October Hops and Happenings.

I do a lot of blog hops.  Heck, I will even admit that I am addicted to them because they give me a place to start a design if not some components or beads to work with.  But I know that because I do so many hops, it can get confusing without a play card.  So here is your play card for October.

This first hop isn't really a jewelry hop.  Instead this hop is all about fashion and bloggers giving away all kinds of items relating to it.  I will be giving away a $125 GC for Shaiha Designs myself and I have heard tales of others giving away Coach purses, watches and dresses.  This hop actually runs for a few days from October 9th thru the 17th.  Be sure to stop by and enter.

The next one up is a jewelry hop where I started out with the perfect fall bead and went from there.  Be sure to stop back by on October 15th to see what myself and thirty-four other designers did with that special bead.

This next hop is a lot of fun where I start out with a piece of jewelry that is sent me and I remake it.  I always have a blast with this.  It  will  be on October 18th.

One of my favorite months is October.  It's full of wickedness, dark nights and ancestors.  It is also the time to settle in to create for the new year so how could I resist taking part in the annual Octoberfest.  This hop isn't strictly for jewelry rather it is about all things autumn.  Set aside October 26th to check out what everyone comes up with.

And this last hop for the month is pure fun.  While Samhain is one of a witch's sabbats, we also like to have fun so I couldn't resist for signing up for this last hop.   It is about black and orange and limited to thirteen designers. This one will be on October 30th.

Now there will be a couple of random jewelry challenged added such as the Art Bead Scene Monthly Challenge but those don't have a set date.

Ramblings

• Why is it that when you get a new cell phone from the store, you can use it immediately but if you order it online you have to wait hours to charge it?  Don't they think you will be just as excited to get it and don't want to have to wait?
• Arg!  I thought that I was all ready to upgrade to a bigger iPhone but I forgot the password my backup was saved under.  I have to delete iTunes and start again.
• Why is it that as soon as it was officially fall, we started getting the rain and clouds?  You would think that someone was watching the calender.

• Took Rusty to the vet to see about getting him on anti-anxiety meds.  His vet is out in Brown's Point so I pulled over and took a few pics of the water.
• Not too happy with T-Mobile at the moment.  I had to return my old phone back to them to get my new one at the discount.  According to all their paperwork, they would pay postage but if I wanted to add insurance I could.  I get to the post office to find out however that if I want insurance then I have to pay the postage.  And yes I wanted the insurance so I paid the postage. It was only a few dollars but that wasn't the point.  I feel as though I was misled.
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ABS Monthly Challenge

The White Rose and the Red Rose" 1902

One thing that I really enjoy about the Art Bead Scene's monthly challenges is the fact that they are well...a challenge.  And some are more then most.  With this month's inspiration the first thing that came to mind was how muted the colors are.  And then with the next breathe , I thought of a focal that I have that would work perfectly. 

And of course, I couldn't find it.  In fact, there are a couple from this artist that have just disappeared so I am going to have to do a search but that won't happen before this challenge ends.  So I went and dug though my other art beads and pulled out a couple.

The one that I finally decided upon pays tribute more to the name of this beautiful piece then the actually painting itself though there are roses there also.  This beautiful focal and the ceramic beads are from Golem.

I finished out the necklace with some Czech glass beads, brass wire and aged brass chain.  Definitely not what I had in mind originally but I like it.  This necklace is for sale here.

Related articles

• Hello Again Art Bead Scene!
• Monthly Challenge Accepted
• September Monthly Challenge

When bigger isn't always better

I love my cell phone.  Now.  When I got my first smart phone, I did what most geeks would do and went with Android.  And that's where my issues started.  I couldn't get it to sync properly with my PC no matter what app I downloaded to coax it to work.  And there was the size.  I have smaller hands so a large phone just isn't comfortable.

So I went to an iPhone even though I got teased by my techie friends.  And the first thing I noticed was the fact that my iPhone was talking to my PC.  My biggest headache was gone.  And then there was the size.  The iPhone 5S was the perfect size for my hands.  I finally felt like I had found 'my' cell phone.

So what does Apple go and do?  They are making the iPhone larger which is the exact opposite of what I like.  Well maybe not the exact since I don't want the phone to get any smaller either.  I just happen to think that it was the perfect size already.

So what did I do?  I waited until the iPhone 6 became eligible for pre-order so that the prices on the older phones would drop.  I then ordered myself an Iphone 5s with more memory for the same price I was paying for my current phone.  You see, if there was one issue I was having with my iPhone, it was the lack of memory.  I was so used to being able to add more so I thought that a 16gb phone would be big enough.  Not so.  I had to keep pulling off my pictures.  So this time around I got a 64gb phone.  If that isn't enough memory then I am outta luck.

Related articles

• Apple's iPhone 6 Plus phablet also comes with 1 GB of RAM

Ramblings

• As you know, I messed my back up a couple of weeks ago.  It has been rather annoying as well as painful especially since I have NO idea what I did.  I mean it is one thing if I hurt myself having fun but to be totally in the dark about why really bugs me.  Anyways, I won a Wahl Hot-Cold Massage with a Vibrating Therapeutic Gel Pack from My Fab Fit Forties and was notified about it on Tuesday the 9th.  I didn't reply back until Wednesday the 10th and my massager arrived on my door step on Saturday the 13th.  I am utterly shocked at the speed of this sponsor and to thank both Gigi and her sponsor.  My back is loving you both.

• I wanted to show everyone the goodies that I got from Sharyl of Metapolies.  And she just opened up a new shop so be sure to go check out her wares.  The big picture is of all the goodness she sent me including a tote bag I had won and the next picture is a couple focal that she made and sent to me.
• Still working the process of purchasing our house.  A lot of hurdles but they sure make me appreciate this place all the more.
• I  have never been a patient person but working with our little foster is definitely teaching me to be one.  And to celebrate each and every step forward.  When he jumped up on the bed to get pets before I got up, I felt like I should hire the Goodyear blimp to announce that he actually let a human touch him willingly.
• I have had Pinterest for quite a while but didn't pay a lot of attention to it. Once I got my iPhone however, I find that I enjoy looking for new pins to add in the evenings before I go to sleep.  Apparently people appreciate this hobby of mine as I have over 9,000 followers.  When I break the barrier of 10,000 followers, I will be holding a contest here on my blog for a pair of earrings.  To win, you will have to follow both my blog & my Pinterest account so if you aren't following me already, just click on my little PI button to join in.  I pin a lot of jewelry tutorials as well as inspirations and other occasional recipe that sounds really good.

Related articles

• Therapeutic Massage with Wahl Hot-Cold Massager Giveaway

Festival Lights Blog Hop

I have to admit that this challenge had me totally stumped.  I set out the beads that I got and played with them.  And then, I played some more.  You see I had one thing planned when I saw this kit and then I didn't get exactly what was shown.

I think what really threw me off was the fact that I had semi-designed a piece based on what I thought that I was getting so when it changed I was thrown off track.  What finally got me heading the right direction was the clasp.  I was putting some goodies away and ran across the elephant clasp.  All a sudden I was picturing a circus big top and it all came together from there.

The three focal beads and the orange crystals are from the kit.  The rest are goodies that I had picked up from other places.  I didn't end up using the mystery component so that will be making an appearance at a later time.  This bracelet is for sale at Shaiha Designs.


Now go explore what everyone else has come up with.

Carolyn Lawson  http://www.carolynscreationswa.blogspot.com/

Carole Carlson http://beadsophisticate.wordpress.com/

Christina Porter http://queenbeedesignsny.com/?page_id=62

Karin Grosset Grange http://ginkgoetcoquelicot.blogspot.fr

Shaiha Williams http://shaihasramblings.blogspot.com/

Christina Hickman http://vintagetreasuresjewelry.blogspot.com/

Kari Asbury http://hippiechickdesign.blogspot.com

Ann Schroeder http://www.beadlove.wordpress.com

Alice Peterson http://alice-dreaming.blogspot.com

Andrew Thornton, Alison Herrington, Laurel Ross,
Crystal Lombardo Farrell and Ann MerglCheryl Lee Tucker, Naama Eisenstein    http://andrew-thornton.blogspot.com/

Review: eSalon Follow up

Now I promised everyone a follow up on my hair color from eSalon.  Now when I got my color from eSalon, I also picked up a couple of things to help maintain my color because let's face it, red is a great color but it fades quickly.  So to prevent that from happening, enter the Tinted Love.

The Tinted Love is really easy to use.  It says to use it once or twice a week to maintain color.  Since I only wash my hair about three times a week on an average, I have been using it once.  Really easy to use.  I just wash my hair using my regular shampoo, then I apply the Tinted Love which suds up nicely.  I leave it on for two to three minutes then rinse it out.  I follow up with my normal conditioner.

I have also been using Perfect Ending as a leave-in conditioner.  It is much lighter then the conditioner that I have been using and has such a silky feel to it.  It doesn't weigh down my curls at all and the best part is that it protects my color.

Am I happy with the color and the products?  You bet!  My color hasn't faded at all in the weeks since I have colored it.  This is the first time I have ever had that happen even with the $70 salon colors.  And I have just been using my normal shampoo and conditioner which isn't a special one for colored hair.  I plan on signing up for a subscription for eSalon because they have definitely won my heart and hair.

***I recieved the products for free from eSalon as part of a campaign with BzzAgent.  My opinions however are my own.

Book Review: Forbidden

When Sophia St. James learns that she’ll be moving from Los Angeles to a podunk town somewhere in Connecticut for her senior year of high school, she isn’t expecting an otherworldly encounter. But there is more to Haven Hurst than meets the eye: it’s home to a family of Guardian Angels, and she is the only one who can see them in spirit form. Sophia soon realizes she wants to see much more of Michael, an irresistible yet volatile Guardian who seems drawn to her too.

As Michael battles his forbidden desire for the beautiful young newcomer, one of Hell’s most notorious Demon Knights arrives. Handsome and charismatic, Dante has come to claim the reincarnated soul of his lost lover trapped in Sophia. Cursed with the demon of Persuasion living inside him, Dante will use his seductive charms to lure Sophia into a dangerous game that ends with the kiss of death—unless Michael, who has captured Sophia’s heart, can now capture her soul.

* * * * *

One of my favorite genres is the Young Adult because there is a plot without a lot of unneeded sex scenes that take up word count.  I wasn't that impressed however by FORBIDDEN.  I found that the plot was way to slow and full of teenage angst.  Not my cup of tea at all.  

I can see however where it would attract its intended audience of teenagers and preteens because it is well written.  The characters are fully fleshed out and all have their own agendas.  So while I wouldn't recommend this book to my adult readers who enjoy the Young Adult Genre, I would recommend it to young adults.

*** I received this book at no charge from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.  All opinions expressed within are my own.