One Year Etsyversary Giveaway!

*** ENTRIES ARE OFFICIALLY CLOSED***


Thanks to everyone who entered - stay tuned for the winner to be announced tomorrow!




A first anniversary is always cause for celebration.


Reaching the one year milestone on Etsy is so special to me,
because it almost didn't happen...


It came down to fear, you see.


If I'd let my fear of failure get the better of me,
(and let me tell you, Fear tried its hardest!)


I never would have opened my shop in the first place.


I put it off for months,


trying to justify why I wasn't yet ready...


not enough stock,
timing isn't right,
the world will end if I do...


In reality, I was just fearful.


Looking back today,


with a fulfilling and constant workload,
and a fully independent business I can proudly call my own,


blissfully away (and thankful!) that my handcrafted jewellery is worn by women all over the globe...


I'm so glad I took that first step into the fearful unknown.


Closing the door on fear
opens the door to a world of possibility and opportunity.

It has been an unforgettable journey in so many ways,
and I couldn't have done it without you!


So, I want to thank you in the best way I know how...


... a giveaway!


I thought long and hard about what to give away,
and on my Facebook page I even asked what you wanted me to give away.
(free house cleaning for a year was a popular choice...)


Seeing as I'm the kind of person who wants to keep everyone happy,


I'm going to let the winner choose their own prize in the form of 


a custom made creation to the value of $150.


I know, right!


You will have access to


my time,
my supplies,
my imagination,
all of my resources...


and together we will dream up and bring to life something that is just for you.


Ring,
necklace,
earrings,
bracelet...


the sky is the limit!


You'll have plenty of cabochons to choose from...

and faceted gems too.


Though my efforts to show you what I have went a little something like this...





Yup.


It didn't quite go according to plan.


So, here's a few photos I took another time...


...when Jett was nowhere in sight...








Pretty...


In reality, my faceted gem collection is about 50 times the size of what you see here,


so rest assured, 
if you like faceted gems, 
you'll have plenty to choose from!


You have four different ways to enter...


~*~


1.  Tell me what you would do if you had no fear.  
Be it sky-diving, taking dance lessons, opening your own business, learning a new skill, swimming with sharks, telling someone you love them, whatever... just be honest, and tell me what fear is holding you back from doing.
(One entry)


2.  Follow my blog.
If you're already a follower, 
thank you, you're the best!
Just leave a comment below to let me know.
(One entry)


3.  Like me on Facebook.
If you're already a fan,
I love you.
Leave me a comment below to let me know, please.
(One entry)


4.  Tell me your favourite creation from my Etsy shop - sold items included.
It may just help you plot your custom made creation should you win! ;-D
(One entry)


~*~


If you could leave a separate comment here for each entry, that would be brilliant!


As always, my giveaway is open to anyone and everyone from all corners of the globe.


I will accept entries until 5:00pm AEST on Monday 7 May, 2012


and the lucky winner will be announced on Tuesday 8 May, 2012.


Any questions?
Email me:  belinda.saville@y7mail.com


I'm SO excited,


and so thankful.


:-)


Good luck!

Back to work

Two months between posts...


...and what has gone on in that time 


is more than I could ever put into words.


I just can't even begin...


So, I will tell you about the here and now,


this moment.


These hands of mine which have remained idle for so long 
are now reaching for


tools, 
silver,
gems,


again and again and again...


working with a fever and a fervour
that has been so healing for the heaviness in my heart...


I have been making gifts for special people...





All good things are wild and free...





...rings,
blissful and bright...

...earrings,
petite...








and pretty...








...necklaces,
light and lovely...














It is ridiculously good to be back at work
:-)


I want to thank you


for being so very patient with me,


for your loving words and sentiments of support during my absence.


And I know I'm a few months late,


but it's about time we celebrated my first year Etsyversary, right?!


Details coming in the next few days...


I'm cannot wait! 
:-D

Oh, tourmaline...

"When one's emotional experience is defined by the rising and ebbing tides of the events of life, happiness is often short-lived.  However, Watermelon Tourmaline teaches one the meaning of joy - that unbounded happiness is not caused by any external circumstance but is instead the natural condition of being."


from "The Book of Stones" by Robert Simmons and Naisha Ahsian


No wonder I love this gem so much.


I'm addicted to Watermelon Tourmaline...


it soothes my soul and makes my heart happy, 


and it's ever-so-pretty to look at :-)


I wear my own set of rose cut watermelon tourmaline stacking rings all the time...





And you have kept me busy creating your own beautiful, unique ring sets too!














*le sigh*


I just want to wear them all at once...





Almost too much loveliness to bear!


Though I started with 15 of these beauties...





there are six that remain should you wish to create your own unique set...





Available in my Etsy shop :-)


~*~


The past month has been occupied with:


selling a house,


daily visits to the hospital as somebody I love fights the battle of his life
(and I can say, unequivocally, that cancer of the brain is the MOST evil, heartbreaking, soul-destroying disease...),


starting school for the first time...



(despite never having spent a day away from me in her four short years, India has taken to school like a duck to water!  On her first day, there were no tears...until it was time to come home! LOL  My heart is absolutely bursting with pride for my beautiful little girl ♥),


seeing my work and words published here...
,


and restoring antique furniture.


There is a magic about breathing new life into something that is timeworn and unappreciated.


This sweet little antique corner table has beautiful bones and I fell in love the moment I saw her...



(and she cost me all of $12...!)


After many hours of laborious sanding and painting, sanding and painting, sanding and painting...
(did I mention there was lots of sanding and painting...?)


she has a new coat to wear and renewed personality that the years had stripped away...

















Next on the restoration list is an antique dresser...then two antique boudoir chairs...then the dining room table and chairs...then...then...then...


I think my newfound obsession stems from an unquenchable need to make something better, to heal what is broken...


...because, despite ever fibre of my being wanting to, I cannot make somebody better, I cannot heal their broken body.


It is a daily battle to understand and accept what it out of my hands...


I am trying hard to learn the lesson of watermelon tourmaline,


to not allow the ups and downs of life to dictate my happiness,


but rather, to find contentment in simply being...


~*~


With all of the above craziness occupying my every waking moment,


I completely overlooked the fact that February 1 was my first year anniversary on Etsy!


This call's for a celebration, lovely people...


...you have made it an amazing, unforgettable, fun-filled first year...


...you have allowed me to run my business self-sufficiently and to be completely self-funded, and I am grateful beyond words!


So stay tuned, I will dream up something special...


just for you :-)

Quietude...

As the year end approaches,

I find myself in a quiet place...

a state of rumination,
reflecting and letting go.

Gosh, what a year.

2011 has been the hardest year of my life.

Hands down, the hardest.

Hope and heartbreak has been the recurring theme,

with December bringing more heartbreak than I thought I could possibly bear.

But if there is anything I have learnt this year,

it is that no matter how tattered your soul may feel,

there is always a chance to heal...

if you allow this of yourself.

~*~

This week Anthony and I clocked up six years of wedded bliss...
(and I can say, without an ounce of doubt, that we will still be blissfully married in 60 years time...the health Gods willing!)

Despite the turmoil around us this past year

(and really, just about every year of our marriage)

we are stronger,

more in love,

more devoted

than ever.

When you marry the man who has a heart as expansive as the sky,

and as warm as the sun...

the man who knows just what to say,

just when you need to hear it...

(or when to just be silent)

the man who worships you for all your shortcomings,
yet never makes you feel as though you are anything less than perfect...

the man who takes the heart you have entrusted him with,

and cradles it away in his own stronghold of flesh and blood...
(where you know it will be safe, cherished, always...)

the man who tells you that you are beautiful,

when you are feeling anything but...

the man who makes you feel like a queen,

every day,

yet who you would still be utterly content to spend the rest of your days with should you ever become paupers...

...then you will never, ever spend a day unhappy in your married life.

If you know a man like this, ladies,

grab him and never let him go!

But sorry, this one is already taken ;-)

(Of all the anniversary gifts I received this year, I cherish this one the most...)

~*~


In other news,


India is still a princess...





and Jett still loves dirt...








*le sigh*


Such a girl.


Such a boy.





Oh, and let me introduce you to Bruce...





He is our resident water dragon...


he hangs around in the yard (or the pool),
and jumps up on the window sill outside the lounge room when he wants some dinner...





I love his armour...





And if you ask India, Bruce would make the best pet *ever*...


~*~


And finally, in studio news...


My Etsy shop has been closed for a few weeks,


though I hope to re-open sometime in January.


I won't be accepting any custom orders,
at least not in the immediate future.


I just don't have the heart for custom work.
(Nurturing my family and caring for the terminally ill is just about all my heart can bear right now)


Though these two hands of mine cannot remain idle,


so there will be new work...


...soon.





~*~


Good bye, 2011...


...see you on the other side, my friends!


Much love,