CONGRATULATIONS OWOH WINNERS!!

Thank you, everyone, for such a wonderful ride on the One World One Heart magic carpet! This was my very first time participating w/ OWOH, I'm so glad that I did it!

First of all... a HUGE THANK YOU to Lisa Swifka of A Whimsical Bohemian for putting together such an amazing event!

It was so wonderful to not only have so many people visit my blog to enter my giveaway... but I really enjoyed that some of you took the time to see what I do & learn about who I am...I thank you for that! I got the chance to visit the blogs of so many talented people! I still have many to visit, so glad that Lisa will be keeping the list of participants up on her OWOH website.

If you recall... I originally started out giving away just one art-glass heart pendant to an active blogger & one to a non-blogger... but with so many responses (503 total!), I decided to add an additional item for every 100 active bloggers. I ended up w/ 454 blogger entries (& 49 non-bloggers), so I'm giving away a total of 4 items!!

Because I've got 2 categories of winners, my drawing was done by hand instead of w/ a random number generator. I printed off all of the comments, cut them up & dividing into bloggers & non-bloggers & drew them one @ a time. I put the 2 hearts in individual boxes, scrambled them so I wouldn't know which was which & then drew names for each box, then picked one of the other 3 items one @ a time & drew a name for each.

So... here we go... are you ready?

The winner of the active blogger prize is:
pippirose of Pippi Stitches

The winner of the non-blogger prize is:

Nikki 
(2nd drawing, first winner didn't respond after 3+ days, lucky Nikki!)

The winners of the additional active bloggers' drawings are...

Lisa Gatz

...one of my glass & copper acorns.

Nicole/Beadwright

...an organic-ish art-glass bead. I will be happy to make this into a pendant if Nicole wishes it to be so.

The One and Only Lady

...a deep red & raku art-glass lentil bead. I will be happy to make this into a pendant if the lady wishes it to be so.

I will be contacting my winners tonight via eMail or their blogs. CONGRATULATIONS all!!!

(winners have 3 days to get back to me w/ their mailing address. If I don't hear back by Thursday evening, I'll draw another name)

Thanks for playing, everyone! See you next time!

~ Julie

ONE WORLD ONE HEART...TIME'S ALMOST UP!

FEBRUARY 15th early morning update.....

Today is the final day of the One World One Heart giveaway.... this has been such a blast!! I've really enjoyed visiting alot of the other OWOH participants' blogs... there ended up being 1105 of us!!! Unbelievable. I've also enjoyed all of the wonderful comments!! Thank you so much.

I hope you've enjoyed the ride.

Comments will be turned off @ 11:30am CST today (was to be noon, but I have a doctors appointment!)... names will be drawn & posted along w/ what item was won. We're right around 450 active blogger entries, so there will be FOUR blogger names drawn & one non-blogger name drawn. Because I've got 2 categories of winners, this is all going to be done by hand instead of w/ a random number generator. I've been printing off all of the comments as they've been posted, cutting them up & dividing into bloggers & non-bloggers. My youngest son will help me draw the winners in the afternoon. Maybe we'll do it via video. :o) I will post the names of the winners along w/ what item they've won. I will then contact you via eMail or your blog if you don't have an eMail link. I'm going to give each winner 3 days to get back to me, otherwise I'm going to draw another winner to take their place.

This has been such fun... thank you so much for playing along w/ me. :o)

See you tonight!!

Till then....

Julie

HEY... IT'S SUNDAY!!! POSTSECRETS...

It's Sunday... new PostSecrets have been posted, check them out.

(okay...update... it's SATURDAY, LOL, I'm so lost. These must be from last week. Good thing it's a 3 day weekend... I obviously need it.)

Here are a few of my favorites...

& for those of you on the east coast....

yep... we have lots of snow in the Midwest, too... but we expect it in quantities like this. :o) Enjoy it while you have it!!

Till next time.....

~ Julie

MY FIRST BEADS...

Lori Anderson of Pretty Things (our wonderful hostess of the Bead Soup Party) just posted her first lampwork beads on Watch Me Create... & was wondering if anybody ever showed their first beads. I posted mine when I first started blogging in late 2007 (clicking on the image below will take you to that post) & I also have been posting beads all along the way of this wonderful glass journey on my website's gallery... 2007, 2008, 2009-2010 & of course on this blog.

The little plain black beads being my first, of course. Doesn't everyone start out w/ little black beads?? Then black w/ white dots, then dots on dots, plunged dots, florals, etc. These were probably my first 3 weeks of beads. I was having a good time. :o)

I would love to see other's first beads, too... it's not something to be embarrassed by...everyone starts @ the very beginning... I'm so proud of these first beads of mine... it brings me back to that first time I jumped when I lit that hothead torch (& continued to do so throughout the 8 week class... & even recently, LOL, when I was demoing in a class. I don't know what it is that makes me jump... maybe it's using a striker?)

There's an old thread on LampworkEtc. called THEN & NOW that was started in early 2006 by Jennifer Geldard... check it out. It had been long buried, the last post being in 2007 (I posted in that thread... my THEN & NOW was 7 months apart, LOL) I just reposted on it w/ my current work & hopefully we'll get a whole new batch of posts on it...

How about posting your own THEN & NOW on your blog... then comment on this post to let me know about it!!!

Okay... just in case you're stumbling along & this is the first post you've read on my blog... here's a few NOW... (click on them to enlarge)

BEAD SOUP PARTY...today is the day!

It's here!! Are you ready??? Today is the day that all of the Bead Soup Party participants reveal what they created w/ the bead soup that their party partner sent them. The requirements were that we were to send our partners a focal piece, some coordinating beads &/or spacers & a clasp. We were only required to use the focal & the clasp... the extras we could use or not.

I knew the minute Lori paired us up that Jen & I were going to have a wonderfully creative partnership... I had no idea that a wonderful new friendship was going to be part of the package! It's hard to believe this pairing only happened a few short weeks ago... Jen feels like someone I've had a relationship w/ for years already. What lucky girls we are. :o)

When we started talking about what we should send eachother, I asked Jen to challenge me. I loved her colorful polymer clay pieces, although I typically don't work w/ such bright & vibrant colors, I really wanted to work w/ her pieces....

.... & challenged I was!! :o) I had lots of fun w/ it, though!! I DID find myself toning the colors down w/ etched copper & neutral colored sea urchin pieces & I really REALLY like how it turned out! I knew I didn't have it in me to create something w/ all 3 polymer focals that Jen sent me, my jewelry style is fairly simple, but I really loved these pieces so much that asked Jen if I could cut one of them up because I had a few ideas how to work more of it into the piece... including the clasp. I ended up making a toggle out of a piece of polymer & then made a few more elements w/ a few more of the cut up pieces.

Here... I'll stop talking about it & just let you check it out....
(click the images to enlarge)

Hope you like it, Jen!!!

I hope everyone had as much fun w/ their bead soup... can't wait to see what everyone created!

There are a total of 84 of us participating in this party... here's a list of the other blogs... go check them out, I am!!

1. Lori, An Artists Year Off (our hostess!)

2. Mallory, For the Love of Beads

3. Terri, Blooming Ideas

4. Cindy, Sweet Bead Studio

5. Lorelei, Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio

6. Kerry, Kab's Creative Concepts

7. Erin, Treasures Found

8. Jeannette, Jeannette Blix Wire and Metal Jewelry

9. Adrienne, Adrienne Designs

10. Nan, Spirit Rattles

11. Laurel, Rue's Daftique

12. Nancy, Beading From the Heart

13. Mary, MK's Creative Musings

14. Cassie, The Glass Beadle

15. Dot, Winchell Clayworks

16. Sharon, Sharon's Jewelry Garden

17. Lisa, Lo and Behold

18. Norma, Bead Dreams and Moonlit Fantaseas

19. Judith, Judith B.

20. Debbie, Prairie Emporium

21. Maria, Garden Path Beads

22. Susan, Kaplan Creations Jewelry and Glass Design

23. Melissa, Melissa Meman: Art, Love, Life

24. Marianna, Pretty Shiny Things

25. Lisa, Joolz by Lisa

26. Cristi, 2 If By Sea

27. Sandra, Marbella Jewelry Design

28. Maria, Greene Earth Originals

29. Barbara, Jewelry of Distinction

30. Leslie, Bei Mondi

31. Loretta, Designs by Loretta

32. Linda, Bella Bead Jewelry

33. Kathie, The Bead Cult

34. Patty, Plays With Fire

35. Nicki, Nicki's Reef

36. Anne Marie, Heart's Desire

37. Mary, Mary Harding Jewelry

38. Jayne, Mama's Got to Doodle

39. Emanda, Artemesia's Studio

40. Whitney, Whitney Lassini

41. Marcie, La Bella Joya

42. Suzann, Beadphoria

43. Jen, Jen Judd Rocks

44. Julie, Credit River Art Glass

45. Janiece, J Birds Garden

46. Kate, Organic Odysseys

47. Laurie, The Mermaid Tale

48. Michelle, My Crazy Crafty Adventure

49. Sue, Sue Beads

50. Janeen, Wild Vanilla Designs

51. Nancy, The Rabbit Muse

52. Kristie, Artisan Clay

53. Regina, Regina's Writings

54. Tari, Pearl and Pebble

55. Lyn, Lyn Foley

56. Beth, Sunshine Daydreamz

57. Cathryn, Chile Cats

58. Emma, Fred Bean's Nook

59. Connie, Cetta Cheese Chatter

60. Juli, Jul's Beads

61. Julie, RockerJewlz

62. Libby, LibbyLeu and Glass Too

63. Melanie, Earthenwood Studio Chronicles

64. Katie, My Life and My Beads

65. Zuleykha, Zuleykha's Polymer Clay

66. Rekella, Me But a Little More in Depth

67. Ricki, What's New at Ricki Voges Design

68. Lisa, Lucid Moon Studio

69. Jo, Daisychain Jewellery

70. Lynette, Rock Hill Designs

71. Lynne, Island Girl's Insights

72. Chas, One Woman's Haven

73. Ruthie, Rose Works Jewelry

74. Elizabeth, Turquoise Sky

75. Maire, Maire Dodd

76. Janet, Singing Woods

77. Eileen, Dorset Hill Beads

78. Julie, Miss Kitten's Jewels

79. Joann, Jo's Jewels

80. Patti, PJ Clark Designs

81. Mel, Kookie Designs

82. Erin, Every Heart Crafts

83. Dale, Flights of Fancy

84. Dee, Runako Designs

Thank you, Lori, for hosting such a wonderful event!!! It's been a blast getting to know Jen & meeting other people in the party.

Time for a few hours of sleep, LOL, then I'm roaming around to check out everybody's work!

Enjoy all!!

~ Julie

BEAD SOUP PARTY...Reveal happens tomorrow, Feb. 10th

Just a reminder that tomorrow is the day that all of us Bead Soup Party participants will be revealing what we created from the bead soup that we received from our party partners! Yes...I still have work to do. :o)

Lori Anderson, our fabulous party hostess, will have the participants listed on a new post tomorrow... check it out & be sure to visit all of the websites & see all of the pieces that were created. I can't wait to see my party partner, Jen's reveal!

Here's a teeny tiny little tease for you from me.....

....check back tomorrow to see the whole shebang. :o)

till then...

~ Julie

BUSY BUSY GIRL...

Hey you! (yeah, YOU!)
I've been a busy busy girl the past several days trying to put together a RESOURCE page on my website for lampworkers. It started out as a simple list of my go-to glass & supplies sources that my first lampworking teacher asked me to put together for her for her students. (she knows I get around) But, being the A.D.D. perfectionist that I am, I couldn't leave it w/ SIMPLE. No way. It needs to be a COMPLETE source list... starting out w/

GLASS . TOOLS . SUPPLIES

...then adding subcategories for SPECIALTY suppliers, like:

Frit & Murrini

Glassworking & Shaping Tools

Glassfinishing Tools

....then Studio Equipment...

then books & magazines & tutorials & teaching studios, jewelry making supplies & on & on & on.

LOL... it never ends.

I'm getting some wonderful suggestions... can't use them all... but it's nice for others to check it out for me & fill in some blanks.

BUT... I have to stop for a few days, at least..... the BEAD SOUP PARTY is coming to an end on Wednesday & I have got to finish up my piece!! (no, I'm NOT a procrastinator... no way. LOL. I've been a little stuck w/ this piece... fighting to keep myself from taking this fabulous pendant that I've made from Jen's polymer piece & put it on a gorgeous silk ribbon. LOL. I like simpler pieces where the focal stands out...but we've challenged eachother to do something outside of the norm & Jen's done a fantastic job w/ my piece & is learning new techniques & is working w/ new materials in the process!! So time to get busy & do the same thing!!!

While I'm here :o) ...here's a little show & tell... a new heart necklace...I love it!

(click for larger image)

What do you think??? You love it, too... don't you?? :o) Need to get it listed in my Etsy store... will be after I get this Bead Soup piece finished up & posted, though!!

Till then...

Have a great week!

~ Julie

FINALLY!! LISTINGS ON ETSY...

If you're here for the ONE WORLD ONE HEART giveaway...

click link on top right sidebar >>>

I rarely get a chance to list items for sale online. With the shows that I do & the summer gallery, it seems like I'm in "show mode" most of the time. Finding the balance that it takes to photograph & list, TOO, seems to be tough for me to reach.... but I'm TRYING!! I get so many inquiries from people all over the world that have seen my stuff on my website, blog, Facebook, LampworkEtc & so-on, & I'm happy to sell to them, anytime.... but I know that if I could get some pieces listed online, I'd have some happy customers!! :o)

So... I'm spending the next few days getting pieces listed in my Etsy shop. First up, hearts for Valentine's Day, earrings & other pendants... then will get some beads & such out there for you designers. I have a good amount of stock. Never hesitate to contact me to see what I have. I'm happy to just shoot a quick picture for you.

Here are some of the pieces I'm listing before I go to bed (& it's definitely time for bed!! :o)

(click on the images to take you to their listings...)

& I still have 3 fabulous kaleidoscopes out there, too.... check them out!

More tomorrow...