March ArtFire Giveaway at Risky Beads

Risky Beads does the best giveaways. I know because I have been the lucky recipient of her generosity. That's in another blog if you want to know more about it.

Here is the March ArtFire Giveaway. Once again there are so many great items that you can win. And you get to view so many cool shops on ArtFire when you enter.

This month's prize consists of these fabulous gifts: Shamrock shaped Green Clover & Aloe Candles by Soy Scentual, a jar of Pamper Your Hiney Lime Cooler Lotion from Shine Your Hiney Soap, a bar of Lime Margarita Salt Bar Soap from soapdeli, The Birds, set of 6 cards by Barbara Neely Designs, Run of Luck Shamrock vinyl wall decal by studiojk, an Irish Flag Shamrock Luggage ID Handle Wrap from Binhog Designs, a 5x7 print of Dandelion by Joanna's Photography, a Swarovski Emerald and Clear Bicone Inline Bracelet by Alisun's Custom Crafted Jewelry, a Tiny Green Aventurine Pendant by RockyCreek Gems & Gifts, and Emerald Acorns earrings from my shop, Risky Beads. Finally, the products are being photographed on an Olive Green Baby Ruched Tote Bag from jennyndesigns. Please see this listing to see the style of the bag. It's just a smaller version! There's also a tube of Creme de Menthe lip balm from Nella Scents thrown in as a freebie! These products retail for $160.00!!!

So hurry on over to the Risky Beads blog and see what you have to do to enter. I guarantee it will be worth your time and effort.

Hurray for the By Hand Giveaway

Enter through March 18th to win ALL of the following prizes listed: Choker Necklace with Glass Beads Set into a Greeting Card - $6.99 - from Twilight's Fancy, Tin of Breakfast Blend Tea and Tea Sacs - $19.50 - from LiberTeas, Two 9oz. Palm Wax Candles in Cran-Orange Delight and Pure Indulgence - $20 - from Jennuine Candles, Clean Cotton Soap - $4.50 - from Hartley Soap Co., Winner's Choice of Three Sheets of Personalized Labels - $16.50 - from Bohtieque Design, Square Glass Tile Wanderer Pendant - $8.50 - from Ela Steel, Needlefelted Bear - $15 - from EJ Crafts, Millefiori Polymer Clay Girl Doll Key Chain - $7 - from Ben-David's Art Studio, and a Matted 5"x7" Angel Amongst Us Photo Print - $10 - from Melissa Butler Photography. The grand total of all prizes is $103.49! This contest is open worldwide to participants age 18 and up. The winner is responsible for any taxes or custom fees that may be applied to receive their prize. The contest will end on March 18, 2009 at 11:59pm EST.

Go to http://www.byhand.me for details on how to enter this giveaway.

Time For a Tea Party

I am sure you have seen all the news articles about the health benefits of drinking tea. I love the web page Real Age. It is written by Drs. Oz and Roizen. I like it because as a health care professional myself, I think the advice there is honest, practical and based on scientific findings and not just promotional in nature.

There are several postings there about the health benefits of drinking tea. There has been an abundance of writings about the benefits of drinking green tea. Some of the studies suggest that drinking green tea on a regular basis will help you to maintain your memory, improve your blood pressure and decrease your risk for developing cancer. There are some that suggest that drinking green tea can even help you to maintain a healthy weight although that link has not been as strongly proven as the others.

But just recently I read that black tea also has some nice health benefits, especially for women. It turns out that drinking black tea can reduce a woman's risk of developing ovarian cancer. And drinking black tea also has been shown to reduce the risk, for both men and women, of developing Parkinson's Disease.

So, while just drinking tea because it tastes good is incentive enough for plenty of people, there are now more good reasons to enjoy this health improving drink.



And if you are looking for some really good tea to enjoy while you are reaping all the health benefits it has to offer, check out Liberteas studio on ArtFire. There are several blends to choose from and they all sound yummy to me. The pictures in this post are all from Liberteas studio as well. From top to bottom they are: Masterpiece Chai Spiced Black Tea, Breakfast in Bed Flavored Black Tea and Potpourri Gunpowder Green Tea. If you click on the pictures it will take you to them in Liberteas ArtFire Studio

New Handmade Sites

There are two new hand made sites making a splash on the Internet. And the best part is they are promoting handmade art work rather than selling which is refreshing.

The first site is By Hand. It can be found at http://www.byhand.me

This site has so many features you could spend hours there and not be bored. There is an artisan directory where you can look up specific artisans and view what they have posted. There are community forums where discussions can take place on a variety of topics. And there are clubhouses where people with like interests can discuss specific topics and common interests.

But the features I like the most are window shopping and spotlights. You can click on window shopping and the site randomly displays items that are posted on the site. If you see something you like you click on it to get more information about it. Or you just keep clicking and get more items to view. It's like seeing the whole store from your chair.

Spotlights has to be my favorite part of By Hand. A spotlight is any group of nine items that you wish to display on the site. You give your spotlight a title and then post the items. For instance, I made a spotlight titled "It's a Dog's Life" and posted various items made by ArtFire artisans that were for dogs. I also made another one titled "Here Comes the Bride" with bridal related items. The possibilities are endless. And any spotlights you create can be viewed by anyone on By Hand.

Now this may sound complicated, but it isn't. The sites designers could not have made it any easier to use unless they actually listed the items for you. All you have to do is decide what you want to spotlight, give it a title, click on the boxes and pick the venue you are pulling the items from (ArtFire, Etsy, 1000 Markets etc) and the put the proper id number in and your item magically appears in the box. Fill all nine boxes and publish. And if that wasn't enough to have you jumping for joy..... all items that are from ArtFire have rapid cart automatically attached to them. What does that mean?? Well, if someone clicks on that item it displays with the rapid cart option which allows the person to purchase that item right there on the spot. What could be better than that??

This is an awesome site. I have been making spotlights and will continue to do so as often as my brain comes up with an idea.

The second site which I love is Found Handmade. It can be found at http://www.found-handmade.blogspot.com. This site displays handmade items from all over the web in a window shopping format as well. And the best part is you can request to have your spotlights from By Hand displayed on Found Handmade. It is a great site for just looking around and seeing what is out there.

Both of these sites are great places to visit. I have found so many unique and awesome items on both of them. And the variety is what is so great about them. I visit both of them several times a day. You should too.

It's a Dog's Life

Beau, my 11 year old Basset Hound.

Man's best friend has never had it so good. Dogs are a great source of companionship. They are always there to greet you when you come home. And they are always happy and looking for ways to please the Master. And in return we accept them into our hearts and make them a part of the family. And there are plenty of ways that we can pamper our pooches. I am as guilty as the next guy. Now that my kids are grown my Basset Hound is my baby. And I was very happy to find lots of cute things for my little buddy, little being a relative term, on ArtFire. So I want to share some of my favorites with you.

Spoiled Bratzwear

Hatz 4 Bratz



Blueberry & Lime Bullseye Jammeez

Chilly Paws

Diva Snuggle Sack

Cream Dog Sweater

Blue Shed Crafts

Hand Knitted Terrier Sweater

Pawsh Dogwear

Jackie O Collar

Dog Park Princess Collar

My Doggie and Me

Pup Tart Squeaky Toy

Flip Flops Squeaky Toy

So as you can see there are so many cool things for your special pet on ArtFire. And believe me this is just the tip of the ice berg. Spoiled Bratzwear even has a doggie wedding gown on her site in case your pooch has that special day coming up. I don't know about you but when Beau needs something I am going to shop on ArtFire. I hope you will too.

I Won

On an earlier post I blogged about the contest that Risky Beads was having called Love Potion. The challenge was to visit Risky Beads Etsy Studio. I highly recommend doing this. There are so many lovely pieces there. And they all have interesting names. I thought of doing that for my jewelry but I am not that talented and quickly began to run out of ideas. So Risky Beads has many talents in her arsenal. But back to the challenge. After viewing her pieces you needed to write a love story using just the names of her jewelry design. I had so much fun doing it and I won.

OK.... so now I have to tell the rest of the story. Only one other person besides myself entered teh challenge. So Risky Beads declared a tie and awarded both of us the pendant of our choice from the Risky Beads Studio on Etsty. Risky Beads also has a studio on ArtFire with many great designs there as well.

So here are the items we won.

I chose this piece titled Tree Hugger 2

The other winner chose this piece titled Chemistry

Great contest and great prizes. Thanks Risky Beads for making me a very happy winner. And I will be stylin for sure when my prize arrives in the mail.

Sports and Jewelry

About 2 years ago I saw a bracelet made with Swarovski bicones in alternating colors. When I saw it the first thing that went through my mind was wouldn't that bracelet look made in Dolphin colors? So of course I had to try it and it was awesome. But my mind didn't stop there. Then I thought wow, I could put a little silver dolphin charm on it and it would really be a Miami Dolphin Bracelet then. But I didn't stop there. Next I thought, I wonder what a heart would look like in Dolphin colors. That turned out to be my favorite one of all.

Shortly thereafter the University of Florida won the National Championship and I needed an idea for a birthday present for my daughter in law, who is an avid Gator fan and alum. So out came the beads. And I was able to find not only a Gator charm but also a National Champs charm.

And from there the idea just blossomed. I have made Buckeye jewelry for my other daughter in law who is an Ohio State alum and enthusiast and many, many more.

I really enjoy making custom items. It is really fun to make something that you know is going to have special meaning to someone. And who isn't a sports fan of one kind or another. There are so many options open to be creative and make something for that special sports nut in your family. And more ladies are becoming sports fans so this is a match made in heaven. And when a team is on top there is no better time to get those items out there.

So I think I will go make a Steeler bracelet and see what happens. I know there are a lot of Steeler fans out there.

You can order your favorite team bracelet at my ArtFire Studio. Choose team spirit category and tell me what you would like to have made. The possibilities are endless.