2nd Bead Packet Design Challenge

Note:  I set this blog article to run early this morning at 1:30 am to coincide with Sharyl's, but for some reason it didn't work.  :(  Anyhooos .... here it is:

For those who have been following Sharyl on her blog you know she has a "2nd Bead Packet Design Challenge" going on this month, where jewelry designers purchase a set of 9 pre-picked NKPBEADS and come up with their own designs ...Here is a link to her original blog post: Click Here

 Because my beads were in the spotlight I decided to make things more interesting by throwing in a $25 gift certificate to one of the participants by drawing a name out of a 'hat', randomly of course.  Here is a link to that blog post:  Click Here

For the 'hat' I used one of my pots that I made out of sparkly micacious clay.  I printed out the entries, cut and folded them before placing them into the pot.    I swirled my hand around exactly 20 times and then picked out a name.  

  The winner is: Whimsical Monkey!

WM:  Please leave your email address in the comments and I will contact you with instructions on how to collect your $25 in beads from my NKP Beads etsy store.  

   CONGRATULATIONS!

Below are the participants and their blogs. Please click over and take a look at each design.  Also, hop over to Sharyl's blog.

Sudafulee... Always in Bloom
http://sadafulee.blogspot.com
Kashmira Patel

All the Pretty Things
http://www.allprettythings.ca/
Alicia

Creative Designs by Cheri
http://creativedesignsbycheri.blogspot.com/
Cheri

Laren Dee Designs
http://larendeedesigns.blogspot.com/
Laren Dee Barton

Beads and Bread
http://www.beadsandbread.blogspot.com/
Shirley Moore

Alice's Beads and Baubles
http://alicesbeadsandbaubles.blogspot.com/
Alice Craddick

Tell Your Girlfriends
http://www.tellyourgirlfriends.com/
Cilla

Whimsical Monkey
http://whimsicalweavings.blogspot.com/
Whimsical Monkey

KayzKreationz
http://kayzkreationz.blogspot.com/
KayzKreationz

Jean A. Wells Handcrafted Artisan Jewelry
http://jeanawells.blogspot.com/
Jean A. Wells

Thank you to all the participants.  This was a lot of fun!  I look forward to seeing all the beautiful items you designed with some of my beads.

Ceramic Owl

There is an Owl contest over at Artisan Whimsey, a new website for jewelry component makers of all mediums as well as for Jewelry Designers. 

I was hesitant to enter at first because I was afraid that my owl would look too much like someone elses.  However, I think I was able to craft a unique owl in the end. 

I used a glaze called "Waterfall".  It shows up nicely on this porcelain glaze.  I used sprigs of clay and textured with a skewer.  Both the front and the back have this same owl shape.

Voting begins on Artisan Whimsey on October  28th at Midnight and continues until October 30th midnight.  The winners will be posted on October 30th midnight.  There are two categories: one for component makers and the other for jewelry designs, a nice blend of participants I think.

Here's the link to vote at:  http://artisanwhimsy.ning.com/page/hooters .  I would urge you to vote for mine but there are already some spectacular entries posted. Just participate and vote for your favorite.  Then leave a post here and I'll enter you in a drawing to win this particular owl.  The voting doesn't start for two more days so bookmark this page to come back and vote and leave a comment at that time.

Yes, that's right, you don't have to vote for this owl but you can definitely have a chance to win it!

Thanks for stopping by!

Crazy Lace Agate Circles

I went to a small wholesale mineral show held in Dallas last week and picked up this pair of Crazy Lace Agate circles.  

I think they look like miniature landscapes. 

I plan to eventually work these in some sort of bezel, maybe clay, maybe metal, I don't know.  In the meantime I can dream. 

The Whole Herd of Elephant Beads

These are what came out of the kiln about a week ago.  I just wanted to share a quick pic of them. Thanks for stopping by!