Its Finally Time....for a giveaway!

With the Christmas season closing in on us, ( I know, I said it out loud) we are all searching for that perfect gift for daughters, sisters, granddaughters, moms, and more. Now I do not claim to have all the answers for stocking stuffer's, but I think I have a great idea for that! After a long thought about what I was going to put together as a give away item, I decided to offer the beautiful and fun Hair Fancies. I have not been able to keep these things in stock long enough at shows this past month! They are great for weddings, proms, dress up and more!

The giveaway will start Thursday October 1st, and end on October 15th. That is only two weeks to get your friends on board and your entries in! The winner will be announced on October 17th. The winner will have three days to respond and claim their gift. Good Luck to all!

So, without further Ado, it is finally time.....
Please read the rules carefully, there is a small twist to the entries for this give away.
1. follow my blog
2. refer 3 friends to follow this blog and get 2 more entries (be sure they leave your name so I can connect their entry with yours)
3. tweet this give away
4. be sure to leave a comment on what you have done here and your email in case you win

And last but not least:
5. For any person doing all four items listed above, a special gift will be included with the hair fancies if you win!

Yes! you will get a bonus gift with a give away! How great is that? So be sure to keep me posted on what you do so I can keep up with the entries! What a great way to start off your Christmas shopping season than with free gifts??!!

Be sure to check out my store for more great gift giving ideas! There are some great items for around $10!

Life, death and everything in between

I have to start by admitting that I have not been that faithful about keeping up with the blog posts. As the summer rolled around and the weather got nice and warm, we spent a lot of time outside and away from home. Also with some pain with the back, it prevented me from spending more time with ArtFire, and Etsy. I have not kept up with the production of my inventory nor have I put all that I have in the stores. I think this is the inevitable truth about summer. We as adults, find a way to go out and play as the kids do when school is out. But who doesn't need that once in a while? So as we wrap up our summer, kids going back to school tomorrow, the back healing from one nasty procedure, and the loss of a family member it is time to get back to the grind of life, death and everything in between.

So with the rush of excitement about the kids being in school, and having a show next weekend I wanted to make something new and fun. I wanted to create something that was girly, pretty and elegant. I wanted to embellish on something that did not require wrapping wires or head pins for a change. And as I searched through library books, and how to pages on the web it occurred to me that I needed to go back about 6 years and "re-invent" what I had made for my girls. They loved playing dress up (and still do), and the most important part of dress up is the hair. How you wear it, what you have in it, and the crown that shines above all the rest. But I always tried to encourage my girls to be the woodland fairies who wore flowers in their hair, not crystals. And with that, my new found project was off!

I have had the most fun with this new item. I love the feel of the fabric, the color combinations, and the kids love being able to singe the edges of the material for me(honestly I think it's playing with the candles). This has been quite the family activity the past two weeks!

The flowers are layered with Chiffon, Silk, and Taffeta. The flowers are such a wonderful idea for a bride who wants to adorn her up-swept hair with small white flower petals. For that daughter that is off to prom and wants to look just right with her hair curled up and the flower just tucked behind that curl. There is no wrong occasion for these flowers. They are on bobby pins of varying sizes, so you can put them almost anywhere. You could even use them as a broach. It just makes you feel like a girl, and who doesn't need that sometimes?

Be sure to come check out ArtFire and Etsy and see for yourself how much these great hair pins could brighten up your day, just because!

And now a word from our Sponsor.....

Welcome to Plum Valley Designs!

Just a few photos this week of the new items going into the stores today. Be sure to visit Plum Valley Designs to see where we are going to be next. This is a busy time of year for us, and we are all over the place. The etsy store and the artfire store are just full of great new items that have been added over the past few weeks, so be sure to check them out too!

If you mention that you have been here to check out the blog, I will offer a 20% discount on any purchase! Just simply purchase the item at regular price, then I will refund the 20% as soon as I process the order.

Treasures beneath the Sea

Have you ever wondered how glass is made?
Have you ever tried to figure out how they get the great color combination, or the deep hues of red or cobalt blue? Do you know how old the glass formula is?

In the old days, because beach glass has been around as long as we have had glass, it was said to be "Mermaid Tears". It was said that every time a sailor drowned at sea, the Mermaids would cry and the sea glass was their tears washing up on the shore.
Well, going into this adventure of finding "Sea Glass" or "Beach Glass" I turned up some very interesting facts. This exploration took me deep into the history of the travel of the glass itself. Within many books,(yes I said books) I found stories I had never begun to imagine, great places to find this glass and how to search for it. It just makes me want to head out and start looking!

With all this new found information, I decided to figure out why the red glass was so rare and how it was made. This recipe found on the East Carolina University's web site is very old and are not used today, this is more for educational and informational purposes only. This information is from "Book of Formulas
Recipes, Methods and Secret Processes"

Prepared by the Editorial Staff of Popular Science Monthly
copyright 1932:

Red Glass	parts
Sand	100
Red Lead	200
Copper oxide	6
Stannic Oxide	6

You may ask what Stannic Oxide is. Stannic oxide is also referred to as Tin oxide or White tin oxide. This is a hazardous material to use. If inhaled it could cause respiratory problems that include benign pneumoconiosis, producing distinctive changes in the lungs with no apparent disability or complications. So with this information, the glass was rarely made. So finding a glimmering piece on the beach is like finding treasures beneath the sea.

With this color and many more, sea glass is aged and tumbled by the surf and time. Each piece is so individual that finding two identical pieces is impossible. Not to say that it might happen..... And I am not saying that the red is the only rare color. Everywhere Sea Glass is found, and it is found everywhere, its value is partially determined by its color. This is because only a few items were stored in red, blue, lavender, purple or pink glass containers. Likewise certain rare tints and shades of these popular colors are found.
For instance, very rare Cobalt Blue, the "sapphire" of the beach, came from such apothacary items as Milk of Magnesia, Vick's Vapo Rub, Noxema, Nivea, and Bromo Seltzer bottles, along with some prescription bottles and perfumes.
The extremely rare red pieces, or "rubies" of the beach, might come from perfume bottles, the tail lights on old automobiles, lantern and traffic light lenses, or even some types of old beer bottles, like the bottles made by Anchor Hocking.
Pinks, lavenders, purples, lime greens and other rare shades of came from things like perfume bottles.

Greens, browns, and aquas come from beer and soda bottles, and nearly every other source, like Clorox Bleach jugs, shampoos, etc.
The glass is commonly found in lakes and beaches alike, where there was a lot of boat travel. Some glass have been found with impressions still in the glass, and some are more than 100 years old.


So with all of this said, I want to introduce my newest piece in my Island Dreams Collection. This necklace takes you to a distant time or place, where mermaids swim freely amongst the coral and fish. The color of this glass is just stunning. It is a breathtaking red with cultured freshwater pearls and Swarovski crystal. The chain is sterling silver and is approximately 17 1/2" long. There is no other like it, this is truly a one of a kind treasure from the sea. Visit my store and view this item and others like it.

And just a sneak at the next piece I am working on.....

**Information obtained from East Carolina University, Glass Beach Jewelry and Museum and Wikipedia Other facts and information was gathered from books loaned by the Klamath County Library.

There and Back

I have had such a whirlwind weekend I do not know if I am really back or just physically feeling the woes of vendor booth aftermath!

This past weekend I had a booth set up in Bend Oregon for the Bend Summer Festival. It was wonderful! Of course the weather did not make up its mind until after we left. On Saturday we had hot weather, over 90 from what I heard. And on Sunday there were winds and barely 68 degrees. I did have one of the best booth spots in terms of the light though. Ok, so the sun was a little warm about 4pm on Saturday, but it just made everything sparkle!

We had a fabulous time and now it is time unload the car and take inventory on what I have left. I know it's not much from when we were loading up it only took about 20 minutes instead of 60 minutes the previous night. A lighter load is always a good sign.

A New Bead Stop in Town

Have you ever written a "How To" before? How to make cookies, or how to make earrings, or how to plant pea's in a peet pellet? Well, with kids in 5th and 6th grade, I have had a lot of experience in how to speeches. So when I was approached to do one for a website I thought it to be an easy task. I have to admit, making the item is so much easier than writing down step by step and remembering to take pictures at each step. But I managed. And I forwarded it to a person that has started a site that has a lot of these how to's for the rest of us.


The site is called My Beads Club. It just launched its opening two weeks ago with a bang! Click here to go directly to the site. These are some of the great opportunities you can enjoy with the membership:

Here`s what you can enjoy -

1. Unlimited access to bead patterns and make jewelry projects, View as many as you like, choose from over hundreds of patterns and videos for necklaces, bracelets, earrings, special occasions, wedding, and home ware. All projects are fully illustrated with step by step instructions providing you with all you need for years and years of making beaded jewelry. Once you get going there`s no limit to what you can make...

2. FREE "Funky Beads" book- when you sign up today, downloadable quickly with 20 unique jewelry making designs by up and coming NEW designers. Retail Price $19.99 (Lulu.com & Amazon.com)

3. GREAT discounts on our special monthly offers area.

4. FREE report on how to sell your jewelry for a profit. Do what you love to make lots of cash -dont miss this one !

5. Monthly competitions, enter your jewelry designs to win and show off your talent !

6. FREE Monthly Newsletter with expert tips, advice on making beaded jewelry and new finds, beading discounts and much more...

7. Each and EVERY month we will be adding more and more new and exciting designs for you to try for all levels of expertise.

8. Plus there`s more "how to make beaded jewelry" videos to watch, including lots more projects to try.

**Pictures shown are from mybeads.com. This is a glimpse of what is currently available.

So be sure to check out mybeadsclub.com and see what it's all about. Come back here and tell me what you think!

To try something new

On Wednesday, we went to the Library for the summer reading program. I have been wondering what to try next with my jewelry to mix things up. You know how it gets when you have beaders' block...

I found about five books on making jewelry and thought I would learn something new. I made a vintage style 1950's bracelet in purples and more purples. The second I did with the keshi pearls and blue cultured pearls. They are beautiful.



The Second piece I put together was a garden necklace and earring set. This was a little more difficult due to the spacing and the colorings. I had to be sure not to get a blue two times in a row. And beings that I made this when I should have been fast asleep, this was more of a challenge than usual!



Finally I came across a pendant that was so pretty! But it never fails, and my rendition never looks as it should. I guess I should read the directions more often. So as for my feeble attempts to try something new, I think I will stick with what I can make up on my own. Directions and I do not seem to get a long!

Oh to be back in the Land of Blog........

I have to admit, I have really fallen down on the job this time! It has been nearly three weeks since I have been here. I have not kept up with blogs, give aways, new postings, etc. I have been guilty of going off and having fun as soon as the kids were released from school! We have not stopped since the beginning of June.

It all started with the Girl Scout bridging ceremony on the 6th. Pizza, cake, badges, and 5 girls bridging from Brownies to Juniors, and a Junior to Cadett (mine)! We had about an hour and a half ceremony.... 14 out of the 17 girls out of my troop showed up for this event. Of course, I managed to find the one picture of none of the girls that were bridging.

Then after that, the kids were out of school on the 9th with a kindergarten and 6th grade graduation. I am not sure why they do the graduations for the 6th graders now. I never had one of those. It was an intro to puberty class and off you go! No special instructions other than you will have more homework and less time to mess around. Ahhh, I digress! :)

Then after that, we (and when I say we I mean me) gathered supplies for Girl Scout Day Camp in less than a week. I wasn't even sure we were going to put it on due to lack of registrations. But none the less, 23 registrations in at the 11th hour. Literally.
The girls had so much fun with the theater theme last week. They made crowns, fairy wands, sets, props that were supposed to resemble a goat and so much more.
he girls got to put on a dinner theater for their parents on Friday night. We even had Miss Klamath County and Miss City of Sunshine help us during the week with our activities. It went so well, and I am so proud of the girls for their hard work.

Then of course it was a mini vacation for the family as soon as the Day Camp was over. We went camping in Antlers, California. We went swimming in Lake Shasta, made s'more's and spent a great three days away from the home (and the phone)!

So this brings me to Thursday. A far cry from my Marketing Monday's. But I have a few small things I wanted to post in the stores before I am off to another event. July 11 and 12th I will be in Bend, Oregon for the Bend Summer Festival to sell my things! I am sooo excited! This is a two day event in Downtown Bend by Drake Park. I just love the festivals. I am such a social person that this is a great event for me. So I am off to get a few more things in the stores before I start all over again, Monday.

Oh to be back in the Land of Blog........

Finally catching up

It has been well over a week since I have been here last. I have lost track of time and have been enjoying the great weather we have had. It is nice to see summer has finally arrived!

Over Memorial Day Weekend, my mom, my oldest daughter, and I went to Portland for a bead show. It was a wonderful drive. Well if you consider 5 hours in the car wonderful. But it was more getting to spend 5 hours visiting with my mom, which I do not do a lot of. I am guilty of going days without talking to her. So it was nice in that respect.

When at this bead show, there were some lampwork artists there in a second room. The Beadwife and Harvest Beads were there with some absolutely beautiful work! I found a pendant similar to this that made its way home with me. This is Amazonia. So after a BIG dent in the pocket book, we continued on our journey. I found so many pretty things though!


We stayed in Salem for the evening and on Sunday we went to Schreiner's Iris Garden. They have over 10 acres for the public to walk around and view all the beautiful iris there are. We spent about 2 hours and most my phone battery taking pictures! my daughter managed to get my mom's phone and was video taping the family acting strange and silly. Schreiner's has every color iris imaginabele. I wish I could mimic the colors of the flowers in my work. This has always been my goal. I wish I could put every picture on here so you could see such beautiful colors in these flowers!
This place is just amazing. As you drive down Interstate 5, you just see rows and rows of flowers! When you turn off it is even more impressive when you are able to walk through the flowers.


After we got home, I hung out with chickens and butterflies. I just wish I could get the butterflies to hold still long enough to get a picture. Instead I have action photos of our new baby chicks. Actually they are almost 6 weeks old. We have also been working in the garden and you would not believe the size of my strawberry plants! And I have blossoms on my raspberries too! No, this is not facebook. Although I do spend a little bit of time there.... ok maybe I am there often. OK! I am there every day! You dragged it out of me!!

I have not worked too much with the jewelry. I guess this means that come Monday, I have to get back on track. I will be in Bend in July and will have more info on that event as soon as they update me.
Have a cool and springy day!

Pay if Forward

I normally do not post any new blogs until Monday, but this just caught my attention and I had to get it out!
I was strolling through Flight fancy to see who the Fantastic Friday Giveaway winner was (its me!) and I scrolled down to see what else she had going on. I saw this post about paying if forward, making something for someone without anything in return. I just thought it was the most fabulous idea. So without further ado, I found the site she found it on, and the site that person found it on, and so on. I think I had about 6 windows open... and counting!

I hope you all have a wonderful time and partake in this great adventure!

Creative people are adventurous! So, if you’re creative and would like to participate, please send me a comment and the first five people will receive something (handmade by me!) from me in the mail. In return, all you have to do is “pay it forward”- please see the rules, restrictions and limitations below.

Here are the rules, and happy posting!

1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make. But I hope you will. This will be something made from the heart.

2. What I create will be just for you with love and good wishes. It will be made of actual materials, not of cyberspace.

3. It will be done this year (2009).

4. I will not give you any clue what it’s going to be!

5. In return, all you need to do is cut and paste this text on your Blog (from “Creative People are…” and create five things for the first 5 people to respond to your post. Be sure to leave a way I can contact you in the response. I will contact you to get your mailing address.

IMPORTANT: This offer is null and void if you do not post on your own blog to pay this forward. Would love it if you could join in!!!

Monday, Monday...On a Tuesday

I want to begin by stating that this weekend was a wonderful weekend for a street fair! I had the grandest time socializing with the people walking by. Both my girls and my mom also stayed and helped work the booth this weekend. So it was really a great experience. Not to mention, the sales went through the roof! I am now on a mission with new color schemes and styles for the next big show! The necklace to the left was the biggest hit!

But it was not all that easy getting from last Monday's post to this past weekend. On Monday there was a wee bit of an obstacle that overcame me. I had a small accident. I was on my way to pick up kids from track and it was raining and muddy. The tire of my van got "sucked in" to the mud and I could not correct it. I eventually ended up hitting a rock, and another rock and then what finally stopped the van was a tree stump. Amazingly enough, even though the van was on the roof, I climbed out of the car with just a few sore bones and muscles.
This was just the first set back of the week. Not only had I destroyed the underneath of the van, I had to find alternative transportation to get to the show. The second was the headaches that followed. I could not get up and move around without such pain and dizziness that I had a second ER trip. So with this challenge, I was unable to sit and do all those little last minute items and details that we all know have to be done. So, with a little persistence and stubbornness, I eventually got everything ready to go.
But wouldn't you know that my husband could not go with so that meant my girls got to help set up and take down. Their favorite part! Fortunately I was able to bribe them with shave ice and a trip to the mall when it was all said and done.
My oldest even got to display some of her jewelry and sold 2 pieces! I even talked my mom into putting a few things out too. And she sold something! I was so blessed that everything fell into place even though I thought it was all going to be ruined.

Now for the next new piece of the week. It is a beautiful 16" black cherry choker. It has swarovski spacers to adds a vintage look to it. You can see it here. It would be great for prom or even an evening out. It is a lovely piece. The dyed black cherry pearls give it a soft but sophisticated look. It will be on sale at ArtFire this week!

Now, I am off to create more beautiful items so I can replenish my inventory. I wish everyone a wonderful week!

Art in Bloom

It never fails, when you think you are caught up, you find out your not. I thought I had a chance catch up this weekend but without fail, I was reminded of one more thing. Run, run, run! So, I gave in and started pulling inventory together, making sure the tables are in good working order, and making sure the tent cover does not leak! Its raining here and sure enough I have a show this weekend!


I will be in Medford Oregon participating in a two day event called Art in Bloom. The event takes over the downtown area for two days and is a great activity for the whole family. There is food, art, jewelry and other vendors there. There is also an area for the kids to make and take crafts for their mom, grandma, aunt, etc. There is no cost to come and view the beautiful items on display.

I have always been a spectator in the past, but this year I will be a vendor. I had always thought it was more difficult to get into these events and so I never tried. I had always thought that my work was not good enough to be in such a wonderful event like this. But I finally decided that if I could teach my mom the right angle weave, I can certainly be a part of this! My husband has been very helpful and has made most of my display cases and jewelry stands. He dabbles in woodwork in his spare time.


I do not have any new pictures of the new items today. I was so busy yesterday that I completely forgot. But I will give you a few pictures from my current selection at my shop. These earrings are called Japanese Lanterns. They have such a luminescent glow! They look like they are actually lit up! I just love them and they are so versatile.

And to go with these earrings I have the Ice Cube bracelet. They are not a set but they would compliment everything from jeans to that little black dress. Czech cubes, silver star dust beads, and a simple toggle clasp.

I have to say, I had so much fun with Laura Trevey's giveaway this month. I chose a beautiful painting that reminds me of warm sands and tropical breezes dancing around you. With her "A Painting a Day" giveaway she was giving away a painting to everyone that left 5 comments on her paintings, followed her blog and linked your blog back to her. I think this is a wonderful way to get people to come visit and see an amazing artist! I went there to see what she posted next, regardless of the outcome. This is the painting I chose:

Congrats and thanks Laura for all your work this month!

Without further ado, I must be off. I have a van to start loading, earring display stands to find, and about a hundred labels to make up. Happy blogging!

A day to rest....

I have been all over the state of Oregon the past week! No, I have not been to shows or events, but even bigger! I have been on my daughters 5th grade field trips!

It seems as the year winds down, the field trips get more abundant! Last week we drove to Portland Oregon to spend the night at OMSI. It is a wonderful science museum that has so many great things to offer for kids and adults. The kids got to explore the museum, watch a show in the planetarium and watch a movie in the OmniMax theater. This is a huge theater that the best part, well one of the best parts!
Then less than week later we were off to the High Desert Museum in Bend, Oregon. So worth the 2 1/2 hour drive (on the bus with the 5th graders I might add)! There were such beautiful displays of artwork by the early Native Americans of this area. It so inspired me to want to make something! And so I mastered the spiral stitch on the bus no less!

Thinking that this was my day to rest, I realized we have a band concert this evening for my older two children. But I just had to get back into the swing being that it is "Marketing Monday" for me. I have a couple of things I wanted to share that I have been working on. They will be listed in my Artifre store today, as well as Etsy. Hopefully by Wednesday they will be in Silkfair and 1000 Markets too! Yes, I have many online stores to visit, but not everything is out yet. I just seem to keep getting caught up in those field trips!.... Maybe I should say Thursday, we have a 6th grade field trip on Wednesday! :)

Butterfly Garden Earrings are a fun pair of earrings, with rose colored ab Swarovski crystals dancing below an inquisitive butterfly. The butterfly has a light green shimmery tint to it's wings that catch the sunlight just so. Just above the butterfly is another crystal that seems to catch her attention. These are just so springy and fun I just had to get them out there. You can find them here.


The "be still my heart" Necklace is a lovely piece that inspires romance with it's vintage style. A shorter necklace, 16", has a captivating filigree antique bronze heart and three small Swarovski pearls dangling lightly behind or in front of it, as if they were children playing hide and seek. You must check them out here.




There is also "A Fairy's love" earrings. These were so fun to put together. I have attempted the "Banana Bobian" style and added my own flair. These dainty fairy's have a light green shimmer to their wings. They look as they are shining so brightly with the Swarovski crystals behind them. There is a rouge color to the rose earrings just above the fairy and a single crystal that is wire wrapped above the fairy. She is gently rests atop two heart shaped filigree pieces that have been combined to accentuate her glorious backdrop. View her and more great items here.

So with two more field trips this week and next, I will be sure to get something done on the bus to show you all next week!