I imagine that the dude in the crows nest of the Titanic looked down at that iceburg and thought “Holy $hit! That’s alot of ice!” …I think I know how he feels! I have been working furiously over the past month (plus) to put together enough stock for my upcoming show at Bead Quest. Considering I am working a full time job and only making beads at night, I think I have a pretty respectable inventory. Every time I look over at my stash I think “Holy $hit! That’s alot of beads!

Here’s the tip of the BEADburg. These two remind me of Belly Dancers so I named them accordingly!

…and here is what lies just beneath the surface…

I do, I am not lying! Not only do I sell on Etsy but I also try and shop on Etsy whenever I can.

I have some good friends that are expecting their first child in the next month or so and I wanted to give them something crafty and handmade. Unfortunately, beads do NOT make good baby gifts. I made several attempts at little bear shaped beads and I even tried to make a picture frame but nothing was coming out the way I really wanted it to.  Soooo I decided to do an Etsy search. If it wasn’t handmade by me at least it would be handmade by SOMEONE right??? Well I didn’t have to search long before I found the MOST ADORABLE little baby gift baskets at The Red Pistachio.

I don’t think my friends read my blog but if they do…Pep and Sarah check this out, this is what you are getting!

If you hadn’t noticed, I am in the process of doing a complete overhall of my blog! I hope you like the new look and feel of the site. I will be adding some new shopping features to sell my tutorials. No I am not leaving Etsy. I love the Etsy community and you cannot beat the selling features and exposure that site brings.

Please bear with me as I go through this transformation, I truly think that you will like the results!

A couple months ago I had my first ever Spring Designer Challenge. I gave away some great beads sets for first second and third place. I only had three entries so everyone who entered got a prize, how cool is that!

During the process I also learned that not everyone has the competitive spirit that I do, and some people are just not comfortable with putting their work out there for others to scrutinize. I’m cool with that, but here is a little food for thought…maybe you are not comfortable showing your work, maybe you are worried that someone will steal your ideas or maybe you are just plain shy. However, if you ever plan to sell your work to more than just your friends and family, you need to get over that and work the Internet! It’s FREE, anyone can use it, but it will only work if you work IT. Every time someone mentions your name or posts a link to your site that’s a little bit of free search engine love. But, you have to get out there and bring in the links they will not come to you. That is really what my challenge was designed to do. To give other artists a chance to advertise themselves on my blog as well as getting a little attention for my own beads.

The following is some FREE advertising!!!!

Kim Forrer of Kim Forrer Designs won first place in the challenge! She just recently sent me pictures of the pieces she made with the beads that she won. They are just spectacular. I really love seeing what others have done with my beads. I don’t consider myself much of a jewelry designer so it’s really exciting to see my beads used in new and interesting ways that I would never have thought of!

This is the set of beads that Kim won:

and here is what she made with them:

Thanks Kim, for sharing those images with me!

Well today is my day for the BIG BEAD SOUP REVEAL! Ta DAAAA! My Bead Soup partner was Tari Kahrs of Pearl and Pebble and she sent me the most wonderful mix of ingredients. The color theme of the ingredients was predominantly green. Green is not a color I normally work with so the challenge was on. I just had to get some orange in there somewhere, so I decided to try using copper wire instead of my usual silver and I just fell in love. Throw in some large carnelian rounds and the color combo is just to die for, if I do say so myself. Tari sent a couple different pieces that could be used as a focal so I picked the one that I thought best fit the color theme of the necklace. I have a bracelet and some earrings in the works with the rest of my ingredients but I just didn’t get time to finish them up before we went on vacation. You can read all about that on our New Lassini Light Works Blog.

Well I won’t hold you in suspense any longer….

Today is the start of the Bead Soup Blog Party! Since we have so many participants Lori has decided to break us up into groups to make things a bit more manageable. I will be posting the piece I made on Tuesday June 22nd. Make sure you check out Lori’s blog for the daily groups.

I got my bead soup ingredients on Saturday! I’m gonna make a HUGE pot of EXTRA delicious soup with this stash!! Tari included super cute tags telling where each ingredient came from. Check ‘em out.

Click on the images to go the Etsy site!

My latest Bead Soup partner is…<drum roll>… Tari Kahrs of Pearl and Pebble! Tari makes gorgeous organic and vintage jewelry of all shapes and sizes. Be sure to check out her Etsy Shop!

Here is a sneak peek at what I am sending Tari for the challenge. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with!

A huge Thank You to the three very talented ladies who entered my first ever Spring Designer Challenge. It was not easy to pick a winner from the three gorgeous entries, but knowing that everyone was getting a prize made it a little less painful.

Without further ado, the First Place Winner is KIM FORRER of Kim Forrer Designs! Kim entered an amazing bracelet she calls “Dream a little Dream”. The stunning bracelet was made using a bead of mine called “Midsummers Night”. We loved Kim’s use of color, her cool homemade clasp and her awesome photography. Kim has won a complete set of Whitney Lassini lampwork beads including one focal and six accent beads.

Second place goes to CRISTI CLOTHIER of 2 if by Sea. Cristi sent in a truly amazing necklace made with my focal bead called “Garden Variety”. I really love the colors she used in this piece and how she paired the dainty flower beads with Swarovski crystals. Cristi has won four fun Bubble Beads.

And last but definitely not least is Luann Zanke Gilliland of LZG Beaded Designs! Luann submitted a gorgeous necklace using a cool focal of mine called “Gospel”. I love the cool colors and the interesting beads she used in her piece. Luann has won six funky frit beads!

All three will also get 10% off their next order from my Etsy Shop!

Thanks again to all the ladies who entered the challenge! I really enjoy seeing what others do wtih my beads! I hope to have another challenge in the fall so get those designs ready and check back in a few months!

I must apologize for the delay on this post! I received the third and final entry for the Spring Designer Challenge on April 29th and I still have not posted it. Well here you go! The final entry comes from Cristi Clothier of 2 if By Sea. Look for more of her beautiful jewelery in her Etsy Store 2ifbysea.etsy.com.

Stay tuned I will announce the winners of the challenge on May 16th!