Time for Spring Cleaning

Spring Cleaning has begun with Artfire Jewelry Design and Jewelry Supply Guild. I have added a category with some really awesome deals. Unbelievable mark-downs on beautiful earrings, bracelets and necklaces. Check it out now.

I have a special deal for my blog readers...if you mention you follow my blog in the notes to seller, I will refund your shipping fee...! How's that for an even better deal..?

Don't forget...there is also a Treasure Hunt going on...details provided in my last blog entry. It will be going on for 2 weeks...find your clues and turn in your results. It's always fun to win free stuff...! Take advantage of these great deals while you can....! You can find them in the Spring Cleaning Category of my Artfire Studio.

Spring Cleaning Treasure Hunt Promotion..!!!

My Artfire Guild is holding a Spring Cleaning Treasure Hunt...!! It starts April 17th. We are all holding specials and sales of our very talented artists.

Here is the info about our special "Treasure Hunt":

1.Visit our studios and check out the "Spring Cleaning" Section.

2.Find the item with the special "treasure phrase" in the last sentence of it's decription.

3.There are 2 phrases--"This is a piece of jewelry to treasure for a lifetime" or
"This can be used to create a piece of jewelry to treasure for a lifetime."

4. Find 10 studios with the hidden phrases and you will be entered in a drawing for a pair of lovely handcrafted earrings.

Find 15 studios with the hidden phrases and you will be entered in a drawing for a beautiful handcrafted bracelet.

Find 20 studios with the hidden phrases and you will be entered in a drawing for a fabulous handcrafted necklace.

5. There will be 3 winners in each category.

6. Contact Beadlady5 with the names of the studios, your name, and your email address. Beadlady5 can be contacted by clicking on the guild's avatar at the top right of this page.

Good luck! You never know!

Check out the Guild Blog for pics of the wonderful prizes you could win...!!
Remember April 17th is when you can start looking for the Treasure Hunt Phrase...!!

Belly Dancers and Tendonitis

Just a short post today...I was struck last week with a case of tendonitis in my wrist. It's amazing how much we use our wrists without even realizing it. The combination a dealing craps at the casino, making jewelry all day and using the computer mouse was just too much I guess. Hopefully, I'll be back to normal in a few more days..if I'm a good girl and don't use it too much.

On a happier note, I will be participating in MS Gulf Coast Bellydance Festival next weekend at the Mary C. O' Keefe Cultural Center in Ocean Springs. There will be classes offered all day long ending in a performance at 7 PM. The classes are being offered by the Priestess Dancers of MS. Come down for a visit, take a class, enjoy the performance, or maybe learn about this ancient form of tribal dancing.

Experiments in Pearl Dyeing

I have been playing with dye the last couple of days. One of my groups posted a link to a video about using RIT dye to color glass pearls. I just knew I wanted to try it. They have a custom color chart that is too dye for ( get it? to dye for.. sorry, couldn't resist).

I made really luscious colors of coral, marine blue, aqua blue ( got darker than I wanted) and caramel. I love how the chocolate brown pearls turned out...!

In my first experiments I cut the glass pearls off the plastic string they come on and used cheese cloth to dip them, then I got smart and left them on the string and used a bead stopper to keep the pearls I didn't want to dye away. That was a much better technique.

I did try to dye a couple of cheap freshwater pearls I had laying around....and strangely enough, they didn't dye, I don't what kind of dye is used on freshwater pearls. Not that I think Pearl farmers use RIT dye. Fire Mountain Gems also has a tutorial for dyeing freshwater pearls. I am guessing I just didn't leave them long enough.

If you'd like to try to make custom colors for your jewelry, this is something you should try. I ended up dipping my pearls for about a minute to get some intense colors, but you can play and get the depth that you would like. I can't wait to get some more glass pearls to play with. Check out the video link and see for yourself how easy it can be...!

Over taken by Naked Sandals

I have been making Naked Sandals like a crazy woman this week. The demand for them has been unexpected..! They have gone over very well at Sea About It in Ocean Springs and I've had to replace stock there. I still don't have enough to send to WestSide Studio in Hattiesburg yet...Yikes..! I will be adding more to my Artfire Studio later today. Until then...here are a few more Naked Sandals to whet your appetite....

Naked Sandals are here...!!

Thanks to some creative Ladies in my UWIB group...I have a name for my new line...! I offered up a pair of Naked Sandals to the winner of the name contest. Aimee mentioned "nude sandals" and I grabbed it from there. So, congratulaions to Aimee for helping with the name and a big shout out to all creative ladies at UWIB who participated in the naming contest. Look for more colors of Naked Sandals in my shops in the next few days...!!

New Product Line Release..Here it is...!

Although they remain nameless at this point in time....I am releasing these photos of my new summer line. I am too excited about these to keep them under wraps any longer..!
These are perfect for a day at the beach or by the pool side. Anytime you are barefoot...you can give your feet some bling...!
Getting married on the beach..?? These sandals are perfect for the occasion..!! They can even be worn with your sandals to give them an extra sparkle.
There are 3 sizes and they are all adjustable in size. I can also make them custom for your special occasion. There will be lots of color choices available. If you don't see the color you need, just ask, I'd be happy to make especially for you.
I will have them available for sale in my Etsy and Artfire shops this weekend.