A BeWITCHING Halloween -Jewelry Wardrobe Board CONTEST

My, my, my. It has been forever since I last posted! Or maybe I should really be saying, "Yea! School is back in session!!" lol. Although I will admit it feels like it was a long summer -you agree? It's been a slow process to get back into the studio and get the creative juices flowing again.

But, the good news is that polyvore cured that for me. I just love creating fashion sets on polyvore featuring handcrafted Crystal Allure Jewelry. This time I highlighted a gemstone beaded necklace from the Fall Beaded Jewelry Designs collection and added a little twist for the upcoming 'holiday' (see end of this blog post).

I created this new set to show the versatility of Crystal Allure Jewelry. Yes, it is true that our unique jewelry designs are perfect for your everyday wardrobe -wear them from the boardroom to the bar. But...what about, say, a party? A costume party?

I know what you're probably thinking. But put that thought right out of your head because 'Oh yes you can'!! And this newest set proves it. I paired our Mahogany Obsidian Carnelian Beaded Necklace (N118) with a little black dress, witch hat, cute black boots and viola` you get an instant Halloween costume!

A BeWITCHING Halloween! by crystalallure featuring Mahogany Obsidian Swarovski Crystal Necklace N118

Pretty adorable -right?! Here's the details:

Mahogany Obsidian Carnelian Gemstone Beaded Necklace (N118)
A rich fall colored mahogany obsidian gemstone pendant is the focal of this beautiful handmade beaded necklace. Gemstone pendant complemented by both jet and topaz Swarovski Crystals, jet glass beads, carnelian gemstones and brown glass beads. Finished with our signature jewelry tag.  Beaded Necklace measures 17-1/2".

CONTEST:
Open to all citizens of the United States. Contest runs from October 24, 2013 - October 31, 2013.

Win a $25 jewelry gift certificate. All you have to do is purchase this one of a kind gemstone beaded necklace (N118), wear it with a similar Halloween costume (like shown above), snap a picture (or selfie) and email me your picture no later than November 10, 2013.

The picture must be good quality and clearly show you wearing the necklace.

By emailing your picture, thereby entering this contest, you agree to allow Crystal Allure Jewelry to use your photo, without compensation, for advertising/marketing purposes.

A Youthful Inspiration for Cystic Fibrosis Awareness



source: unknown

Last night as I worked on my computer "watching" American Idol, the introduction of one contestant caught my undivided attention. Kayden Stephenson has cystic fibrosis and is quite the precocious 16 year old. He talked about having cystic fibrosis (CF), how CF affects the body and his dream to be on American Idol.

Kayden sang brilliantly and it was refreshing to see the judges' reactions, comments and their unanimous vote. Kayden is going to Hollywood!! Yea!

I believe Kayden will be such an inspiration to so many different people. He has even inspired me.

As many of my readers know, my older brother, Edward, had cystic fibrosis. It's been fifteen years since his passing but for me, it still hurts like yesterday. Edward's struggles throughout his short 32 years of life, inspired me to form a charity in his memory, the Lungs for Life Foundation (LFL). The mission of the foundation was to grant assistance funds to those individuals who struggled with cystic fibrosis and their families. It was heartbreaking to make the decision recently to "close the doors" of the foundation. However, the Lungs for Life Foundation will remain a resource for cystic fibrosis, transplant, lungs and breathing clean air.

I take comfort in the fact that I can still touch the lives of those living with cystic fibrosis through my Crystal Allure Jewelry designer beaded Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Bracelets. After having seen Kayden's story, I'm inspired to get working on some new Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Bracelet designs!

Congrats Kayden! You can be sure I'll be watching every show you are on!

Work in Style! NEW Beaded Lanyards

With the close of the last jewelry show of 2012, I spend a great deal of time updating the website with all the lovely new beaded jewelry that has been screaming to be posted. There's still more to be listed and that will come soon but....right now, I'm super excited to introduce the newest beaded gifts to grace the Crystal Allure Jewelry website.

It still baffles me why it took so long to start creating beaded lanyards since it's been on the "bucket list", so to speak, for as long as I can remember. Well, a recent event finally pushed them to the front of the studio desk. I happen to work a full time job where I am suppose to wear a badge. Most companies, these days, require workers to wear badges. As a rule, I tend not to wear it everyday but I always have it with me, just in case.

Of course, the other day I get called, last minute, to an important meeting with the CEO and CFO. I grab my stuff and head off....only to discover I forgot my badge! It was at the very moment I realized, DUH!, if I had a laynard, I'd be wearing my badge all day, all the time!

That very night, I started creating and within days, I had ten new handmade beaded lanyards (I kept one for myself, of course) and a half dozen more are in the works. This was one of those 'slap your forehead' kind of moments because really, beaded ID badge holders are a necessity in today's business world. And, if you're anything like me, those pre-stamped cloth lanyards are boring.

~ View each lanyard above using the links below ~

Since that day, I have not forgotten my badge once because I now wear it everyday, with my stylish new beaded lanyard! I love how my work outfit feels complete, stylish and versatile by simply adding one of these ID badge holders to the look.

These are now my newest obsessions and so many more will be coming soon. I hope for now, you enjoy (and pick one up for yourself) the current selections that offer styles for everyday wear, Christmas, holidays, autumn and even spring.

With the upcoming holidays, don't forget, these beautiful beaded lanyards make great gifts for coworkers, nurses, doctors, hospital staff, teachers, or anyone who has a need to wear a badge or carry important keys with them.

~ Midnight Garden Teaberry Sapphire Crystal Beaded Lanyard (L105)
~ Amethyst Crackle Black Diamond Crystal Beaded Lanyard (L102)
~ Blue Stained Glass Crystal Beaded ID Lanyard (L107)

View the full handmade Beaded Lanyard Collection.

I've Got Nothin'

I had two great blog posts to share and as of right now, I've got nothin'. No. Really. It's true.

Tonight I logged onto my laptop, was prepping the images for the blog, and BAM! it crashes. No blue screen or anything like that. But, after the wave of horror flowed through my body, I came to the realization I just might not be able to recover much (or any) of my data. Ahhhhhhhh!

In an attempt to be optimistic, I guess I really won't know until I get it to the "computer doctor". And I'm hoping for a full and successful recovery. (cross your fingers with me) Huh. Seems life took it literally when I said I was taking some down time. Hey, life, I meant one day!

I'm over summer vacation. I don't have a working computer (and might have just single-handedly crashed my business...which I'm sure my competitors are jumping for joy over this). I've got someone/something just stuck. in. my. head. And next week I have to face someone who causes me a great deal of stress.

Sounds like it's time for a girls night out. Without our laptops! (got that covered)

Life, boring -never! But, no worries. I always overcome any challenges thrown my way. Just might need to spend some time in the pool as I analyze and ponder how/what to post until my laptop is fixed.

Will I still be blogging? Absolutely! You just might not see the posts all jazzed up with my images and posting frequency might not be the regular schedule for the next few days. But, bear with me...

A Change to Using Google at Checkout

Effective June 26, 2012 Google announced a change in their checkout offerings. Google Checkout has now changed to Google Wallet.

Crystal Allure Beaded Jewelry Designs does accept Google payments but this change will not affect how you checkout on our site. The only change you may notice is the payment logo for Google Wallet (which looks similar to the one on the right).

Here is what we received from Google explaining this new change:

- Google Wallet securely stores your payment information and makes purchasing fast both online and in-store.

- If you’ve used Google Wallet or Google Checkout before, all you need to do is log in with your Google username and password to buy from us.

- If you’re using Google Wallet for the first time, just fill out the single page of information when you make your purchase. After that, you’ll only need your Google Wallet login to make a purchase. There’s no need to re-enter your information or create multiple usernames and passwords each time you buy.

- When you pay with Google Wallet, you can track all of your orders in one place.

Autumn is rich with crystal gold jewelry!

Happy Fall 2011!!

We are now in the fall equinox and I couldn't be happier! After a dry, parched, sticky summer, I'm really looking forward to autumn's changing leaves. When the leaves start to change, especially on an oak tree, the first color you tend to see is a rich golden yellow. Inspired by this beautiful sight, I've put together a beaded jewelry board of my favorite gold and Swarovski Crystal beaded jewelry for you.
Featured in this fall beaded jewelry collage are (from left to right):
Autumn Harvest Swarovski Crystal Leaf Charm Beaded Bracelet (B164)
Lacey Oak Leaf Swarovski Crystal Earrings (E135)
Autumn Sun Swarovski Crystal Earrings (E049)
Autumn Honey Carnelian Crystal Necklace (N039)

Butterfly Notecards Support Transplant Awareness

You may remember my good friend and fellow artisan, Barb, over at Bronson Hill Arts. She created the beautiful set of butterfly notecards for a giveaway this past December.

Barb informed me, some time ago (yes, I'm still trying to catch up on things! lol), that she will be designating a portion of the proceeds from the sale of these notecards to the Lungs for Life Foundation.

She has named this set of notecards the Flights of Life Collection and each notecard showcases the unique beauty of butterflies, which remain a symbol of newly transplanted lungs as they take their first breath of air.

To order your set of butterfly notecards, simply visit the Bronson Hill Arts Blog and click on "ordering" at the top of the site. Not only are the butterfly notecards beautiful pieces of artwork, each set sold will help further the mission of the Lungs for Life Foundation. Thank you in advance for your support!

And thank you to Barb for her support of the Lungs for Life Foundation.

NEW Beaded Jewelry Collection

Our very first personalized bracelet design was a birthstone bracelet, topaz for November, if I remember correctly. We then designed an elegant MOM beaded bracelet, of sterling and Bali, and a customer requested to have it customized. She wanted it to be an AUNT bracelet that she was giving as a gift. Since then, our personalized bracelets collection has grown.

Over the years, Crystal Allure has designed and personalized timeless keepsake bracelets that include, Sweet 16 bracelets, Auntie bracelets, Name bracelets, Mothers Bracelets and more. The possibilities are endless when it comes to personalizing crystal bracelets.

We love to design and offer these personalized bracelets because, well, they're handmade, unique, elegant, feminine and the perfect keepsake to celebrate mom, grandma, sisters, friends, aunts, even pet parents. These bracelets are designed by you, which makes them even more special!

So we've compiled them into our newest jewelry collection, Designed by You, timeless keepsake bracelets by Crystal Allure Jewelry.


In this collection, we offer a variety of designer beaded bracelets you can customize with crystal colors, the number of strands, any personalized names. We've added a few new categories and have begun restocking the bracelets offered under this collection. If you don't see what you are looking for, please feel free to contact me for a custom design.

In the coming days/weeks, we'll introduce each bracelet currently offered in this collection along with our recent sparkling custom, designed by you, designs.

More International Shipping Options

Over the years, Crystal Allure Jewelry has been shipped worldwide. Although in the last few years, we had scaled back our shipping options in response to website host changes.

Well, today, I'm happy to announce we have re-opened shipping options to Australia and New Zealand!

We're slowly opening back up our expanded international shipping options. And now you can have Designer Handcrafted Beaded Jewelry by Crystal Allure shipped to anywhere in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom -and now Australia and New Zealand!

If you're interested in having Crystal Allure Jewelry shipped to you but don't see your country listed, simply contact us prior to checking out.

A Celebration of Life: Kristen's Breathe Tattoo

A short time back I introduced Andrea and the Just Breathe wall quote from Word Decor n' More. Kristen B. left the following comment:

"I love the breathe quote. I have the word breathe tattooed on my back. Im 6 months post transplant and loving life."

At one time I too wanted to get a tattoo but since I couldn't figure out what I wanted, I never went through with it. Kristen was kind enough to share her personal Breathe tattoo with me via email. I thought it was amazing and asked her if I could highlight it on my blogs. With her blessing, I'm sharing it with you, today.

Isn't it fantastic!! I've always found tattooing to be a unique art form and find myself watching shows such as, LA Ink, with Kat Von D. I'm always drawn to the story of why an individual chose a particular tattoo. I have so many things that I'm passionate about or are special to me or that symbolize something for me, that I doubt there's enough room for all of them. :-)

Thank you to Kristen for sharing your personal tattoo with me and my readers and if you catch this post -can you share why the crown above it? What does that symbolize?

And HAPPY 6 MONTHS POST TRANSPLANT ANNIVERSARY to Kristen!!

A Great Start to 2011: Just Breathe

Happy New Year!!! I hope everyone had a safe and fantastic New Year!

As a great start to 2011, I have some good news to share with you. Back in November 2010, I introduced Word Décor 'n More and the fantastic Just Breathe vinyl wall quote contest.

Today I'm excited to announce Andrea of Word Décor 'n More has generously offered to donate a portion of the net proceeds from the sale of this wall quote to the Lungs for Life Foundation!

It's a perfect collaboration of the Lungs for Life brand and this inspirational product. I am most grateful to Andrea for her generosity and look forward to a long and successful relationship.

Some of you might recall, I founded the Lungs for Life Foundation, in 2000, in memory of my oldest brother, who had cystic fibrosis and was on the waiting list for a double lung transplant. As a way to help support the mission of the Foundation and because, at the time, nothing existed like it, I began designing cystic fibrosis awareness bracelets and organ lung transplant awareness bracelets. The bracelets quickly became very popular, sold worldwide and soon after Crystal Allure Jewelry was born.

How You Can Help
You can help make this collaboration a success simply by sharing this good news with your friends, family and social network connections. And don't forget to pick up your own Just Breathe wall quote!

The Just Breathe vinyl wall quote is perfect for adorning your walls and raising awareness of organ donation and transplant to all your visitors. You can choose your preferred size and colors over at the Word Décor 'n More website.

Live every moment to its fullest!

Just Breathe...
You'll never live this moment again

Bronson Hill Arts: Butterfly Notecard Winner

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and enjoyed the day with friends and/or family. New Years' Eve/Day is just around the corner and with the holidays nearly over, it's back to business!

The butterfly notecard contest, from our Bronson Hill Arts guest post, has ended and it's time to announce the winner. (drum roll....) congratulations to Heather from Azure Island Designs!! I'm so in love with these notecards, you'll simply have to come back and comment once you receive them.

Note: Although there were 5 comments made, only 4 were counted since the creative designer of the cards cannot enter into the contest. :-)

In other good news, I also was finally able to connect with the true 'Valerie' winner from the 'Just Breathe' wall decal contest. She will be getting her prize soon and I look forward to hearing back from her.

Word Décor 'n More: "Just Breathe" Winner

We have a winner! It's (drum roll please...) VALERIE!! Congratulations Valerie! I tried contacting you through your profile but wasn't successful, so hopefully you will get this RSS feed. I look forward to hearing back from you. Please contact me by Friday, December 10, 2010 to claim your prize.

I was truly humbled by some of the comments and was really taken by Sylvia's comment. She commented, "Thank you for the chance to win the "Breathe" quote. Having that grace my wall would enable me to easily talk about organ donation to anyone who comes by!". What a fantastic idea! It really gives a whole new concept to word wall decor.

Okay, confession. I've always watched those tattoo shows and wondered what I'd get if I had it done, but always chicken out. Then I read that Kristen had the word "breathe" tattooed on her back. Wow! Good for you Kristen! And what a fabulous tat to show off! I'm jealous.

This particular guest post was just so special to me and I'm honored to have featured Andrea with Word Décor 'n More. I'll also have some more exciting news to share with you in the coming days, regarding the JUST BREATHE wall decal. Stay tuned..

Thank you to each and every one of you who stopped by, participated and/or became a fan/follower of Crystal Allure and shared with us your personal transplant stories. It was so touching to hear your stories of hope, strength and second chances.

A very special thank you to Andrea for offering such an inspirational gift for our giveaway!

Swarovski Elements Holiday Giveaway

Let the sparkle of the holidays begin!! I was contacted about sharing a fabulous contest that Swarovski Elements is hosting and I've already put in my entries.

To enter, visit the Swarovski Elements Facebook page and click on the image under the "US Holiday.." tab. The directions are pretty simple, although I did find the application was a little "clunky".

By entering you could possibly win one of 50 Swarovski Crystallized items a day for the next 5 days (although I believe today is day 5) and then enter to win one of three product packages from the US Holiday Collection starting on December 8, 2010.

Thanks for sharing this info Allison!

Swarovski Pink Hope Collection

Photo Source: Swarovski Crystal Group

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the motto is, Think Pink!

There is no shortage of companies offering pink-related products in support of charitable organizations and breast cancer awareness.

New to the movement is the Swarovski Crystal Group. They have designed a pink ribbon pin (retails for $55), a pink ribbon charm (retails for $55), a pink ribbon heart pendant (retails for $80) and a pink crystalline pen (retails for $24). During this month 10% of the proceeds from the sale of Swarovski's breast cancer awareness collection will be donated to The Libby Ross Foundation.

All of the products will be available at Swarovski's 230 boutiques nationwide and through authorized Swarovski retailers in the USA.

Learn more about what color(s) supports your cause: Awareness Colors and Meanings Guide

Please Excuse The Dust Bunnies...

Just a quick note to please excuse the "dust bunnies" as I freshen up the studio blog. I've been wanting to reorganize it for a while now and since I haven't had time to design jewelry, I chose to work on the studio blog. :-)

Most functions are working. Still a few to fix/correct but if you should run into any problems (commenting, recommending, etc) please, please feel free to contact me.

By switching around the formatting, I was able to add a few new features, two of which are the "tweet" and "recommend" buttons at the top of every post. There are still two functions that don't seem to be showing but I'm actively working on it.

I know I probably sound like a broken record but there are some fall designs coming soon -really! I promise! Since the beginning of fall I've been in a seasonal decorating kinda mood and of course, baking! Plus, for whatever crazy reason, I decided to repaint many rooms in the house (really, what was I thinking?!).

How's your autumn been so far? Have you gone leaf peeping?

Contests & Giveaways

We're just weeks away from summer officially starting, so let the fun begin! I'm just getting back from vacation and trying to get back into the swing of things...what better way than with a contest AND a giveaway?!

For the first time eva, Crystal Allure is offering its most popular Organ Transplant Awareness Ribbons Bracelet (B105) in a contest being held by Lauren over at Shooting Stars Mag Blog. Wrap yourself in HOPE with this sparkling crystal organ transplant bracelet finished with a beautiful butterfly charm!

Thank you to Lauren for hosting the giveaway, the write up and kind comments!

And, to keep true to the awareness and cause jewelry theme, receive a free pair of matching Swarovski Crystal earrings with every Awareness Jewelry purchase, made at Crystal Allure, during the month of June!

The free pair of earrings will be sterling silver and will be designed to complement the awareness bracelet you purchase.

Good luck to everyone and although today is overcast and rainy (where I am) I hope you're having a funshine day!

Spring Jewelry Collection in Bloom Gemstone Mother of Pearl Necklaces

I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend! If you're anything like me, it's a constant battle to decide to go outside and enjoy the sun or get cracking on all my house projects and continued spring cleaning list. Unfortunately, spring cleaning won out this past weekend. As we get nearer and nearer summer, not having central air weighs heavily on me. :-)

Although, I DID spend some time on the porch reading a magazine and enjoying the soft breeze on Saturday. I've set up a little charming nook on our side porch gazebo with wicker furniture and it's quite cozy.

No new jewelry designs created this past weekend, but the ideas are flowing. I've also received all my bead orders with the components I want to use in the Summer Jewelry Collection, but that's for later. It's still Spring and a beautiful one at that!

The Crystal Allure Spring Jewelry Collection are pieces that reflect soft feminine hues inspired by beautiful flowers, gardens and butterflies. Infused with a combination of both tranquil and vibrant airy tones in beautiful Pantone inspired shades of Violet (purple), Aurora (yellow) and Dried Herb (green).

All our pieces will definately carry over into summer, but there are less than 8 days left to take advantage of the grand re-opening discount of 20%. And many pieces are one of a kind, so don't delay -once they're gone, they're gone for good.

Shown above:
The "Fresh Cut Grass" can be seen by following this link: Jade Creation Peridot Mother of Pearl Gemstone Beaded Necklace (NB086).

The purple gemstone necklace is the "Crocus' in Bloom" designed with a Spring mix of both purple amethyst gemstone and citrine gemstones.

Amethyst Citrine Gemstone Beaded Necklace (N098)

One of a Kind

SOLD

This handmade beaded necklace is just bursting like Spring crocuses with beautiful yellow and purple color. Designed with faceted rectangle amethyst gemstones, a spring mix of amethyst and citrine gemstone chips (Ametrine) and accented with sterling silver beads. Necklace is adjustable 17" to 18-3/4" with a sterling silver circle chain necklace extender.

Grand Re-Opening Discount Extended

So, it's summer...and the days are longer (right?)...and yet, there just is never enough time in the day to do what one has to do!

The last few months have been extremely busy and I am still in the middle of getting all facets of the grand re-opening in place at Crystal Allure. Soooo, because of this delay and that I have been unable to focus immediately on incoming orders (my apologies to those who have had to wait), I'm extending the 20% storewide grand re-opening discount until May 31, 2010!!

To take advantage of this fab offer, just enter grandopen2010 in the coupon box at checkout.

SHOP CRYSTALALLURE.COM

Happy Shopping!

Crystal Allure Jewelry: Grand Re-Opening

It's finally here! A new look for Crystal Allure that better fits our brand of handmade beaded jewelry. Isn't it just fabulous!! I am so excited to announce our grand re-opening of the online jewelry boutique and with it comes some fantastic offers -just for you!

A HUGE (did I mention HUGE) thank you to Maria from Galleria de luce (Bella Business Branding) for all her hard work, design expertise and overall patience and guidance throughout this process. The whole redesign process went rather smoothly and I'm sure alot of that had to do with Maria. It all started one day when I looked at the Crystal Allure website and saw it for the first time in a different light. I guess you could say, I had a "gee...." moment. So off I went searching the internet for either some kind of inspiration or a designer who I felt was the right fit for Crystal Allure. I found Maria's website, saw one of her available logo's -it happened to be a swan and as Emeril would say, "BAM". I was able to picture her swan logo, with my jewelry, my brand of designs, what I wanted to convey and more. So I contacted her and well, as they say, the rest is history.

The Swarovski label is the quintessential symbol of quality, elegance, style and beauty. That is why nearly every one of my jewelry designs uses Swarovski Crystals as accents (not to mention I'm koo-koo for crystals! I love anything that sparkles!). It is my hope that Crystal Allure Jewelry will debunk the myth that crystal jewelry is only appropriate for formal affairs.

The swan logo was perfect because it mirrors the Swarovski label and because a swan has always reminded me of the ugly duckling story. I design my jewelry so that you can wear it everyday and instantly feel transformed when you put it on.

Crystal Allure Jewelry, Redefine Your Femininity!

I'm so glad you found Crystal Allure and I'd love to have you celebrate the grand re-opening with me. From today through April 30, 2010, use coupon code grandopen2010 for 20% off your order. Hold on, I'm not finished yet. Not only is there no minimum order requirement, you can use this discount as many times as you want until April 30th. AND, for each order you place from now until April 30th, your name will be entered into a drawing for a chance to win a $50 jewelry gift certificate towards anything at CrystalAllure.com!!

Happy Shopping and good luck to everyone entered for a chance to win the $50 jewelry gift certificate.