and the winner is…..

Thank you all so much for making sure I didn’t have to jump out of my window!!!! for following me on Twitter!!!! and for ensuring that I beat my friend!!!! the last one makes me feel particularly happy!!! yes even more than the fact that I don’t have to make the jump… I did say Michael and I get a bit competitive and juvenile, right? ;-)

and the winner of these earrings is….

Karen Gill of hidingplacebeadery.etsy.com

Congratulations Karen!!!!!!

This was so much fun…. I think Michael and I will have to have some other competition in order for me to do another one of these giveaways!!!! :-)

In the meantime, please visit “the loser” :-) he is truly an amazingly talented artist!!! check out his website Michael Onona and follow him on twitter :-)

Here Comes the Bride - EtsyBeadWeavers July Challenge

The theme for the July EtsyBeadWeavers Challenge is Here Comes the Bride... chosen by Cielo Design who won the May challenge. All the entries are elegant and beautiful.

My entry for this challene is Neptune's Bride, # 4 on the list - see previous blog post

Go and vote for your favourite entry from today until the 15th July: http://etsy-beadweavers.blogspot.com/

I'm still in London, enjoying spending time with my son and watching him interact with his grandparents and gorgeous little cousins.... Working on my Use the Muse II beading design contest... can't say it's going too well... 9 more days to go to get it finished, I hope inspiration hits me soon :-)

Due to the rules of the contest, I can't post pictures of my piece until the big reveal... for now I'm off to try and finish my entry

In the meantime…. don't forget to vote

Use the Muse Contest

I’m so exited!!! Use the Muse is having another contest and this time it includes international beaders!!!! yeah!!! So all you beaders, from wherever you are, go and check it out!!!

Artbeads is one of the sponsors of the Use the Muse II beading design contest.

Each entrant will receive the same assortment of components including beads, crystals, pearls, silk and seed beads plus a mystery muse component that must be kept a secret until the “BIG REVEAL.”

The contest was created by Scarlett Lanson, a regular columnist in Beadwork, who has won some prestigious contests herself. She placed first in the 2009 KGI Wordwide Design Contest and fourth place in the 2007 Swarovski “Create Your Style” competition. Scarlett’s goal was to create a competition for all types of beaders; stringers, bead weavers, and embroiderers, that had a shortened timeline and a big payoff. The prizes offered are really cool. In order to enter you must buy the kit. The kits are $30 plus $5 for shipping in the US and $10 for international entrants. I’ve already ordered mine and I hope it gets here quickly as I’m so exited and can’t wait to start on my entry!!! :-)

The kit’s availability is limited and will likely be gone before the deadline of 27th June. The quicker you sign up, the more chances you will have of receiving a kit and the more time you will have to work on your entry before the 18th July deadline.

To find out more details and to check out the winners in the first Use the Muse contest, visit Scarlett’s blog here: