Friendship

There are certain people you meet in life who will touch your heart like no other.  


Sharon is one of those people.


The stars aligned one day and our paths crossed in this big ol' blog-o-sphere, and she has been a friend and an inspiration ever since.  


It was Sharon's jewellery that first captured my attention...her soulful, inspired creations were gorgeous, and her wire wrapped bracelets were unlike anything I had seen before.  Her talents lie not only in creating jewellery, but in graphic design also.  She has recently started a graphic design shop on Etsy named Plumrose Lane (so sweet, I love that name!), and through her inspiring blog she offers the MOST beautiful blog backgrounds, and tags, and all sorts of treasures.


Sharon has recently made the difficult decision to close down her handcrafted jewellery shop on Etsy, Mana Moon Studios.  Every beautiful piece of handcrafted jewellery is marked down by 75-85%.  So many beautiful treasures at bargain prices.

I couldn't resist this bracelet, Coral Horizon...as soon as I saw it I just knew that it had to come and live with me...

It is so vibrant and joyful in real life, I don't think I've stopped wearing it since it arrived...

And as I dug deeper into the parcel, I was confronted by a most wonderful and generous surprise...

...seed beads!  But not just a few packets...

...LOTS of packets...

...and the deeper I dug...

...the more I found...

...and then I started to cry...

...somewhere between here...

...and here...

...because I was completely overwhelmed by Sharon's amazing generosity, and kindness, and heart.  

If I wasn't already crying after opening this wonderful package, I certainly was after reading the beautiful, heartfelt card Sharon wrote me.

Thank you, my friend...for being beautiful right to your very soul ♥♥♥

~*~

Aside from thanking my lucky stars for having such wonderful friends, I also had the chance to crank up the torch this weekend and try my hand at silversmithing.  More on that later!


Thanks for looking, and be well!

Lucky me!

I won something!


I'm not usually the winning type...unlike my husband, who won a two person kayak plus all the accessories just the other week...!  Only a mere $2,000 worth of goodies... *sheesh*


So imagine my utter delight to receive an email from the insanely funny and talented Juls to say I had won one of her beautiful handcrafted lampwork beads!

Isn't it beeeeautiful!


I feel so special :-)  It is my very first lampwork bead...ever!

I'm looking forward to using it in one of my creations...if I can stop staring at it and fondling it for long enough to actually create something... *my precioussss*


Juls not only has an amazing talent for creating exquisite beads and jewellery, but she is also hands-down the funniest lady is Blogland.  Bar none!  Do yourself a favour and head on over to her blog for some eye candy and a guaranteed laugh!  


Or pop into her etsy shop to buy some of her beautiful handcrafted lampwork beads...but you'd better hurry because I may just beat you there and buy them all up myself!


Thanks for looking, and be well!

Kreativ Blogger Award...and seven things you probably didn't know about me

It is always flattering to be bestowed with a blog award...I'm touched that people enjoy reading my random ramblings!

The talented Karyn of Releases by Rufydoof sent this sweet little award my way. Thanks Karyn!

As always, there are rules:

~*~*~*~*~*~

1. Post the award on my blog.

2. Thank the person who gave it to me.

3. Link to the person who gave this to me.

4. Share a list of 7 things that you probably don't know about me.

5. Choose 7 great bloggers to give the award to.

6. Share a link to their blogs.

7. Leave a comment on their blog.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Ok, seven things you probably don't know about me...

1. I can fly a plane and skipper a boat...legally!

2. My favourite colour is green, and has been for as long as I can remember...although I don't think I've met a colour yet that I didn't like ;-)

3. I'm very good at procrastinating...and very bad at making decisions...

4. I'm scared of jellyfish...even the ones that don't sting! *shudder*

5. My favourite sound in the whole world is the laughter of my children...

This is India and Jett causing mischief in the laundry...

6. I know it's daggy, but I love crossword puzzles and sudoku...

7. I don't really like talking about myself! LOL

And I would like to invite the following lovely bloggers to tell us a little more about themselves:

1. Kristen of My Bead Journey

2. Olga of Loving Bead

3. Mimi of Las Creaciones De Boricua

4. Gloria of Gloria's Blog Vivalavida

5. Sarah of April is Forever

6. Niki of Piky73

7. Anna of Il Mondo di Redanny

Thanks for looking, and be well!

An award or two

Sunshine is something that we are never short of here in glorious Western Australia. Having said that, I don't think you can ever get enough! Nothing lifts the spirits and gives us a feeling of wellbeing more than a good dose of vitamin D, I say ;-)

So I was delighted to receive the Sunshine Award from two of favourite blogging friends, Sharon of Mana Moon Studios and Nicole Campanella of Beadwright. Thank you ladies! You are both so special, thanks for adding a dash of sunshine to my life!

Here are the rules:

The rules for accepting the Sunshine Award are:

- Put the logo on your blog or within your post.

- Pass the award onto six bloggers

(it was initially 12 bloggers, but I'm going to follow Nicole's lead and split the difference!)

- Link the nominees within your post.

- Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blog.

- Share the love and link to the person from whom you received this award.

Here are some of my beading friends to whom I would love to send a little sunshine ;)

Andrea of Andrea's Beads & Fancywork

Anna of Il Mondo di Redanny

Joanna of Joanna's Blog

Margie of Marlier Designs

Nikoletta of Piky73

Karyn of Releases by Rufydoof

Speaking of awards, I was also fortunate to win the Czarina challenge on the Beading Forum with my 'Alexandra' necklace. Here's my pretty new badge:

I will have some more beadwork to show soon. And a pair of wire wrapped earrings! I've had fun playing with boiled egg as a patina on copper wire. A little bit smelly, a little bit hmmm...but interesting nonetheless.

In the meantime, have a great day and be well!

The Karma Award

I have finally managed to snatch enough time to post about The Karma Award, bestowed upon me by my gorgeous friend Sharon of Mana Moon Studios. Sharon is a beautiful person in every sense of the word, she has a warm and giving personality and has a knack for making everyone around her feel great! She is a talented artisan to boot who creates beautiful wirework and fiber jewellery. Thank you for the kudos dear friend, I just love the sentiment behind this award:

Karma Award

These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind of bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.

This award epitomises everything that I love about blogging. When I first started Bead Fetish, I had in mind that it would be nothing more than a convenient place to store and share photos of my work. I never imagined that I would *meet* so many wonderful, generous, talented, amazing people from all over the world. These new and dear friends have enriched my life and opened doors previously unimagined. We may never meet in person, but we share an understanding and respect for one another that transcends borders, languages, and cyberspace!

I would like to pass this award on to the following bloggers. I understand that many of you will not want to pass it on, nor post about it on your blog, but it's just my little way of thanking you for your friendship, connections, support and inspiration! :)

Bianca of Bianca Velder Creations

Karyn of Releases by Rudydoof

Steph of Atelier Aqualuna

Vicki of Dragonfly Creation Jewellery

Julie of Meanderings by Julz

Anna of Il Mondo di Redanny

Rachele of Rachele's Originals