Featured Etsian Artist~fivelittlegems

Click Here To Go Straight To My Giveaway

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I am in absolute lust over this shop! When I saw her avi in the Etsy forums, I knew she had to be on my blog! Her avi showed off a beautiful beaded wire necklace at the time.
The photos look professional, the lighting and placement is perfect, IMO.
Worthy of being framed upon my wall...

I love all the wire necklaces, but I have to say this one is my favorite.
Which beauty is your favorite?

fivelittlegems

Your store name is cute, how did you create it? It was either that, or 5 little stinkers. I always wanted to name my shop for my children, of which I have 5, and I didn't think the stinkers thing would go over too well in the jewelry world!

You're very talented, when did you discover this talent? Thank you! I've been doing some sort of craft since the day I figured out how to use my hands, I think. I'm sort of a jack of all trades when it comes to crafts. I settled on jewelry because I have a serious jewelry addiction myself and it was so much fun to wear things I had created and have strangers stop me and ask "where did you buy that?" That's the ultimate compliment, I think.

I love your Flower Wire Necklaces, what is your favorite piece? It always seems to be the one I'm currently working on. But if I had to choose a favorite, it would be my "Tanzanite Crystal and Lucite Flower Wire Necklace" because my favorite color is purple.

I see you have a houseful! How do you find time to focus on your craft? Mostly I work on my jewelry and webstore in the evenings after the kids have gone to sleep. I was laid off from a full time job I had been at for 23 years last October when I was on maternity leave with my youngest. It's been both a blessing and a curse, with 7 mouths to feed, but we're hanging in there. Being a full time mom is tough, but it's much more rewarding.

When you're not busy creating beautiful jewelry, what other craft do you enjoy? I love crocheting! I've been making my way through all my family and friends crocheting afghans to keep everyone warm in the cold Ohio winters. It's such a relaxing craft.

If you could do anything, what is the one thing you'd hope to accomplish in your life?

I hope to accomplish a perfect balance between business and pleasure. Right now, things are pretty hectic with 2 teens and 3 little ones under 6 years old. I don't get a whole lot of sleep with all the responsibilities that come with that as well as a jewelry business, but I'm working hard at making it all come together. Oh yeah, and I'd like to spend a few minutes with my husband every once in awhile! Sometimes he gets really neglected around here. But he's a great guy and knows that I love him even when I'm sleeping at my desk.

We know what you love to make for others, but what kind of things do you buy for yourself?

I'm sort of a minimalist in regard to my home and my choice of clothes (except jewelry, of course!). With all these people here, less clutter is a good thing. Plus the kids are constantly growing out of their clothes and wearing out shoes, so most of my spare money goes toward that. One of the things I do indulge in is scrapbook paper! I have hoards of it. I'm a scrapbookaholic. It's tough to squeeze that in, but I'm sure I'll have more time as the kids grow older so I just keep socking away the pictures and quotes and stories for later and buying pretty paper whenever I see it.

Our Fellow Etsians are great people, if you could meet one of them who would it be? It's so tough to choose just one. There are so many wonderful and talented artists on Etsy. But one stands out above all others. EarthGrrrlCrafts. She was the first person to befriend me and lend a helping hand to my clueless self when I joined Etsy. She's always been able to give me a chuckle and knows just when to send a convo if I'm having a bad day. Plus she makes cool jewelry!

Is there an interesting blog that you can recommend to my readers? I haven't had much spare time for following blogs, so I'm afraid I don't have any recommendations at the moment. But I've recently been signing up to follow some great blogs, like yours for instance, so hopefully if I'm asked in the future I'll know just who to recommend!

Sassyglassjewelry Giveaway

Blog Giveaway!

~Starts Sunday, June 28 and Ends Sunday, July 12 at Midnight (MTN)~

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Sassyglassjewelry is allowing me to host her wonderful giveaway!

Someone very lucky has a chance to win this beautiful Red Jasper Necklace!

Will it be YOU?

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Sassyglassjewelry
Blog

Sassyglassjewelry sells beautifully handmade jewelry using natural stones, gemstones, high quality metals, and her own lampwork beads.

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She also makes lampwork beads at

Sassyglassdesigns!

I like your Sassy store name, how did you create it? When I first began making jewelry, my friends told me it was "sassy". I looked the word up in the dictionary and felt the many definitions...bold, chic, fashionable, and stylish...described my beads and my jewelry.

You're very talented, when did you discover this talent? Thank you! I have crafted since I was a little girl but I believe the turn around to fine art was when hubby and I moved to Florida. I decided to take an oil painting class and I was hooked and I was pretty good at it. I painted for years with oils and acrylics and actually taught acrylic painting for several years. About 10 years ago I began making jewelry and was purchasing lampwork beads to use in my designs. After a couple of years of buying the beads, I decided I wanted to make my own beads and that became an art form that I absolutely became addicted to. About a year ago, my hubby and I took a silversmithing class and I am now totally addicted to working with silver and natural stones. I am very fortunate to be able to spend most of my days doing something I love but wake up each morning struggling with...do I want to make beads or do I want to make jewelry. I guess that's a good dilemma.

Your jewelry consists of so many beautiful stones, which stone is your favorite? I think Ocean Jasper is my favorite...it comes in so many colors and designs; no two are alike. Unfortunately, it is a material that is becoming extinct.

I understand your hubby and you work together. Who does what in this combination? Jim is a tool and die maker/machinist and owns a full-service machine shop so he has equipment that really lends itself to some aspects of jewelry making. We have always discussed collaborating on designs but it wasn't until we took the silversmithing classes that we realized how his skills and mine could be meshed. One of the ways we have collaborated is with our Kokopelli pieces. He drew the pattern and programmed his CNC machine (fancy machine that can cut out metal) to cut the image out of the silver. I then used this piece as the backplate for one of my designs, setting the stone on top of it so the stone shows through the cut out. We have several other ideas we are currently collaborating on. (The links are to 2 examples of the Kokopelli)Here and Here

When you're not busy creating beautiful jewelry, what other craft do you enjoy? Lampworking...I love taking rods of glass and transforming them into beautiful glass beads.

If you could do anything, what is the one thing you'd hope to accomplish in your life? This may sound trite but I have pretty much accomplished everything I have set out to do...at this stage of my life, I just want to remain healthy and continue to do the things I love doing with husband and my family.

We know what you love to make for others, but what kind of things do you buy for yourself? Wow, I don't really buy jewelry any more. When I was in the corporate world, I bought a lot of jewelry and it was mostly gold and some gemstones....my birthstone is Amethyst and it is one of my favorite gemstones. Now, when I wear jewelry, it is usually one of my own creations.

Our Fellow Etsians are great people, if you could meet one of them who would it be? I would love to meet the members of my Etsy team, "Metalsmiths In Action"

Is there an interesting blog that you'd like to recommend to my readers? Mine! Seriously, I follow a lot of blogs and they are all interesting in their own way...too many to narrow it down to one.

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~The Prize~

Now For The Rules Of The Giveaway

To enter this giveaway you must follow my blog.

AND

Go to Sassyglassjewelry and choose your favorite item, come back here and leave a link for us to see.

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For EXTRA Entries
(Please leave a new comment for each extra entry)

1-For two extra entries, Blog about this giveaway with a link back here. Come back and leave 2 comments with a link to your blog.

2-For two extra entries, post my Blog Button on your Blog Sidebar. Come back and leave 2 comments with a link to your blog.

3-For four extra entries, make a purchase from either of her stores. Come back here and leave 4 comments with a link to your purchase.

4-You can earn one more extra entry EACH day that you twitter about this giveaway! Just leave a new comment everyday with the new twitter link.

Featured Etsian Artist~ xbutterfly0318x

Click Here To Go Straight To My Giveaway!

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I really enjoyed taking a stroll through this wonderful shop! Quite a variety of gorgeous jewelry can be found inside: Stones, glass, Lampwork, Pearls (and more)- take a look!

She has amazing and OOAK handmade pieces.

I really enjoy the natural feel that just flows from the stones like Rhodocrosite, amethyst, and quartz!

She also owns a great supply shop, BeadieandThings. Fantastic beads, pendants, stones, pearls, ribbons, tools (and more) can be found inside! I suggest visiting this shop for affordable findings to use on your next creation!

xbutterfly0318x has so many beautiful treasures, I couldn't choose just one favorite. I'm not even sure how I was able to narrow it down to three favorites!

What's YOUR favorite piece?

xbutterfly0318x

BeadieandThings

BLOG

I started making jewelry at a very young age and mostly leaned towards shinny beads and fishing string. I loved my beads, while my sister loved drawing. In High School, we were obligated to take an art class and so I decided to take jewelry. The professor was one of the best teachers and he taught me how to work with all kinds of metal, epoxy and so many other materials. At that point it became more of a hobby to me then an elective I had to take for school. I loved it so much, that I ended up taking it my 4 years in high school. Then while in college, I could never find the time to fit jewelry in my schedule so one winter break, I decided to take a class at the local art workshop. There, I created my first sterling silver ring…one that I cherish very much. Id like to take another class in the future, if time and money willing.

Everyone always asks’ me…where does your inspiration come from and well, even though it should be the easiest question to answer, for me it’s the hardest. I usually have random ideas pop in my head. Different patterns and colors, sometimes I just open my bead boxes and poof, I have an idea. I’ve never, ever used a sketch pad to create my pieces, as weird as that sounds. I mostly create at night. If I have an idea, I have to get my beads out right away and create. If I’m not around my beads, I just try to keep the idea in my head until I am able to create. Sometimes, my creations happen by accident. For instance, my pendant Pink Serenity was made by mistake. I was trying to make one of my swirly rings and I couldn’t get it right so I ended up making something else with it. I wasn’t completely happy with the outcome, but I happen to have gotten a lot of compliments on that piece. My last giveaway, the majority of the participants picked them one to be their favorite. So of course, that makes me feel happy. I stand by the famous saying “someone’s junk, is someone else’s treasure.” Although I don’t think my jewelry is junk, you get the idea.

I love all my pieces…but recently I have been experimenting with Sterling Silver wire. I never used to make sterling silver rings, pendants, hair pins or hoop earrings, so that has been a new experience for me. I’ve def been enjoying the ring making. I’ve been trying to come up with different styles so that’s been really fun!

Currently I’m working at the after school program at an elementary school. I love the connection I have made with the kids or kiddies the way I like to call them and their parents. I currently changed my major from business administration and marketing to early childhood education, so I’m in the process of getting my teaching degree. The program is almost over, so I’m just trying to look for a summer job but with the economy being the way it is, its been really hard.

I love all things crafty. I love making photo collages for family and friends, as well as scrapbooking. You’ll always find me doing something artsy. Everyone always calls me the art lady! I guess my sister and I take after my dad-he’s a painter & the craftiest person I know. Anything to keep our hands busy!

I would love to learn how to bead weave. I always admire looking at bead weaving jewelry books when I’m out and about in Barnes n’Noble or looking at the beautiful pieces people have made on etsy. It looks like it takes a whole lot of patience and dedication, but it’s on my list of next things to learn. I already bought a few weaving needles, now all I need is a good learning book or a good teacher.

I’m highly obsessed with butterflies, if you couldn’t already tell :0)