Two More Lampwork Glass Artist Page Submissions

Helllo,

Two more talented glass artists stopped by the website to tell us a bit about themselves!! Patsy Evins of Patsy Evins Studio put together a page. And I've never purchased her beads (wipe that shocked look off your face...LOL) so it gave me a chance to get to know her, too.

And Heather Behrendt of Lampwork Glass Beads by Heather Behrendt took the time to do a page also. Heather does beautiful work and her specialty is scrolled beads at which she is spectacular. She even posted a photo of her studio/workshop so we get to see where the magic happens! Here's one of Heather's beautiful scrolled beads...yup, I scooped this one right up :)

You can find Patsy's page here. And you can find Heather's page here. I hope you'll take a look at them...Enjoy!!

~ Debi

100 Fan Milestone Celebration Giveaway on Facebook

Hello!

Just want to let everyone know that I've started doing Fan Milestone Giveaways on my Facebook page. The 50 Fan Milestone happened before I even got to blog about it!! The next one is going to happen when I reach 100 Fans so stop by the Designs by Debi Facebook Page and become a fan to be entered to win.

The 100 Fan Milestone Celebration Giveaway will have TWO winners... one of the first 100 fans and the person who referred them to my page. Each winner will receive a pair of my Signature Collection Earrings... chosen from the photo album I set up for the giveaway. This is a pair in pink:

I'll be having giveaways at each 100 fan milestone. They'll be announced on my page and blog. I'll set up an album in my Facebook photos or put the photo in the post if it's just one item. Once the specified number of fans is reached, I'll select a winner using Random.org and post it on Facebook and here on the blog.

What are you waiting for? Go enter yourself to win some free jewelry! Good luck :)

♥ Debi

Working on Facebook Giveaways

Hello!

Well, I'm still busy at work learning my way around Facebook and Twitter. And why is it that every time I start to get the hang of something on Facebook, they go and change it?!?!? Oh well, I'm catching on and having fun getting to know people :)

My latest quest was to learn how to do giveaways and with some help from Karen at O. Sebastian (Thank you!!) I think I've got it down. So I'm getting ready to start having Fan Milestone Giveaways. The first is going to be when my Designs by Debi page reaches 50 fans. I'll get the info up in the next few days so head on over and become a fan!!

~ Debi

Check out this Mardi Gras Collection on ArtFire

My OOAK Mardi Gras Bracelet was featured in this great Collection on ArtFire put together by ButlerDidItDesigns. Better late than never...forgot to post it...sorry.

Mardi Gras! Time to have some fun!

Curated By: butlerdiditde...

ArtFire.com

Very nice collection... honored to be included :) Hope everyone enjoyed Mardi Gras!

~ Debi

March Jewelry for Charity Piece

This is the Jewelry for Charity Piece for March. It's a OOAK bracelet in gorgeous, summery shades of orange, pink and white. I used polymer clay beads with flowers and dragonflies made by Bonnie Simonet and some orange and white swirled ones made by me. The Swarovski bicones are red topaz AB2x and they're perfect...they even shimmer with pink accenting the pink flowers in the beads (very tough trying to catch that in pix though).

The week of March 21-27 is a Week of Solidarity with People Struggling Against Racism and Discrimination and March 21st is the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. I chose the orange color scheme because the ribbon color for Racial Tolerance is orange.

I wanted to select a charity committed to ending racism so I chose The King Center. Established in 1968 by Coretta Scott King, it's the official, living memorial dedicated to the advancement of the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., leader of America’s greatest nonviolent movement for justice, equality and peace. I hope we can one day achieve his dream of the Beloved Community, practice tolerance, appreciate each other's differences and live in peace.

I personally don't believe in race. I believe there is only ONE race...the HUMAN race...and within that race exists a diversity of cultures, languages, religions and other differences that should be celebrated and respected. I believe that we can end racism one person at a time...or maybe one family at a time, because racism is learned. Some thoughts to ponder...

"No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background or his religion. People must learn to hate and, if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite."
~ Nelson Mandela

"Be the change you wish to see in the world."
~ Mahatma Gandhi

♥ Debi

My Calming Ocean Waves Collection on ArtFire

Hi!

I don't know about you but I find the sound of ocean waves very calming. I just put together a collection of jewelry by various designers on ArtFire that reminds me of the ocean...

Calming Ocean Waves

Curated By: DesignsByDebi

ArtFire.com

Unique Gifts

So soothing all those beautiful shades of blue aren't they? Hopefully they'll soothe me right to sleep....time to go to bed :)

~ Debi

So, does "Murphy" follow you around, too?!?

Who's Murphy? Well, that's how I refer to Murphy's Law...ya know the whole everything-that-can-go-wrong-will thing... Murphy and I are on a first name basis. As a matter of fact I often feel like Murphy runs my life! And I reeeeeeally wish he'd go run someone else's...lol. I set up a couple tables of my jewelry last weekend at a prom dress sale being held to benefit the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. The event was hosted by my next-door-neighbor, Laura...who did a fabulous job and raised lots of money. She asked me to show my jewelry thinking the girls would find it helpful to choose jewelry to match their gowns when they bought them and could match the color. Well, they did and it went well. And, of course, I appreciated the invite :)

Well, once I was home and started carrying things downstairs to put them away, didn't I just stumble landing sideways on my foot. It hurt, but I figured I just twisted it and it would go away. Well, it didn't...it got worse...my foot ended up looking like a little balloon! It ends up that I sprained my ankle. Well, at least we hope that's all...my doctor sent me for x-rays to make sure there aren't any fractures! Damn Murphy...again!!

So, I'm curious...does Murphy follow you around, too? I hope not.

Why I Love Artisan Lampwork Glass Beads

I mentioned my addiction to lampwork glass beads the other day...well what an addiction it is! I don't dare tell you how many tackle boxes full of them are in my bead closet! These beads are handmade by glass artists and each one is a special little work of art. I absolutely love them and use them all the time, especially when I'm designing one-of-a-kind pieces. They're lovingly handmade one at a time by winding molten glass around a metal mandrel to form a bead and then decorating it. There are so many different glass types, glass colors, embellishement methods, etc. that the possibilities seem to be endless. I love looking to see all the newest ones, but then of course looking leads to buying...and buying...and buying. See how I ended up filling those boxes?!? It's so easy!

Well, I've been wanting to share information about these beads and the artists who create them and I've finally gotten around to it! I put up a page about Artisan Lampwork Glass Beads on my website. And I've started extending invitations to some of my favorite glass artists to come over and put up a page telling us about themselves and their work. I thought that would make things more interesting. Check 'em out! I think you'll enjoy them.

Two glass artists already have pages up...
Susan Elliot of Doodletart Glass who makes some of the most gorgeous hibiscus beads you'll ever find...



and
Kimberly Nicole of Bastille Bleu Lampwork whose beads are just beautiful and so much fun to work with...



I love hibiscus, flags and hearts so I can't even tell you how hard it was for me not to keep these for myself! I didn't though...I actually used these beads in a couple of my Jewelry for Charity pieces. That heart of Susan's was used in my Valentine Hearts for Haiti piece to raise money for the victims of the Haiti earthquake via Yele Haiti...


and Nikki's awesome flag beads (from the set pictured above and another set she made) were used in my Fourth of July Fireworks in Honor of Those Who Serve piece to raise money for Soldiers' Angels...


 I try to put their beautiful beads to good use! They spark my creativity that's for sure :) Thanks ladies!!

~ Debi

Attention Fellow Artisans: Keep More Money for Yourself by Selling on ArtFire

Hello!

I want to share an important opportunity with other artisans today. Things are so tough for everyone in this economy, we need to make every penny count...and every penny does count.

So, I want to make sure that all you guys know about ArtFire. It's a marketplace for Hancrafted, Fine Art, Vintage, Design and Media items as well as Craft Supplies. It's like Etsy, actually a direct competitor. One of the reasons I chose ArtFire over Etsy was fees. For a low monthly fee you can sell an unlimited number of items on ArtFire. They don't charge you to list items, don't charge a fee when you sell items...they just don't nickel and dime you (hello eBay...hello Etsy).

I know that most artisans sell on Etsy. I have an account, but I just use it to buy from artists who only sell their products on Etsy...mostly lampwork glass artists (my addiction to lampwork glass beads is a whole huge topic for another day...lol).

Anyway, the buzz is that many people are unhappy with Etsy's fees and a host of other things. I can't verify the complaints because I don't sell there. However, I do want to let everyone know they have other options.

I've been happy with ArtFire and everything they offer. I have a Pro account with a "locked-in-for-life" rate (another great thing they do to save you money). I must say I've been very impressed with the ranking my items get at the search engines (another reason I chose them)...most of the time first page. And I get great exposure on TheFind thanks to ArtFire, too.

I know that it's not as well known as Etsy and eBay and most people may have never heard of ArtFire, but the more of us who sell there, the better it will get because the word will spread. Look into it, compare it to where you're selling now and maybe add it to the mix to try it out.

Right now they're having a promotion. You can Become an ArtFire Pro with this link and get your 3rd month free! If you use this link to sign up, I also get a free month AND until March 15th, whenever a new member referred by a current member (hence the tracking link) signs up for an account they're both entered in ArtFire's Share the Love contest to each win a Canon Rebel DSLR Camera!!!

So if you've been contemplating trying other selling venues, this would be a great time for you to try ArtFire.

I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on the various selling venues...and one I just recently heard about...Zibbet. If you have ideas or thoughts that you think would be helpful to others, please do share :) Thanx!

~ Debi