artBLISS!

It's almost here...one more day!  Tomorrow morning, I will be at artBLISS!

Hosted by the lovely ladies, Jeanette Ryan and Cindy Wimmer, three days of jewelry making classes filled with creativity will be taking place!

I will be taking two classes with Richard Salley and Jessica Papke, and one class with Stacie Florer! My classes will entail making rings, rings with cabochons, and POST earrings!   I hope to hone my soldering skills...we shall see!  

Miracle Horse Rescue - Fundraiser Update

As of September 25, I have raised - and already donated - $1,865.00 to benefit the equines at Miracle Horse Rescue!  I have been gobsmacked with orders (THANK YOU!!) and I am beyond flabbergasted! Quite frankly, I anticipated maybe 6-8 sales over the 7 week fundraising period ...I never thought I would raise so much money, especially in such a short period of time.  I am truly humbled by this support! I am hoping that I am also raising awareness to the plight of horse rescue - all animal rescue!  

I have been bombing Facebook with my fundraising efforts - thank you for not "un-friending" me! :)

I will be away from my shop from Friday- Sunday (September 27 - September 29).  Normally, I would place my Etsy shop "on vacation", but since I will only be away a couple of days, I decided to leave it open.  So, I stocked my shop with new earrings:

(click on images for larger view)

And this lovely bracelet, too!

The current discount in my shop of 25% off continues through  9/27/13.  From September 28th - October 12th, save 20%!  No coupon required!  It's not too early to shop for Christmas - or yourself!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend (I know I will!!)  Thank you for stopping by!

And the Winner Is....

I want to thank everyone for sharing my post and bringing interest to Miracle Horse Rescue - thanks to you, I have had an extremely busy and productive weekend!  The horses say "thank you", too! :)

The winner of these earrings made with artisan lampwork by Sue Kennedy:

  

is Therese Frank!!!

Congratulations Therese!  I happen to have your address, so look for these to appear in the mail this week!

Thank you again for your comments, shares, and stopping by!

Next giveaway will be here shortly!

Have a great week!

Patti

I think it is time for a giveaway!

Last week, I posted that I would be having a fundraiser, of sorts, to both raise funds and garner attention for Miracle Horse Rescue (MHR). (You can read that post here) To date, I have sold over 25 pieces of jewelry! Many of my "online friends" have been kind enough to share my many posts to Facebook - THANK YOU! And, many of the jewelry purchases have been from fellow jewelry designers - I am so humbled and grateful for your purchases!!  THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart!  Funds have already been sent to MHR....but I want to send more!

I also mentioned that there would be Giveaway's...so here is the first one!  

Information about Miracle Horse Rescue

MHR is a federally-recognized 501(c)3 non-profit organization which is dedicated to the preservation and welfare of abused, neglected, and unwanted domesticated horses of all types and conditions.  Some of the stories they have shared are simply heartbreaking.  As MHR is a very small organization - run by only 2 people who have literally dedicated their entire lives to helping these horses- I want to help as much as I can. For more information, please view their FaceBook page. 

My Fundraising Activities

So, from September 13, 2013 through October 31, 2013, I will be donating 100% of the proceeds from the sale of my Etsy shop to MHR.  To further entice you to start your Holiday shopping or buy something for yourself, I am offering huge discounts!  My sale prices will be already be reflected for each item.  Here is the low down I am offering:

9/13/2013 - 9/20/2013    - SAVE 30%

9/21/2013 - 9/27/2013    - SAVE 25%

9/28/2013 - 10/11/2013  - SAVE 20%

10/12/2013 - 10/18/2013 - SAVE 15%

10/19/2013 - 10/31/2013 - SAVE 10%

Again - 100% of all proceeds will be donated to this wonderful organization!  Please help me to help these gorgeous furbabies!  

The Goods

Mary Jane Dodd posted an awesome tutorial on the Love My Art Jewelry Blog for making hoops without solder.  I tried it...and I LOVE IT!  These are the earrings I will be giving away:

click on the picture for a larger view!

These earrings are made from sterling silver wire, Argentium sterling silver ear wires, and a lovely pair of lampwork beads from one of my favorite lampwork artists - Sue Kennedy of Sue Beads.The earrings measure 1 7/8" from the top of the ear wire to the bottom of the earring.

How to Enter

1.  Leave a comment on this blog post -  equals 1 entry

2.  Post a link to this blogpost on Facebook - equals 1 entry

3. Go to my shop on Etsy Shop (link here and PIN an item to your Pinterest Board - equals 1 entry

For each task above, you must leave a separate  comment on my blog to let me know!  I will choose a winner via Random Organizer sometime on Sunday.  Lastly, make sure your contact email is "turned on" or leave me your email address so that I can contact the winner!

My whole reason for this giveaway and my measly attempt at fundraising is to spread the word about this wonderful organization!

More giveaway's to follow! (I'm thinking bracelet for the next one....)

Thank you so much for stopping by today - Enjoy the Weekend!

Patti

Creating with Cabochons

Sally Russick of The Studio Sublime is hosting yet another creative challenge - Creating with Cabochons. Any medium.

I have admired the fantastic bead weaving techniques of so many talented designers.  Sally was most kind and provided several video tutorials on bezel setting a cabochon...with my arch enemy...seed beads.  I have not finished this technique yet, as it apparently requires one to have excellent vision, which even with bifocals, magnifying glasses, and 4 ott-lights pointed directly at my work...do not.  However, after several broken needles, lots of choice words, and breaks between each seed bead row, here is where I stand so far:

I WILL finish this and post a pic when hell freezes over that day comes.

I did manage to complete a few more cabochons, using some silver sheet.  This cab is a beautiful Peacock Mine Turquoise.

The next cabochon is a Labradorite - small, but beautiful colors in this stone.

A couple of months ago, I purchased some heavy, 8 gauge silver to make bracelet bangles.  I had a couple of inches left over - not enough for a bracelet - and played around, added a couple of tiny Lapis Lazuli cabochons, and make the funkiest ring...I have ever had on my hand!

This was probably the hardest project (not including the beaded bezel of course)! 8 gauge silver, wrapped around a ring mandrel, requires annealing after each bang of the hammer! 

(Note to self - apply hand lotion and get a manicure before you use the macro setting while taking a picture of your own hand..ugh).

My last project is my favorite.  I purchased a most lovely set of lampwork beads and coordinating lampwork cabochon from Sheila Davis (Stone Designs by Shiela on Etsy).  The bicone lampwork beads are quite large...and oh so pretty!

Of course I made a bracelet, and earrings, too.

Thank you so much for pushing me - yet again - Sally!  Your hops always challenge me!

Now - let's see what everyone else has made!!!  Thank you for stopping by!

Sally Russick - Our lovely hostess!

D Lynne  Bowland

Alicia Marinache           

Lynn  Jobber           

Jenny Davies-Reazor           

Jo-Ann  Woolverton           

Marde Lowe           

Dawn Doucette           

Mary K McGraw           

Gloria Allen           

Cheri  Reed           

Sonya Stille           

Elizabeth Owens Dwy           

Veralynne   Malone           

Tania Hagen           

Lynsey  Brooks           

Christina Miles           

Holly  Westfall           

Kathy  Lindemer           

Patti Vanderbloemen   - That's me!        

Therese Frank           

Adrienne Berry           

Liz   E  

Tanty  Sri Hartanti           

Ginger Bishop

Renetha Stanziano           

Marlene  Cupo           

Sandi Volpe           

Sharyl McMillian-Nelson           

Niky  Sayers

Mischelle Fanucchi           

Tracy  Stillman           

Skylar Bre'z           

Ann Schroeder           

Paula Kramer

Jess Green           

Susan Kennedy           

Stacie  Florer           

Cathie  Carroll           

Susan F.   

Michelle Caballero       

Sabine Dittrich           

Kristina Johansson           

Kimberly Sturrup-Roberts           

Melissa  Meman           

Cheryl McCloud         

Michelle  Timms           

Cindy  Pack             

Lynda  Carson

Cynthia  Machata           

Julia  Harris           

Karin  Slaton

Ingrid  Anderson           

Karin Grosset Grange

Jasvanti  Patel  

Inge  von Roos

Molly Alexander

Toltec Jewels 

Hay for the Horses

Back in May of this year, I wrote a post about a rescue organization that is very near and dear to my heart - Miracle Horse Rescue (MHR).  The sanctuary - run by the nicest and most compassionate people you ever want to meet, Stephanie and Rob Pierce - is located in Pahrump, Nevada, outside of Las Vegas.   After supporting MHR for a decade, I finally had the pleasure of visiting last February.  

Some of the lucky residents of MHR - photos courtesy of MHR

MHR is a federally-recognized 501(c)3 non-profit organization which is dedicated to the preservation and welfare of abused, neglected, and unwanted domesticated horses of all types and conditions.  Some of the stories they have shared are simply heartbreaking.  As MHR is a very small organization - run by only 2 people who have literally dedicated their entire lives to helping these horses- I want to help as much as I can.

So, from September 13, 2013 through October 31, 2013, I will be donating 100% of the proceeds from the sale of my Etsy shop to MHR.  To further entice you to start your Holiday shopping or buy something for yourself, I am offering huge discounts!  My sale prices will be already be reflected for each item.  Here is the low down I am offering:

9/13/2013 - 9/20/2013    - SAVE 30%

9/21/2013 - 9/27/2013    - SAVE 25%

9/28/2013 - 10/11/2013  - SAVE 20%

10/12/2013 - 10/18/2013 - SAVE 15%

10/19/2013 - 10/31/2013 - SAVE 10%

Again - 100% of all proceeds will be donated to this wonderful organization!  Please help me to help these gorgeous furbabies!  

I will be having giveaways (plural!) during this time frame...I want to garner as much attention to this cause that I can, so stay tuned!

Feel free to visit Miracle Horse Rescue on their Facebook page (link here) or their website (link here).

Thank you!

Patti