designer(s) of the week

mary jane dodd

i noticed that we had only 2 so far for the month - and the fabulous contributions to the flickr group demanded more than one!

staci smith of stacilouise originals!

'she wore scarlet begonias' (tucked into her curls)

 ~the grateful dead

staci has an etsy shop for both finished work and components

and a website...

izzy winterhart of under a copper sky!

'have you ever seen the rain?'

~ creedence clearwater revival

you can see more of her work in her etsy shop...

and you will find this necklace listed there...

these ladies put a good deal of time and thought into their pieces... we are so grateful to have had such original and interpretive work submitted this month... being inspired by song, rather than an image left it wide open to see what you were feeling... 

thank you all so much!

designer of the week -

mary jane dodd

our contributing followers are presenting us with beautiful and inspiring work - to the point that i had to randomly pick this week - for that i thank you! it is wonderful to see how the 'call' is speaking to people... 

molly alexander

who did all of the enameling and wire work herself... i love the soft colors, the metals and leather, that gorgeous jade used as an accent... 

you can visit molly's blog here and her etsy shop here ... 

there are still a couple of days if you would like to enter - simply follow these rules - and you can be entered to win the terrific items donated by our sponsors!

remember, if you would like to be a sponsor for our monthly challenges, just contact me... besides sharing your talent, you will be getting a free month of advertising on the blog... 

call to create

mary jane dodd

our march call-to-create is based around these colors:

and just look at the wonderful piece created by alice peterson of peachtree!  you can also find alice over at the bliss guild... 

here is what alice had to say about her entry ~

'I am so ready for spring (aren't we all) and I couldn't help but think of spring when I saw the inspiration for this month's challenge.

The gorgeous butterfly is from Menagerie Studio on etsy, and the sweet little pink glass bead is from Quinlan Glass. Prehnite faceted nuggets and Vintaj components finish the piece.'

thank you alice for submitting your work! 

there is still time to enter our call.... click here to read more about this month's theme... 

and good luck! we have some beautiful beads to give away to a lucky winner!

designer of the week

mary jane dodd

welcome kate koroleva who comes to us from moscow!

kate is a lampworker ~

she picked up the rich colors from the palette... just look at all of the detail on her focal bead! i like the dangles she hung from the focal - lots of interest, texture and subtle color variation there... you can see more of kate's work on her flickr page... but she also has a website where she shares tutorials... 

thank you kate for participating - she also submitted a second design where she worked in brighter colors... but i had to pick just one - it wasn't easy! 

designer of the week -

mary jane dodd

lisa godfrey of lisalu jewels

lisa submitted this wonderful piece to our flickr group -  

and even showed how she brought the colors together! this is a great photo, lisa - i am so glad you shared it... and the people whose work you used to make it your own -

Heart Pendant: Cindy Gimbrone
Enamel Bead: SueBeads
Lampwork rondelles: JSavinaBeads
Ceramic Beads: Golem Studios
Hand Dyed Silk: Flame Kissed Art Glass

i love how balanced this necklace is - the colors, the design... 

thank you, lisa for the fabulous entry! to see more of her work, visit her website here ... 

there is still time to enter for your chance to win some gorgeous giveaways - and just to play in some color (something we all seem to be yearning for right now)... see our current call here-

Designer of the Week

by Patty Lakinsmith

I'm pleased to announce that the honor of the Designer of the Week this week goes to Stefanies Sammelsurium. Stefanies "Very Berry" mixed media necklace boldly used most of the colors in the challenge, and is especially appealing to me because of its use of so many materials. She uses recycled sari silk, lampwork, copper, gemstones, and czech glass. She made the copper heart herself.

In looking through Stefanies Etsy shop it's immediately clear to me that she has a keen eye for color and a wonderful design sense.

Congratulations, Stefanie!

designer of the week

mary jane dodd

'i heart you'

molly alexander

this wonderfully colorful yet rustic necklace is centered around molly's own enameled heart focal... i love how she set the bright wire coils against the antiqued metals... a wonderful balance! she shares her work in her blog, website and etsy shop...

the submissions are really inspiring - thank you all so much for your participation... 

invited by a friend, i have been participating in a ring a week challenge... so i am off to finish that while the kids sleep!

congratulations molly~

And the Winner is....

Jen Crossley....

You've won these ceramic and copper earrings.  Please click HERE to send MaryAnn your address.

Congrats!

And our Designer of the week is:

Erin Prais-Hintz

Shop Link:  Tesori Trovati

Illuminated Treasure - Gail

Illuminated manuscript bead from Humblebeads
faceted iolite
cream keishi pearls
sterling silver
swarovski crystals

Created for my mom, Gail for Christmas. Shhh! Don't tell!

There are 4 more days left to get your entries in for a chance to win some fab beads and components as well as a month with a page on our website as well as on our blog.

Thanks to all of the participants!!!

A Winner and the Spotlight...

by MaryAnn Carroll

Due to Thanksgiving falling on the same day that we announce our weekly Call-to-Create Designer Spotlight Winner, we did not select a designer to be shown off on our blog. Today we will be announcing that designer AND announcing our weekly LMAJ Giveaway Winner...... 

Soooooooo....without further ado,
Our Designer Spotlight winner is...

Lu Behrman from Designed by Lu.

~Hidden Forest~

Here is how Lu described this gorgeous necklace...

Deeply etched copper forest pendant (44x34mm) by jenniferstumpf; bronze leaf by summerstudio; glass headpins by GardanneBeads; HUGE (approx. 3/4") lampwork nuggets by twosisters; and the incredible chestnut/indigo chain and toggle clasp by missficklemedia. Measures 24"...

Now...for the winner of this beautiful necklace by our own Mary Jane Dodd......

using the random number generator, the #1 was picked......and that person is...

Carol DeLater.

Congratulations, Carol!  You're one lucky woman :O)  Check out Carol's blog Beads and Birds.

Designer of the Week...

by MaryAnn Carroll

This weeks designer picked from our "Call-to-Create" entries is from Nicki of NickisReef on Etsy.  Nicki also has a great blog that I just discovered.  Your daughter is precious, Nicki!

Here is what Nicki had to say about her Flickr submission.

The Autumn Birds

"I made this pendant using polymer and image transfer techniques. The green bird pendant was complemented by svarowski rounds, dark rust coral beads and pewter ovals. I also added glass discs that I wanted to lay flat, so I wire wrapped those with spirals, and added two night blue seed bead bird nests. The toggle clasp reads "peace begins with a smile"."

If you would like a chance at winning the gorgeous beads that are on the cover of Handcrafted Jewelry Magazine as shown to the right of this post, click the "Call-to-Create" button on the side of this blog to find out how.   HURRY!  There are only 12 days left. 

Included with this challenge, is the opportunity (if randomly chosen) to be "Designer of the Week" as well as one month on our website with your winning entry!

Designer of the Week...

by MaryAnn Carroll

Every week we will be featuring a designer from our Call-to-Create Flickr uploads.  This week's designer is Erin Strother from Studio E. Gallery, who has made these fabulous resin-filled earrings.  Erin has an Etsy shop, as well as a website displaying her jewelry.  Her website also displays wonderful photography.  I really enjoyed looking through her pictures.  If you would like to see more designs from Erin, links are located at the bottom of this post.

Thank-you Erin for sharing with us!

Erin Strother's

Photostream on Flickr

Studio E Gallery Website

Studio E Gallery Etsy Shop

~If you would like to be entered to to win our monthly Call-to-Create, please click the

link on the right side bar to find out how.~