Giveaway Prizes

Here are pictures of the drawing prizes I'm giving away to celebrate all my fans on my Facebook BeadsForever business page.  If you haven't already entered, take a moment to enter now.  Just "like" my facebook page (if you haven't already) and leave a comment on my blog under either of the two posts about my giveaway and you are entered.  It's that easy.  My husband will be drawing three names out of the hat on Friday, October 21 at 6pm PST.  There will be three names drawn and three prizes given away.  Be sure there is a way to contact you if you are the winner.

If you want to have a 2nd chance, share this blogpost on facebook and for a 3rd chance, share it on twitter.  Be sure to let me know where you shared it so I put your name into the hat for each share.

OK, so ready for the prizes?  The first name drawn will win one of my larger, more wild and crazy cabs as well as a fabulous book on bead embroidery 'The Art of Bead Embroidery' by Heidi Kummli and Sherry Serafini.  You can view a picture of the book on Amazon here.

The 2nd name drawn will win these two dichroic glass cabochons - both are hot out of my kiln.

The 3rd name drawn will win this dichroic glass cabochon.

Good luck to everyone.  Most of all, THANK YOU to all my fans for your support and affirmation!

Super Duper 1000 Fans Celebration!

I'm celebrating and I hope you will join me.  My BeadsForever business page on facebook is very close to having 1000 Fans.  As of this writing I only need 3 more "LIKES" and then the bells and whistles are going off!

If you are one of my "fans" and have "liked" my facebook page, and you'd like to participate in my celebration giveaway, all you need to do is leave a comment on this blogpost (or on the wall of my Facebook BeadsForever business page under this posting).

If you'd like to have your name entered more than once, share my blogpost on Facebook and/or Twitter and leave a comment telling me about it.

Your name will be entered into a hat (up to 3 times depending on how may ways you participate) and the giveaway drawing will be held on Friday, October 21 at 6 pm PST.  My husband will be the person who pulls the names out of the hat.  Winners will be announced on Facebook and sent personal notifications - so be sure to leave a way to contact you in your comments.

There will be three names drawn and three prizes given away.  The first name drawn will win a large dichroic glass cabochon made by me, plus a fabulous book, 'The Art of Bead Embroidery' written by Heidi Kummli and Sherry Serafini.  (I happen to have two copies, so it is only fair that I share such glorious information with someone else!)

The 2nd name drawn will win 2 medium sized dichroic glass cabochons made by me.  The 3rd name drawn will win 1 medium sized dichroic glass cabochon made by me.

Unfortunately, the cabochons are currently firing in the kiln and I won't have pictures of them until tomorrow or the next day.  So stay tuned for the pics!  If you'd like to see some of the previous cabochons I've made, you can view them either on facebook, or on Flickr.

I'm full of gratitude to everyone who has supported me in my passion.  I hope you will share my happiness by participating in my celebration.

The Joy of Creating

I find that creating brings me such joy - a deep seated happiness that makes my heart sing and my spirit soar.  I greatly admire artists who express themselves through their work.  I enjoy seeing things of beauty - whether in nature created by God or in books and magazines, created by fellow artists.  I know what goes into the creating process and the feelings involved are not always pleasant.  Anxiety and fear can play a role as well as hope and love.  When the artist perseveres through all the emotions and the creation is finished, that's when the final joy of creating is experienced.

When I make my dichroic glass cabochons, I not only experience joy in the process of creating but also every time I open the kiln and see the results of my labors.  But it doesn't stop there.  I get another dose of joy when someone tells me they like my work.  And another when they actually purchase one of my cabs and use it in one of their own creations.  And it doesn't stop there because someone may actually purchase that new creation because they love it and share it with others who enjoy it as well.  That is a lot of experienced joy for which I'm very grateful!

Here is just one example of how it all works.  I created a dichroic glass cabochon I called Lava Bed.

Lorraine Hickton of Trinitydj on Etsy purchased the cab and created this wonderful necklace she named after her friend Nancy Dale.

I'm very thankful for all of this shared joy.  It's what keeps me going when I experience the momentary anxiety and fear that come with temporary disappointments.  I hope that viewing this beautiful creation will help spread the joy even more.