And the winner of the 'Sea Shades' necklace is...

SHERRI RADDAY!
Sherri, you will be getting an e-mail shortly
Thank you to all who entered, and for your wonderful compliments.
If you didn't win this time,check back frequently~this was such fun,I am thinking about making this a monthly feature!

Celebrating the 4th of July with a GIVEAWAY :)

Happy 4th of July to all of you out there celebrating today! Today is a busy day at our house: cookouts,visiting,yummy food,ice cream,fireworks. Then back to work tomorrow :/
 I am sitting here enjoying the morning coffee before all the festivities --today it's Green Mountain Dark Magic blend, iced with  light cream and a shot of blueberry. I was so excited to find BB&B had a huge selection if 'Skinny Syrups' in a huge assortment of flavors,including blueberry. Skinny syrup will make me skinny,right? You mean that is not how it works? Oh well, at least it tastes yummy.
(if anyone knows where I can find their pumpkin spice syrup,let me know. It was the only flavor they didn't have in stock and I adore all flavors and scents pumpkin)

So as I am sitting here taking in the day, I realize I haven't done a giveaway in forever. Giveaways are a blast, and it's chance to introduce new readers to the blog and I get to chat and get feedback from some really great folks. So let's do a giveaway!

Since summer has arrived here full blast, (it's already 82 degrees here at 9:00 a.m. expected to hot the 90's and HUMID) so I decided to go with a beach/summer themed piece.
I will be giving away one 'Sea Shades Recycled Glass Necklace' to one lucky winner!





The beads are made from recycled glass, in lovely sea shades of blue and green. They are strung on brown leather with a silver toned clasp. The original listing can be seen here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/78551086/sea-shades-recycled-glass-necklace
The color of the necklace the winner receives may vary a little(the original necklace sold long ago) as the beads are handmade (not by me) and have subtle variations.

All you have to do to enter to win? Comment on this blog entry in the comments section below~that simple!
You don't have to be a blog follower to enter, but if you'd like to follow the blog it will make me happy:)
Please be sure to leave some method for me to reach you if you are a winner and not normally a Blogger user!

The contest ends on 7/12/2013,and the winner will be picked on 7/13/2013 using a random number generator.
 So what are you waiting for? Get entering!!!

Sunday Morning Blogging,Coffee and a New 'Geek Girls of Etsy' Spotlight on Wyrd And Wired!

I have to say, I love summer Sundays. We don't have to get up too early(although I still seem to anyways). I can relax, sip my iced coffee, spend time having an actual conversation with my kiddo,browse the internet,work on orders for my Etsy. It's nice to not have to adhere to a schedule, especially after the busy week we have had between graduations and birthdays
.
My youngest kiddo graduated from elementary school on Monday. I am both happy and sad the same time. SO very proud of his accomplishments,but not really sure where all the years have gone? Seems like just yesterday I was dropping him off for his first day of kindergarten.

Also this week, our oldest turned 21! Her dad and I met when she was in kindergarten,so I was not there for that first day of school for her but I remember all the others. It goes by in the blink of an eye,really.
She had to work the day of her birthday (as is life in the real 'grown up' world) so we had her celebration last   night. This is one of the dinner guests she invited over...
 

and her red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting being melted by all those candles...


So as said, BUSY week. Enjoying the opportunity to sit down right now,have a cup of iced coffee --Green Mountain Breakfast Blend with Coffee Mate 'Thin Mint' creamer via my Kuerig Vue...and yes, it is as yummy as it sounds. Even better in these cute mason tumblers I found at Walmart.


Sit back, relax and enjoy a cup of coffee while we check out our 'Geek Girls Of Etsy' featured shop of the day. Today our spotlight falls on Wyrd and Wired!
Here is a little bit about Cynthia is her own words--

I graduated from college with a degree in studio art and a concentration in computer graphics, but quickly found that I missed getting my hands on my work. A California vacation for graduation led to a flash of inspiration, which led me to a spool of craft wire and some craft glass. Once I discovered the joy of wire wrapping, I was hooked.

My jewelry art is constantly growing and changing, but some themes will always remain the same. I love the sparkle of sterling silver wire and how old things - be they techniques, images, or objects - can be made new again. From knit wire to reused game pieces, I hope you will find something in my collection that you love as much as I do.

And here is her shop intro:

We're never too old to play, and my jewelry reflects that. Recycled game pieces, old comic books, and more go into each fun piece. Dice earrings, comic jewelry, and other playful pieces remind us that there is always time to play. Old and new, whimsy and beauty, go hand and hand in my earrings, pendants, and other jewelry. Many of my materials are reused in new and creative ways.

There are a lot of great items in Cynthia's shop, and I love how she is recycling old items into new and exciting pieces. I think one of the things I liked most about her work was how it was focused on written words.I am a sucker for anything that gives new life to old comics,books and magazines. These are a few of my favorites.



https://www.etsy.com/listing/124944359/comic-book-pendant-poker-chip-necklace


https://www.etsy.com/listing/124150897/steampunk-necklace-recycled-comic-book


https://www.etsy.com/listing/126730435/thesaurus-word-necklace-recycled-book


https://www.etsy.com/listing/126156153/thesaurus-word-ring-recycled-book

Be sure to check out the rest of the wonderful items Cynthia has in her Etsy shop
https://www.etsy.com/shop/wyrdandwired
and you can also find her on Wordpress
http://craftygeeks.wordpress.com/

Thanks for checking in, and enjoy your weekend!

New 'Geek Girls Of Etsy' Spotlight on Crystalcat1989!

Today's feature shines the spotlight on our own 'Geek Girls Of Etsy' team captain, Crystalcat1989,a.k.a. Crystal Simpson!

Here is Crystal's Etsy bio:
Who am I? I am a creative, fun loving geek. I love to read whether its a book, comic or manga. I also love video games, role playing games (DND), and board games. Since I was young I always loved doing crafts. Over the years I have learned to knit, crochet, cross-stitch, rug hooking, and some bead work. Everything I sell at this store is made by me and I hope that you enjoy my creations as much as I did making them.


I have a huge soft spot for needle-felted sculptures,and Pokemon...and when I saw this Jigglypuff it was love at first sight...



and THIS...most adorable Dalek ever!


Her bangle style,crocodile stitch cuffs are lovely and she hand spins her own wool to fabulous effect!
Love them.


Crystal also does some great cross stitch. I am a huge Pixie fan.
She had a lot of other choices listed as well.


you can check out Crystal's shop for more awesome and geektastic items here:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/Crystalcat1989
Have a great weekend!

Test post...

Trying a new blogger app via smartphone. This is a pic of my birthday present. Now I can drink ALL the coffees!!!

Yay! An update (finally!),and a 'Geek Girls Of Etsy' Spotlight Feature on: ELEMENTEES!

Summer is finally here! Almost!                                                                                                          Here is the proof in my garden...

I do work through the summer, but my school load eases up for the summer for a couple of months and I am able to focus on fun stuff,like turning fabric strips like this:

into cool,summery pieces of jewelry like this bracelet:

I also have time to shop for fun findings. In this case,it is some jewelry that is going to be deconstructed down to parts, and then recycled into new pieces. I found these amazing ceramic beads at a favorite church thrift shop yesterday--total cost $1.00!

Also, at Saver's I found a huge bag of odds and ends with a lot of promising pieces in it. You can just see the potential!

Sam's favorite item in the bag--a Star Trek rank insignia!

I do love thrift shopping :)

Next up, let's get to our featured 'Geek Girls Of Etsy' Shop of the Day!
Today our spotlight falls on: ELEMENTEES
I love Catherine's tag line: Elementees: Tee shirts for the nerd in us all...
Here is a bit of Carherine's bio from her Etsy shop:

Hello and welcome to my shop. I am a stay at home mom who worked for years as an art director before having kids. Having been inspired to do artistic things since I was a child, I now draw inspiration from my husband and four kids. My oldest (a lover of science) came home from school one day and excitedly told me that you could spell cabbage using the periodic table. That got my creative juices flowing. I alphabetized the periodic table first and then sat with a dictionary to come up with as many fun words as possible. Next was coming up with images to compliment the words. Alas, I still am at a loss for a cabbage image. The results are in my shop, with new words and ideas developing all the time. Have a look and enjoy!

As a teacher myself,this was the first shirt that caught my eye...

Love this nautical one...

Jaws, anyone???


and my absolute favorite is the 'Caffeine' shirt
(comes in 'Expresso', too, if you need extra energy!)



You can find Catherine's amazing tees here:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/elementees
Be sure to check her shop out!

Free Comic Book Day 2013

Today I am dedicating my blog to a feature on one of my favorite events--Free Comic Book Day!

Traditionally held the 1st Saturday in May(generally coinciding with the weekend of a big superhero movie release)FBCD kicked off in 2002 ,with the intent of drawing in new readers,calling back former readers and as a way of thanking current readers for their support. In the years since it has grown quite a bit. All the big publishers and many of the smaller press ones have contributed book in recent years. Even digital comics giant,Comixology was in on the action yesterday, promoting free books on their site.

 I make no apologies,I love comics. That very 1st FCBD in 2002, I bundled my 1 year-old son into his car seat,buckled in my 10 year-old daughter,grabbed their dad and off we went in search of these free treasures.
These days it is my son and I who make the trek,but it is a fun  annual mother-son activity that we look forward to each year.

These days the early bird catches the worm. Seriously, as word of FCBD has grown into an international event, the goodies go quick. Really quick. Last year we arrived at one store only an hour after opening to find everything gone already. This year we were prepared,arriving before our local Newbury Comics store opened. The lines grew down the plaza within minutes,and once again, when the doors opened the books flew off the shelves. People were courteous and patient. The comic book crowd is generally a pretty cool one. I was thrilled beyond belief the spot one copy of the book I was looking for. Luckily nobody else was.

 Pippi Longstocking Color Special from Drawn & Quarterly

Newbury had a limit of 5 FCBD titles per customer. Retailers have to pay for these titles,so limiting is both fair and necessary. Between the two of us,these were the titles we chose.


Newbury Comics was also having a phenomenal sale. We left with all this for under $20!

$1.00 grab bags!


Graphic novels 25% off of the lowest price...couldn't resist!


We hit our next FCBD stop later, at New England Comics. Comics were limited to 2 new FCBD titles,2 older title freebies,and a free Tick comic. So again, 5. These were our picks together.



Sam breathed a sigh of relief when we found they still had the elusive FCBD Heroclix release (Iron Man 3) behind the counter.


So now we sit back, enjoy all the goodies from our travels and count down until next year's Free Comic Book Day!


Have a great day, and go read a comic book!