The Art Bead Love Chain

The Art Bead Love Tour is an ongoing project to spread the love of handmade to new and exciting places. It's a way to reach people who may have never stumbled upon your blog on their own, and give them a chance to share the love of handmade. A chain was chosen to link beads as a symbol of how this project links us all together ~ in our unity to stand behind handmade.

The Art Bead Love Chain has lampwork, ceramic, polymer clay, metal, enamelled, and resin beads and pendants...all handmade!  Now it is my turn to pass the chain along to the next winner! (Please read the entire post before entering!)

Photo courtesy of Cheri Reed

AND THE WINNER IS: LEA AVROCH

CONGRATULATIONS LEA!

Art Beads should be handmade by an artist, and not mass produced. Remember, the focus is on replacing handmade with handmade, and beads/components taken should be replaced with beads/components that are made by an individual artist - not an organization.

Taken from chain

It is so important that the quality of the beads be maintained, so we can keep the Art Bead Love Tour alive. We want to share consistent quality with the next winner.

Added to chain from other artists

Added to chain from me

 If you make your own handmade beads or components, it's a great way to get your beads into the world for people to try them out, or, if you hoard collect art beads it's a great way to share your collection and get some new additions as well.





Former Keepers of the Art Bead Love Chain:
Love My Art Jewelry
Lorelei's Blog
Shaiha's Ramblings
Jen Judd Rocks
Silver Rose Designs
My Life Under The Bus
Ex Post Facto Jewelry
Beading Mommy
Alice Dreaming
Pretty Things
Moobie Grace Designs
Suburban Girl Studio
ferrarioriginalbeads
Baublicious
Devine Designs Jewelry
Chinook Jewelry Designs
Genea Beads
Keepsakes by Kristi
baubles, beads, & other curiosities
Artfully Ornamental
Lamplights Crafts by Renetha
Creative Designs by Cheri

And now the chain is in my hands: Amazing Designs-Marlene

HOW IT WORKS: (Please read the entire post before entering!)

1. The winner of the chain will be allowed to take up to 30 beads from this chain. They will then replace each bead they took with another handmade bead, charm, or pendant of equal quality.

2. The winner will post pictures of what was taken and what was added, in order to keep an account of the chain's progress and to keep our followers drooling. Please be sure to give credit to the bead artists as well (if you know them).

3. The winner will then have a giveaway, just like this one, to keep passing the chain on and on. Rules can be copied and pasted from here.

4. When you repost your giveaway (remember you can copy and paste from here) - a list should be added to show where the chain has gone. Ultimately, this will end up a very long list!

5. Chain must be shipped to its new home via Priority Small Flat Rate box with delivery confirmation. Please package it carefully.

6. There will be a button on the Love My Art Jewelry website, where it all started, that links to the current blog and giveaway. This way the Love My Art followers can have another chance to win it!

7. You MUST exchange your beads and have your giveaway completed within two weeks of receiving the chain.

Please, please, please, if you cannot adhere to the above rules, do not enter the giveaway at this time. It will go on and on and you can always enter at a later date. There will be a button on the side bar of the  Love My Art Jewelry  blog so that you can track where the chain currently is.

HOW TO ENTER:

1. You must have an active blog to enter.

2. Leave a comment below. Make sure your email is linked to your blog or leave it in the comment. Entries without emails will not qualify.

3. Share on Facebook, Twitter or your blog for extra chances to win. Leave a comment for each way you share, with a link if possible.

4. Winner will pay shipping and will be billed through PayPal. Package to be shipped via small priority flat rate box with delivery confirmation, $6.00.

5. Open only to our readers in the United States due to problems with tracking and shipping overseas (sorry).

The winner's name will be drawn on Saturday, March 9, 2013

HBBH 3 A New Year, a New Challenge!

Holiday time. Everyone seems to immediately think of the season we just ended, but POOH, who wants to wait a whole 344 days to celebrate again? HMMMMM? We hear ya!

We looked at the calendar and realized there are fantastic Holidays, from so many amazing cultures, to celebrate all year, so why not? Bet there's more than one crafter out there who enjoys making things related to holidays throughout the year, so LETS SHARE the fun.

 

Starting today we will be having sign ups for HBBH 3, through to January 27th. Partners (limited to a total of 30, so don't delay) will be picked and notified by February 1st.
You and your partner will decide what holiday you want to create for, BUT it has to be celebrated in the months of February and March (No making Halloween pumpkin earrings just yet!).

Some suggestions are:

·Ground Hog Day - Feb 2

·Chinese New Year - Feb 10

·National Foundation Day (Japan) - Feb 11

·Mardi Gras thru Feb 12

·St Valentine's Day - Feb 14

·National Flag Day (Canada) - Feb 15

·Do a Grouch a Favor Day - Feb 16

·International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day - Feb 23(my personal favorite)

·Purim - Feb 23-24

·Saint David's Day (Wales, UK) - March 1

·Barbie's Birthday - March 9

·Commonwealth Day (UK) - March 11

·St. Patrick's Day - March 17

·Feast of St. Joseph (Italy) - March 18

·Big Bird's Birthday - March 20

·Greek Independence Day - March 25

·Start of Passover - March 25

·Easter - March 31

Feel free to use your own or choose from the above list, as We DID NOT make any of these up!

Finished items should be mailed to your partner by February 23rd, and the reveal will be on March 16th. No problems, right? Plenty of time to create, between shoveling the piles of snow, or at least blowing the leaves off the driveway.

To sign up please reply via email, to marshellswaps@gmail.com, with your name, mailing address, blog URL, and if you are willing to ship internationally, as in the past (Even you repeat offender attendees. We're trying to develop a data base for future use, hehehe). If you are reading this on Shelley's, or Marlene's blog, please go to SWAPS by Marlene and Shelley, and sign up for our email feed, so you get all the latest news delivered right to your mail box.

Happy Ground Hog Day (and all the rest)!

Memories and Thanks Blog Hop

Did I know Marianna Adams? Not personally, but I know something about her. How did we meet? Through the warm and wonderful community of jewelry designers and crafters and their blogs, is how. There was another talented designer, Judy Glende, who lost her battle with cancer back in the spring of last year, whom Tania Spivey wanted to honor with a jewelry fundraising blog hop. I felt compelled to enter it, and the subsequent auction brought me to meeting Marianna. She bid on, and won, a pendant necklace I did with a component that Judy had in her Etsy shop. Hence, my Facebook conversations with Marianna started.

We talked about the problems with her health, which she never complained about, just dealt with in her own way. We talked about her work, a Hospice Nurse, of which I could completely relate, as I had been one as well, before retirement. Best of all I came to realize what a selfless and caring lady Marianna was, helping her friends, even when it took time away from her own family.

Meanwhile, Lori Anderson of Pretty Things, had helped Marianna to get her blog page set up so she could join in the hop fun we all have.  Unfortunately it was not meant to be, and this tribute is the result, a vision of Lori's to her, and all others we have lost too soon, paying homage.

 

 

She so wanted the pendant I created, but several attempts to get the sale completed did not come to pass. I put it aside, as I never did get her address, and assumed when life settled down for her, we would finally work it out. Then came the news.

Every time I looked at that pendant, thoughts of Marianna came filling my head again, of the strength she showed in her life, of the level of caring she had for all in her life, of the immense sense of loss her family must have. I knew what I had to do with it.

It isn’t red and there are no cardinals on it. It is a butterfly garden, full of wings. The ones she now owns, I am sure are more resplendent than I could ever make. So the pendant is in the hands of her loving daughters, a gift, I hope they realize how much it meant to their mom, but an even greater gift to me, of having “met” their dear mother, Marianna Adams.

Most of us have felt that profound sense of loss, or will someday, but my hope for all is that you will have that one special way to keep them in your memory, and close to your heart.

Please use this link to Pretty Things for the list of other participants in this blog hop.