Generous Response to "Ludnie's Hope"

Thanks to each one of you who put in a bid for the necklace "Ludnie's Hope" in the spirit of generosity.  The winning bid went to Jen Alderfer, who happens to be my sister-in-law who has a great big heart for orphans.  Such a heart for orphans in fact, that she and her husband adopted three children from Russia several years ago! 

To the Patchwork group...I will be sending the proceeds toward your project.  Keep up the great work! 

Ludnie's Hope

Ludnie (on left) and Jeané



I'd like to introduce you to Ludnie.  She lives in Haiti, in an orphanage.  She is a blessed little girl, because there is a wonderful group of people who want to help her.  Let me give you some background information...

My friend Jeané traveled to Haiti last summer with a group out of The Global Orphan Project.  This organization is making a positive difference in the lives of many Haitian orphans. 

Patchwork Group

The group that Jeané traveled with last summer has named themselves "Patchwork."  Specifically, this group is working to raise money for various projects at the OTV Village, the orphanage where they stayed and spent a large majority of their time. The goal of Patchwork is to raise $15,000 to build latrines, showers and a soccer field for Ludnie and the other children at the OTV.  

Okay, here is where you come in...


You can help Patchwork in their efforts to raise money that will directly benefit an orphanage in Haiti!

I have designed a necklace that I would like to donate to this cause.  This week, starting today, I will be holding an online auction right here on my blog!  "Ludnie's Hope" necklace will be auctioned off right here all week! 

Ludnie's Hope





This necklace features various aqua and turquoise colored beads on two strands on flexible beading wire.  Each bead is crimped in place and appears to be "floating."  The beads used are lucite, imitation phoenix stone, mother of pearl, glass, amazonite, Russian amazonite, and imperial turquoise.  The length is 18.5" with a 1.5" extender.  This necklace retails at $40. 







So how does this work?

If you would like to make a bid on the necklace, please send me your bid and your name at alderferfamily@aol.com.  You will notice at the top of my blog, there is a box called "Ludnie's Hope Auction" that shows the date and the current top bid.  I will update this box periodically throughout the day as I receive bids.  The auction will end on Thursday, October 28 at 12 noon (eastern time).  I will announce the winner later that day. 

Thank you in advance for your generous bids for this very worthy cause!  Let the bidding begin...

Next Week, I'm Going Global

Remember how I said that my blog would be featuring my friends this week?  Well, my friend for today's post has already been featured on here before.  Remember the former hockey star from this post a couple weeks ago? 

Jeané

My friends, this woman has been doing some pretty amazing things since being a hockey star!

You won't want to miss my post this coming Monday...there will be some excitement for you!  Here's a hint...

And another hint...

Customer Spotlight ~ Mother and Daughter

It's all about my friends this week!  My post  from Monday highlighted a friend who came to my home for a make-and-take project.  Today I'm going to tell you about one of my BFF's Krista and her daughter Regan. 



Aren't they adorable?!


In college, there were 5 of us women who were/are best friends.  The "Hillside Honeys" stuck together through thick and thin, still do.  Here we are at the beach last spring.

We laugh a lot when we get together!

Krista and her daughter Regan are loyal Artful Accents customers.  I went to visit them recently and asked them to model their favorite piece.  Krista chose the "Mermaid Garden" necklace as her favorite. 



Krista is wearing "Mermaid Garden."





This necklace features
multicolored crystals and a hammered sterling silver
toggle clasp in front.




















Regan chose a bracelet from the "Little Princess" line of my jewelry. 

Regan shows her bracelet which features pink and green glass beads.

Thank you, Krista and Regan, for agreeing to be featured in my blog!  And thanks for your support of my business. 

What is your favorite Artful Accents piece that you own?  If you don't own any yet, hop on over to my Etsy shop and find your favorite right now!

An Afternoon With A Friend

I love my friends!  I am blessed to have such wonderful friends.  And recently I've been doubly blessed to be able to spend time with so many of them. 

Many moons ago, my friend Julie and I spent lots of time together.  We were in grad school together, part of a bigger group of friends called the "Salsa Girls."  In order to keep our sanity, we (there were 4 of us) got together frequently to make a yummy Mexican meal and commiserate about the insanity of our crazy lives in the midst of grad school studies. 
Last week, Julie came to visit me in my sunroom studio.  She came with the intention of making a necklace for herself.  When I pulled out the beads, she ooh-ed and aah-ed and quickly got to work. 

Pictured below is the piece she created for herself.

Didn't Julie do a great job?  I just love the combination of turquoise and brown!


  And here she is, proudly wearing her new creation.  What a fun afternoon we had!

Skyline Splendor

Skyline Splendor

Inspired by a jewelry design challenge by Vintaj called "Maple Glow", I created and entered this necklace.  I love fall colors.  But even more, I love seeing those fall colors against the backdrop of a brilliant blue sky.  So I knew that I had to include blue in this design!

Please take a moment and head over to this blog.  Check out all the entries and give #20 a vote if you please!  Thank you!

Hall of Honor

One of my BFF's in college was a field hockey STAR!  This weekend, our alma mater is retiring her jersey and recognizing her tremendous talent by inducting her into its Hall of Honor.




You rock, Jeane'!
Photo courtesy of Eastern Mennonite University


Can't wait to have the Hillside Honeys nearly all reunited this weekend!

Treasure Hunt

Just finished creating my first treasury on Etsy!  A treasury is a mini shopping gallery created by anyone who wants to create one!  If you'd like to take a look at it, you can find it here.  But for a sneak peek at some of the items I included, take a look.

One of my personal favorites - a gorgeous quilt by ModernMaterialGirl :

photo credit:  ModernMaterialGirl

If you know me well, you know how I feel about handbags!  Here's another favorite by studiocatb :

photo credit: studiocatb

One more highlight from the treasury, these glass coasters are just gorgeous!  They are created by dortdesigns.  Take a look...

photo credit:  dortdesigns

Enjoy hunting for treasure on Etsy...I certainly do!