Button, button - Who's got the button?

Now where's that from? Button, button - who's got the button? I can't remember. It's something I've heard for years and years, but I'm not sure where it originated.

Anyway, about buttons.

I have them. Thousands of them. I haven't counted, but I'm sure there are thousands of them. They're in a big box, and within that big box are numerous containers with "sorted" buttons. Even though I have thousands of them, I still can't resist looking at new ones when I visit stores that sell buttons. I try to resist buying, but sometimes I swear they just jump into my cart.

Several months ago, as I was going through all my vintage buttons, I came up with an idea for a simple bracelet. It's an ndebele rope (aka tubular herringbone) with a loop at one end (the herringbone is carried right into the loop) and a button at the other. So I made a BUNCH of them and left them at the Art on Depot Studio and Gallery, in Waynesville, NC. They were pretty popular, so I've been working on some new ones.

Aren't these fun?


I'm going to make some more and list them in my Etsy shop. For now, the black and white Checkerboard one you see in the photo is the only one I have listed; but I'm planning to remedy that soon.

Ready for a GIVEAWAY???

It's been awhile since I've done any kind of giveaway on my blog, so I thought this might be a good time for one.

What do you win? A button bracelet in your choice of bead colors (I'll choose a suitable button from my collection). THREE people will win. Because I have LOTS of buttons. :-)

How do you enter? To enter the drawing for a Button It bracelet, you can do one ore more of the following. Please note that all comments must be left on my blog (not on my Facebook page(s), even though you'll see this post appear there). And you must leave a separate comment for each in order to receive more than one entry into the drawing. If you do all of these, you'll leave FOUR separate comments and have four chances to win!

1 - Leave a comment here telling me your favorite button project. Or, if you're not a "button" person, tell me about your favorite supply and how you've used it.
2 - Blog about this giveaway and post a comment here with a link to your blog post.
3 - Link to this post on Facebook and leave a comment here to let me know you posted.
4 - Tweet (Twitter) about this giveaway and leave a comment here. Make sure you include @time2cre8 in your tweet.

Don't forget to leave a way for me to contact you (email, or a link to your Etsy or Artfire shop name). If I don't see a way to contact you, your comment will be deleted and you won't be entered into the drawing. :-(

When will the winners be chosen? All entries/comments must be made by midnight on Friday, April 8. I'll use a random number generator to select the winners on Saturday morning and will announce the winner on this blog later in the day.

And the Winner Is...

Comment #8 by Allison Cecil! Hooray, Allison!!!

Allison's comment was chosen by the trusty random number generator, so she wins a $25 gift certificate for my Etsy shop. Wonder what she'll buy???







She said her favorite thing was this Southwestern Checks cuff, but she might just change her mind. :-)


***



Didn't win this giveaway? Stay tuned. I'm going to be doing more of them throughout the rest of the month, and I'm also going to do some on my Facebook fan page.

In fact, I think I'll go add one there right now.

da de-de DA! The winner of the giveaway...

The winner has been chosen! There were 32 comments left (thanks for the blog posts, Facebook updates, Twitter tweets), and the trusty Random Number Generator chose #30.

That means Janiece McWilliams, author of the JBird's Garden blog and the proprietress of jbirdsgarden on Etsy, wins her own Marcella bracelet! I'll be sending a note to Janiece to let her know she's won and to find out her wrist size so I can make her bracelet. Janiece is a talented jewelry maker herself. Just look at this beautiful Champagne Pearls bracelet I found in her Etsy shop!


Thanks to everyone who participated!
:-)

I'm going to be posting another giveaway later today, so stay tuned (and please come back to enter!).

A New Peyote Pattern, Some New Necklaces, and a Giveaway

I've finished a new pattern! Actually, I finished and published it yesterday, so it's available in my Etsy shop. This pattern is for my Op Art design. I've only made two versions of it myself (black and silver, and chartreuse and purple), but I think I might make a new one soon. That's if my gnat-like attention span doesn't take me off in another direction, which it's been known to do. :-)


I've also been working on some new, simple pieces to list. Truth be told, I wear very little jewelry; and when I do wear something, it's usually very simple and tends toward being either black and white or metallic. These first two pieces both feature metallic delicas. The second one even includes a little bit of steampunk look (because I have a big collection of watch movements that I bought for a different idea).

Industrial Neopolitan

Give It a Little Steam

Those peyote tubes are really fun, and since I already had a mixture of ten different colors of opaque delicas (from another project), I thought it would be fun to make a looooong skinny tube from some of them.

Tooty Frooty

And the last of these newer, simpler pieces actually began life with a whole different idea. I wanted to make a twisted ndebele rope using silver delicas and crystal size 15s. I made the rope using three of the size 11 delicas and one of the size 15 crystal beads for each row, and it just didn't twist the way I wanted. Of course, I wasn't able to tell that it didn't twist the way I wanted until I had about 10" of it finished, and by then I just didn't want to disassemble it. It was still really pretty - just not what I intended. As I was holding it and playing around with it, I got the idea to just tangle it into a knot and see what happened. And I liked it! It's an irregular knot, but that's part of the fun. It can be manipulated to change its look, but it will always be a knot because I joined the ends together. I decided to suspend it from a simple sterling silver chain, which goes perfectly with the silver delicas. Isn't this better than disassembling? :-)

Silver Tangle

So that's what's new. At least what's new and what's been photographed and listed. I have a brand new set of photo lights to try out, but I haven't set them up yet.

And now...

THE GIVEAWAY!

It's been awhile since I've done a giveaway, so I'm planning to do a couple more before the end of the year. This one is for one of my Oglala bracelets, one I've never listed in my Etsy shop. I named this one Marcella because the one you see pictured here was created as a gift for a friend of mine (and that's her name). The one you'll receive won't be this exact one, but it'll use the same beads: matte copper toned beads for the ruffles and faux pearls in various sizes for the focals. They're really lovely together, don't you think?


And now for the entry requirements...


Leave a comment here telling me which item in my Etsy shop you'd like to give or receive for Christmas.

and for more chances... receive one additional entry for each of these (so you can have a total of six chances to win). If you do any of the ones in the following list, be sure to leave a separate comment about each one:

1. Blog about this giveaway and leave a link to the blog post in a separate comment here.
2. Follow me on Twitter (tell me who you are on Twitter, so I'll be able to find you and follow back!). If you're already a follower (thanks!), tell me who you are.
   
3. Tweet about this giveaway. Be sure to include #time2cre8oglala in your tweet.
4. Become a fan of my time2cre8 page on Facebook. If you're already a fan (thanks!), tell me who you are.
   
5. Post a link to this giveaway on Facebook.

So if you take advantage of all those entry methods, you'll leave six comments here and have SIX chances to win! Make sure you leave a way for me to contact you (email, Etsy shop address, etc.) in your comment.

All entries are due by midnight (ET) on December 12. I'll use a random number generator on December 13 to choose the winner. (The winner will be contacted via the contact info left in the comment, but I'll also post it here.)

Stay tuned... I plan to do more giveaways this week!
:-)

Giveaway Winner!!!

Just so no one thinks I forgot about the giveaway from the previous blog post, I didn't! I have used random.org to choose a number so I know which of the people who left a comment with an organizational tip will receive the package of stationery goodies, and the number is...

drum roll...

4

Not one or two or three... but FOUR. (now who said that, and in what movie?!?) :-)

So that makes the winner of the stationery pack Robin, of nothinglikeit. Cool! Robin makes some of the funniest creations in polymer clay you've ever seen. Flattened critters and people of all sorts that are just hilarious... I did some of my Christmas shopping with her last year!

Getting [and Staying] Organized ... and a Giveaway!

I hate moving. Hate it. Hate packing. Hate hauling all the boxes up and down stairs. Hate all the things that go along with moving... getting our address changed, calling all the utilities companies, all that stuff that takes me away from doing what I like to do.

There's one good thing, though. It's FORCING me to get organized. There are so many things I like to do (beadweaving, drawing, reading, sewing, knitting, crocheting, photography, scuba diving, volleyball, racquetball, softball... the list goes on and on) that I have sooooooo much stuff to be packed! My gnat-like attention span causes me to flit from one project to another, and I'm not particularly disciplined about putting things back where I found them. Hey, I gotta go do that OTHER thing!

So, in the midst of hating that I have to pack up everything to move it, I'm organizing stuff as I go. Boxes are carefully labeled with a "code" and the contents are listed in a spreadsheet. I know that seems like overkill, but some of these boxes won't be unpacked for a long long time (while we build a house); and it's much easier to search in a spreadsheet than to try to read labels on a ton of boxes. As I pack, I'm also looking at everything with a critical eye -- do I really need that? could someone else use it? do I want to move it? how many years before I get around to doing something with it? And I'm packing boxes that will be donated to the Cancer Federation. At least someone will get some use out of my excess stuff!

While all this packing is going on, I'm still doing some beadweaving. Not as much as I'd like, naturally. Do you know how hard it is to pack beads??? I try to put them into a box, and they start talking to me... I'm pretty sure there are other beadweavers and jewelry makers out there who know what I mean.

Here are pictures of the two newest items listed in my Etsy shop:

Purple and Silver Swirls

Zuleika (Versatile Ndebele Rope Necklace or Bracelet)

While you're looking at pictures, check out the mosaic for this week's Bead Art Originals Items of the Week. There are some great pieces there and some great deals to be had. (I'm still pouting because someone bought those beautiful black and white polymer clay beads created by my friend Dee!)


It's a giveaway!!!

Anyone have any organizational tips they'd like to share? I have done any kind of giveaway in awhile, so leave a comment here to be entered in a drawing to win a stationery sampler valued at $25! I'm not listing stationery in my shop any more (Allison, of papervictory, has taken over the whole line of products); but I still have a few things left... and I don't want to move them!

To be eligible for the drawing:
- You must be at least 18 years of age.
- You must reside in the U.S.
- Leave a comment with an organizational tip (any kind!).
- Make sure to include your email address or Etsy shop name so I can contact you.
- Deadline for being included in the drawing is Friday, July 10 at midnight (CST).

SALE SALE SALE -- BEAD ART ORIGINALS OPEN HOUSE!!!

From BLACK FRIDAY to CYBER MONDAY (November 28 through December 1) the Bead Art Originals are having an Open House!!!! Members are offering specials during the weekend (the list of participants is below). (When purchasing from one of these shops during the Open House weekend, be sure to include the code BAO OPEN HOUSE in the Notes to Seller.)

When you visit the blog, don't forget to sign up for the Twelve Days of BAO Holidays drawings. There's a new one every day, and there are some wonderful prizes!!

• Anna (ARoseByName): free shipping
• Heather (Humblebeads): free shipping on all orders and a free gift with purchases of $50 or more
• Carli (Juiceglass): free shipping
• Lisa (LisaP etersArt): free surprise gift (at least $5 value) with any purchase over $30 (note that this special is being offered through the end of the year)
• Mak (MAKUstudio): free shipping + 10% off purchases over $50 and 15% off purchases over $100
• Dee (Malodora): free shipping
• Swanee (MistyRidgeBeads): free shipping
• Janice (Naftali): free shipping
• Melody (SalamanderHouse): free shipping
• Smadar (SmadarsTreasure): free shipping + 10% off the second item purchased
• Sarah (thebeadedlily): free shipping
• Darcy (thejadedog): free shipping
• MaryLou (time2cre8): free shipping on entire order with the purchase of anything with the "bao team" tag
• Lisa (tqbdesigns): free shipping
• Triz (triz): free shipping

***BONUS BLOG SALE: During the BAO Open House (November 28 through December 1), visit my Etsy shop and receive FREE SHIPPING worldwide on your entire order with the purchase of anything tagged with "BAO TEAM". In addition to that, leave me a comment in the notes to seller that you saw the promotion here and receive an additional 10% off your purchase!!

And the winner is... tanybug! Even though the Random Number Generator says the number was drawn on the 28th, it's really only 7:30pm on the 27th here in my time zone; so I still squeaked in under the wire on getting the winner chosen. Since tanybug has an Etsy shop, I'm sending her a convo for her mailing address so I can send the Surly Cats her way.

I'm sooooo behind in posting to this blog, but it's been a busy week. My husband's back has been messed up the whole week (he has chronic back pain), and he's not able to get up and do anything. That means I've made hundreds of trips up and down our stairs to carry food, water, medicine, books, glasses, movies, exercise bands, clothes, shoes, etc., etc., etc., to him so he doesn't have to get out of bed. He's still not doing very well, but at least he's improving. My knees will be happy when he's back on his feet.

I have managed to get some beadweaving done in between trips up and down the stairs. Not as much as usual, but I'm happy with these pieces anyway. I also curated a couple of treasuries, kept up with my Etsy shipping, watched a few episodes of House, watched the Obama/McCain debate, finished reading one book (Disordered Minds) and started another (The Front), shipped some books that were mooched from me on Bookmooch, did some updates to the Bead Art Originals website, and kept up with most of the household chores (well, my husband can't come down the stairs to see the dirty dishes in the sink anyway, so they're still there). Why does it still feel like I'm behind? It's that whole not-enough-hours-in-the-day thing again.

Anyway, here are the newest pieces I've listed in my Etsy shop:

Cabernet

In Stitches


and just listed today... Op Art in Silver and Black

If you visit my Etsy shop, you'll see the inspiration for Op Art. I'm really happy with the way this one turned out, so it'll definitely show up with some different colors in the near future. Since one of the things I did this week was open up the box of beads I received from Fire Mountain Gems, I gotta make more things so I can use them!!! :-)

Are you a cat lover? I really like all kinds of animals, including cats, but I'm severely allergic to them. So the only kind of cats I can have around me are ones like these... drawings.

I enjoyed reading all the comments from my last giveaway, so I've decided to do another one! This one is for all you cat lovers out there, as I'll be giving away a set of six greeting cards made from my original artwork. All of the cards feature my Surly Cats. I don't have these listed in my Etsy shop, but I've sold lots of them at arts/crafts shows. Each card has a professionally printed copy of one of my drawings attached to an A6 sized blank greeting card. Each print is signed and dated on the back and is removable from the card, so the recipient receives a little piece of artwork suitable for framing (the prints are 3.5" x 5"). I typically sell these cards for $5 each, so the winner will receive a prize worth $30!

The drawings featured on the cards are:
- Cat Want Food Now
- Cat Want New Toy
- Cat Want More Fish
- Cat Not Like Bugs
- Cat Want Valentine
- Persian Queen

How do you win? It's simple.
1. Visit my Etsy shop and find your favorite cat that's NOT one of the ones featured on this set of cards.
2. Come back here and leave a comment with a link to the cat you found. Be sure to tell me why the cat you chose is your favorite. (Make sure to include a way for me to contact you when you leave your comment!)
3. That's it!

The deadline for entering is September 26 at midnight EST. The winner will be determined by a random number generator on September 27.

* * *

Want to see what the last giveaway winners are going to receive? I just mailed their packages out yesterday, so this is a sneak preview for Carol Dean and Dani, in case they're reading.

Carol Dean's comment was the first number selected by the random number generator, and I was pretty sure she wasn't going to choose the beadwoven bracelet or the peyote triangle (she's the master of peyote triangles herself - just have a look at the ones in her Etsy shop!). Sure enough, she opted for some Captioned Critters... the Eloquent Elephant, Rhino Rhetoric, and the Daydreaming Dodo.

Dani's was the second number selected by the random number generator, and she chose the peyote triangle pendant. The colors she chose look really great together, too - black, blue, and turquoise. After I made her pendant, I liked it so much that I decided to list it in my Etsy shop as a made-to-order item. This is the one that's on its way to Dani.

Even if you're not a cat lover, Christmas will be here before you know it; and you know there's someone on your Christmas list who'd love these cards!

The first item of business... announcing the winner of the giveaway. There were 22 comments on the giveaway post, so I used a Random Integer Generator to choose the lucky number. Drum roll, please...

The eighth comment was left by Carol Dean (aka SandFibers)!!! Carol Dean is a phenomenal beadweaver, something that becomes obvious if you spend any time at all in her Etsy shop. I've long been an admirer of her talent, and I'm also happy to call Carol Dean my friend and cosmic sister.

I decided that since I was offering the winner of the giveaway a choice of (1) the beadwoven braided bracelet, (2) a custom peyote triangle pendant, or (3) three sets of Captioned Critters mini notecards that I would choose TWO winners. So I did the Random Number Generator thing again and let it choose another number...

This time it was the twenty-first comment, left by Dani. Dani writes a blog called Bee-Mused, where she posts frequently about pets and pet-related topics and LOTS of giveaways!

Thanks to everyone who left a comment for the giveaway! I'm going to be posting another giveaway before the end of the week, so stay tuned!

Did you enter my giveaway yet? Only a couple more days until I choose a winner.

For those of you who might have passed by because the bracelet won't fit you, I've finally chosen the alternatives... So the winner will be able to choose one of these three options as his/her prize:

Option #1 -- The beadwoven braided bracelet shown in the picture.
Option #2 -- A peyote triangle pendant in your choice of three colors. You can see some examples here.
Option #3 -- Your choice of three sets of Captioned Critters mini notecards. You can see all the Captioned Critters here.

Please make sure you post your entry to the original blog post! Sometime just before midnight on the 15th I'll use a random number generator to choose the winner from the qualifying comments.

It's a giveaway! To celebrate an impending milestone in my Etsy shop, I'm going to be having a giveaway here on my blog.

The milestone may not seem obvious to everyone, but I'm approaching my 3333rd sale!!! The number 3 has special meaning for me, so I decided that was an event worth celebrating. My husband, whose birthday is 3/3, is exactly 3 years and 3 days younger than I am; and our birthdays are 3 days apart (except in Leap Years, of course). During the course of our time together, we noticed all sorts of other 3s cropping up; so it became an important number.





Anyway, here's the deal to be entered for the giveaway:

1. Visit my Etsy shop, time2cre8.etsy.com.

2. Find something in my shop that relates to the number 3. There's a lot to choose from -- it could be a piece of artwork that features three of something; a beadweaving technique listed in the description; the listing date for a particular piece... it just needs to relate to the number 3 somehow.

3. Come back here and leave a comment, and include what you chose from my shop that relates to 3 (make sure to leave your contact information so I can let you know if you won).

That's it. It's really easy!

On September 15, I'll choose a winner.
Yes, I know the 15th isn't technically a 3, but it all fits:
- September is the 9th month (3x3)
- 15 is divisible by 3
- If you add the 1 and 5, you get 6, also divisible by 3.
- If you add 9, 1, and 5, you get 15...

See how that all works out? Anyway, the winner will be chosen from among the qualifying comments, using a random number generator. Wouldn't it be a hoot if the RNG chose 3? Or 33? :-)

The all-important question... what do you win? For this giveaway, the prize is this beadwoven bracelet. It's woven with Czech glass beads in THREE colors. It was woven in peyote stitch, and the center portion is braided. The bracelet measures 3/4" wide and it will fit a 6" or smaller wrist.


Good luck!

The news of the day... The voting is open in the Etsy BeadWeavers blog for the entries into the November challenge, Caught in a Net. I was working on one piece for the challenge, but when it went awry I decided to take it all apart and make something completely different from those beads. I then thought I wasn't going to enter the challenge at all, but then Carol Dean (aka SandFibers) suggested that I enter my Twist of Lime necklace. It does qualify as netting, which was the requirement this month, so there it is.

Speaking of Carol Dean, she's doing another drawing this month on her blog. Check it out and win a gorgeous pendant!

The Etsy BeadWeavers October Challenge, A Study in Monochrome, has once again resulted in some gorgeous entries! Carol Dean (aka SandFibers) has created a mosaic of the 21 entries.

This month, in honor of the challenge and... well... just because I want to, I'm offering a prize! Here's the deal. The poll will be open until midnight on the 29th, so you have a few days to decide on your favorite. It's going to be a tough decision!

1. Go to the Etsy BeadWeavers Street Team Blog and vote for your FAVORITE entry into the October Challenge "A Study in Monochrome".

2. Come back here and leave a comment telling me that you voted (I don't need to know for whom). Your comment must be left by midnight on the 29th (same time the poll on the EBW blog closes).

3. Your entry will be entered into a drawing to win a beadwoven pendant in your choice of colors. Click here to see some pendants that are listed in my Etsy shop.

4. Visit my blog again on October 30th to find out who won (the winner will receive an email) and to find out what the November EBW Challenge will be.

Don't wait! Go vote NOW!

And the winner is.... Lura! I held the drawing last night for the Bloggy Days Giveaway, and she won. I'm off to congratulate the winner and see which Captioned Critter she chooses!

I have a couple of new ones to post this morning, after I photograph them... a Pontificating Pufferfish and a Zebra. I have to find a good alliterative word to go with Zebra, though... out comes the dictionary!

So far, the llama's one of my favorites. I just love the expression on his little face!

It's a GIVEAWAY!!! I'm participating in the Rocks in My Dryer blogger giveaway promotion the week of July 23. A random drawing will be held on the 27th to award the prize to someone who left a comment during the week.

*** What do you need to comment about? Something you see (and hopefully love) in the Artwork.Prints.Originals or the Jewelry.Pendants.Beads or the Photography sections of my Etsy shop.

*** Where to comment? Right here. Only comments on this post (this one here, the one you're reading) will count. Remember to comment about something specific in one of the sections above!

*** What do you win? Your choice of greeting card from my Captioned Critters collection. You'll also receive a matching mini notecard with the same design! The Captioned Critters are cool -- all sorts of animals: octopus, seahorses, moose, ravens, fish, armadillo, llama, and more! You get to decide for yourself what they're saying or thinking so their caption bubbles aren't blank.

*** When's the drawing? Friday, July 27, late in the day. I'm not sure what time yet, but it'll be late enough to accommodate those last-minute commenters. So CHECK OUT MY ETSY SHOP and leave a comment! You might just win something fun!!