Weekly Giveaway - Featuring ScaryWhiteGirl

This Post has been CLOSED.

Please check back each Monday for a new giveaway!

And of course the rest of the week to see

what's new, what's on sale, and what I'm up to!

Black with Dark Red, Blue, and White Crocheted Coffee Cozy

It's that time of week again - Giveaway Time! This week's artist is Scary White Girl - aka - Dawn. I met Dawn through the Big Damn Crafters team - a group of like-minded geeks who all love the show Firefly! (To find items from the team search "team bdc" on etsy) Dawn has some fun geekery in her shop, and she's just plain a fun person to be around. Here's her interview:

1. Where can we find your work and what do you create?

My shop is http://scarywhitegirl.etsy.com, and I make crocheted items. A lot of my items are geeky and/or morbid, like my Firefly and Doctor Who themed items, Decapitated Dollies, and eyeball cat toys, but I also have some more "normal" things as well, like arm warmers, coffee cozies, and ice cream cozies.

2. What's your favorite part about being an independent artist? 

I like having at least a portion of my day where I'm my own boss. I still work full time, and craft on the side, but it's nice to be able to be the one who decides what projects take priority when for a little while.

3. Where do you find your inspiration?

All over the place! I've drawn inspiration from people I've met at craft shows, things I've seen on TV or in movies, and interesting color combinations in stained glass. I don't think I can go anywhere without looking at things through a lens of "can I crochet this?"

4. What advice would you give to other artists?

Make what you love. If you don't love what you're making, stop making it, and figure out what you do want to make. You'll enjoy the process so much more once you can focus on what you want to be doing, rather than what you think you should be doing. And the enjoyment you take from your work will show through and become a selling point.

Onto the Giveaway!

Ice Blue and Ocean Hues Organic Cotton Crocheted Cozy

You Could Win a Coffee Cozy like the one's featured int his post!

Here's what Dawn has to say about them:

Dress up your coffee shop coffee with this fashionable and environmentally friendly crocheted coffee cozy, made from organic cotton! Even when the cardboard coffee sleeves are made from recycled cardboard, they still end up back in the trash (or the recycling bin). Instead, use this washable coffee cozy to keep your hand protected from the hot coffee cup! (Winner may choose the color/stripe pattern for their cozy from available cozies at http://scarywhitegirl.etsy.com.) Value $12.

So how can you win?

1. Comment on this entry
2. Share your favorite item from her shop (scroll up for link)
3. Plurk or twitter about it and leave a comment with link.
4. Blog about it and leave a comment with link
5. Purchase an item from her shop (for 5 entries) (link above)

Important: All entries must be submitted by comments on this blog post.

I'm keeping track of the entries, so telling Dawn about them won't help :P

Interested in doing an artist feature/giveaway on this blog? Just let me know!

And there is still a sale going in my shop! 15% off at Rose Works Jewelry :)

My Giveaway Winners!

Yes, that was winners. There are two of them! I love it :)

Now who wins the bracelet from me?

And that is...

You can see her blog at Bead Dreams and Moonlit Fantasies:

And guess what? We live within half an hour of each other! What do you say...meet up?

I'll let you know if we are able to do it - and post pictures!

Now who won Meri's earring? 

And that is...

I love Tilt Creations! She's been one of my friends online for a long time now. 

You can catch her blog (one of them) at TiltCreations:

Congrats to both our winners!

I just wanted to note something for all of you. Do you see that both of our winners had multiple entries? Each week there are multiple ways to enter the contest, and often the winner put in two or three entries at least! So if you really want to win - take that extra minute and give yourself that extra edge :) Check back on Monday for the next giveaway, and don't forget everything is 15% off at Rose Works Jewelry right now! 

A Giveaway from My Shop and a Sale

Hi everyone! It's that time again - giveaway time! Most of the month I feature other artists, but the first week of the month (or last day of the previous month I guess!) will be my shop :) Why? Well I know you guys love me so I have to give you a chance for prizes out of my shop! Let me share the giveaway - then I'll explain my new banner :)

An Outdoors Bracelet

This bracelet was a lot of fun to make! It uses my new paper beads and I made them in orange in honor of my brother! :) Yes, the brother that my banner says I'm supporting right now. I would love to see a lot of entries for this and I would be really honored if the winner of this bracelet prays for or thinks of my brother when they wear it :) Click on the bracelet title for more information.

So How Can You Win?

1. Leave a comment on this blog = 1 entry

2. Visit my FB page and "like" it. Leave a comment there to let me know your a new or returning fan! = 1 entry

3. Visit my Artfire page or Etsy page, come back and leave a separate comment with your favorite piece = 1 entry

4. Follow this blog or let me know your already following = 1 entry

5. Announce this contest on plurk or twitter, come back and leave a comment with a link = 1entry

6. Blog about it! Since this is means monopolizing your blog space it = 2 entries

7. Make a purchase in either of my stores (Artfire or Etsy) = 5 entries! 

That's a total of 12 possible entries! Please remember to leave separate entries for each entry to make my job easier! I'll be keeping track in a spreadsheet and each entry will be given a separate number (based on order received) and I'll pick a winner using the random number generator. *Winner to be announced Saturday, March 5th*

Now to Explain my Header...

And a Sale!

This is my brother, Gordon, also know online as Psycho or Psycho4Jesus. Now often called Cancer Boy. Yes, he has cancer. Stage 4 T cell Hystocite Rich B Cell Lymphoma. That's a very rare form of a type of Non-Hodgekins lympoma. It's very extensive and he's had one chemo treatment so far. The shot above was taken with my phone the first day he was in the hospital.

He was in the hospital because he had a really bad reaction to the chemo and ended up being in the hospital for 2 days and nights. It was hard, but being there was probably the best :) He's been home since Saturday and is slowly recovering! Today, for the first time since he was hospitalized, he actually asked for a second serving of food! That still wasn't much, but very exciting still. 

His next treatment is on the 16th and he will have at least 5 more treatments, possibly 7. We'll know more at the end of April! 

So what am I doing? Well, a lot actually. I'm his secondary caregiver right now. So, when Mom's at work I hang out at the house and help out with medications, food, and anything else he needs. I also took shifts while he was in the hospital and have been coming and helping out whenever needed. This means I'm not going back to work at this time. I will be doing odd jobs to help with my husband and I's finances, but I can't really look for work until he's doing a lot better. My family needs me to much! 

What does this mean to you? I'm looking for your support! There's two things you can do:

1. Your Prayers - If you don't pray, whatever it is you do :) But this is going to be a really rough road. We all covet your prayers right now. I will be providing awareness charms soon to use as prayer reminders that I'll be selling for cost. Also, Gordon's biggest wish right now is that the people would know that he has cancer, cancer does not have him and he hopes that others would be blessed in their relationship with God right now. I'm not going to shove that down your throat - don't worry! I don't want to drive any of you away, but I do feel that its very important to share, and if you have any questions let me know :)

2. I'm doing a sale! All proceeds from my shop will be split between me and Gordon. I need to help pay for my husband and I's bills, and Gordon has no other source of income right now. So I'm doing 15% off in both my shops! On Etsy you'll need to enter the code "cancersupport15" for the discount, and on Artfire it has already been applied. I appreciate your support :)

Now don't forget to enter the giveaway :P


*Update 3/2*
Jujube Jewelry asked a great question! If you want to make a donation you can make a donation through paypal to the e-mail jedimarri@gmail.com :) Please let me know how you want the money to be used. It can go towards his bills, supporting both of us as (since I'm not working and money is really tight), for him to buy something fun, or for Mom to pay his bills. :) Just let me know!

*Update 3/3*
There's been an addition to this week's giveaway! Meri of Elfling Creations wanted to help raise awareness and support my brother - so she volunteered to giveaway an earring!

Leave a comment with your favorite item from her shop  for an extra entry :) Now here's what she has to say about it: The earring dangles about 1" from the ear cuff, which is silver-plated and 3mm wide. The sun bead has a crescent moon on the reverse side. That bottom bead is a cats eye- that's hard to see in the photo, so I figured I'd mention it. 


I'll be drawing two winners now on Saturday - make sure you check back - and enter! 

Featured Friday

I'm full of changes lately! First I added my monthly giveaway, then I added featuring other artists in giveaways the rest of the weeks of the month (let me know if your interested!), then I added a new shop, and now I'm doing a new blog feature! It's called Featured Friday and each week I'm going to do a couple of regular sections. Featured Facebook - where I share a link to my latest discussion over there, Featured Special - where I share this week's sale or special item, and Featured Giveaway - where I give an update on this week's giveaway and remind you it's the last day to enter :P So with out further ado...

Featured Friday

This week on Facebook we'll be talking about your favorites - come join in the discussion!

Featured Special

Pink Lemonaid Ring - 15% off!

(also on Etsy)

Featured Giveaway

I'm very excited to tell you that we have 32 entries so far this week! 

Today's the last day - so pop on over and get your entry in to win this bag:

Fun Stuff All!

Shades of Nepal

This bracelet is a special one.

My brother sent me the beads from Nepal! 

I'm so tempted to keep this one for myself...

But I like how it turned out so much that it's up for sale!

If no one grabs it things might not stay that way though...

Spring Fling

Ok, I know it's not exactly spring right now...

This would still make a GREAT Christmas present though!

AND it's 10% off! 

Nothing new crafty wise today - but I plan on doing a bunch this afternoon!

Pirates Swag!!!

Look at all the swag I got today! And at 50% off or more! Woohoo!

KSTreasures is Going Out of Business!

It's time to move on, and so my second shop, Kindred Spirit Treasures, is going out of business. That means a HUGE SALE! Everything has been marked off 50%!!! Here's just a few of the great deals your going to find.

Queen of the Crafty ADD

I've told you before that I'm very Crafty ADD. I jump from project to project to project... Anyway - I thought I'd prove it to you guys :P This is what I've been working on the last two days!

What you see above is a hemp bracelet and a beadwoven St. Petersburg Bracelet. I started the bracelet a couple days ago, but I wove about half of it in the last two days. Not that it's a project that takes me very long, I just picked it up for 15 minutes here, and 15 minutes there!

I've also been working on a lot of hemp lately. I have a bunch in my box to take photos of! Things have just been to busy for me to get the photos taken yet though. That and I haven't been feeling that good today. Ok, really not feeling good today. I've spent most of the day watching Star Gate and crafting :D

Mom started teaching me to crochet yesterday! The picture above is of granny squares. I did the first one and started the second one with Mom yesterday, finished the second one last night, and did the third this morning! I'm going to make a baby blanket :D There are going to be 4 more colors in it. Not sure how I'm going to arrange them, just making a bunch of squares and then I'll play with laying them out and see how the inspiration strikes me.

And for anyone getting excited, no, I'm not pregnant :P I'll donate this when it's done. Probably to the Pregnancy Resource Center. It's a local organization that provides free pregnancy tests and provides counseling on the many options out there other than abortion.

Over the last 6 months or so I've started always having a cross-stitch project going. This is the current one! It's going to be a bookmark of dancing penquins. It'll be awhile before it shows up in the shop though. I tend to work on it like crazy for awhile, and then not pick it up at all for awhile :P Plus I'll probably fit 4 bookmarks on the fabric before I cut it up... Anyway, I sewed half of the penquin outline today!

So what's next? Well...I need to make some more strand bracelets to take into my consignment shop...but since that requires moving the bead boxes and stuff around so I can decide on patterns that will probably wait for tomorrow. My asthma's acting up today and I'm doing fine as long a I sit still, but that would probably be too much movement. So I think I'll crochet another granny square and try to decide what my next beadweaving project should be.....

Just a reminder - it's Christmas in July! Follow the links below to check it the sales :)

Kindred Spirit Treasures

Rose Works on Etsy

Rose Works on Artfire

It's Christmas in July!

That's right - it's a Christmas in July sale! A bunch of the Etsy bloggers are particpating - and I'm one of them! In Kindred Spirit Treasures you'll find ALL item marked down 20%!!! Over at Rose Works Jewelry you'll find a sale section with items marked down 20%!!! Want to see what the Bloggers are doing? Head on over to our SALE thread and see what other great offers you can find!!!

What's that? You want more great deals??? You got it! I'm also doing a sale over in Rose Works Jewelry on Artfire - the entire shop is marked down 20%!!! Why didn't I do that on Etsy you ask? Because Artfire makes it easy :P

I've also been a listing/promoting FREAK this last week - so I have more new items to show you! Which is your favorite? Tell me and earn extra entries in the Top Commentators contest!

June's Contest WINNERS!!!

Now I have to admit - I'm laughing a little bit! I had a lot of fun with this month's contest, but the results look sorta, eh, familiar?

WINNERS!!!

1. Beaded Tail - 39

2. Memories for Life - 38

3. TiLT Creations - 28

www.beadedtail.etsy.com

www.memoriesforlifeb.etsy.com

www.tiltcreations.etsy.com

Familiar eh? Yes, that's right, that's last month's winners in a different order! So guess what? I love you ladies - but you are ALL disqualified for next month's contest! We're going to give some of my other readers a chance - k? Please keep commenting though - because I love hearing from all three of you!

I'd like to give a special mention to the two people who tied for 4th place this month with 27 comments each. A big thanks go to Splendid Little Stars and Little Studio Photography and Jewelry for your ongoing encouragement and bloggy dialogue!

Now for the round up of numbers :D I goofed up slightly on this >_> When I decided to give double entries for anyone who commented on their favorite items when I do my 9 item spotlights...well I didn't think to keep track of the extra points seperately >_> So that means this month's total comments are artificially inflated. I'll fix that next month! Don't worry!

Top Commentator: This Month - 39. Last Month - 35

Total Commentators: This Month - 68. Last Month - 71

Total Comments: This Month - 374. Last Month - 277

Just a reminder - this is what our winners won - and what you could win next month!

Top 3 Commentators - Write up on this blog :)

1st Place - $20 Gift Certificate to my Shops

2nd Place - $10 Gift Certificate to my Shops

3rd Place - $5 Gift Certificate to my Shops

Have a great day - and don't forget to check out my Artfire Sale!

My First Artfire Sale!!!!

I'm so excited!!! I'm doing my first ever sale in my Artfire shop! Let me say I just LOVE how artfire has it set up so you just type in the percentage you want to give off - and they change all your listings for you! Sooo much easier than the way Etsy is set up!

So that's right - 15% off my entire Artfire shop! Make sure you check it out - most of the inventory (with the exception of my high priced items) is different from what you've seen in my etsy shop!

On a different note... I have a lot in the works for both my shops! Life has been really busy with apartment hunting so I haven't had the energy to take pictures this week, but I have a bunch of new inventory to put up as soon as I do!

I also picked up a book at the library that I've been waiting for - it's all about beading with cabochons and I'm so excited! I've been doing some research on-line and one of the sites recommended this book. So I ordered it at the library, had to wait TWO MONTHS, and it's finally here! I read the intro and first chapter last night and my fingers are itching to play!

I'm also planning on expanding my hemp line in the near future. I've sold quite a bit lately - for me at least - so I plan on having a hemp section in my Artfire shop soon and more inventory over all for both stores!

UPDATE:

I just found out that this necklace is in a treasury! Thanks Peacox Creations!

YART, EBW Challenge, and an Award!

So much going on it's hard to even know where to start! The first is that I'm participating in the YART sale on Etsy! What's that? Well, apparently if you marry the words "yard sale" and "art sale" to each other, you get YART sale. Don't ask - it wasn't my idea - I'm just participating! So what IS the sale?

I'm doing FREE shipping WORLDWIDE!!! PLUS if you purchase $25 or more - you'll get a FREE GIFT! Now how cool is that? If you've been looking to shop in my store - now is the time! www.roseworksjewelry.etsy.com Sale runs through the 14th.

Next - the June Challenge for the Etsy Bead Weavers is up! Go visit the blog and vote! I'm exctra-super excited about it this month because it's my first time entering! I'm entry number 5. Don't feel obligated to vote for me, but PLEASE do go check out the entries and vote for one of the team!

Lastly, I received a blog award! Thanks go to Teresa of Elegance by Mode for giving me the award. I have to admit that I'm a spoil sport and I'm not going to pass it on to the 15 people required... I tend to be lazy when it comes to these things :P

Oh! And I had my 70th sale in my etsy shop today! *dances*

NEW Sale Item of the Week!

Well this is certainly a nice problem to have...my previous sale item for this week is gone! Woohoo! So I'm putting up a new one :) I'm excited about this one too! 

But first... Since this is already my second post of the day I just want to let you know I won't be doing Tuesday's Tips today...but you might see something similar to it tomorrow ;)

This week's sale item is my "Beadaholic" bracelet! But wait - there's more! The special counts for any word-related custom order! So if you love this word, but want different colors or size, I'll do it! If you want it to say "Choco-holic" or "I (heart) Moses" (although I'd be creeped out if you love my hubby too :P). I'll do just about any word - so just let me know!

The original "Beadaholic" bracelet is 6 1/2 inches long. If doing a custom order please be aware that the longer the word the longer the bracelet will have to be. 

On sale for only $32 plus $2 shipping and handling! 

Happy Memorial Day!

Wow! I've had a buuuusy day :) But it's been fun :) No, I didn't go out and do anything, my asthma has been so bad lately that planning anything was pretty much out. The good news is - I've been breathing clear all day! Which means I've gotten a lot done - and lots that I want to share!

First, I did a treasury blog in honor of our Troops, and I put a simple tribute on my Jedi blog.

I've also done a bunch of listing on Artfire - pieces that you've already seen on my etsy - but I'm excited about putting them on Artfire! Plus they put the studio fusions live to day on Artfire. Basically, we have a lot of customizability now! I really like it :) Go check out my shop to see how it looks and see the new listings! 

I made myself a new bracelet this weekend - and I promised some people I'd show it off - so here it is! And yes, I said, it's actually for ME :P I don't do that often enough >_>

I also started a new project this weekend that is a big stretch for me! Here's what I started with...

Don't you just love the snazzy super-girl pajama pants? My evil twin made them for me :)

Ok, so I'm making a free form peyote bracelet. I've seen a lot of these out there in various forms, and one of my Etsy Bead Weaver team mates encouraged me to try it. I've been wanting to try one but not sure where I wanted to start or what I wanted to do. Then over at Thursday Sweet Treats this week the challenge is for butterfly's. That's when I knew! The center does have a pattern, a butterfly, but the rest is just as the spirit hits me ;)

What you see here is 3 days of work so far. Which is...incredible for me these days. Usually three days and I'm done with a project. Unless I don't really work on it, but I have been working on this! It's not that I haven't been working on it, it's that I can't work on it for very long stretches at a time. My friend who encouraged me to try one said it could be very "zen-like," not for me! Not having a pattern is actually really challenging for me. I'm not sure why. 

I'm enjoying the challenge though. I don't think it'll be done in time to submit it to Thursday Sweet Treats, but the important part to me is the journey and the growth as an artisan :) I'm not sure if I'll do any more like this once this is done, but I do know it'll be awhile before I'm ready to try another one! 

Just a quick reminder - I'm having a sale in my Etsy shop for my Etsy-versary! 

Have a wonderful rest of your Memorial Day :)

Happy Etsy-versary to Me!

It's my Etsy-versary! (well, tomorrow actually) I'm so excited! Want to join in my excitement? Let's have a sing along! Just subsititute "Ruthie" whenever I say Me :P

"Happy Etsy-versary to Me!

Happy Etsy-versary to Me!

Happy Etsy-versary dear Me....

Happy Etsy-versary to Me!"

Don't you feel the excitement? I feel the excitement!

So guess what I'm doing for my Etsy-versary? I'm passing on my excitement to YOU! That's right, between now and the 27th everything in my shop is 20% off! Just wait for a revised invoice after purchase :) 

Weekly Special - Rosita's Coffee House!

I can see this necklace around the neck of a gorgeous Colombian girl named Rosita. She works long hours in a coffee house, but she still loves coffee so much that she even wears jewelry pieces that reflect that love!

This necklace has been a long time in the making and it's become very special to me! The pendant is a resin pendant made with real coffee beans! It's surrounded by a variety of wooden beads and 4 lampwork beads made to look just like coffee beans. The earrings come FREE with the necklace :)

The necklace is approximately 18 inches long and the pendant adds another inch and a half in length. The earrings are approximately 1 3/4 inches long.

The pendant was made by http://www.gogokioko.etsy.com/ - check out her awesome work!

The lampwork beads were made by http://www.crazyladybeads.etsy.com/ - check out her awesome work!

This week only you can buy this necklace for only $21, right here on this blog! That includes shipping and handling and a 20% discount :)

Don't forget to check out my March Madness Sale!

New Site to Share - and MORE

I found out about an AWESOME site today that will save you some time on Etsy! Do you love looking through the treasuries? Does your face light up when you find out your in one? Do you get tired of searching through the pages with bated breath to find out if your IN a treasury? Well be tired no more! Click on the picture below and find a one stop, 3 second, stop to find out if your in a treasury!


Now this is a contest you'll have to visit NOW if you want to enter. Why? Because it's all about finding out when the babies coming! So go here and enter your guess - it could be any minute!
Look at this big sale that's going on over at my friend Mama's Little Monkey's shop :)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*HUGE CLEARANCE SALE~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~**~*~*~
20% off EVERYTHING in Shop (Except Items Marked "Made with Love by Katrina)
Wait for adjusted invoice before making payment, or I can refund you via PayPal!

Making Room for NEW Items!!

And while your out there - don't forget my HUGE sale over in my shop! 20% off many items!

Oh So Much Going On!

Where to begin? That's the question! Ok, I'll start off by telling you about my sale item of the week. I absolutely LOVE the earrings! I'll be sad to see them go, but I'll also be glad to see them go to a good home! Here's the details:

Don't you just want to get up do a groovy dance with these wild and fun earrings? The center blue circles are made from African opals and the pink has a shiny finish that's sure to catch people's eyes!

These earrings are shoulder dusters at 3 1/2 inches! On sale on this blog for only $10 including shipping and handling! What a steal eh?

Now I was planning on waiting a few days before I listed my next set of contests and sales that are currently going on. Then I found out about a WHOLE bunch yesterday - and I decided I just had to share them with you today!

You can find this lovely bag and more over at Tilt Creation's St. Patty's Day Sale! All items in that section are 15% off! Woohoo!


CeeJayBags is doing not one but TWO giveaways! You can enter the first one here:

And the second giveaway here:

MercyMing is doing an AWESOME sale in her shop! Buy 3 get one free sale. Buy any three cards and she will send out the 4th of your choice at no charge! And I got to say - these cards are fabulous - time to stock up!

And while your having fun shopping, saving, and entering contests, don't forget to stop by my March Madness Sale!

Lots of Contests and Sales Going On!

I'm doing a HUGE March Madness Sale - and that got me thinking. I know that some of my friends over on the Pluggers United Team are doing sales or contests right now - I should feature them! So I sent out an e-mail and here's the responses I got :)

Head on over to the Damn Nation's blog to get a chance to win this lovely bracelet! And while your there, why not sign up to follow her blog? She's a fun gal, you won't be disappointed!


Kate, of Om Shanti Handicrafts, is doing an all things green sale! In honor of St. Patty's day don'tcha know :) Not only does she make incredible jewelry pieces, she has a wide variety of bath and body products - so head over there today!


This next contest is actually sponsored by one of my team mates, and hosted by another! The contest is being hosted by TiLT Creations and sponosered by Pigatopia. There are lots of fun ways to win entries - so head on over and check it out today!


And of course, don't forget about my March Madness Sale while your checking out all this fun stuff! I have a whole bunch of items at 20% off - like this wonderful necklace - currently only $16!!!