Fantastic Revelations...

Photo above...Wondrous little thank you cards from FrenchRevelation

I tend to be one of these people who seldom win anything, so it was a complete surprise when I saw the email that proclaimed me a winner in a blog giveaway. Could it really be ? Did they make some mistake? Me? Really? Really... me ?

Photo above...One of my lovely prizes, 8 little cut-out mini note cards from FrenchRevelation

As it turns out Lady Luck finally smiled my way and I found I had won my choice of not one but 2 items from FrenchRevelation . FrenchRevelation has incredible handcrafted cards, note cards and tags, it was a hard decision to make with so many lovely things to choose from. After what seemed like a very long time of flipping from page to page and clicking on item after item and back again, I decided upon some absolutely adorable mini note cards.

Photo above...I adore the sweet little cut outs and the lovely color of these note cards.
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Photo below...My second prize is this marvelous set of mini thank you cards. I think anybody receiving one of these little "Thank Yous" will feel very special indeed.

Thank you FrenchRevelation I am really ecstatic about my lovely prizes. There are many more beautiful cards , lovely note cards and pretty gift tags at FrenchRevelation I encourage you to please click on one of the many links in this post and check out this extraordinary handcrafted card shop. You may also write down this URL or copy and paste if you prefer : http://www.etsy.com/shop/FrenchRevelation

Lolley's Blog is Having a Giveaway...

It's the holidays and who wouldn't love a pretty piece of sparkling jewelry to either wear during the festivities or give as a really special gift? I just visited lolley's Blog and you've got to check out Lolly's giveaway, it is for a beautiful SWAROVSKI CRYSTAL pendant necklace. I know I'd love to own it, how about you? :)

Just click the links in this post to go to Lolley's blog to see the prize and enter the giveaway.

The Prize is Claimed...

Great News ! I have just received word from our winner Bridget she has chosen the green and gold pair of dangles. Congratulations Bridget ! As I mentioned in my post below Bridget is very busy preparing for an upcoming arts and crafts show, if you're in her area you might wish to check it out, maybe swing by and say hi A Little Piece of B...

Congratulations to Cindy also, you will be receiving the pretty pink and burgundy pair. And once again I thank all of you who took the time to visit my blog and enter this giveaway, I also thank you for bearing with me as I learn the ropes of doing giveaways.
May today be sunny and bright and may all things go well for you.

The End Of The Giveaway

 

The giveaway has ended and it's time to get my favorite mini-pitcher out for the drawing. This little pitcher is really the creamer in a set of ceramic ware consisting of sugar bowl, napkin holder, large serving platter and salt and pepper shakers. I've never used the creamer as it held over a cup of cream and, let's face it, just how much cream does one put in a cup of coffee or tea ? But I loved the pattern and the shape of the pieces, guess it was an impulse buy !

On to the draw and the process thereof...

 

Entry slips are filled out and folded into neat little triangles, so each slip is equal and has the same amount of surface area and corners.

A list is prepared placing each entrant into the numerical position in which their comment was made. My mini pitcher will be used as a receptacle for the drawing slips, mainly because it is not too big but not so small that I can't get my hand into it, two very important criteria.

 

 

Above . . . All entrants are now in place awaiting the fickle hand of fate.

And the "fickle hand of fate" reaches in and extracts the First Draw . . .

 

Ta Da . . . and the winner is number 4 . . . Bridget !!!

Once again the fickle hand of fate reaches and snags yet another slip . . .

And 2nd draw goes to number 8 . . . Cindy !!!

 

CONGRATULATIONS !!! Bridget you have won your choice of earrings. Cindy you have won a pair of my handcrafted earrings but until I hear from Bridget I can't say which pair will be yours...will let you know as soon as I hear.

I WISH TO THANK EACH AND EVERYONE OF YOU WHO TOOK THE TIME TO FOLLOW MY BLOG AND ENTER THIS GIVEAWAY...YOU ARE ALL SUPER STARS IN MY BOOK AND I WISH THAT I COULD SEND EACH OF YOU A PRIZE .

NOVEMBER BLOG GIVEAWAY...

November is here and has made it half way through its course on the calendar. It is apparent, at least to myself, that the holiday season of 2009 is going to be fast and furious, a flurry of activity and days speeding by faster than supersonic jets.

I recall a promise made in October that I would have another Blog Giveaway and so the time has finally come for that promise to be fulfilled. In this November giveaway I offer up not one but two pairs of my handcrafted earrings. The first draw will win the pair of their choice and the second draw will receive the pair that remains. These are dainty jewels, crafted from Czech firepolished faceted glass beads, and feature petite light weight dangles that can be worn comfortably all day. The earwires are my own handcrafted shepherd hook earrings, I always liked to make my own as it allowed me the freedom to incorporate any bead or combination of beads that I fancied, it also allowed me to finish off the hanging loop however I desired ...in an open spiral, the shape of a heart, star or flower, or simply a standard ring loop.

Though there is a close similarity between these 2 pairs of earrings they are different and unique from one another. One pair boasts gold filled wire, both in the ear hook and in the making of the dangle. It also is embellished with tiny spirals, small round beads of 14 kt. gold fill and Czech firepolished beads in bright shades of Pink Opal and Garnet Red. The other pair swings from sterling silver earwires embellished with small sterling beads and Czech firepolished beads in tourmaline light emerald green. On these dangles I used a ball tipped sterling headpin to stack the firepolished beads with tiny Bali sterling silver Daisy spacers. For some reason this combination of yellow topaz, light emerald and dark emerald Czech FP beads was one of my most popular sellers, back when I sold my jewelry that is, now I create it solely for my own enjoyment and to present as gifts to family and friends.

Like last time my rules are very simple:
1. You must actually be a follower of my blog (this is a simple procedure, just click on the follow button and continue through the next 2 click steps of "Follow" and "Done") If you are already on my followers list, then just proceed to step 2.
2. You need to leave a comment on this post and give me some way of contacting you. If you wish this information to remain hidden you can contact me by e-mail through my etsy shop AlmostPrecious Beading and Jewelry Making Supplies.

That's all there is to it, no going to my shop and hearting it and then choosing your favorite item and returning to my blog to post the URL of that item. No visiting other sites or blogs. I've tried to keep this as simple as possible as my aim is to get my blog following up to at least 200 followers before the year is over...I have my fingers crossed and I hope you all will help me reach this dream.

The Witching Hour and We Have a Winner !!!

Well it's Halloween night. The moon, almost but not quite full, is shinning bright white and is riding high in a deep purple-blue sky. The wee little ghosts, ghouls and goblin's are now home and hopefully tucked safely in their beds. No signs of witches, or creepy monsters lurking behind every shadowy corner.

Though it is not quite yet the witching hour of midnight (it's 11:55 pm), Halloween is pretty much over and so is my Blog Giveaway. I wish to thank each and everyone of you that entered my giveaway and I wish I could send each of you a gift, but unfortunately there can only be one winner. There were 15 entries and I assigned a number to each one, placed the slips of paper into my favorite ceramic pitcher thing-a-ma-jig and drew out one tiny slip...it was # 2...El Designs!

Congratulations El Designs. I'm a follower of El Designs fairly new blog called Ramblings and I'm sure she would love us all to check it out and maybe add her to our list. El Designs also has a lovely etsy shop called El Designs by Erica.

Okay...now I guess we all start getting ready for Thanksgiving down here in the USA and then...Oh my gosh, I can hardly believe I'm saying this...and then it's time to deck the halls and get ready for that jolly old fellow with the white beard, the red suit and the sleigh with 8 tiny reindeer !!!

Here it is...My First Blog Giveaway !!!

My very first GiveAway...been wanting to do one for ages but procrastinated (which I do very well) as I wasn't sure how to proceed. One has to get in the water and get wet before they can learn how to swim, so with fingers crossed I make this my first foray into the realm of blog giveaways.
My giveaway will run until there are at least 20 entries or until the witching hour on Oct. 31st, whichever comes first.

The prize is a lovely, handcrafted (by me) beaded brooch or broach, however you wish to say it, called "Crystal Anemone".
This sparkling brooch is crafted with tiny Tri-Cut 9/0 Czech glass, seed beads in Ruby Red and Topaz gold. Czech glass firepolished, faceted 4mm beads in Ruby accentuate the outer layer of petals and each petal tip is crowned with a Ruby Red, Preciosa crystal. A smaller inner layer of petals is in glittering Topaz gold (yes the same tri-cut 9/0 Czech glass seed beads as the Ruby Red). Each petal tip is adorned with a wee, little Czech glass 3mm faceted firepolish bead, also in Topaz gold but with an Aurora Borealis finish.

Nothing is more recognized than the name Swarovski and for the center, the very heart of my flower, I chose a 6mm Swarovski Crystal in Topaz gold. 26 gauge goldtone craftwire is used to string the beads and form the petals and to securely lash the blossom to a brooch backing.

What a wonderful accessory for both summer and fall...and perfectly beautiful for the winter holidays. This darling took me over 10 hours to create (I'm not very fast) and the last ones I made sold for only $24...$2.40 an hour is less than minimum wage, that's when I realized I wasn't ever going to become a millionaire making jewelry. ;)

All that is necessary for you to enter this giveaway is:

1. Be a follower of my blog
2. Leave a comment on this giveaway post.
   If you already follow my blog, then all you need to do is leave a comment on this Giveaway Post.

I think we've all seen those giveaways where you've got to go to several different sites and leave hearts or follow in order to qualify, I don't think a giveaway should be incredibly complicated. Since I don't enjoy jumping through hoops, dotting every "i" and crossing every "t" I certainly won't make anyone else do so, takes the fun out of it. Just make sure you've left me some information on how to contact you should your name be drawn.

If you have any questions you can reach me through my shop's contact link or you can post your question here at my blog.
Remember, I will need a way to contact the winner so please be sure to either leave me a link or contact me through my etsy shop. Shipping & handling cost will be paid for by me.

Last Minute Preparations...

Today will probably be the last day that I'll post on my blog before going on my trip. Tomorrow will be spent packing, doing those last minute shopping trips, a quick tidying up of the house with a promise to give it a good cleaning when I return (yeah, right ! LOL). This evening I'll put my Etsy shop and Artfire shop on vacation mode. Though with all the traffic my shops receive I wonder if it's really necessary, but guess better safe than sorry, would hate to have someone place an order and end up having to wait 2 weeks before hearing back from me. No, that would be a very bad thing ! Martha Stewart would surely give me demerits for that and, heaven knows, I've chalked up far too many Martha demerits already for my cluttered workroom and untidy home...let's not even talk about the weeds in the flowerbeds.

I have my fingers crossed that I'll be able to take photos and post them as I proceed on my excursion. I am thinking that when I return I would love to have a blog giveaway, have never attempted one so really am not sure what is involved or how to go about it. The item I am contemplating as a prize is a brooch (or broach, if you prefer). It is one that I made not too long ago and is handcrafted from fine 28 gauge, craftwire, tri-cut #9 Czech glass seed beads, Czech firepolished glass beads and a lovely 6mm Swarovski crystal bead. It took me 10 hours to fabricate. Please let me know if you think it is prize worthy.