"Next......"

I know... its not even Valentine's Day yet (one week to go) but in business you have to keep ahead of the holidays if you want to people to buy what your selling, so here is a glimpse of what people are buying for St Patrick's Day coming up in a month!!

Love those cupcakes, and decided what's St Patty's day without a shamrock or two, right?  Course, everything I made last night SOLD pretty quickly today, and boy am I ever thankful!!  :-)

Im also in the process of adding additional "sweets" to my beading repertoire by making cute glass petite four chocolates, and will post them soon as well.

In the meantime... enjoy the cupcakes and have a terrific Valentine's Day.  Tomorrow is my birthday so I will be enjoying my own GIANT cupcake made especially for me! :)

Whatsnewwithyou?

Wholly cow, its been a busy couple weeks!  And because of that, Ive been sorely slacking on my blog postings, but never fear because I have a lot to blog about now, LOL!

First up....

"Ive Been Blogged!"  Yep.  My dear friend Audrey of Principessa Glass (and JuniperGems) posted a recent blog about me and my glass twisties that was so darn sweet, it actually made me cry.  What a sweet woman she is, and a really great friend!  Since opening her bead shop, Principessa Glass... she has been regularly selling her beads and doing quite well for herself, and I for one, cant be more happy!  She deserves it, after all.... we creative types need to stick together!!!  ;)  If you get the chance, please stop by her bead shop to see what she has been making, and take a good look at the awesome pandora/troll style beads she has been making that dont seem to stick around her shop for very long!

Ive also been quite blessed the past couple weeks with sales in my Bastille Bleu Lampwork shop on Etsy, and Ive gotten much inspiration from not only my buyers but also fans on Facebook!  Im really LOVING the sets that have come out of this creative vein Ive tapped into! And despite the fact that Feb 3rd would have been my beloved golden retriever, Cooper's 3rd birthday, I feel he really was there with me that day to comfort me and say, "Hey mom.... thanks for celebrating my day and remembering me"!  I credit Cooper with some of my best bead sets the past week or so, as he really was my inspiration.  With the whole pandora/troll bead craze Ive started making a few of my own lampwork beads for these gorgeous European bracelets.


One of my buyers has really been knocking my socks off with her designs!  Her name is Vicki Barber-Ellis of Sunshine Creations Enterprises LLC, and I am hoping to get a blog post written about her beautiful creations in the next day or so.  Stay tuned for that because you REALLY will want to see this woman's jewelry designs!

Last but no least.... my birthday is coming up this Sunday.  Yep.... SUPER BOWL Sunday.  Who woulda thunk I would have a million+ people celebrating my birthday in apartments, homes all over the United States.  I just wanna say.... THANKS America for the awesome enthusiasm and preparations for my BIG day... but its just a simple birthday so dont go over board with the gifts.  Im just saying!  ;)

Hope your week was great and your weekend will be ever better!

Ive Received the "Sunshine Award"!!

Woo hoo and a HUGE hug and thanks to Chasity of The Clack House for bestowing on me the fancy-scmancy Sunshine award.  How awesome!!

The award tradition has the following for sharing it with others:

- Put the logo on your blog or within your post.
- Pass the award onto 12 bloggers.
- 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.

I've given this award to:

Glass Princess Tale
Bizee Bee Creations
Elegant Hobbies
Pruitt Handcrafts
Simple Stated
Debs Primitive Country Kitchen
Kanna Glass Studios
Gaffer Girls
Charmed by Karen
The Fey Haven
Jewelry by LH
Posh Wash Soap

Etsy :: Fellow Etsian (Tanya of Aardvark Silver) NEEDS heart surgery URGENTLY! Please help!♥

The following was taken from Etsy Forums regarding fellow Etsian Tanya Boden of Aardvark Silver who desperately NEEDS heart surgery URGENTLY:

	FallenAngelDesigns says:
	Hi, I have to let you all know, that Tanya Boden, an etsy seller aka Aardvark Silver, is dying and needs urgent heart surgery. Her heart surgery has been scheduled for the 31st of January (11 days away). She cannot have the surgery if she can't pay for it first. Her insurance does not cover the costs as it it a pre-existing condition. The muscles and tissues in her arm and hand are already dying as the blood cannot flow freely to them, the rest of her body will follow, unless she has the surgery. This lady is so sweet, she is in so much pain every day and is very weak from her condition, but still she goes on Facebook and other sites and sends thanks, Light and Love, to EVERY single person who has left a message for her!! She is a Australian teacher and a jewellery-maker and has been living in Thailand for the last 6 years, teaching the local children. DON'T let this wonderful lady die, she needs $7404.04 to pay for her surgery. If you can spare even $1, please donate to Tanya's Pledgie Page: http://pledgie.com/campaigns/7593 If you would like to join the Facebook group we have formed to support Tanya, PLEASE do,: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=254827023429&ref=mf On the group's wall, are items that people are selling to raise money for Tanya, if you would like to join the group and do this, that would be great!! If you can help out (100% of all sales are going to her Surgery fund) by buying jewellery supplies from her Etsy store, she has GORGEOUS fine silver items, here is her Etsy link: http://www.etsy.com/shop/AardvarkSilver Thank you ♥
	Posted at 3:17 am, January 20 2010 EST

She could use all our help, even if only by donating $1.  She is almost reached her goal to pay for the surgery, please donate if you can!

Many blessings,

In a Whirlwind....

Man, the past week has been a total whirlwind!  Ive been so busy and sales have been really awesome in my bead shop that Ive really had to step it up and keep those new bead sets coming!

My dear friend, Audrey of Principessa Glass sold her first handmade beads the very first day of listing in her new shop (yay you!) and has been doing well since.  I love this gal! :) 

As for me.... I recently relisted some old favorites and gave them a bit of a photo makeover which made a world of difference as many of them sold right away!  Whether it was the makeover or just "timing" this time around, I was very happy to see them get a new home and Im sure they will be truly enjoyed!!

My Facebook Fan page has become *the* site as a preview of what's to be listed in my shop and I have to say, I am really loving the "buzz" its generating!  I love my buyers, followers, fans, and those who heart my shop.... for they are the very BEST and have given me oodles of love and support, which I say "THANK YOU"!

My jewelry shop Bastille Bleu Bijoux, however, is feeling a little unloved, and most due to the fact I am so busy with the bead shop, Im not able to really promote my jewelry shop.... but Im hoping to rectify that this year, and Im starting it off with a Valentine's Day Sale!  Yep!  Shop in my store until  February 1st and save 20% off all my handtorched lampwork jewelry!

Also, a special offer is being given to my Facebook Fan Page followers only!  Be the 5th buyer in my shop, Bastille Bleu Bijoux, this weekend, and I'll take 50% off your entire order!  In fact, I'll even go one step further and give the 8th buyer ... 30% off their entire order!

My bead sets typically go fast once they are previewed on my Facebook fan page, so why not come on over and "fan me", and get a first hand glimpse of what will be listed that day ....  before the rest of the internet world sees it! :) 

What's New?  Thursday was the premier of my very first big hole "troll" beads, and Im thrilled to say they were a *HIT*!  Im so excited about this new adventure in big hole beads and excited about the designs running circles in my head! :)

Haute New Etsy Shop!

So why, being a lampwork artist, would I be promoting another lampworker's shop?  Because she is someone I consider a really good friend and that's what friends do! :)  Audrey of Principessa Glass has finally opened the doors to her shop and the buying frenzy has already begun!

Audrey is somewhat new to lampworking but you could never tell that from the gorgeous lampwork beads she makes.  Specializing in troll/pandora/big hole beads, she also provides a nice selection of smaller hole bead sets and pairs as well... and the color combinations are beautiful!

Although she is just starting out and building her inventory, please take a moment to run over and check out her shop, Principessa Glass, and see the pretty glass this woman makes, and dont forget to check out her sold items as they didnt get a lot of air time before some lucky buyer took them off the market! ;)

Congrats, Audrey... and many, many, MANY more gorgeous beads and sales to come!

Love Abound

Call me crazy, but Ive been all about the "hearts and florals" lately!  I suspect I might be suffering a touch of spring fever... and thats not bad at all!

Im definitely back from my creative slump and all my energy playing 'catch up' has finally paid off as I have new items listed in my shop, and a new surge of inspirations flowing through my veins, and its a good day!

Here are a few of the items Ive been making, and that are available in my Etsy shop, Bastille Bleu!  

(So very sorry for the really, really short post today, but Ive waited quite a long while for my creativity flow to return and now that it has.... I feel the need to make good use of it while its lasts! )

Spring Blossoms in Winter

Whoopy... just out of the kiln this morning!  Im so glad these turned out as well as they did.  Looks like my creative mojo is on its way back.....

I dont suspect the heart bead set will last long as it is just too stinkin' CUTE (and made with my very own handpulled glass twisties)...

Even the buttecup set and cupcakes are really lovely....

Getting Back to Business

Things are slowly starting to get back to normal (whatever THAT is), and with each passing day... my creative "mojo" for lampworking is coming back too.  What I could normally crank out in an hour or two, now takes me days to do.  But I guess that is how creativity works.... its largely connected to your emotions and how you feel!

Tonight I was able to finally create something that I think might be quite decent!  We will soon know tomorrow morning when they are finally annealed and ready for their "photo shoot".

I have to really give a HUGE thanks to my buyers for being so kind during the past couple weeks.... and even during this week as I received a number of sales on older bead sets as I wasnt able to get anything new listed.  But Im hoping my latest beads will rectify that situation and give my loyal followers of my shop, something new and interesting to look/gawk at! :)

Its late (or early depending how you look at it)... so Im off to slumberland! 

Sweet dreams,