Winter Wonderland Voting

I'm involved with a guild on ArtFire called "You Can Sell It", that works hard at promoting the other guild members. We held a creativity contest for all those that wanted to enter from the guild. The theme was "Winter Wonderland" so please look at the photos below and vote for your favorite piece! The voting will end January 31 st and the winner will be announced February 1st. The pictures are in random order and the voting poll is on the right hand side so please take just a second and cast your vote!! Yes, one of those items is mine :)

Twitter Giveaway

I just started Tweeting finally. At first I felt like I was talking to myself with no followers. Well, my mom was following, but she already knows what's going on! I am having a giveaway on January 20th to one of my Twitter followers. I'll have Ken pick a random number and that follower will receive one of my items or several that equal about $20. So, come follow me here on Twitter and join the giveaway!

Take a Look

It's a new year so I decided that I needed a new look for my online shops. I created a new banner and avatar for my Hill Country Collection stores on Etsy and ArtFire. Stop by and let me know what you think of my new look! Hopefully this fresh change will be the start of a great year!

Silicone Valley is Back in the Headlines

My art bra titled Silicone Valley has been featured in this weeks Beader's Showcase on the website Beader's Showcase. There are now 13,300 photos on the site and my art bra was chosen! Actually this is the second time so I guess the judges really like the bra!

Here is a picture of the bra, but make sure to go to the website to see the other 5 beauties ~~

After Christmas Sale

I have marked down all my Christmas items 40% off! Go to my ArtFire studio to take a look at the Christmas sale section. Hurry though because things are selling fast. All the Christmas items in my Etsy shop will be marked down soon as well.

I finally set up my Twitter account too! You can follow me here. I sent out my first Tweet today and I hope that I can keep thinking of things to say other than mundane what I'm doing at the moment!

Welcome 2010

I hope everyone had a great holiday season! I got completely wrapped up toward the end of the year and neglected my blog unfortunately. We had a wonderful Christmas with the whole family together. This Christmas will also go down in our family history as the year that my dog took a few chunks out of the Christmas ham! Everyone was enjoying our time in the family room when I heard the tags on my dog’s collar making noise in the kitchen. I went to investigate just as he was running out of the kitchen licking his lips. I wish I had caught him in the act and gotten a picture! My dad was able to carve off the affected area and there was plenty left for dinner.

I’m really looking forward to this upcoming year. I am feeling a new energy and excitement about 2010. I am planning on posting more here, do more promoting of my online shops, actually send out tweets to my Twitter followers, set up a Facebook page for the businesses, and hope to create tons of new great products! It will be really interesting to see where I am this time next year. I hope for all of you that 2010 is your best year yet!

Check Out My New Clutch Bag for Sale

I’ve been playing around with a ton of new ideas and products lately. My mind is full of things that I want to get done and just feel like I don’t have the time. I woke up at 3 a.m. because I couldn’t sleep and felt like I was wasting time instead of beading! I have several bracelets I need to finish before Christmas and that deadline will be here before I know it! One of the new things I have made and am so excited about is a little clutch purse. It could also be used as a make-up bag or whatever you want to carry inside. Here is the one that I just listed for sale in my shops ~~


It is so pretty is person and measures about 4 3/4" x 6 3/4" when closed. I'm having a hard time not keeping it for myself! Okay, now that I’ve had my coffee and procrastinated long enough I need to get back to my beading.

Thanksgiving Sale

I can’t believe it is that time of year already, but it’s time to start your Christmas shopping if you haven’t already! I am having a sale in my ArtFire shop through the Thanksgiving weekend. I have marked everything down 10%! I am busy making some more Christmas items including some adorable mini stockings that are the perfect size for gift cards. You can even have them customized with a name. Those should be listed in my studio soon and here’s a sneak peek at one that is almost finished ~

I am frequently adding new items as I make them so check back often! I also have a bonus for my blog followers when you shop in my studio! I have listed a coupon on the right to use in my ArtFire shop. Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!

Still Sewing

I cannot believe how much time I have been spending at the sewing machine. I’m surprised because I have spent about 15 years saying that I hate sewing! Now, I can’t seem to get enough. I have beautiful fabrics, but I’m having a hard time deciding what to do with them. I want to create stuff that people will want to buy. I know that I need practice and that beautiful craftsmanship doesn’t happen right away (well, in my mind that’s how I like to think). I designed a very basic piece, not even sure what to call it, that is made using simple rectangles. I figured the best way to get started was to try to sew a straight line! :) I tried putting together something in the cute 1930’s fabrics that are popular right now and we saw all over the International Quilt Festival in Houston. Here are a couple of the almost 40 fabrics that I used ~~

Hopefully it will turn into something cute that I can post a picture of, but keep in mind I’m still in practice mode and this might be a little over my experience level!

Last year once I learned the peyote stitch in beading, I created one of my all time favorite bracelets. It took me forever to make and I still just love it. A friend of mine asked me to make one for her so I did last Christmas. Well, she wears it all the time and gets so many compliments. She just bought 2 more from me to give as Christmas presents this year! Yay! I love making this bracelet, but crazy as it sounds my first thought was that the bracelets would cut into my sewing time! Here’s a little sneak peek at the bracelet~~