BTW,.....

Hey, BTW,...it's Bead Table Wednesday today!

Hop on over to the Flickr Group and
see what's cooking today, won't you?

My unfinished work this Wednesday!

I've got a link list on my bead table and I'm emailing people with it today and I've got a bunch of unfinished jewelry designs waiting patiently for me to finish, photograph and get into my shop for this weekend's Holiday Shop Hop.



What's on your Bead Table Today??

Until Next Time,
Peace, Love and BTW!!
Cheers,
~Shel~

Almost There,....

Happy Tuesday! Did you survive Cyber Monday?  I hope so!

I also hope you're ready for more fun and great deals this weekend as I host the Holiday Shop Hop 2011 this Saturday and Sunday, December 3rd and 4th, right here on my blog.



A big shout out to Rena Klingenberg for so graciously mentioning the Holiday Shop Hop in the "Neat Jewelry Website" section of her Jewelry Business Success Newsletter that's out today! Thanks so much Rena!!




There will be some great shops/blogs filled with handmade items and creative art for you to browse through at your leisure during the Holiday Shop Hop and up there on the top of my blog, where all the links are,...well, the Holiday Shop Hop button will have the list of all the shops/blogs that will be participating this weekend and it will have all those links for you to click away at from this weekend on through until at least January 15th, 2012.  This way everyone who's on Winter Break can enjoy shopping great handmade items even after the Gift Giving Holiday's are over! 

Now, on to some other things today.  I don't know if you know this about me but I LOVE making earrings.  Yes, I know you know that I love to make jewelry but Earrings are, by far, my FAVORITE to design and create!
Handcrafted Earrings by Michelle Buettner of MiShel Designs
"Snakeskin Components" by Kristi Bowman
Handcrafted earring wires by Shel of Shel's Jewelry Supplies

Anyhoo,....what I'm getting at is a few things. 1st, nothing destroys a great pair of handmade earrings (in my outspoken opinion, anyway!) than a pair of ugly, not-suited-for-the-earrings, pair of widely manufactured earring wires!  (Gosh, I cannot believe I actually said this out loud - I'm sure I'm gonna get eaten alive for this one!) 

Sleeping Beauty Nugget Earrings and Handcrafted Earring Wires
by Michelle Buettner of MiShel Deisgns


But anyway, my point is here is this,....I love to make handcrafted earring wires and several of my jewelry friends (and all of my clients) told me how much they LOVED my earring wires, so I started making them for other designers and opened another Etsy shop last year called Shel's Jewelry Supplies.  It's been going quite well, so much so that I actually blew out my poor elbow in February of this year and had to stop production for quite a while.

"Sexy Norm" Style Earring Wires in Sterling Silver
by Shel of Shel's Jewelry Supplies


Well, silly me, with the Holiday Shop Hop coming up, I've been less than productive in the 'supplies' category and have basicially, completely 'SOLD OUT' of my earring wires on my Etsy Site!  (Bad, bad Girl!)  So, I'm kicking myself in the booty and I'm gonna try to get a few things listed and back up.

"Elegant" Style Handcrafted Earring Wires in 14K Gold Filled
by Shel of Shel's Jewelry Supplies

BUT - in the meantime, here's the point I was trying to make in the beginning (yep, got a little side-tracked as usual!!)

There's the neatest blog out there that's dedicated to EarringsHow cool is this?!  I mean, really - I'm in heaven! 



The brainchild of Heather Powers . She, and some other very creative designers who are contributors, have this wonderful site with some awesome designs, so if you're as crazy about earrings as I am - you gotta go check this out.  It's called Earrings Everyday - Inspiration and Adoration (Yes, that's what I'm talking about!)  It's got tons of inspiration and places to get fabulous beads and fun items for your earrings too -  you'll definitely want to check this out!





Oh,...this is loaded with all kinds of wire findings you can make yourself and that will have your jewelry designs popping with personality (way more personality than mass produced findings if you ask me!) .

Anyway, one of the earring designs they have published in this book, on page 21 to be exact, is their pair of "flattened ear wires".  I Love Them!!

"Signature" Syle Earring Wires in Sterling Silver
by Shel of Shel's Jewelry Supplies

And, they're very similar to my "Signature" pair of earring wires that I've been making for over 15 years now (that my metalsmith teacher, Carol, told me were fabulous, by the way!) and so you just have to check out this book, if you haven't already done so, because the findings you will learn to create and be able to expand upon are wonderful!

It just gets your creative juices flowing and your mind racing!  Well, it did mine, anyway, and so I just had to share it with you!

So, as you're preparing your handcrafted items for sale this season (and any season for that matter) check out these two very lovely voices of inspiration and education!

And, don't forget to hop back on over here this weekend and check out all the really cool handmade shops that will be featured on the Holiday Shop Hop. There's handmade toys, soaps, candles, scarves and jewelry and jewelry related items, of course!  Yummy, Yummy!

Until Next Time,
Peace, Love and Living Creatively!
Cheers,

Cyber Monday!

It's Cyber Monday and that means shopping in your jammies till you drop! And awesome savings of course!!


Hop on over to the MiShel Designs Etsy store today and save 10% off you entire order by using Coupon Code  "Cyber10" upon check out. 



And, here's some more good tips to help you save while shopping online today -

Hop on over to Studio Waterstone where Lori Plyler is having free shipping on all orders today. I have a couple of Lori's clutches and "OH MY!"  They're fabulous so you don't want to miss this!!



At Studio Waterstone, Lori's "Sharing the Love" and letting people post the specials they're having in their shops right on her blog - complete with easy links and everything!!  So, go check out all those goodies today,
you'll be happy you did!

Als0 over on Lori Anderson's Blog, Pretty Things, the 1st Annual Virtual Craft Fair is continuing today - check out the artists listed today and see what goodies they are giving away and what specials they have for you as well this week!



And, don't forget to come back here this weekend, December 3rd and 4th when a bunch of yummy shops will be posted here on my blog for the Holiday Shop Hop

Several shops are doing free give-a-ways and offering discounts or other goodies - so you don't want to miss this!



I'm hitting the internet now and going to check out all the great deals for Cyber Monday!



If you're having a special today for Cyber Monday on your shop, please be sure and leave me a link in your comments so I (and my readers) can go check out what you've got going on!!

Until Next Time,
Peace, Love and Happy Cyber Monday Shopping!!
Cheers,

I Heart Macro - It's Sunday!!

This Weekend I,.....

Walked in the Woods,









Baked pies with my sister, ate some turkey,....



Woke up to "White" on Black Friday



and sat by the fire,.....



What a lovely weekend.   What did you do?

I'm gonna go check out I Heart Macro before we he have to say our goodbye's to family - wanna join me?




Until Next Time,
Peace, Love and Wonderful Holiday Weekends!
Cheers,

The Day After,...

Well, it's "Black Friday" today.  The day we're all supposed to go out and 'shop the big box stores'.  I really hope all of you who are out there are able to get what you want for the price you want and with out getting hurt!



I'd like to suggest, if you haven't already finished your holiday shopping, that you support a couple of things that are a bit on the smaller scale, and a smidge closer to "home".

First, there's Small Business Saturday.  Go out and support your local shops shops that make up your community; the small businesses that provide convenience right in your own back yard!

Then, starting tomorrow, over on Lori Anderson's blog, Pretty Things, there's the 1st Annual Virtual Show - for a whole entire week - you won't want to miss this!!  Lovely give-a-ways, great stashes of finds,...oh the goodies to be had here!



And I hope you'll all come back next weekend, Saturday and Sunday the 3rd and 4th of December, and hop around the shops I'll have posted up here for the Holiday Shop Hop  supporting handmade goods here online.



I hope those of you here in the U.S. aren't too stuffed with Turkey from yesterday's Thanksgiving dinner and I also hope you are able to enjoy all the wonderful people you are thankful for this holiday weekend!

I'm thankful for all of you who stop by and comment, for my family who I love dearly, for my friends who are both physically here and those who are online and for all the wonderful moments I've been able to experience this weekend!



Until Next Time,
Peace, Love and Thanks!
Cheers
~Shel~

Blog Give-A-Way!

Happy Monday Everyone!

I'm only 7 peeps away from having
100 followers on my blog - Woo Hoo! 

Okay, I know,...I know,...there's folks who have thousands of followers, but I'm excited and very grateful for the
93 of you that I have!!

Once I hit 100 followers I'm going to be putting everyone's name in the pot and doing a Blog Give-A-Way as an appreciation gift to everyone who follows along in my quirkly little corner of the world.

There will be three winners in my Blog Give-A-Way.



The 1st item to be given away will be this 
Romantic Rose necklace and complimentary earring set
that I created for the Bead Soup Blog Party this fall that everyone gave me such nice compliments on.
(Thank you for the kind words, by the way!)

2nd Up will be my "Follow Your Dreams" Necklace with pewter charm, leather cord and one of my handcrafted sterling silver swirl clasps. 



I love this necklace because even with it's
simplistic style, it speaks volumes!

And 3rd on the Give-A-Way block with be my
"Butterscotch" beaded brass wire-wrapped bracelet which, with it's assortment of wire wrapped beads, is fun and funky!



Once I hit "100" I'll be doing the drawing and posting the results of the "100 Followers Give-A-Way" so check back often and see how things are going!

Also, this Monday, I wanted to tell you about a pretty big event that's happening online the 26th of November through the 3rd of December with Lori Anderson



She's such an innovative one, this lovely beady blogger, and she's come up with the First Annual Virtual Craft Show which she's hosting over on her blog, Pretty Things

You'll definitely want to check it out! 
Click on over to her blog now for the all the juicy details!

Also, don't forget, the Holiday Shop Hop 2011 will take place right here on my blog (and several other's blogs as well!) for two days the weekend of December 3rd and 4th as well. 



You'll be able to hop around to several shops and blogs and check out some wonderful handmade items and support the art community when you do your holiday shopping this year.

So, that's it for this Monday.  Here's to a creative week everyone!

Until Next Time,


Cheers,

I Heart Macro - It's Sunday!!

Oh,....Sunday!




I played with beads this week,


And,


I smelled the roses




and I admired the texture of some
really cool, wooden stick baskets.



What did you do?

Go ahead and hop on over to
has put together this week's edition of
share some love 'up close'!



Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Macro Sundays!

Cheers,

Last Chance!

Step Right Up and Sign Up For The
Taking Place December 3rd and 4th!


Saturday the 19th (That's TOMORROW!)
is the last day to let me know you want in!

Check out the information HERE and then email me with your email address and shop information at Shel@asicj.com

Until Next Time,
Peace, Love and Shopping Handmade This Holiday!!

Cheers,
~Shel~

Sit A Spell With Me, Won't You?


We Can Sit Here and Enjoy the Morning,...

The Big Bird is Watching Us From Across The Lake In The Neighbor's Yard


The Grapefruit Are Starting to Look More Ripe,...


Grapefruit "Sunning" Themselves



Coco's Being Too Loud Now So We Have To Go In,....

Until Next Time,
Peace, Love and This or That Thursdays!
Cheers,
~Shel~




Confessions of a Slacker Bead Chic on BTW



I've got a bunch of goodies that have been on my bead table for well,....a couple of months now.

Ceramic Goodies from Chelle V.2 on Etsy



Ceramic Pendant from White Clover Kiln on Etsy


Ship Pendant from Miss Fickle Media on Etsy

Lovely Copper Flowers from Kristi Bowman in Etsy



Ceramin LOVE Bead from Havana Beads on Etsy




They're sitting there,...staring at me,...and the conversation between us goes something like this almost daily:

Gorgeous Findings: "Do something with us,...Please!"

Slacker Bead Chic: I'll get to you, be patient."

Gorgeous Findings: "Yeah, right! When?"

Slacker Bead Chic: "Ummmm,.....I'm not sure. Possibly after the Holiday Shop Hop?"

Gorgeous Findings (now totally insulted!): "What?! AFTER the Holiday Shop Hop -  Are you NUTS?!  We SOOOOO deserve to be created into something beatiful waaaay before the shop hop!  The objective here is for people to see us when they shop right, stupid?"

Slacker Bead Chic: "Well, yes,...but time isn't one of my luxuries right now - there's tons of other things going on. And besides, you're not on my "list" today. Sorry." 

Gorgeous Findings: "Seriously?!  Well collecting dust wasn't on our list either or even remotely in our descriptions you read when you purchased us, but alas,...here we sit!" 

Slacker Bead Chic: (as she walks away from bead table to shower and go to a network luncheon instead of playing with her gorgeous findings and creating beautiful things)  "Sigh,...painful, painful, Sigh!"

Gorgeous Findings: "Slacker!"

Until Next Time,
Peace, Love and well,....time for gorgeous findings, fun beads and awesome jewelry making!
Cheers,
~Shel~

Slacker Bead Chic's Desk - void of beads and fun things today!


So, What's on your bead table today?  Go check out all the cool things other people are so luckily creating today!!  (Sigh!)