Thursday, November 25, 2010

Thursday Giveaway...

To celebrate Thanksgiving, one lucky winner will take home TWO prizes courtesy of Auntie's Beads! What's up for grabs? Auntie's Beads has generously provided a sparkling strand of faceted, polished agate and a collection of Miyuki seed beads!

I adore natural stones. Their inclusions, earthy colorings, and organic patterning make them truly things of beauty. These nuggets of natural striped agate have been faceted and polished to bring out and enhance their lustrous qualities. Wouldn't these be striking in a Viking knit bracelet or simply strung together in a necklace? Used with natural brass filigree, the warm rich browns swirling in the stone would sing!




I'm not a huge seed beader, but I appreciate small things and precision. These seed beads have been masterfully crafted and their uniformity is remarkable. I'm really in awe of such fine examples of perfection. These are really gorgeous.


To win these lovely goodies from Auntie's Beads, all you have to do is leave a comment on this blog post. It's that easy! One lucky winner will be randomly selected from the comment section of this post on Monday (November 29th) at midnight EST. Please leave your name and contact information if it doesn't already appear next to your comment. This special Thanksgiving Thursday giveaway is open to all participants, including international readers!

Bonus Points: Do you really want this string of natural striped agate and selection of seed beads? If so, you can earn additional entries by blogging, updating your Facebook page, and/or Twittering about this Thursday Giveaway. Don't forget to add your act of social media kindness as a SEPARATE comment to this blog post for your extra shot at these lovelies.

Extra Bonus Points: Serious about winning? Why not earn an extra entry? Swing by the Auntie's Beads website and take a look around. Report back here afterwards and leave a separate comment letting us know what catches your fancy and why! CLICK HERE to visit the Auntie's Beads website.

58 comments:

Nancy Markosky said...

I love the natural agate beads too-gorgeous! When I was a little girl, I always collected rocks everywhere we went and I still collect them.

Nancy Markosky said...

I love many of the items from Aunties Beads but I love labradorite lately and there is a beautiful donut that I would like to get my hands on for a little wire work.

Regina said...

The black and white agate beads are so beautiful, If I should win that would be my pick. Do I get to choose? Trust you had a good day giving thanks for our many blessings. I'll be back...

Regina said...

Checked out Auntie's beads, they have a great selection of Copper beads. Look what I found there - an Antique Copper Wired Large Rondelle Bead, 18mm, very unusual, very interesting! I would like to buy me some of those...

Elizabeth said...

Very nice. You are so right about natural stones, especially the brownish agates. Very calming.

Janice said...

Lovely goodies, what an understatement!! I would love to give them a home.

Heidi Post said...

What a lovely combination. I could really use more seed beads. I use them like you do, as accent beads, so I tend not to buy them often - just acquire them. Happy Thanksgiving!

gretchen said...

Lovely natural colors...
Hope your Thanksgiving was filling!

Karyn said...

Ohhh seed beads and agate ...now that is a tease! This is a giveaway I'd definitely love to win!

Karyn

Susan Marling said...

I love the agates = I am with you on the seed beads for accents but some people do incredible things with them!! Happy Thanksgiving.

Unknown said...

Those are some wonderful Beads!
Beautiful Agates too!





















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peggy aplSEEDS said...

i am hoping that one of these weeks i will win one of your wonderful giveaways! this could be the week!

peggy aplSEEDS said...

the pewter cross pendants caught my eye. i love the unusual designs

stregata said...

Just want to wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving, however you are celebrating.

Niky Sayers said...

They look fab!

Yeli said...

The natural stones are lovely. I am not much of a beadweaver either, but I do use delicas in my strung pieces.

LiliKrist said...

They looks so wonderful...love to win them =)

Xmichra said...

I use toho beads and miyuki beads almost exclusively because of their uniformity. They make for perfectly lined up pieces, which is the goal of a seed beader! I would love to add these to my colection :)

Xmichra said...

And I love Auntie's beads. They have really great tutorials for people on the site, step by step and on video with theier team doing the crafting. They really are an amazing bunch!

Alice Howe said...

Auntie's Beads and seed beads. What I could do with these!

Alice Howe

Alice said...

I just love the agates. Looks like another great giveaway!

Kym Hunter Designs said...

Hmmmmm, those agate beads are very pretty and I do have some brass beads just waiting to be intermingled with them :-)

Great giveaway! I love Auntie's Beads!

Christine said...

Lovely agates! Thank you for introducing me to Auntie's Beads, great selection & prices!
Thanks for the giveaway!

Stephanie said...

This is a wonderful set of beads Auntie's Beads put up for a giveaway! Count me in please. By the way, I am so happy to know that cancer is gone now.

Erin S said...

Love agate! Thanks for the great giveaway opportunities!
Erin S

Erin S said...

Visited the Aunties beads website and was pleasantly surprised to see quite a few single gemstone beads for sale. I love this option when I don't want to spend so much money for an entire strand of big focal beads!
Erin S

Anonymous said...

Beautiful earth-tones!

I just found your blog. I love it!

Here Bead Dragons said...

as usual Andrew, you find the most beautiful and/or unique items. i really appreciate the chance to win them (some time).

Here Bead Dragons said...

and yes, i went to Auntie's Beads - /sigh - i really like the Chinese Crystals.

Unknown said...

Love those faceted agates, just beautiful! Auntie's has the black agate nuggets that I love also. I have used them to make a double strand necklace with carnelian drops and an earthy druzy agate...yummy! Need more!! :^)

Anonymous said...

Hmmmm...I have all those seed beads. But can one have too many?!

Ann said...

excellent beads! I love beadweaving, it is like creating glass fabric. Those agate beads are wonderful.

I hope you are not getting too much snow this weekend.

Ann
mycriticaleye.com

Rebecca said...

I would love to be in with the chance of winning these gorgeous beads! I love seeds. Thanks Andrew for your continuing fab giveaways!

sue said...

what is not to like agate...seed beads....

sue said...

The tutorials aunties site are the best ever.. I cant believe how many i've watched ... Haven't come up for air yet...

rockcreekcreations said...

I am currently making a transition from Toho seed beads to Miyuki. So this would be a wonderful thing to win!

rockcreekcreations said...

I went to Auntie's beads and found this: http://www.auntiesbeads.com/Lampwork-Oval-Focal-BeadPendant-BlueAmethyst-with-Swirls-15-x-29mm_p_1829.html
How wonderful!!

Jeanne @ Gems By Jeanne Marie said...

The agates are stunning! And I know I could put those seed beads to good use!

Vashti said...

Agates totally rock! (Er... sorry.)

T Benton
tigerb@gmail.com

Vashti said...

Wow, one of the first things on Auntie's Beads I ran across was a grab bag of clasps! Wow! Having a nice variety of clasps around really frees you up when you feel like stringing something spontaneously!

Preserve Jewelry Studio said...

OMG. Seed beads are the ultimate prize here. Thanks for sharing!!

Jeanne @ Gems By Jeanne Marie said...

I love the selection of lampwork beads on the website!

VanBeads said...

I just love Auntie's Beads, and those are just too tempting not to throw my hat into the ring!

Hannah said...

These beads are perfect for the holiday season!!

Hannah said...

I love Auntie's Beads Bronzite beads! They're sooo beautiful!

AJ said...

Mmmm, love this prize pack! There are so many things I could with with agate, and as a bead weaver/embroiderer, I always need more seed beads. Always!

AJ said...

As for what catches my fancy on Auntie's Beads' site, I'm in the market for silver toggles, and their Notched Curved Bar Toggle really appeals to me because it looks like a little cog or gear! How perfect for steampunk designs :)

Shai Williams said...

I just love the colors of those beads! Please enter me in the drawing.

Shai Williams said...

I shared the contest on FB

Shai Williams said...

I really like the idea of the grab bags as I think being surprised would push my creativity.

wizardewu said...

The agates would make a beautiful necklace. I think that I would try to make a bracelet out of the seed beads.
eugeniewu at gmail dot com

wizardewu said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
wizardewu said...

Shared on Facebook
eugeniewu at gmail dot com

wizardewu said...

The Lampwork 14mm Round Bead Strand, Multi With Flowers caught my eye. i would love to make a bracelet out of them.
eugeniewu at gmail dot com

moonlitfantaseas said...

would love to win those beads....

Mrs. Confidence said...

I have never seen these beads before. How wonderful!

Sally Anderson said...

I love all these. Please put my name in the hat! Thanks! --SallyA

Sally Anderson said...

I really like the free videos at Auntie's Beads. Very helpful for a newbie like me! --SallyA