Without further ado and to not keep anyone in more suspense... Starting today I will be having a blog giveaway to celebrate the re opening of bullybeads blog. I've sorely neglected her :(
This is the prize!
The sterling silver chain is 34 inches long and has 2 pink puffy cubes of pink quartz. The circle pendant is made from fine silver and hammered for texture. I've wire wrapped 3 fantastic briolettes to the circle.The first is a beautiful gold flash onion faceted labradorite, the second is a lovely mystic blue topaz flat pear briolette and last but certainly not least is a humongo large double concave mystic pink quartz! The entire piece was heavily oxidized to make the colors pop!
There will be several ways you can enter and each will count as it's own entry should you choose to enter more than once :)
1. 1 entry for posting a comment below
2.1 entry for following my blog
3. 1 entry for fanning (liking)me on facebook CLICK HERE
4. 1 entry for tweeting about this giveaway
5. 1 entry for posting a link to this giveaway on your facebook page.
6. 1 entry for posting about this giveaway on your own blog.
Please leave a comment here with an email address so you can be contacted and how many entries you had and and what you did to enter. The winner will have 72 hours to respond to the winning announcement and give me their shipping address. If not, there will be another winner chosen . The giveaway will run today August 14th until August 28th midnight EST.
A winner will be chosen using random.org on August the 29th!
So the big news is I've finally had a shop want to carry some of my items!! I know it's not like I have terrible things, but I've never known how to approach anyone to carry things. Thanks to facebook and Susan Rosenblum I got connected with American Craftsman Gallery . I've been working feverishly for two days now! I don't carry a ton of extra stock and I wanted to come up with some fresh ideas to send to the shop!
These are a few of the things I'm going to be sending in... I have a ton more *whew*
I did get to have some time in the yard to unwind and think about what I wanted to make next. Caught this little beauty on the hosta.
So if you're in New Platz, NY on August 27th , they are having a fashion show with wine, cheese and other goodies at the Grand Opening of the American Craftsman Gallery from 6-8 pm. Stop by and see some of my things at the fashion show!
This holiday season, many of us are on a tight budget. What better way to get more bang for your buck than to shop with sellers on Etsy participating in the Etsyfest Holiday sale!
Each seller will have their own shop sale listed clearly in their shop. I will be having 20% off all items in my shop! The sale runs from Thanksgiving to cyber Monday December 1st.
Here is the complete list of sellers participating in the Etsyfest sale:
I also have a brand spankin new web site up and running! You can visit here I'm also having 20% off there if you add the word "holiday" in the coupon code box at the check out.The sale on my personal website lasts till January 2nd.
I didn't want to do it,I feel odd talking about myself,who would want to read about me,would anyone really care??!!! All my excuses in the past for not jumping at the chance to have someone actually blog about me.
I'm a terrible introvert and not very confident that anyone would even care to look at my work. Lately, I've been getting a lot of compliments from total strangers just wanting to tell me they love my work and I even had a great conversation with a lady (whom I had never met before) tell me she believed in ME! Imagine that!
The lovely Kristy of Shiny Adornments on etsy has been a friend for about a year now and approached me about doing a feature on me.I finally said "what the heck harm can it do?" So I said YES!
You can see the great article Kristy did on her site here Shiny Adornments
If you ever get asked to be featured on someones site, don't turn it down! You never know who will see you and fall in love with your work ;)
Due to our crappy economy,housing market slump,rising cost of groceries,health care,gas,supplies, yadda yadda..... I have been layed off from my job this week. I'm sort of happy and sort of sad. I badly needed a break because it was getting really stressful always wonder when I would finally get the lay off word and getting bumped from shift to shift and building to building, but darn it! I worked HARD to get into that place waiting for 3 1/2 years to even hear from them after I put in my application..getting tested,back ground check and physical like no other physical ever known to man kind...
So right now, I am going to focus on my two shops and build up as much inventory as possible.I'll be starting a new sale beginning August 1st through the entire month. 10% off any one item 15% off any two items 20% off any 3 items or more The discount will only be on the price of the item and not off of shiping.
If anyone would like to get on my mailing list to hear about future sales and special discounts only for people on my mailing list, please send an email to mdharlin@gmail.com
The very first Earth Day was held on November 30, 1969 and founded by Senator Gaylord Nelson as a way to bring environmental issues and awareness to the public's attention.
Our Wire Artisans Guild on Etsy is participating on this earth day by coming up with a theme challenge of "au naturale". My submission was just completed.. I just can't tell you how many hours I put into wire wrapping this piece while laying in bed with a cold from hell. I named it Dogwood Blossoms after the poem by George Marion McClellan~
O dreamy languors and the violet mist Of early Spring, the deep sequestered vale Gives first her paling-blue Miamimist, Where blithely pours the cuckoo's annual tale Of Summer promises and tender green, Of a new life and beauty yet unseen. The forest trees have yet a sighing mouth, Where dying winds of March their branches swing, While upward from the dreamy, sunny South, A hand invisible leads on the Spring.
His rounds from bloom to bloom the bee begins With flying song, and cowslip wine he sups, Where to the warm and passing southern winds, Azaleas gently swing their yellow cups. Soon everywhere, with glory through and through, The fields will spread with every brilliant hue. But high o'er all the early floral train, Where softness all the arching sky resumes, The dogwood dancing to the winds' refrain, In stainless glory spreads its snowy blooms.
We used to have wild dogwoods growing behind our house in the woods when I was growing up and I just thought they were the most beautiful flowering trees still growing in the densely lush oaks and pines.
I bought these amazing prehnite marquise beads at the last bead show in York and I think, put them to good use in this piece along with the lovely crystal clear rose quartz briolettes. I chose to oxidize this piece to make the pale pastel colors stand out more.I'm going to be making more flower necklaces in the future...if they never sell, I'll have a great collection!
Please check out the Wire Artisans Shop on Etsy April 22nd to see all the fabulous entries by some awesomely talented wire artisans! Be sure to give them lots of heart love!
Music is my life, it is not my livlihood...maybe not music, but jewlery. Just a little back story.. When I create, sometimes I might not have a clue what I'm going to make ...some days I don't even want to make anything,but I turn on the music and I'm inspired. Both of my parents have passed away back when I was in my 20's so I have a tendency to listen to music that they enjoyed and it makes me feel closer to them. Neither one was alive when I started making jewelry, so it's my little ode to them :)
Back to Mr. Tanner... One of my father's favorites was Harry Chapin..I don't think he ever really forgave Mom for not wanting to go to a Harry concert right before he(Harry Chapin) died in '81. Dad would blare it down in the basement and I'd yell downstairs for him to turn it down! He'd always yell up "Miss, I like my music loud and my women quiet" That always got a grin out of me. Mr.Tanner is the name of a Harry Chapin song about a dry cleaner who sang a beautiful baritone and everyone in the neighborhood told him he needs to sing professionally. Here are the lyrics and a live video of Harry performing.
Mr. Tanner by Harry Chapin
Mister Tanner was a cleaner from a town in the Midwest. And of all the cleaning shops around he'd made his the best. But he also was a baritone who sang while hanging clothes. He practiced scales while pressing tails and sang at local shows. His friends and neighbors praised the voice that poured out from his throat. They said that he should use his gift instead of cleaning coats.
But music was his life, it was not his livelihood, and it made him feel so happy and it made him feel so good. And he sang from his heart and he sang from his soul. He did not know how well he sang; It just made him whole.
His friends kept working on him to try music out full time. A big debut and rave reviews, a great career to climb. Finally they got to him, he would take the fling. A concert agent in New York agreed to have him sing. And there were plane tickets, phone calls, money spent to rent the hall. It took most of his savings but he gladly used them all.
But music was his life, it was not his livelihood, and it made him feel so happy and it made him feel so good. And he sang from his heart and he sang from his soul. He did not know how well he sang; It just made him whole.
The evening came, he took the stage, his face set in a smile. And in the half filled hall the critics sat watching on the aisle. But the concert was a blur to him, spatters of applause. He did not know how well he sang, he only heard the flaws. But the critics were concise, it only took four lines. But no one could accuse them of being over kind.
(spoken) Mr. Martin Tanner, Baritone, of Dayton, Ohio made his Town Hall debut last night. He came well prepared, but unfortunately his presentation was not up to contemporary professional standards. His voice lacks the range of tonal color necessary to make it consistently interesting. (sung) Full time consideration of another endeavor might be in order.
He came home to Dayton and was questioned by his friends. Then he smiled and just said nothing and he never sang again, excepting very late at night when the shop was dark and closed. He sang softly to himself as he sorted through the clothes. Music was his life, it was not his livelihood, and it made him feel so happy and it made him feel so good. And he sang from his heart and he sang from his soul. He did not know how well he sang; It just made him whole.
I can so relate to Mr.Martin Tanner..jewelry is my life, it is not my livlihood....but it makes me feel so happy and it makes me feel so whole. Never let critic's get you down as long as you love what you're doing.
