of her earrings ( which are massively long and have me on the verge of tearing my closet apart to find the perfect out fit to wear with them... since my weight has been up and down in the last couple years, this may require shopping ;) )  At any rate, Fanci asked if I'd like some buttons along with my earrings... she was needing to destash... I said sure.

... here's what she sent...

Look at all those goodies :) I had to dump them all out and sort them right away...I just HAD TO! It's been very hard to not play with them, too...I have stuff I NEED to do first ... >.< *sigh*  Which brings to me another thing...

I have a crap load of things to get accomplished this month, including a bunch left over from LAST month, so I wasn't planning on taking part in this year's NaNoWriMo  -National Novel Writing Month . For those not familiar with it, it's an open challenge for people to take up and write 50,000 words in 30 days... 50,000 words being the average word count for a novel. I've been in it for several years, but the last two failed to get very far due to 'life' getting in the way or writing. The year before that I teamed up with a friend, and since the goal is 50,000 for ONE PERSON in 30 days, we doubled the word count to 100,000 in 30 days, and did it :) 

Like I said... I wasn't planning on taking part this year... however I woke up in the wee hours on the 1st with an idea in mind and started writing. Despite the fact that today I've been doing bits off and on, not really feeling it, but not really feeling like doing anything else either, I've still managed to make it to 3625 words.  If only I could count my blog posts into that ...I'd have my 50,000 total in no time ;) lol

So, you might not see much in posts from me this month considering everything I need to do.... Then again, this is me.. so.. you might see plenty from me this month as I avoid doing the rest of it ;) I'll tell you what though... if I somehow manage to make it to the goal and earn my NaNo badge this year... I'll do a special giveaway to celebrate :)

And speaking of giveaways ... you all really want to know what Novembers' goodies are, don't you?  Especially since I put out that teaser in the one group about sharing my Marsha Neil stash ;)

* note - HOLY CRAP! Minor heart attack there! I just started to type Marsha's name and my finger slipped... and the ENTIRE POST VANISHED! >.<  Thank you 'undo' feature! Whheeehw!  Okay .. back to our regular scheduled programing .. lol)

Who wants to  find this in their mailbox?

There a gorgeous Marsha Neil pendant in the center ... surrounded by  some adventurine chip stone, I believe that's goldstone chips ( the brown with sparkles.. if I'm wrong, please tell me...I got them in a big box of stone chips, but very few were labelled) some triangle green seed beads, some opaque orange glass rectangles, I 'think' the orange rounds are acrylic, and some gemstone 'daggers' that I'm trying to remember the name of.  Plus to round it out, some yellow faux suade and some green embroidery floss.

 closer view?

So same rules as always - Click on the rafflecopter widget and fill out all the entries you can :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

~ Skye

Hooters Challenge

I entered my hooters... but forgot to do a blog post! Ack! lol

actually, I DID blog them... just under a different topic. I was planning on making a new Owl piece for this challenge, but in the end went with the owl earring(s) I did for the mismatched art bead earring swap.

The owl is, of course, from Tree Wing studio :)



Pop over to Artisan Whimsy and cast your votes for your favorite Owl jewelry And Owl components :)
you have to be a member to vote, but anyone can join :)

More Halloween stuff :D

Yus... the title says it all... well.. kinda... ;)

btw... if you see words with the 'w' missing... I have a new keyboard and the 'w' likes to not compress fully when I get typing fast >.< But it's a cool keyboard... it's got glow in the dark keys... that my room doesn't have enough light to charge enough for them to actually 'glow' BUT, the black on light is so much easier to see than the white on black of normal keyboards... plus the keys feel neat against my fingers... and they're green ;)

Okay, enough about my keyboard and my new excuse for typos ;)

MISS-MATCHED HALLOWEEN EARRINGS !  Diana of Suburngirl Studios and Art Jewelry Elements blog, is holding a little hop today :) Here's my addition! check out the hoplist here... and check back because it goes as people add in their link ;) 

 sorry about the photo... but it's yucky outside >.< No natural light for pretty picture taking.

So here I took my last little witchie poo, gave her a  Czech flower dress... then used my only cat ( rather light how his eyes went red in the pic .. lol they're brown on the bead itself ) To even out the weight between the two, I opened a brass circle and turned it into a crescent, then wire wrapped some flowers around it to A- tie in the green from the witch, B- hold the crescent from slipping off , and C- keep the cat from spinning backwards. I'm afraid I don;t know who made the beads.. if you do, please tell me!

I think they turned out really cute :) Of course, now I'm out of cutesy Halloween lamp work beads.... actually, now I'm out of cutesy lamp work beads or any type :( Guess I'll have to start in on my porcelain and ceramic goodies ;)

Speaking of other goodies, I got my order of yumminess from Marsha Neil's shop and wow.... SO many ideas. As hinted at though, I'll be sharing a pendant or two in Novembers giveaway, so check back next Friday to enter for that ;)

I did order two special pieces of hers just for me though. One of her bats... I've loved those for ages and finally ordered one :) It's waiting for me to play with it.  And one of her skull pendants.  I whipped up a necklace last night, then added the clasp to wear it, despite the fact it's not finished. I ran out of size 11 seed beads in the dark brown and black >.< So until I get more in, I'm wearing it as is :D

October Fest BlogHop

Yes, another bloghop.. but one I couldn't resist taking part in since it's celebrating my favorite time of year :) Not just October, but all of autumn ! Rita of 'Toltec Jewels' & 'Jewel School Friends', drew together an impressive list of prizes and participants to celebrate the season :)

Being an 'open celebration'  we were given the opportunity to share whatever we wanted to - jewelry, photographs, recipes,ANYTHING  that was inspired by or practically screamed 'autumn'.

I'd planned on two different hikes this month, the colors and scenery being fabulous and perfect for taking photos to share with you. Hike number one, while lovely, happened to coincide with dead batteries in my camera >.<  Hike number two was rained out... and it's 'rain date' was cancelled due to being sick. I do have some that I managed to sneak in on a walk home from work one day... a day that I was hit with the urge to take my camera with me despite that being something I don't usually do. Good thing I did, hmm?

Colours

Autumn Trail

Autumn Gold

Sunshine Leaf

Into The Dark

I recently purchased a big ole box of chipstone and other yummy beads from a lady in Texas .. and among them was some that just kept calling to me. The reds, oranges, browns and creams just screamed 'autumn' to me and so while watching tv one day I started to play with whatever was in front of me... and an idea was born... and blossomed into this

Some time after that was finished, I made some Halloween jewelry pictures elsewhere on my blog here... and after choosing a bunch of beads to do another one, I ended up swapping them out for the same beads in different colors, and making this

 

Blog Hop List

Host Toltec Jewels      http://www.JewelSchoolFriends.com

Heather Otto               http://www.thecrafthopper.com

Mischelle Fanucchi     http://www.micheladasmusings.blogspot.com

Marlene Cupo             http://amazingdesigns-marlene.blogspot.com

Shaiha Williams          http://shaihasramblings.blogspot.com 

Shelly Graham Turner   http://shelleygrahamturner.blogspot.com/ 

Shelly Joyce                 http://www.aujourlejour-shelly.blogspot.com/

Charlie Jacka                http://clay-space.com/blog

Pam Sears                     http://crazycreativecorner.blogspot.com/

Margareta Saari            http://magsinhelmet.blogspot.com/

Marita Suominen          http://momentofjewelry.blogspot.fi/

Lisa Posthumus  https://www.facebook.com/lisa.posthumusharper

Jeannie Dukic                 http://site.jkdjewelry.com/blog/ 

Cheri Reed                     http://creativedesignsbycheri.blogspot.com/
Arlene Dean                   http://aglassbash.blogspot.com/
Duffy Blevins                  http://bubbasjewels1.blogspot.com/
Susan Kennedy             http://suebeads.blogspot.com/
Dita Basu                      http://www.alankarshilpa.blogspot.com/
Sonya Ann Stille            http://dreaminofbeads.blogspot.com/
Audrey Allen https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wrapped-Up-In-Magic/145456948869148

Kashmira Patel               http://sadafulee.blogspot.com/
Kathy Lindemer              http://bay-moon-design.blogspot.com/
Kris Mattingly                 https://www.facebook.com/kris.h.mattingly    
Lennis Carrier                 http://www.windbent.net/
Shannon Hicks               http://uptwnsh-fallingintothesky.blogspot.com/
Paula Hisel                    http://simplybeadiful.weebly.com/simply-stated.html
Karin Slaton                   http://backstorybeads.blogspot.com/
Shirley Moore                 http://www.beadsandbread.blogspot.com
Alicia Marinache             http://www.allprettythings.ca/
Valeria G. Rome             http://fancysphynxdesigns.blogspot.com/
Lo                                  http://thecreativeklutz.blogspot.com/
Zoe Marcin                     http://beadsteaandsweets.blogspot.com/
Carolyn Lawson              http://carolynscreationswa.blogspot.com
Kimberly Booth      http://thepinkmartiniboutique.blogspot.com/
Sherri Stokey                  http://www.knotjustmacrame.com
Tanya McGuire                http://www.tanyamcguire.blogspot.com/ 
Debbie Rasmussen          http://kepirasmussen.blogspot.com/
Christine Stonefield          http://sweetgirldesign.blogspot.com/
Sandra McGriff            http://skyescreativechaos.blogspot.com<-- You Are Here

Renetha Stanziano           http://lamplightcrafts.blogspot.com/
Evelyn Shelby       http://raindropcreationsbyevelyn.blogspot.com/
 Tanty Sri Hartanti              http://tjewellicious.blogspot.com/
 Colene Waltermire     https://www.facebook.com/groups/426147797447039/?fref=ts
Lee Nova                     https://www.facebook.com/groups/426147797447039/?fref=ts

Newest winners!

Alrighty...  busy procrastinating today, so a quick update to call out the winners, then back to it ;)

Remember this ?

This will be making its appearance in  Tiffany Smith's mailbox... as soon as she emails me her address ;)

And the bracelet?

 That will be soon be seen on Jen Ren's wrist ... as soon as she sends me her address...

And the surprise prize?   Kristen will be watching out for THAT particular butterfly-bedecked envelope... as soon as she sends me her address.

So hurry up and email me your addresses, ladies!

The rest of you have one more week to get your entries in for the big October giveaway!

Want another chance to win one of those 'fiber' bundles that Tiffany won?

Share a link to a picture of your favorite Halloween project - must be something YOU made, whether it be jewelry, clothing, costumes, or even a Halloween decoration! I'll pick a winner on Friday and have it posted by Saturday ;)

Okay ... now I'm going back to procrastinating. Catch ya'll later :D

Giveaway updates!

 Sorry >.< Between the cleaning/ reorganizing/ utter chaos of my house, combined with my getting another nasty cold... haven't been feeling the blogging urge lately... think I'd have been to inspired to whine if I had lol

I DID manage to get some creating done before the bug took over and turned my nose into a faucet again. Three button bracelets, a pair of earrings, and a fours bracelet that came to a stop a third of the way due to the germ influx lol

The one bracelet you can see in the Non-Blogger/Blogger challenge album at the Bead Soup Cafe. It's the purple and green button bracelet done for the purple pansy inspiration photo :)

The second bracelet you can't see yet because it's for the new challenge there and I haven't uploaded it yet... plus I'm debating adding some thing to the end or trying a different style clasp.

The third bracelet I'll show you in a minute, because you guys can try and win it ;)

And the earrings are MINE :)

 Aren't they adorable? I made them from one of the kits I bought from Lisa Lodge of Pine Ridge Treasures :) I already have a bunch of the other beads from this set set out in designs ready to go as soon as I'm relatively germ free again :)

Before I post that bracelet though, I mentioned back on the F.F. #10 post that I'd be adding more to that bundle. I thought maybe you'd like to see the full prize pack you're trying for? lol  Might be nice, right?

So there are the beads and findings from the original photo in little baggies... plus two baggies of seed bead mixes, a bundle of pink faux suede, and two bundles of 'autumn inspired' funky yarns :) 

No, that orange and blue mix is not some the accidental 'floor' mix I showed in the one group when my seed beads case spilled everywhere ... some of the same colours though. I'd mixed this up a couple days before that happened >.< lol 

Like the yarns? Want some to play with too? How about some spider web lacy-stuff, too?

 

How about a Halloween button bracelet?

Leave a comment telling me about your favorite Halloween 'tradition' - whether it's dressing up, or making treats, throwing a party... or going on a ghosthunt ... whatever it is, tell me ( at least ) that one thing you HAVE to do every Halloween for the holiday to be complete :) Add in which item you'd like, the fiber or the bracelet.. or both ;).

My traditions for this time of year - I do my best to book it off. Usually the 30th straight to the 2nd if I can. If not, then at least the 31st & the 1st :) Halloween morning I carve my jacko'lantern and wash up the seeds. Just after lunch I start roasting them while I get my treats together for the kiddies then scramble to get my costume together if I didn't do that the day before ;) If my costume is mask-less and easy to move in, I'll wear it most of the day, even doing any shopping in it, simply to see the smiles :) 

I spend most of the evening sitting on my porch handing out candy for both my place and my landlords, while they take the kids around trick or treating.. then one of them will either join me or take over for me :) We keep track of how many kids we get each year.. last year the count was the lowest ever, I think, but I think it was kinda on the cool side...I was bundled up in layers and had swapped out my light weight shiny cape for my nice heavy brown Jedi robe... much warmer :) Hoping for a better turnout this year.

After I head inside, I usually take my jacko'lantern with me and he continues to flicker and glow in my living room, while I either watch spooky movies or shows, or do the odd tarot or psychic reading online.

And since, I'm always looking for inspiration, how about for those brave enough to tell me about their spookiest experience , or favorite Halloween experience, I'll do an extra prize just for one of them...? Plus anything I write ( or draw, or make ) using those stories as inspiration, I'll share here for everyone to read ;) That winner can tell me whether they'd like an Autumn/Halloween fiber 'grabbag' ( I have several different varieties of the spiderweb stuff ;) ), or some Autumn/Halloween inspired jewelry, or just a surprise bead bundle :).

To break the ice , I'll tell you about one of MY spooky happening. Remember up there a bit I mentioned doing the odd tarot or psychic reading? That started a few years ago totally by accident... I was in a chat with a few ghost hunters and suddenly started describing a place...  I didn't know 'what' I was describing at the time, - a large rock, I mean a BIG rock.. emphasis on BIG, with something gold on it or maybe under it?.. a Tree....  black branches or roots... gold glinting between them... I didn't know what I was describing, but the guy I was speaking to DID, and so did some of the others. One woman ( the same one who runs Yours, Mine & Ours ;) ) went out the next day to take photos of the place I'd described. Seeing the photos ... wow. It was an abandoned building that had been severely damaged in a ...think it was one of the big hurricanes that ripped through the southern states several years ago. Anyhow, in the photos there was a huge fake boulder playground piece that had a slide on one side...that had at one time been painted a gold color, and the paint had mostly flaked off showing just a bit. The black branches belonged to a tree, and through the branches you could see the remains of the damaged yellow/gold paint on the building behind it. lol I've done remote viewing before with fairly good results at times, but this, while having the same effects, was a different sensation. At times I was very aware of a presence with me 'showing' or 'telling' me ( it was neither in words or images, but there's no other way to describe it really ). After that, when ever I get hit by that same feeling I had that night, I do the odd reading. Usually saves me a restless night or headache... shouldn't hold that stuff in if it wants out ;) lol

So, If you haven't entered October's Freebie Friday drawing for that bundle of goodies, go back to the FF#10 blog post and enter with the Rafflecopter widget :) For those who've already entered... give it a check to make sure you've got all the entries in you can do ;)

If you want to try to win that little fiber bundle or the bracelet, leave a comment telling me which one, and your fave Halloween Tradition.

And if you want to try for the surprise prize while giving me fodder for my stories and/or other artistic endeavors... tell me your own spooky happening or favorite Halloween 'event' :) Keep in mind, by posting your stories here,( or sending them to me via email at skye_sands@hotmail.com, or mattiashogan@gmail.com  if you'd rather not have anyone know the tale is yours ;) ), you're granting me permission to use them whether you win or not. I promise not to use them directly or mention any names or identifying items or places ;)  For example, if you send me a funny story about a trip through a 'haunted house', I'd have my own characters play the key rolls and change the town/city name, etc... unless you WANT to be named in it ;)

Anyhow, since I've finally blogged, I'm going to end this and go see about getting some soup into me.

I'll pick winners for these ... eh, whenever I feel like it ;) Depending on how many entries I get for them, how quickly, maybe I'll do it on Monday.... or maybe sooner ;) 

Helpful, aren't I? lol

MisMatched Swap & Hop

Hello :) 

Yeah I know... All those good intentions of blog posts to come and then ...Pfft... nada all week.

Oops :D

A while back Diana of SuburbanGirl Studios called a bunch of us together to do a ' Mismatched Artbead Earring swap.   Since I've been trying to push myself into actually USING some of my art beads, and my asymmetrical jewelry skills needed some work, I joined up :)

Those of you in BSC & CBC may have heard me bitching over a certain earring that was driving me insane... remember the one that the beads and jump rings kept leaping out of my fingers and I had to remake several times? lol  Yeah, that was one of the set I made for this :)

First off, the rules stated that we had to use at least one ArtBead ( according to the guidelines set by Art Bead Scene  )

After an exchange of notes with my partner, Dawn of TurtleMoon Designs,  we discovered that neither of us had any metal allergies, and we were both in the mood to give our partners very little 'help' in figuring out what to make us :D hehe  The end results were completely different and yet we both love what the other made us, and we both made an extra pair of earrings to go along with the required one :)

Here's what she made me ;

This is her 'artbead ' pair, which contains some hand etched connectors she made :)

These are along the lines of what I usually wear so I assumed these would be the pair I wore the most... lol

And these were the extras she sent... upon first look, lovely but too 'girly'.

Wrong...I wore them once and fell in love with them lol  Maybe I'm veering back towards my girly phase? lol

This was a fun little swap & hop :) I enjoyed the challenge of using beads I instinctively hoard despite all the ideas I keep coming up with for them ;)  Plus I love making something for someone and receiving a little handmade treasure in return :)

Want to see the earring that gave me such problems? lol  I should just send you over to Dawn's blog to see it, but you'll end up there sooner or later anyhow ;)

That adorable little owl is from Tree Wings Studio  :)  I added a greyish bezel nut bead to the other side to give a bit of color balance... lol

So there.. now go check out all of the other creations and exchanges, and see if Dawn took a picture of these ones hanging ;)

HOSTESS -Diana Ptaszynski  http://www.suburbangirlstudio.com

Lisa Liddy http://www.lisaliddy.wordpress.com

Kari Asbury  http://www.hippiechickdesign.blogspot.com

Jayne Capps  http://mamasgottodoodle.blogspot.com/

Rebecca Anderson  http://www.songbeads.blogspot.com

Lesley Watt  http://www.thegossipinggoddess.blogspot.com

Lori Bowring Michaud  http://www.artfullyornamental.blogspot.com

Renetha Stanziano  http://www.lamplightcrafts.blogspot.com

Holly Westfall   http://www.silverrosedesigns.blogspot.com/

Theresa Fosdick  http://www.thoughtful-notions.blogspot.com/

Ali McCarthy  http://www.northwoodscreativestudio.blogspot.com

Shai Williams  http://shaihasramblings.blogspot.com/

Iveth Caruso  http://www.creativeatelier.net/blog.html

Carolyn Collins  http://www.sparklingwaterstudio.com

Elaine Ray  http://www.elaineray.blogspot.com

Kristen Stevens  http://kristen-beadjourney.blogspot.com/

Charlene Jacka  http://clay-space.com/blog

Jan Onipenco  http://www.MoltenMayhem.typepad.com

Stephanie Woods  http://www.rainydaysdesigns.com

 Eleanor Burian-Mohr http://www.cornerstoregoddessjewelry.blogspot.com

Shelby Foxwell  http://www.sundownbeaddesigns.blogspot.com

Pam Sears  http://www.crazycreativecorner.blogspot.com

 Mary Harding  http://www.maryhardingjewelrybeadblog.blogspot.com

Lisa Johnson  http://www.Whimsyswonders.blogspot.com

Kashmira Patel  http://www.sadafulee.blogspot.com

Penny Neville  http://www.copperpennydesigns.blogspot.com

Dee Elgie  http://www.cherryobsidia.blogspot.co.uk

Sarah Small  http://www.bysalla.blogspot.com

Carolyn Lawson  http://www.Carolynscreationswa.blogspot.com

Karin Slaton  http://www.backstorybeads.blogspot.com

Ashleigh Becker  http://www.seladesignsjewelry.blogspot.com

Kay Hand  http://www.creativetangent.blogspot.com

Rana L. Wilson  http://ranaleadesigns.blogspot.com/

Sandra McGriff  - You Are Here

  

   Dawn Pierro  http://www.turtlemoondesigns.me

Shelley Graham Turner  http://www.shelleygrahamturner.blogspot.com

Karen Mitchell  http://www.overthemoon-design.com

Melissa Trudinger  http://www.beadrecipes.wordpress.com