Christmas Earrings are back!

The Christmas earrings are back in my Etsy store! I’ve listed them at super-low prices because hey, they’re just for fun after all!

Sleigh bells ring, are you listening… ?

The Red Accent

Today I’m highlighting this red coral necklace, hoping to sell it before the listing expires on the 16th! Red coral is set off by puffed silver filigree beads in this 17" long necklace. It’s finished with a self-closing lobster claw clasp. The cheerful red is great all year round but especially for the upcoming holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas. And best of all, it’s under $20!

New Listings!

I’m slowly getting around to adding new items to my etsy store. People get bored with seeing the same items being renewed so adding fresh pieces is essential.

This Picture Jasper necklace has a Southwest look and features nine rectangular “shards” as the centerpiece. I love the natural variations in this stone.

I also added this precious bracelet of pale pink glass beads. At 5.75 inches, it’s perfect for any girl who loves pink. A heart clasp finishes off this darling piece.

Home Again

I’ve returned home from my road trip with a few mosquito bites, a bit of a tan and a lot of memories. I even made a sale in my etsy store while I was gone. A bracelet very similar to the one in this photo sold. That always seems to happen when I’m away for a few days! It must be the watched pot phenomenom.

Tomorrow I go back to my day job, but I think the break has done me good. In fact, I vote that we all get five weeks of vacation a year instead of two!

A Shout Out to the United Kingdom

It took me a long time to add international shipping to my store. I guess I was afraid of underestimating shipping costs and the imagined hazards and pitfalls of mailing overseas. If you remember, I officially started offering international shipping about a month ago. I tried to get the word out, but saw no results. Now, suddenly, my last two sales have been to the U.K.! I'm always happy to make a sale and it's gratifying to know my overseas buyers are out there and have found me. So I just wanted to give a 'shout out' to my international friends and say, don't be shy! I'm open for business!

Bird photos with new lens

My new toys arrived today! As soon as I got home from work I opened up the boxes containing my new 70-200mm lens and the 1.4x extender and slapped them on my camera. Well, first I attached the UV filter to protect my nice new lens. I attached the lens hood, took a quick peek at the owners manual to see which Image Stabilization setting to use, and headed out onto the deck. My yard is home to a lot of birds and this young fellow came right out to see why my cats seemed to think the deck belonged to them (I think maybe he’s not too smart yet)!

A bit farther away, the rest of his family gathered to call out warnings and insults to me and the cats. I don’t even know what kind of birds these are. I much prefer my house finches and mourning doves. Anyway, they provided a nice little test handholding my new lens to see how the IS works.

Girl’s Pink Necklace on Sale!

I’d rather sell it than renew it, so I’ve marked down this pink donut necklace to just $8 until the June 15th renewal date! It’s made of rose quartz chip beads and the swirled donut is acrylic. The pink and white color scheme of this piece makes it the perfect girl’s gift. This Rose Quartz necklace is 16.5" long with a 2" drop for the pendant. Click the photo for more info!

Wordless Wednesday – Crazy Horse Stone

Landscape Stone Pendant

Here’s a pendant I made last weekend. This gorgeous oval Landscape Stone pendant is wrapped in copper wire and hung on a rust colored suede cord. Landscape stone displays natural earth-tone patterns reminiscent of a painted desert landscape. I really love the natural pattern and colors!

This necklace is 25 inches long and finished with a toggle clasp. The pendant measures 1.75 inches long by 1.15 inches wide (41mm x 30mm). I hope you like it!

Vote for my photo!

I entered this photo in Timothy Adam's product photo contest on his Handmadeology blog. I'd sure appreciate your vote, so here is the link! http://timothyadam.cheddrmedia.com/iframe/310-Etsy-Worthy-Photo-Contest/entries/1635-Chunky-Green-Bracelet.html

Moss Agate and Cross Earrings

I just wanted to share my newest creation. I didn't realize until I finished them that the diagonal wire wrap on the agates match the binding on the cross charms. Sometimes design decisions come from subtle clues!

These have just been listed in my Etsy store.

And the winner is…

I’m happy to announce that Judy Richards Shubert is the winner of my Tax Relief Earring Giveaway!

You can find Judy online everywhere, but be sure to visit her blog, Food Gratitude, and her Etsy store, Edna Alice Designs. Judy also has a real interest in genealogy and cemeteries. Judy has won her choice of the earrings in my giveaway.

A big Thank You to everyone who entered my Giveaway and stopped by my blog in the last few weeks! According to comments, the favorite item in my Etsy store seems to be these Moss Green Earrings. That’s interesting since I gave away a pair just like this in my last Giveaway! I love them too, and these earthy flower beads are some of my favorites. But I also love hearing which of my “lesser known” pieces get noticed by certain readers. It’s nice to see that every piece has it’s fans!

Well, I hope Tax Day was kind to everyone this year. The good news is, we don’t have to do it again for another year!

I’m in a Treasury!

Check out this great Treasury of NATURAL items on Etsy by theBeadAerie. I’m happy to have my Agate Trio Necklace included (third row center)!

I haven’t been included in many treasuries so this gives me those good warm fuzzies! It’s funny, the piece just above mine looks very similar to the necklace I featured in yesterday’s post. I certainly do favor natural materials and colors over the “bling” of crystals. Earthtones are so gorgeous, and I don’t mean just brown. I mean red, yellow, orange and all shades of green. The agate nuggets in my featured necklace are complimented by wooden beads for a really natural look. It would look great over any “earthtone” t-shirt. That said, my FAVORITE item in this Treasury is the serving bowl by elmstudios in the bottom left corner - GORGEOUS!!

Wordless Wednesday

The photography is mine, the sculpture isn't!

My Newest Creation

I actually made several new pieces today, but these pearl earrings are my favorite! I love the way the pale gray pearls look with the wire-wrapping. I just listed them in my etsy store along with a matching three-strand bracelet. I don’t know why, but for some reason these earrings bring ancient Greece to mind, as if the pearls were plucked right out of the ocean then made into earrings. I actually kind of hope they sell right away just so I can make another pair!

I admit, I normally don’t use pearls because I still associate them with women “of a certain age” (think Barbara Bush). When I do use pearls, I prefer those that are not perfectly round. They just seem more natural to me and more beautiful due to their irregularities. I’m glad I bought these pearls and look forward to finding more ways to use them that are decidedly NOT old fashioned!

Pottery Bracelet

I love pottery, so I was excited when I found these glazed ceramic beads in such great earthy colors! They have that handmade look and feel that happens when you’re never quite certain how the glaze will come out. I’m also proud that this is the one item in my shop that has made it to the front page of Etsy! It was back in November, but since I didn’t have my blog then, I’ll celebrate it now!

The matching necklace has already sold, but I know this bracelet is bound for a very special home. Whoever ends up buying it will own a piece that really reflects my own personal style. Now I’d better go pay some attention to those grey pearls that have been pouting over my neglect for the last two weeks.

The Story Behind It

I may make this a semi-regular feature on my blog. Today I will tell you the story behind one of the pieces in my Etsy shop. You see, by the time I finish a piece of jewelry, it already has certain memories and associations attached to it. Today's story is about this Zebra Stone bracelet, which represents friendship to me:
This bracelet brings to mind a wonderful trip I made to visit my high school best friend in Sacramento. I love visiting her because she welcomes me with open arms and encourages me to remember all the silly things from our childhood. We also get to do girly things, like get pedicures and go to bead shops!

In the downtown bead shop she took me to, I found a kind of shangi la. Three tables full of loose bead strands on sale! I sorted through every single strand and my friend didn't complain (she's not a beader). I walked out with 13 strands, including the ones I used in this bracelet. It's a good thing beads are small and lightweight since I was flying home!

I have such warm memories from that visit and spending the day with my friend. She's known me longer than anyone but my siblings, and I know she'll always be there. She just celebrated a birthday, so Happy Birthday, friend!

BLOG LAUNCH GIVEAWAY!!

http://www.boutiquebybonnie.etsy.com/

For the official launch of my blog, I'm giving away these gorgeous earrings! They're made of 14mm glass flower beads in a natural green with light brown etching. The small beads underneath are 5mm Agates. The total length of these earrings is about 57mm (2 1/4 inches). Thanks goes to my sister for letting me drag her to a bead shop when I was visiting over the holidays!

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:

1. To enter, just leave a comment on this post about the earrings or any item in my Etsy shop! I hope you'll choose to follow my blog, but it's not required. Be sure I can contact you through your blog, Etsy store, or leave your email.

2. For a BONUS entry, post about this giveaway on your blog, then come back and leave another comment with the link to your post. No more than two entries allowed, even if you get comment crazy!

3. Open to U.S. and Canada residents only. Winner will not be eligible to win another giveaway for six months, to give everyone a fair shot.

The deadline to enter is Saturday, January 17, 2009 at 12:00 midnight Pacific Standard Time. The winner will be chosen by random number and posted on Sunday, January 18th sometime between Noon and 2:00 pm MST. In the mean time, thank you for looking!

My email is bmails@comcast.net in case you have trouble with Comments.

Feline Friends

"The smallest feline is a masterpiece." --Leonardo da Vinci


I share my life with two very different cats. Theodore is an impressive Orange Tabby with a sweet disposition. It's hard to believe this 16-plus pound cat was once a little ball of fur and paws that fit in just one hand!

Cleo is a dainty Tortoiseshell and is half the size of Theodore. Even though she's older, Cleo is like a kitten always wanting to play. When the two of them get into tussels, Cleo always ends up on the bottom! Don't ask me to decide which one is more beautiful - I can't. But I do think their colors compliment each other perfectly!

For those who don't understand cats, let me just say this. Cats are quiet affection. Cats are independence within a loving relationship. Cats teach us to live in the moment. If you're tired, sleep. If you're bored, play. If you're curious, explore. And above all, if you're happy, purrrr.