My First Treasury-Wedding On the Brain

I finally got to make my fist Treasury!Last night I was looking at the lists wondering if they would expire in time since I didn't want to wait all night!They didn't,so I just went to bed.
This afternoon,I went to check my emails and decided to take a look at the treasury list,and it was at 339!So I waited,and then it was open.Named my list,then went through some of my favorites to put in this Treasury.It was so hard to choose!I wish I could have featured more.Oh,well,some other time.

Like to make your own Treasury?Go to the Treasury page and click on "how to make a Treasury"the bottom of the page.
You can find out about when the Treasury will be open next by going to Craftopolis' "Treasury Clock"
http://craftopolis.com/index.php?com=tc


It's a little hard to see,but you can view the Treasury on etsy here.
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=116403

Silver Roses-A Beading Contest Saga-Part 1

Two years ago I had entered the 2008 Fire Mountain Gems beading contest,my first contest.Here is a picture of the piece.I did not win anything,but I was a finalist.


So this year I decided that I was going to enter again,in the wirework section again.But the FMG contest is a bit different this time,it got so big that they had to assign different categories for separate pats of the year.Like the Wirework/Artclay/chain contest entries were open for about 3-4 months,then the Glass and Seed Beads one opens.

Anyway,so I had a design I was thinking of using.I had "accidentally" come up with this design,and I quite like it.Not that it isn't difficult;it's probably one of the hardest and most time consuming I've done do far,but it's worth it.The handmade chain takes me about 45 minutes,and the pendant took me around 3 hours.Of course,I will get a little faster as I make more.





So I thought that I would use this design,but with bigger and more pendants and a handmade clasp.I have to give credit to the owner of my local bead shop about making a handmade clasp.Her wesite is:
www.BeadMerchant.com and her shop is in Grants Pass,Oregon.

It took me over thirty hours to make this necklace.I used my nice silver color wire that I use for EVERYTHING,faceted pearls,and a few sterling silver stardust beads.
Necklace entry:"Silver Roses".

I got quite stressed out about it because I got sick a week before the contest deadline was,and I was leaving to go with my youth group to Jesus Culture the same day i had to get it in..But I got it finished just in the nick of time,and then.....oh-no.The CD-ROM I was going to put the pictures on didn't work for some reason,and I couldn't find any others.But my mom called the people at FMG and asked if there was any way we could email it,and they said yes.Which was amazing,because they say you can't do that.So glad they broke the rules for me.Plus,my mom took it to the office to show them when she dropped off the entrance packet(I was long gone on my way to Redding).We did that the last time,too.

Today I got a letter in the mail from Fire Mountain Gems.I was so scared I didn't want to open it.But I did.And I'm a finalist!And they want me to share my success story,which I'm not sure I have one,but I think I'll submit it just the same.After all,there aren't very many my age doing what I do.

I will be sending in the necklace soon fro the final,and the we will find out if I win one of the many prizes.

So,have you ever entered a contest?I'd love to hear about it!

First Flowers of Spring.

I've been looking forward to spring and the flowers that it brings,so I was excited when I saw these flowers while taking a walk.

Clover with raindrops on them.

These are the very first flowers that appeared on my lawn.