A few months ago, I designed a Cinderella-inspired necklace for the Channeling Cinderella challenge at Stringing Magazine.  While we didn’t win, I’m very glad that I entered - designing for Cinderella took me into an area of beading where I don’t normally venture.  The resulting piece, Eyes Up Here, is a three-strand Swarovski pearl and crystal necklace with a sterling heart toggle clasp.  I love the necklace and am working on its sequel, Autumn at the Castle.

There were a lot of amazing entries - and even a tie for first place!  They don’t have the winners posted yet on their site, but if you view the challenge entries here, keep an eye out for the winning pieces: #25, Jennifer Judd, and #60, Serena Polheber, tied for first place; #14, Cynthia Powers, in second place; and editors’ choice winner Tiffany Dodgen, #68.  I do like Tiffany’s entry, and would love to see the focal piece up close.

Congratulations to the winners!  Now…what to make for the Black and White Challenge?  Hmm…

I originally designed this piece for Mer to wear at craft fairs and large outings, a bit of a shield against the large crowds.  It’s a combination of aesthetics and my belief in the powers of certain gemstones.

The center bead is a gorgeous hunk of black tourmaline, and it is balanced top and bottom with sterling and garnet.  The chain is plenty strong to bear the weight of the pendant, but fine enough to provide a balance to the chunky center piece.

Available in our Etsy shop and at this weekend’s craft fair!

Kim at Crochet Me has embarked on a crusade to fulfill one of Joss Whedon (of Buffy, Angel, Firefly, and Dr. Horrible fame)’s dreams: to be interviewed by a crochet magazine.  Really!

To that end, she’s put out the call: if you’re a crafter in any medium who is inspired by Joss and his works, post about it on the original post here, and spread the word to all your fellow Whedon-junkies!

Please help Joss’ dream come true!!!!!!

Just in time for the end of this east coast heat wave: the newest addition to our Etsy shop, Intergalactic Ice Cream, was inspired by the July Big Damn Crafters Challenge, Ice Planets.

The Big Damn Crafters are a group of Etsians who have banded together over their love of Joss Whedon’s series Firefly and its sister movie Serenity; the focus of this month’s challenge is the delectable dessert Ice Planet.

Useful Links:

• Ice Planet at the Firefly Wiki
• The Problem with Ice Planets (how to make your own!)
• Big Damn Crafters Blog
• Big Damn Crafters on Etsy

If you’re in the area and looking for a fun, free outing this weekend, why not stop by Crafts in the Grove?  It’s being held on Saturday, July 26 from 9 am to 3 pm at the Neffs Union Church in Neffs, PA.  Come browse the tables and stop by our booth to say hello!

We hope to see you there!

We were lucky enough to vend at the Hatboro Strawberry Festival on June 21.  I was a bit worried about being outdoors on the summer solstice, but a heavy dose of SPF 80 sunblock and our pop-up tent kept me safe (I burn like nobody’s business.)

Everything about the event was quite lovely.  We were set up on the church lawn right at the sidewalk, so we got great foot traffic exposure.  The event organizer, Kristen, was super-friendly and helpful, and all of the people we met - vendors and event-goers alike - were just plain wonderful.  Among the ranks that day were Viola of Heavenly Scented Rocks, Del’s Delights bath & body products, K&L Original Kettle Korn (which was delish), Brenda Jones, who takes gorgeous pictures, a sweet gentleman (whose name I unfortunately forget) next to us selling hand-made country primitive wooden decorations, and Mike of Phat Head Caricatures, who drew the fabulous portrait of us you see above.

I read a comment that most/all of the jewelry at the show was resale, and as far as I can recall, that’s not true.  There was a woman on the corner with beautiful sterling pieces (whose name I have unfortunately forgotten), and a booth in the back with some great wire-wrapping.

Overall, this was a wonderful event, and one we’ll almost certainly do again next year.  I’d recommend this event for seasoned crafters and newcomers alike - everyone there was so helpful,  this would be a cinch for a first-time event.  The vendors even got free strawberry shortcake!

Meet Boo, the ruler of the Sweet Tarragon roost, who turned 11 last month (we think).

She likes books.

She loves yogurt.

Boo’s true loves, though, are those darn boxes.

She sits inside my $2 lightbox, on shipping boxes as they come in, on pizza boxes and shoe boxes, and any other box you can imagine.  We kept a (clean, empty) pizza box in the corner of our old apartment just for that purpose.  She has a blanket-lined basket, open choice of any number of upholstered furniture items in the house, and two cushy laps, but more often than not, she goes for the box.

I’ll admit…all I can think of when I see this bracelet is Betty Rubble with her cute little wooly mammoth vacuum cleaner.  I’d like to think that if she had some spending cash hidden away from Barney, this is the sort of thing she’d buy.

Sterling silver, black agate, and amazonite come together to make a gloriously stone-age statement. It’s practically a page right out of modern stone-age history.

A few weeks ago, I treated myself to some of Om Shanti Handcrafts‘ divine Tangerine Vanilla Lip Balm.  Well, truth be told, I treated myself to a three-pack of lip balms, but other than a quick taste of the Chai and Cilantro Lime flavors, I haven’t touched them.  Why?

Kate’s Vanilla Tangerine lip balm is crack cocaine.

Really, I mean it.  I wear it all the time, and I get really, really upset if I leave it at home, or can’t find it because I left it in the scattered mess that is our dining room slash office slash beading room slash shipping facility.  I push it on everyone - in the midst of my grandmother’s 80th birthday party, with dozens upon dozens of relatives swarming her house, I chased my mother around with it, saying “but it smells like an Orange Julius!”  I have stuck it under the noses of people I work with, and it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if I started pushing it on people I don’t even know.  I am addicted to the blissful citrusy goo.

The really cool thing about it?  It tastes good, and therefore I lick my lips (because I want to eat it like candy.)  When I do that with sub-par tasty balms, my lips get icky and I need to constantly reapply.  Not this stuff - Om Shanti balm has some serious staying power, and gently fades away after many, many hours.  (That’s how I lose it so frequently, you see, because I don’t need to reapply it every 10 minutes.)

This is starting to border on stalking (can you stalk a lip balm?), so I’ll sum up.

Tangerine Vanilla Lip Balm by Om Shanti Handcrafts.  It’s yummy and delightful.  Buy it for yourself and everyone you know.  (And check out some of her other stuff, too!)

*Full disclosure: Kate, the genius behind Om Shanti, is a dear friend…who has no idea that I’m writing this.  Hi hun!

Dot at the Dabbled blog is looking for ways to beat the heat, or at the very least to celebrate it:

The theme is Summer Doldrums. Beat the heat (or cold, if you’re in that part of the world)! Arts & Crafts that celebrate summer, particularly stuff for kids (or for kids at heart). Accepted are: artwork, crafts, & tutorials. I’m going to ask some of our past winners to be judges this time (unless they want to enter themselves!). There will be prizes (TBA, but they will include both fun kids stuff & original artwork… Plus the fame and fortune that comes with links back to your blog! If you’d like to donate a prize — let me know -dot-at-dabbled-org-). Spread the word, the more the merrier!

My humble submission to the cause is Sweet Summer Days.  The bright and cheery ribbed glass beads immediately reminded me of gummy worms, and I knew even before I designed it that it had to be strung on stretch cord in tribute to its gummy inspiration.  (I did fashion a wire-and-clasp version, but it just didn’t work.)  Great for kids of all ages!

Share your summer love with Dot here.