Who Needs a Brazilian Butt Lift if You have one of THESE

There are very few things in life that can truly serve more than one purpose... alas let me demonstrate.

Kristen Stevens Adaptation of Tutorial Diamonds are Forever by Nancy Dale

You see, I have a very good friend Kristen that we often have beading discussions and bounce ideas off of each other.  Well my darling friend decided to surprise me with an artisan crafted gift.  Imagine my delighted squeal as I opened my mailbox and found a padded envelope shipped directly from New York.

Within the package was the most beautiful bracelet.  You see, dear Kristen knows I have very small wrists.  We've discussed why I don't use tutorials or even the examples in Beadwork magazine.  She put on her artist's hat and took a tutorial created by beader Nancy Dale and modified it.  That's the beauty of being a real artist.  It's not about using somebody's pattern, it's about learning something from doing the tutorial then making it your own.

For those interested in learning how this bracelet was made, you can purchase Nancy's Diamonds are Forever tutorial for yourself from her etsy store here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/92145558/bracelet-tutorial-diamonds-are-forever

Now... what else makes this bracelet so special?  Well... as I opened the package I was so giddy, I tried right away to put it on.  I couldn't get the frickin clasp open.  I was on the phone with Kristen at the time and she started laughing... imagine that, laughing at me, her dear friend.  (Just kidding Kristen!) 

Kristen had used the most incredibly strong magnetic clasp I have ever seen!  Seriously, if I had a necklace on with one of these, and had the other end attached to my butt, honest to goodness, I'd never need a Brazilian Butt Lift!  It would pick that tooshie up so it would be nice and perky all day long!

I was laughing so hard as we talked... my brain wandered to so many other uses for said magnetic clasp.  But I won't get into those right here... LOL  Needless to say, you'll have to get intouch with Kristen to find out what planet she got those on, because they are outta this world!! 

Kristen, I feel so very honored to have such a beautiful creation.  You know I love purple, but the detail you put into this bracelet was impeccable!  I love, love, love the crystals and the fit is perfect!  Everytime I wear it, it'll remind me what a wonderful friendship we share!

{Hugs!}
~Dawn

Nancy's Blog:  http://nedbeads.blogspot.com
Nancy's Etsy Store:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/NEDbeads
Kristen's Blog:  http://kristen-beadjourney.blogspot.com/

The Gift of Creativity

Photo courtesy of Juli Cannon - Julsbeads

Yesterday I posted and shared with you a little secret... "the bead fairies are spoiling me rotten!"  I've had so much creativity flowing through this body that I'm practically bouncing like Tigger.  Yesterday I snapped some photos of a necklace I designed with a set of really, really cool beads from JulsBeads.  I'm telling you, these beads started talking to me the moment we laid eyes on each other.

They are the coolest round bead with a "ribbed" exterior in clear glass.  In the middle is a blend of beautiful purples and blues with a hint of maroon... maybe... or maybe my eyes are playing tricks on me. :o)  Either way, they are beautiful!

So they were the inspiration for this necklace.  I love swirls & curls (which is why wire jewelry originally caught my attention when I was toying with the idea of where to go next in Dawn's Great Life Adventure).  So I carried the swirly pattern through creating a chain of seed beads in a swirl pattern.  The necklace turned out really colorful, and tons of fun.

I have another project in the works that will also be wonderful!  Can't wait to share more... but for now, the beads are calling! Hope your day is full of creativity and love!

{Hugs!}
Dawn

Purple-licious LOVE and a Book Giveaway

I just LOVE purple... really, any shade of purple... light, dark, rich or flirty... I love 'em all!  So imagine my pure delight when my good friend Kathy asked me to design a custom set for an upcoming convention she's attending.  It's an all woman convention so I unleashed my ferocious purple power and viola! (Side Note:  I also love autumn, thus the theme of my jewelry models lately... please pardon the stem) ;)

I also wanted to share with you an Awesome Giveaway!  One of my good blogger friends Lori Anderson was just published in a new book, Making Elegant Jewelry.  To celebrate the release of the book, Lori's giving away a copy on her blog over at The Hive!  http://creatingthehive.com/blog-post/25922/beading-book-giveaway-making-elegant-jewelry

I would LOVE to win her book, but I'd be happy for you if you did too... honestly I would, right after I cried in my cup of coffee... but I'd get over it, someday. ;)  To enter Lori's giveaway, click here to go to her blog post.  Take a look at the gorgeous necklace she made for the book and leave her a comment!  Good luck to you (and me too, but more to you)!

Have a terrific week! {Hugs!}
~Dawn

I'm addicted

Yep, that's right.  The first step in healing is admitting... right?  Well, I'm saying it right here, out in the open, I'm addicted to Lampwork Glass beads... in particular those designed at the hands of Juls Beads.  She's such a talented glass artist and a really wonderful gal.  Just recently I found the idea that would be the perfect showcase for the very first JulsBead I ever received.

The focal bead was so delicious I wanted to make sure it stood out.  So thus, I created a seed bead rope in complimentary iridescent black & purples.

But to make the addiction even more intense, I just read an update on Juls Blog that she's having a sale on all her focal beads... Now SALE and BEADS in the same sentence... sit on my hands and take away the Paypal log in!  Seriously!!  So if I were you, I'd Skeedaddle your little butt over there and pick out a few special pieces for yourself... OR for special Christmas gifts you are going to make for people!  I'll lead by example... :)

{Hugs!}
Dawn

Sweet Jewelry Surprise

One of the greatest joys in life for me is surprising someone with gratitude completely out of the blue.  Everybody has struggles with one thing or another in life - especially lately it seems - so if I can give someone a smile, or add a little joy to their day it completely makes my day! 

Such is the case with these adorable purple earrings.  I made 2 pairs, one to give as a surprise gift, the other to put in my store.  My friend has no idea these are coming to her.  I only wish the package had a voice recorder for when she opens the package... because girl, she is going to squeeeeeeeeel with joy. That I'm sure of!

If you haven't done something out of the blue for anybody lately, maybe this will inspire you.  My mission in life is to spread love and share smiles.  Since I took the oath of Large Hearts & Giving Spirit in an undisclosed location, a gazillion years ago... I've seen so many smiles.  And I know, smiles breed more smiles!  Woot, woot! 

I hope you give someone one of your smiles today!  Because I KNOW you've got plenty to go around!

Have a superfantastic* day!
{Hugs!}
Dawn

*Superfantastic is an unlicensed trademark from my really, wonderful cousin Lexi.  It's her favorite word and just saying it puts a smile on my face.  Thanks Lexi for always making me smile!  You're a true gem sweetie!  Love ya!*

Amethyst Kiss - Heart Pendant on Beaded Necklace!

Rainy days provide so much time to make new jewelry!!! While I love sunshine, sometimes we just need those damp, grey days to finish projects we started, or check off more things on our to-do list!

One of the things on my to-do list was to create this necklace. I had made a similar one for myself a few weeks back and absolutely love it. I've gotten many compliments and the colors are the 'IN' colors for this spring & summer. I wanted to share the love with all of you in Blogland, but also several of my jewelry fans on Facebook and in Etsy.

So I created this Amethyst Kiss necklace. The pendant is an amethyst heart and is embellished using Blue Moon Lampwork Glass beads, a mix of lavender seed beads and a hint of yellow. It is now listed in my Etsy Store so it's available just in time for Easter to finish your perfect Easter outfit!

Today's another rainy day in WI, so who knows what the Bead Fairy will deliver today! ;) Have a terrific weekend everybody!

Click here to go shopping in my Etsy Store.

Spring Colors - Turquoise, Purple & Yellow

I'm so excited to hear that the "it" colors for this spring & summer are turquoise, purple & yellow! I love those colors! I wear turquoise & purple all the time... all year, regardless of the season. So I challenged myself to blend those colors into a piece of jewelry just for me.

So here's what I created~ a 3-strand beaded necklace using beautiful Blue Moon lampwork beads, seed beads from the Bead Smith and gorgeous cut glass amber colored beads. I usually create pieces with intent to sell them, but this piece I designed just for me! We do need to treat ourselves once in a while and this is my treat to me!


I'm in the process of creating a similar, but different necklace to make available in my Etsy store because I think these colors are a dynamite choice for anybody, any age, any skin tone, and so many outfit styles. I'll keep you posted with pics on my latest creation~

Thanks for taking time out of your Monday morning to share a little piece of sunshine from my world. I hope your week is absolutely splendid!

Purple... my favorite color

In case you didn't know from the looks of my blog, my favorite color is PURPLE! I love purple... purple anything is good by me... clothing, food, jewelery... you name it!

So imagine my delight when I saw that Zebra Wire made a magenta artistic wire in 28 gauge!!! My wire crochet jewelry just got even more fun!!! I found some great glass bugle beads from our brand new Ben Franklin the other day. They're an irridescent finish on black, purple, blue, green & brown base. Basically, I think it resembles the rainbow you see in a puddle of spilled oil.


Match the shimmer of the beads with the purple wire and I made a really fun cuff bracelet! Of course with the beautiful snow, I thought it was a perfect white background to get some pictures, so in my pictures you see a piece of my heart with a kiss from Mother Nature! **You can click on any of the photos to see them larger!**