Congratulations to...

Karen!

Karen was the first one to comment, and I typed in the range to randomizer.org (I love that site - if I had to actually *choose* I'd be absolutely unable!)... and #1 was the winner... and that's Karen!

Karen, I know how to contact you, so all I need is to get your address, and this little gem will be on the way. I hope you love this little bead... now that the time is here, I'm having a very hard time parting with it. I've suddenly become very attached.

I find that I'm struggling with that in just about every aspect of my life at the moment... I'm clinging to everything familiar, trying to make sense of what's going on in my mind and heart. 

And it's not working...

So, that's why I've been quiet here.


Still - I did manage to post 12 new listings to Etsy yesterday... so please do check them out! Lots of simple pieces, clearing out some stash I've had for ages. A few of those pendants have been around since I first got back into beading, about 5 years ago now. That's a long time to hold on to something that I never intended to keep in the first place!

Giveaway - Enter to Win My 'Red Dwarf' Necklace!

The first giveaway was a huge success! I think it's fair to say that a lot of folks learned about Rachael's kitty/dog/ferret/etc beds... and even Winston gets to have one, too!


The giveaway sparked a need in me, and I feel like giving away more lately.

I have a lot of blessings, and I feel more blessings when I give things away.

If you recall in this post, I made a bead that's the star of the video I made to demonstrate lampworking, and I turned the bead into a necklace.

I really like this little bead, and it’s hard to let it go. But it just didn’t seem right to sell it. I really couldn’t charge enough for it, ya know? 


So, I'm giving it away!

Do you like the name, Red Dwarf? I sure do!

Not only is it a type of star, it's a really goofy TV series from the '90s. I got hooked on the show for a short while, back in the days when I also watched Star Trek: Next Generation. 

(Yes. I'm admitting to a bit of geekiness.)

So, please DO enter the contest to win this necklace, and spread the word to get more entries!

And just for kicks, if you make a purchase from my Etsy site between now and the close of the giveaway (June 28 - see below) AND mention the giveaway when you purchase... you'll get a 20% discount off your entire purchase!!!

Don't forget to become a fan of my jewelry on Facebook, and add this blog to the regular blogs you read. I really love having more readers!

The following info is very important, so please read carefully!!

Here’s how to enter:

1. Leave a comment by 11:59pm Central time on Monday, June 28 telling me what kind of jewelry you love to wear: styles (simple, statement piece, long/short necklaces, etc) as well as colors and any other details you can provide! 
2. Tweet or otherwise link this giveaway for additional chances to win! **Important: Please make sure you leave a separate comment providing the url for where you linked the giveaway so all your entries will count!**

The fine print:

• Shipping is to anywhere in the world
• Comments posted after the deadline (Monday, June 28 11:59PM Central time) will not be included in the drawing
• The winner will need to email me with your address so you can get your awesome one of a kind necklace
• To be as fair as possible, I will use a randomizer to choose the winner

And The Winner Is...

Congratulations to Sevendaysky!

You are the winner of the kitty bed!

Please email me at lindaleestudio at gmail dot com so we can make sure you get the bed and smelly catnip toys!

I'm in the giving mood, and there will be another giveaway set up here in the next week. I've decided to give away the necklace you see in an earlier post. Check it out... and get ready to enter and spread the word.

More to come!

My First Giveaway - A Weez Wear Bed!

I’d like to tell you about my friend Rachael of Weez Wear. She makes the most fabulous soft and plushy donut beds! These beds are good for kitties, small dogs, ferrets, or other pets who love to sleep in posh beds!

Rachael has officially turned her hobby/side business into a full blown business, and it’s absolutely my pleasure to help her spread the word with a giveaway!

One lucky winner will get a donut bed made from the Dia de los Muertos skulls fabric (pictured below)... Plus some stellar catnip toys to boot!

This giveaway is valued at $45, so get yourself entered and please do spread the word!

We’ve got three Weez Wear beds, and the kitties love all of them. Right now, though, the cow bed is their favorite. 

See? Brianna approves:

She has a website at WeezWear.com as well as an Etsy site. To top it off, for every 100 fans she gets on the Weez Wear Facebook fan page, Rachael donates a kitty bed to a shelter in her area!

Rachael will do custom orders (including finding special fabrics!), and she’s done lots of fun special projects, including ferret costumes and bedding, a bed for a special dog that fit a heating pad inside, and an extra fluffy bed for a kitty with special needs.

And if you don’t win… you can feel good helping her get her business rolling by purchasing a bed from her website or her Etsy site!

Good luck!

Here’s how to enter:

1. Leave a comment by 11:59pm Central time on Monday, June 7^th telling me who you’d like the bed to be for.
2. Tweet or otherwise link this giveaway for additional chances to win! Please make sure you leave a separate comment for each place you’ve linked the giveaway so all your entries will count!

The fine print:

• Shipping is to US and Canada ONLY
• Comments posted after the deadline (June 7^th 11:59PM Central time) will not be included in the drawing
• The winner will need to email me with your address so you can get your awesome donut bed
• To be as fair as possible, I will use a randomizer to choose the winner

Recent Necklaces

First of all, congratulations to the giveaway winner, Natalie! I'll be sending your necklace and earrings to you this week! I really hope you like the set.

Would you like to see some recent pieces? I thought so... I put the chainmail technique to work and made a couple of chokers.

I like the simplicity of these. What do you think?

I especially love this one, though. I love this dichroic bead as the centerpiece. It photographs nicely too, don't you think?

Now, this one uses some of the sea glass and opalite I got in Oklahoma. I used silver pearls and some special sterling silver beads, and of course I brought this all together with sterling silver wire.
I love the sea glass. I made a sea glass necklace for myself, too. It really pops against black!

All of these necklaces are available in my Etsy shop!

Glass & Other News

First things first! Don't forget to enter the giveaway! You have till Sunday to enter. You could win this beautiful set I made!

(Click the picture for details!)

So, the big news is that I got to play with glass on Monday AND yesterday, too! Want to see?

These beads aren't the greatest, but it's not bad considering I haven't sat at a torch in *over a year*. I'll pick up the beads I made on Thursday when I go back on Monday, to make more beads. ;-)

I've missed this so much, y'all. This one has my precious rubino oro (dark pink), with some goldstone, silvered ivory, and I can't remember what else.

This one is just fun, I think. And I needed a few tangerine sparkle spacers. Man, making spacers sucks! It's so boring. I do think I should go back and work on technique-- dot placement, stringers, etc... I'm so out of practice that doing that stuff is intimidating to me. I seem to only be able to do larger dots. The smaller ones tend to be distorted or misshapen, or something.

But, honestly-- just getting to sit there and play with molten blobs of glass, for hours on end... it was peaceful and fabulous. Even better when I didn't have to talk to anyone. I could just be. In my own little world.

This one has a beautiful pale blue with opal yellow, and it reacted nicely with the silver and black. The other side isn't nearly as nice, though, because I ruined the clear dots by putting (smaller) turquoise dots on top of the clear. It just doesn't look right. Ahh well.

I think this one is my favorite from the other day. I love the pinks, and the silver reacted nicely with the ivory and the smidge of intense black I added in. The dots on the side are a super pale amethyst/almost pink. This one is definitely staying with me, and definitely getting made into a necklace of some sort.

I may need to learn to like making spacers, because all these focals without anything to go with them is kind of annoying from a jewelry design perspective.

Basically, I decided to stop depriving myself of torch time, just because I haven't been able to afford getting a studio set up at home. Yes, I have to pay for the torch time... and yes, it's a 30 mile drive each direction... but it's worth it. The peace and calm I've felt over the past few days is evidence that I need to continue carving out the time to make beads.

I do have one other bit of news. I debated giving this its own post, but... nah...

I got a full time job! After months of looking for more contract work and searching for a full time position, an opportunity sort of fell into my lap. I'll be working as a leadership insights business analyist in the Business Innovations department of an international snack foods company. I'm excited about this on many levels-- because of the people I'll be working with, because of the company itself, and many more reasons than I care to list.

Things are finally starting to look up in our neck of the woods... so please keep your fingers crossed that my husband, Brett, finds work soon too.

WIN a necklace and earrings set!

Ok, my sale is over, but you can WIN this necklace and earrings set!!!!!! I made this set specifically for this give-away, so there's nothing else like it!



(Click the picture for details!)

Please feel free to pass the word!

Monday News

I can't believe it's Monday already. Did you have a good weekend? I did! I have a few bits of news to share with you.

First... today is the last day of my sale! I'm not extending it past today, so if you were planning to take advantage, now is the time! Check it out... 15% off everything in my shop!

Second... Stephanie of Tefi Designs featured me in her blog over the weekend. We've known each other for many years but lost touch for quite some time. A few years ago, we ran into each other at a craft show and have kept in touch since then. She's a talented jewelry designer! Small world, isn't it?

Check out the feature she did in her blog. This is something I'd like to do in the future, too! I've been thinking about what kinds of questions I want to ask artists. If you can think of good questions, drop me a comment!

Ok, next... I got to learn a very basic chainmail pattern over the weekend at the DFW Wire Wrappers Meetup. Susy (Susy Jewelry) is an incredible organizer... the best... and she's also an incredibly talented jewelry designer with wire skills that, coupled with her imagination and artistry, push her to create truly amazing, one of a kind pieces. I bow to her wire skills... seriously. But Susy is also a great person-- so gracious, sweet, and caring.

Now that we have a meeting place-- at Patti Bullard's shop... Wired Up Beads (yes-- she is the creator of the now famous Wubbers jewelry tools!). She has an online shop. She's worked very hard to get a lampwork studio set up, and classes are currently available... and now she's opened WUB U, a classroom space where we learned to make the chainmail bracelet and earrings below.

This is a lovely basic chainmail pattern using sterling silver rings. Simple, elegant, and really beautiful. This set will be available for sale in my shop this week.

Finally... I'm going to be giving away this necklace and earring set in a friend's blog very soon! I'm so thrilled with how this set turned out. YES, I am giving away this set!!! Really!! This set is valued at $65!

I'll post an announcement with a link here once the post is up! Keep your eyes peeled!

I also want to post about something special I get to do this afternoon, but I'll save that for another day.

Happy Monday, everyone. Have a great one!