Come Celebrate Cyber Monday with Me!

I still have an amazing sale going on in my Etsy shop that will make even the scroogiest of scrooges happy! ;) I am offering FREE shipping to anywhere and everywhere (yep, if you live in Tanzania, Uzbekistan, Iceland, even that uncharted island in the south pacific...I got your free shipping right here!). BUT THAT'S NOT ALL...no, I'm not going to throw in some Ginsu knives for only 19.95...but I AM offering buy three get one free. And when I say, "Buy 3 get 1 Free", I mean whatever your TOP dollar item is, you can pick one of equal or lesser value for FREE! Now, there's a Tropicana Twist for ya! ;)

The best part is, if you're one of my newsletter groupies...you get an extra special Cyber Monday deal on top of what I already have going!!! So, go read your mail, dangit! hahaha And if you're not a newsletter groupie...you might want to sign up...I'll be nice and let you in on the extra fun if you do! ;)

Happy Cyber Monday all! Oh and check out some of my newly listed goodies in the piccies below!
Dana :)

Check Out My Crazy-Fun Holiday Sale on Etsy!

The holidays are time for me to get hyperactive with excitement and creativity...I just love this time of year! And when I'm excited about it, I just want to share that feeling!!! So, from today (November 20, 2008) until Christmas Day I am offering two crazy specials:

FREE SHIPPING TO ANYWHERE!

and...

BUY 3 GET 1 FREE (and when I say get 1 free, I mean whatever your most expensive purchased item is you get another item of equal or lesser value free! How cool is that?)

So come and check it out...I have tons of great jewelry and gift items as well as loose lampwork beads!!!

www.newmoondesign.etsy.com

Finally Healed and Gearing up...

Well, my brief hiatus turned into quite the long, drawn out experience! lol One of these days I'm gonna learn not to count my eggs before they are hatched. ;)

Anyway, I am FINALLY fully recovered after multiple surgical procedures...and I'm gearing up for an open house that will include my work and the work of fellow Etsian and INcrowd member, my friend Linda Themer of Textured Turtle. www.texturedturtle.etsy.com. Along with two other local artists, we are are inviting people to come see what our creative minds have been up to! ;) The open house will be at my home (ack! that means I have to clean...hahaha) on November 8th from 1pm until 5pm and anyone who can make it is more than welcome...so stop on by if you live in the area!!! You'll find gorgeous fiber art and mosaic pieces, my flameworked glass beads set into both jewelry and gift accessories, wonderfully fun and funky recycled and upcycled wearable art by Joan Johnson-Bey and delightful contemporary prints and cards by Danielle Reynolds.

We'll be providing tasty holiday treats and some fun giveaways, too! If you'd like to come (it will be lots of fun!!!) and need directions, please don't hesitate to email me at nmdesign08@yahoo.com.

And as for those of you that live a little further away...never fear...anything that isn't swiped by attendees will be paying a visit to my Etsy page in a few weeks! lol

A Short Break...

Hey there! :) I'm going to be taking a very brief hiatus from my torch for the next 2-3 weeks due to a minor surgical procedure I'll be having on Monday August 4th. I'll be back in action as soon as I can tho...so come back and visit me! ;)

Happy Connections...

Sometimes I have to marvel at the way life works! I was so very lucky to have joined an online group for Indiana based Etsy artists called the INcrowd...because it was this group that connected me to a wonderful artist friend named Linda from Seymour. Linda is a fiber and mosaic artist...she works with wonderful fabrics and makes the most incredible rust-dyed pieces that are just works of art in and of themselves. If you're a person who loves to work with fabrics, please check out her rust-dyed pieces for sale on Etsy at http://www.rustyturtle.etsy.com/ I've seen them firsthand and they are absolutely gorgeous! Check out her fabulous mosaics too...she can get so much incredible detail in such a small space: http://www.texturedturtle.etsy.com/

She and I are currently working on a collaborative fiber art/beaded project and I am having so much fun and just thoroughly enjoying her creative spark and warm personality. I'll post pictures of our project as it takes shape...but for now, I want to share with you the wonderful gifts she just surprised me with the other day. She made me a journal to use while I'm down for the count and recuperating for my surgery...and she also made me a wonderful fiber art flower for one of my many hats...lol (I have an obsession with hats). Aren't they just beautiful???

Weekend Fun in the Summer Sun!

Well, it was for sure an eventful weekend and a fabulous birthday! :) Friday was full of wonderful emails and e-cards from friends I've made online...which was so nice...thank you all! Friday night I had the opportunity to see Dave Matthews in concert for the first time and that was just awesome. I had a great time (big thanks to my cousin) and really enjoyed the show! But the fun didn't end there...on Saturday my hubby and kids gave me my "real" birthday present...a Nintendo Wii! I was so excited because I really want the Wii fit program. So, it's on order and I can't wait to give it a try!

On Saturday we headed to Ohio to see our newborn niece, Allison, for the first time. She is absolutely beautiful with her head full of dark spiky hair and I have to admit, I was pretty ungenerous and didn't share her much with my hubby! lol Saturday night we went to dinner with Allison and her mommy and daddy...and after that...headed back to their house, set up the Wii and bowled, golfed and laughed alot. It was tons of fun! But guess what? You got it, the fun didn't stop there...lol.

Sunday my close friend Teri and I went to see Mama Mia! which was probably one of the best "chick flicks" I've seen in a very long time. We laughed, cried...the whole thing. It was really wonderful and one of the few movies I've seen lately that I would spend the money to go see again. Afterward we went back to her house and met up with our men and our kids and had a wonderful grilled out supper and swam in the neighbors pool. It was a very special birthday and fantastic to spend the weekend with so many people that are special to me!

Now while I was doing all this celebrating...I didn't forget my promise to let one of my newsletter customers in on the fun too! I pulled a random name from my newsletter subscribers on Friday and Judy B won this beautiful contemporary birthday surprise!

Be sure to look for new listings this week on Etsy...and cross your fingers with me that I'll have enough time to finish up the few things I have left to do on my website so I can finally launch it! If I do, I'll be sure to post the link here!

Happy Birthday to Me! (and you too!) :)

This friday the 25th will mark my 41st birthday and just for fun I thought we'd celebrate it together, okay? On Friday, I'll pull a random name from my newsletter subscribers to win a birthday surprise! Trust me, I won't be re-gifting you a weird hand-knit sweater that Aunt Gertrude made! lol

Little Orphans looking for a Good Home:

I just listed 101 beadie orphans on Etsy that are very lonesome and would love to come live with an adoring beadmother. Take a peek, they include 13 focals and loads of potential for the creative designer! AND they are a steal at around 2.50 a bead!

Thanks for the Support...

Just wanted to thank everyone who has purchased from either myself or other INcrowd members this month so far. I am donating 20% of every purchase in July to Columbus, Indiana flood relief efforts and have raised a little over 20.00. I'm hoping to finish up the month with a bang and have a bigger, better donation to offer...so please keep checking for new listings over the next week and a half! Thanks again! :)

Flood Relief Efforts and Contest Winners!

THE BIGGER PICTURE
I am very excited to be a part of something bigger that will provide much needed help to my hometown of Columbus, Indiana! As I had mentioned in my previous post, our area was devastated by the recent flooding in the Midwest. Now sources are estimating that over 1 billion dollars has been lost in farmland and crops in our area. Add to that, the over 125 million dollars in damages our hospital has sustained and the overwhelming loss of homes and possessions by local residents and you begin to grasp the gravity of the situation. This is a time when I am extremely proud to be a member of a group of Indiana based Etsy craftspeople and artisans. Our group, known as the INcrowd, are partnering with Grace Lutheran Church here in Columbus, and generously donating a minimum of 10% of their sales for the month of July to the church's relief efforts. Please, check out the INcrowd's blog (link to the left) for links to all of the participating shops and buy something to help our community! Any support will be GREATLY appreciated!


CONTEST WINNERS!

If you haven't signed up for my newsletter yet, you are seriously missing out on all the fun! AND the free beads! Holy heck, Batman...get busy signing up already! ;) lol All you have to do is click on the link at the bottom of my blog page! Yep, it's THAT easy! lol In the meantime, check out these three gorgeous beauties won by this month's contest participants, proving once again...it pays to PLAY!

This beauty was won by Marilyn in Great Britain! Thanks for playing along, Marilyn!

This feisty number was won by Gloria out on the West Coast! Yay! :)

And finally, this earthy beauty was the treasure awarded to Valerie! Hooray!

Don't miss out on the next big giveaway...I love to run contests and play play play! Join up and join in today!!! :)

The Good, the Bad, and the Pretty...

Well, the good news first: as many of you know, my family and I have recently returned from our summer vacation. We had a fabulous time in Disneyworld! It was the first time my husband or I had ever been there...and of course it was a first for our boys, too! We thoroughly enjoyed shooting lasers at Evil Emperor Zurg in the Buzz Lightyear attraction...we got spit on by Stitch in his adventure area. My oldest son and I created a green home in the Epcot ball...and laughed hysterically when the onboard computer showed animated pictures of us with photographs of our heads on them. We rode wicked coasters like Rock N' Rollercoaster in Hollywood Studios, and crazy jet propelled waterslides like the Crushin' Gusher at Typhoon Lagoon Waterpark. We tried exotic foods from Morocco and the Mediterranean, and we laughed at silly shows like the interactive show with Crush in the Finding Nemo area. The boys were amazed to play in the Honey I Shrunk the Kids Playground...and my hubby and I voted for someone building a replica of it in our town...so cool! We had a fantastic time and I'm sure it will be a trip we'll repeat in the future.

Here is just one fun shot of my boys playing in one of the water "cooling zones" they provide at the parks. I think that is some serious foresight on the park developers...great idea!

Now for the bad news: Last weekend our town in Indiana was hit hard by the storms and we experienced heavy rainfall...more than 10" fell in a short period of time. The rivers rose, causing extensive flooding and damage to literally thousands of people's homes, farms, etc. We were very lucky to be in an area of town that was not near any large bodies of water...but the devastation here is unbelievable! Our town looks like a war zone. The National Guard came in from several neighboring states to help rescue people, and FEMA representatives are also here to assess damage and offer assistance. Two men died in the swift waters, and our local hospital had to be evacuated completely and is closed indefinitely until they can repair the extensive damage to the bottom two floors. If you know anyone in the southern Indiana area and haven't checked on them recently, you might want to touch base. There are thousands of people temporarily being housed in the high school gymnasiums, and I know the Red Cross is calling for donations as well as volunteers to help in many different capacities. I'll be off to volunteer in the morning - providing temporary child care for flood victims. So if you live close by and feel moved to help, be sure to call the Red Cross and they will utilize you in whatever capacity they can. Here are some links to local information and pictures about the situation, if you'd like to know more: http://www.therepublic.com/ and http://www.qmix.com/

And, finally - the pretty: Since I've come home, recuperated from my wonderful trip as well as a nasty bout of strep throat...I'm officially back at the torch. Make sure you check out some of these wonderful new listings on Etsy: