by Laura K. Curtis | Nov 27, 2013 | Crafts, Freebies & Giveaways, Stuff! |
This is a long necklace – the pendant would sit nicely in the vee of a fancy holiday dress! I call the beads in this one my “red planet” beads because the base glass is red. When you add silver to red (due to the way glass works), you get that golden-yellow color. The red planet beads are combined here with Czech cut-glass beads in a variety of colors and styles and sterling silver beads from Bali. Just the think for your holiday parties!
Don’t forget that to enter the giveaway, you have to click the “+1″ buttons on the Rafflecopter, not just comment, get mailing list, etc.
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by Laura K. Curtis | Nov 25, 2013 | Crafts, Freebies & Giveaways |
Yesterday’s bracelet design was abstract. Today’s is more garden-themed. I made these green glass beads with purple flowers on them early in my beadmaking career. They’re very simple, but I still love them. They’re combined here with sterling silver beads and clasp from Bali and tiny, purple Swarovski crystals. Bring a little spring into your winter with this bracelet that fits approximately a 6.5″ wrist.
It’s cheap to ship these little bracelets, so this one’s a worldwide giveaway.
Don’t forget that to enter the giveaway, you have to click the “+1″ buttons on the Rafflecopter, not just comment, get mailing list, etc.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
by Laura K. Curtis | Nov 24, 2013 | Crafts, Freebies & Giveaways |
Today I am giving away another handmade bracelet. I actually made the glass beads in this piece and the reason the bracelet is so small (again, 6.25″ wrist) is that I only made three! They are copper dichroic glass, and I’ve combined them here with sterling silver beads from Thailand and small copper washers. The clasp is sterling from Bali. The silver has a patina on it, which I think goes well with the copper, but if you win and decide to polish it to shiny, go with a polishing cloth, not a dip.
And, hey, you don’t need to be in the USA to win! Enter at will!
Don’t forget that to enter the giveaway, you have to click the “+1″ buttons on the Rafflecopter, not just comment, get mailing list, etc.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
by Laura K. Curtis | Nov 20, 2013 | Crafts, Freebies & Giveaways |
Back in the day when I used to make beads, I went to a lot of trade shows. And at many of them, I would big bead my beads for other people’s beads, or just outright buy beads. I was completely addicted to Swarovski crystals, especially the vintage ones. A friend of mine and I would go in on box lots and vintage cases (these often came 12 beads to a case) and we’d sit in the hotel room laying them out on the bed and watching all the pretty colors sparkle.
Anyway, I still have a goodly number of Swarovski crystals, and even some of the vintage ones. The smaller blue-black cubes on these earrings are modern, but the all the rest are pre-1980. The fittings are all sterling silver. Perfect for those formal occasions!
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by Laura K. Curtis | Nov 19, 2013 | Crafts, Freebies & Giveaways, Stuff!, Writing |
I know, I know, you’re fed up with me jumping up and down and shouting about Twisted. I don’t blame you. But today it’s out! *tosses confetti*
You can read an excerpt or see the hilarious Lego trailer on the Twisted page. But enough about that…back to the giving!
Today, I am giving away something really cool. Many of you know that I like to write with fountain pens. I think more people should try it, so I am giving away a set of Pilot Varsity disposable fountain pens in black, blue, pink, purple, turquoise, red and green. There’s also a nifty leather carrying case! Under normal circumstances, this set is exclusive to Levenger, as far as I know. So cool, right?
Pilot Fountain Pen giveaway
by Laura K. Curtis | Nov 18, 2013 | Books, Crafts, Freebies & Giveaways |
Today we have a guest post (and guest giveaway!) from Deb Lacy of the fabulous Mystery Playground blog. Deb has great posts (I’m particularly fond of her speakeasy-themed ones). If you’re looking for vintage mystery covers, speakeasies around the nation, reviews, or just an all-around good time, I highly recommend checking it out.
I love books of all kinds so a few crafty friends and set out to make little book earrings. They are pretty easy to make and all of the directions are below. They make a great activity for a book club (if your book club is crafty) or fun and different holiday gifts. But if you don’t want to make them yourself, I’m giving away the pair at left to one lucky winner!
What you need:
1) Miniature books (I got mine from Hobby Lobby online)
2) Glue
3) Gold marker
4) Print outs of pulp covers (you can use the Mystery Playground Pinterest board for mystery covers, just shrink them to 25% when you print them in color.
5) Earring hooks. You need two hooks for each book earring for a total of four per pair. (You need one to glue inside the book to attach it and one for the actual earring.)
6) Wire cutters
7) Scissors to cut out the book covers from the Pinterest page
Step One:
Print your color covers from Pinterest and then cut them out. I used my pulp fiction cover Pinterest board and printed them out at 25% of normal size. Some of the covers weren’t the right size, so we just used the ones that were.
Step Two:
Glue the book covers onto the little books.
Step Three:
Take the gold marker and cover the page ends of the books so it looks like an old book with gold leaf.
Step Four:
Snip an earring hook with wire cutters and glue it into the book.
Step Five:
Assemble the earrings: this just involves connecting the earring hook in the book. I like to add a few beads using a wire wrapping technique.
And your book earrings are all done.
But, as I said, just in case you’re too busy to do these yourself, Deb’s kindly agreed to give a pair to one lucky winner! The perfect thing to wear to your next book night or conference!
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