Win a Free Online Workshop!

Win a free space in my next online workshop!

To enter:

Share your favorite online workshop with on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest and leave a comment below. 

Click here to view the four classes I'm currently offering, click on the classes to use the easy social sharing buttons. 

Make sure I can reach you through your blogger profile if you win! 

The class you share can be one you'd like to take or one you've already taken. 

A winner will be selected randomly from the comments on Tuesday at 12pm EST. 

Prize: 

Free registration to my next online polymer clay workshop!

Registration for all workshops are currently re-opened and on sale. Save $50 off the Art of Color, Cane Design Bootcamp or Moths, Monarchs & Milkweed and $10 off Feathers & Friends.

Use code CLASS20 to save $20 off any two or more $75 classes. 

Sale ends Tuesday.

Classes are self-paced with life-time access to the step-by-step videos and instructions.

Black Friday Dilemma

Okay, so I have been thinking, pondering, mulling it over and I'm pretty sure I'm 100% anti-Black Friday. And super anti-Black Friday for those poor folks that have to work on Thanksgiving. I mean I like deals and bargains and a good hunt, but at what price is the deal costing other people?

I like to live in a world where stores are closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas. I'm an old-fashioned mid-west girl. I live in a town where the stores downtown close at 7 pm on weeknights and you have to drive to the next town to see a mall.

I want small events in artist's studios and shopping at local artists markets. I want to shop downtown and support all those hard-working mom-and-pop shops that make up the landscape of my beloved home town. I want to shop online with my friends and artists that I have been admiring all year.

But I'm also a business owner and have a family to take care of and know that everyone is getting ready to buy gifts and make gifts and start the whole shopping frenzy. I love that that my business helps those who want to buy handmade and honor small businesses. I love that I have a business that encourages creative folks to make gifts for the holidays. It's all great stuff and I'm a holiday nut and love celebrating the holiday season.

So my dilemma, I've decided to not offer a Black Friday-Cyber Monday sale. I've decided to offer my big holiday special early and have came up with a plan for December that makes me happy and ready to pull out a candy cane and hot cocoa!

Humblebeads Holiday Specials:

The Big Sale! 

My big pre-holiday sale is the return of the biggest deal I offer. This is super limited, only 8 are in stock. Like the image says, it's a 1/2 off voucher that you can use right away! Grab yours right here, right now!

Item of the Week:
Starting Monday every week until January, I will send out an Item of the Week email with a special item that will be on sale. There will limited quantities for the item of the week. Email subscribers may find exclusive bonus coupon codes throughout the holidays. Don't miss out!

Subscribe to the Humblebeads email list - the bead emails will include free projects, biz tips and all the good stuff I have always offered.

Subscribe to the Humblebeads Jewelry email list - look for gift guides, gift-wrapping ideas and fun ways to celebrate the season.

Rewards for Repeat Customers
If you are a repeat customer, you'll find little coupon codes to use for December included in your orders.

Events:
December 6th - Humblebeads Holiday Trunk Show - This will be a private invitation only event in South Haven. If you live near me, know me and want to attend, send me a quick email for details.

December 10th & 11th - Humblebeads Online Trunk Show - This will be a one-of-a-kind, sample and overstock sale in a private Facebook group. You'll find jewelry, bead grab bags and more during the event. Details will be posted later this weekend.

Giveaway!
I am going to pick a random email subscriber from both my bead and jewelry email lists for a $50 holiday shopping spree. You have until Sunday at midnight to subscribe.  You may subscribe to both lists to double your chances of winning. Winners may redeem their gift certificates at either my bead or jewelry website.

Okay - candy canes ready - let's enjoy a less crazed, much happier holiday season this year!!!

Big Huge Giveaway - that's the BHG!

Have I lost my mind? 

I feel like one of those used car commercials - come on down to crazy Heather's and save, save, save.  Okay, maybe not that bad and certainly not desperate.  But I do have an abundance of beads that need to find new homes.  I'm in the process of a major studio purge and I have some huge bead bundles that I'm going to auction off next week, they are filled with amazing one-of-a-kind beads.  But this was a smaller set - and I thought, why not do something crazy like give it away.  So, that's what I'm doing.  Maybe my brain has melted from one too many days of 100 degree weather.

Some were experiments, some are discontinued items and others are just overstock.  They are wonderful!

So what do you need to do to enter? 

Leave a comment - tell me what your favorite Humblebead is - if you are new here, check out my Etsy shop and pick a favorite.  That is one entry - blog, facebook or twitter about the giveaway and you will be entered for each one that you do.  Leave a comment to let me know which ones you did.

So four chances to have this collection of beautiful beads heading your way!

And because I think my brain really has melted, I am having a sale until Sunday night at Midnight.  Save 20% off everything in my Etsy shop, excluding custom orders.  Use discount code TOOHOT when you are ready to check out.

I will draw one random winner on Tuesday.

Good luck with the giveaway - I have my fingers crossed for you!

Holiday Freebies

'Tis the season!

Now through Tuesday you can get the following deals in my Etsy shop:

All orders: free shipping

Orders over $25: free Willow Charm (shown above)

First 10 orders over $50 - free snowman bead. 

These are limited editions that I'm no longer making!

Free gift wrapping for all jewelry purchases.

Free Gift Idea!

Use one of my tiny charms like the mushroom, willow or starfish charms to create a sweet little pendant for preteens or teens on your gift list.  Attach the charm to the 18" gunmetal chain with a 6mm jump ring.  (You can find them at Rings and Things or your local Hobby Lobby.)

Adorable!  Aren't my nieces going to be lucky this year!!!

Add a little bead on a sterling silver wire-wrapped bail and a sterling silver chain for a more sophisticated look.  Stocking stuffers anyone?

And the last freebie of the day - win this Modern Forest toggle clasp! This design was featured in Handcrafted Jewelry Magazine. Tweet or facebook about my Etsy specials (with a link to this blog post) and leave a comment letting me know you did - I will enter you in a drawing for Tuesday and will pick one random winner. 

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving Day.

And a really big thanks to those who purchased during the Plumber sale!

Sisterhood of the Traveling Beads Winners!

Sorry for the wait for those who wanted to know the winner for the Sisterhood of the Traveling Beads.  I had to work hard this weekend and took a few days of an "internet vacation" so I could catch up. 

This was so much fun.  For those who missed the original post, it's here.

The winner is Mikki!

Mikki will receive her box in just a few days and she has 2 weeks to go through the stash and take what she'd like and replace them with items from her stash.  To keep it interesting, let's have a two week deadline for everyone who participates.  She'll post on her blog when she ready for the beads to travel and I'll post here too. 

All I ask is that each time it passes hands, the winner will email me when the next giveaway starts so I can enjoy the traveling and help promote your giveaway!

Kella is the international winner of a sweet little grab bag from my etsy shop.

Here were some fun comments from the contest that I thought I'd share:

"How about if contributors post pix of the contents when they get it and what they add? It would be very interesting to see how it changes." - Deerwoman

"I'd love to play. Is it possible to share your turn? Because I know my bead society would love to join in but most of them don't blog or have sites." - Mikki

"A friend of mine started something like this a little while ago - on a much smaller scale of course - only $15 worth of beads - and we have 4 beaders who are participate currently. When the pkgs contain beads we originally put into the stash, we take them out and replace them and just keep the traveling bead circle going. :) It's a really fun way to destash/share and receive/discover new goodies!" - Kismet1990

Some questions that I was asked:
How do we know the value to replace the beads?  I only ask that you think generously of the next winner and replace the beads with what you think is a fair trade.

Did I lose my mind giving away this stash?  Honestly these are things I will never use.  They were stuffed in boxes or piled in corners.  I'm not giving up anything precious.  I also happen to be a big believer that only open hands can receive new gifts! (Or beads in this case.)

Can I do this on my blog?  By all means, de-stash and do your own traveling bead box!  I didn't make this up, gardeners trade seeds, readers trade books, there are crafty swaps going on all the time.  Have fun, I'm happy to inspire such beady goodness.

I smell a good theme for a bead party too!  Why not host a bead swap in your home?  Serve something delicious, invite a few beady friends and ask them to bring beads they want to swap.  You may have to set up some kind of rules or it could get ugly! 

Thanks to everyone who played along.  It was a great way to celebrate my clean studio - which is still clean!

Stop back tomorrow for BIG news and lots of new beads!

Sisterhood of the Traveling Beads Giveaway

This is a box full of goodies from my studio purge. 

One woman's tossed out beads is another woman's treasures! 

The giveaway: The entire box of goodies, over $200 worth of beads.

The stipulations: You'll pay for shipping: $8.95 for flat rate priority mail.

The rules: You'll take what you want from the box, add in items from your own bead stash to replace the items you took and do the same giveaway on your blog. We'll keep the beads traveling for as long as we can.

To enter: Leave a comment, include your email.
Bonus: Blog, facebook or twitter about it to enter twice.  Leave another comment letting me know you helped spread the word.

Deadline: March 26 at 12pm (Central time)

International bloggers: I'm sorry, but due to shipping only those in the U.S. can play along.  But I'm suddenly feeling really bad for my non-U.S. blog readers.  If you are outside the states leave a comment and I'll also draw one international winner for a bead grab bag from my Etsy shop.

So let's take a closer look at this box o'wonders:

Metal beads of all sorts.

Some bead soup mixes with pearls, stones and glass.  Glass beads, crystals, lucite flowers and some goodies from Rings & Things.

A whole mess of older Humblebeads.  Experiments and earlier versions.

Art beads, some left over form the Bead Cruise.  Gaea, Jangles, C-Koop, Marsha Neal, Earthenwood Studio, Lisa Shifflet, Summer Studios and more.

Felt and fiber beads

Seed Beads

Findings and stringing materials.  Some from Hobby Lobby, silk cord, memory wire, fan pull kits, chain and bead wires from Rings & Things. 

McGrabbies - Mom and Jess tried to steal some of the goodies.  Don't worry, I fended them off.

And yes, days later and projects passed my desk is still clean!

Good luck everyone.

Bead Trends Giveaway!

When the editor of Bead Trends asked me to be the Featured Designer for the October issue I knew right away that I wanted to create a series of jewelry that reflected the seasons, my love of nature and incorporated art beads from some of my favorite artists. The 11 designs featured in the issue are some of my favorite pieces that I've ever created. Tomorrow I will share more about the art beads used in the projects.

Projects In the issue:

1. Water & Seed Necklace and Bracelet

(Pictured above, photo courtesy of Bead Trends Magazine)

A woodsy combination of seeds, wood and water inspired beads.

2. Blue Skies Calling Bracelet, Necklace and Earrings

Nests and birds take center stage amid blue lace agate, yellow opal nuggets and copper.

3. Seek Wisdom Necklace and Earrings

A wintery blue set with branches, kyanite and ceramic beads in frosty hues.

4. Tiger Lily Necklace and Earrings

One of my favorite flowers of summer, this tiger lily set features a mix of copper disks, keishe pearls, rutilated quartz and gunmetal chain.

5. Letting Go Necklace and Bracelet

A seed of knowledge: letting go of our worries will help us get closer to our dreams. This is the theme of this set with harvest inspired beads, trees, leaves, acorns and wood.

Did you know you can purchase a digital copy of the magazine? I did this the other day and it's awesome! You subscribe to one issue for $4.99. You pick which issue you want, uh go for Oct. 2009 to see my goodies, and it's instantly available online. You can download the issue to your computer. You can make notes, there are direct links to the suppliers, it pretty much rocks. Although I still like to hold a magazine in my hand, this is a budget-friendly alternative! Click here for more details.

To celebrate being the featured designer in the October issue of Bead Trends I am hosting a giveaway on my blog this week.

The prizes: Bead Trends has donated one 6 month subscription to their magazine (a $49.95 value) and I am giving away a $30 gift certificate to Humblebeads.com!

To Enter: Make a comment to this post. If you don't have a blog, please make sure to include your email so that I can contact you if you are the winner!

To Win: One random winner will be drawn from all of the comments on Monday, October 12th.
One entry per person.   This drawing is now closed, thank you!

Let's give you something to comment on other than kudos, although I do appreciate those:

From the 5 themes/projects mentioned above which one appeals to you the most?