One World, One Heart 2011: What a Ride!

The final One World, One Heart blog event has come to a close, and as before it has been a really fun way to get to know other bloggers and see what they are all about. I'm a little sad to see this event come to an end, especially since I haven't had a chance to visit many of your blogs yet because of serial colds/flu/ear infections and a heavy course load, but over the next week or so I plan to stop by just to say Hi -- especially to the 519 of you who commented on my OWOH post!!! I'm just amazed that so many people came by and said Hi, and I wish I had something for every single one of you! Thanks to the cool Random Number Generator thingie I was able to pick 3 winners for my giveaway (based on where they were in my comments list; I tried basing it on the whole OWOH list but kept getting people who hadn't visited). So here they are:

#7: Michaele at Twigs and Tulle
#197: Martina at Stempel-Gewerkel (in Germany)
#334: Kim at Queen of Arts

I'll be contacting the winners by email and sending the goods out as soon as I receive mailing addresses. Congratulations to you three, and again many, MANY thanks to you all! I look forward to getting to know you all better and hope you've enjoyed this event as much as I have! Oh, and stay tuned: having passed 100 followers (I'm up to 109, more than double of a month ago!) I'm thinking of doing another giveaway! Happy blogging to all!

Soup's On!

Bead Soup Blog Party goodies from partner Alison

I LOVE the detail and subtle sparkle on these!

I'm so excited -- I received a package of goodies from Bead Soup Blog Party partner Alison today and just love them! She included four beads from her line of handmade polymer clay beads, along with some perfect gemstone accents, brass and copper findings and spacers, and seed (literally, it looks like!) beads just like some I was contemplating on my last trip to Michaels. In her note she said she decided to send me "something that best describes [her]... earthy." These are most definitely earthy, and beautifully so; Alison also hopes these will help me think outside of my box, and she nailed that one, too. Her handmade large nut-shaped bead near the right side of this photo is just luscious and will make a wonderful focal for a "emerging spring" necklace I've been contemplating. I might use her beautifully patterned "Adobe" lentil and rounds in that piece or in a coordinating bracelet... I guess I'll just have to start playing and see how things come together. Huge thanks to Alison for such a cool, earthy collection! And now, since I'm about to be snowbound and am trying to shop away my spring fever, I need more of those yummy beads....

Oh, one more thing: I am stunned, humbled, and of course delighted by the number of comments people have left on my One World, One Heart 2011 post last night and today -- thank you all SO MUCH for visiting and for your kind words! I have to crunch on coursework this week (two big mid-term projects due soon) but look forward to visiting your blogs on my mini-breaks. Again, thank you!!!

One World, One Heart 2011!



Self-portrait, Philadelphia, July 2010

Welcome to One World, One Heart 2011! I'm so happy to be participating in this year's event, which organizer Lisa says will be the fifth and final one, and I warmly welcome all of you who are so kindly visiting my blog! I discovered many wonderful blogs during last year's event and am inspired, amused, uplifted, and just all around happy to be part of Blogland or the Blogosphere or whatever we call it these days. I have been blogging since 2002 (yeah, I'm Old Skool), when I started a blog to post pictures of my baby boy for faraway family and friends. In 2007 I started this blog to connect with other people in the jewelry making community, and more recently I've also been blogging about my rediscovered passion for photography. One thing I've learned from blogging is that there are SO MANY creative, talented, interesting, and kind people out there, and connecting to you all through words and images helps me keep my creative spark alive.



These connections and events like OWOH are especially important to me because I live in a remote, rural area of western New Mexico and don't have the events and shopping and other amenities of civilization that most of you do. (I know all about these, having grown up around Philadelphia and later living in southern California for 7 years...) So, being blessed with wonderful real-life friends and family (my dad lives with me now, and my kids are with me alternate weeks since my ex and I share custody), I am also happy to live in the Internet Age so I can maintain old friendships, make new friends, go back to school (I hope to finish my Masters in marital/family therapy this December), and of course shop, given that the nearest real-life bead shop is 100 miles away!

Again, welcome -- and yes, I have some door prizes!! At the end of this event, on Feb. 17, I'll use a random-number generator to pick 3 winners from among those of you who leave a comment here; just make sure you either use your Google ID or leave an email address so I can contact you. This year's offerings, shown below and selected from my jewelry creations, definitely follow a winter theme and also, of course, a heart theme. Enjoy the event, visit lots of other OWOH participants' blogs, and I'll see you around Blogopolis!