Nov 12, 2013

The Season of Goodwill Begins! November Blog Hops and the Beads of Courage Art Charm Auction

November. Crisp winds blow, snow graces Northern homes, sky settles into shades of gray and white --  my mornings begin with cozy slippers and warm drinks, as early morning's gentle sunrise invites contemplation in the quiet start of day. 

It's during this change of season that I most enjoy my alone time. I make lists, think of decorating ideas, plan my Holiday cooking and baking, prepare big piles Holiday cards and organize gift ideas.


Art Charms created for last year's Exchange & Auction raised $600 for Beads of Courage.
    Join us Nov.15th for Blog Hop Reveals of this year's charms & the start of the Auction.

On Thanksgiving night, my family has a tradition of lighting up our home for the Holidays, inside and out. Afterwards, the dark November mornings are filled with the soft lights, glowing all around like magic. I squint my eyes and drink coffee and look at the Christmas tree and decorations. Colors dance from ribbons and wreaths, lighting up fragrant bouquets of poinsettias and collections of birch and velvet and cinnamon pine cones, glowing softly among the greenery of nestled candles and my Advent wreath, and pouring out beyond the room, illuminating garlands above and trees outside our home.


Magic. 
November magic.


Celebrate handcrafted arts with a Lampwork and Clay Blog Hop hosted by my friend Lisa Lodge of a Grateful Artist  on Saturday, Nov. 16th. Here is a look at some of the beads Lisa sent me to create with, and some of my own added into the mix. I love the soft colorway of the ceramics, and jewelry made with art beads! 
Upcoming as well: Lisa Lodge hosts another jewelry challenge & hop on November 16th


And fall into love this November as Jennifer Cameron (lampwork, chainmaille and jewelry artist extraordinaire and founder/editor of the collective blog, Art Jewelry Elements) again hosts the annual Beads of Courage Art Charm Swap and Auction!  Almost 40 artists have created 500 art charms, exchanging with each other and donating charms for auction. 100% of the proceeds goes to Beads of Courage. Our theme this year -- love. 



Beads of Courage supports children with serious illnesses by helping them tell, record, and honor their story with beads. Each overnight stay in the hospital is signified by certain color beads. A procedure is another. Handcrafted lampwork is given for great courage. Every bead tells a story of strength, honor, and hope.  

Join us this Friday, Nov. 15th, in a blog hop hosted by Jennifer Cameron of Art Jewelry Elements for the reveal of the art charms. Even we participating artists haven't yet seen all the charms, and I can't wait to see the reveals and start bidding! 




I am delighted to begin my Holiday season with special treasures for gifting that are twice as nice: OOAK handcrafted, beautiful Holiday gifts that support children and families coping with serious illness with 100% of your auction bid :) 

Until Friday, here is a teaser of my art charms! I created a set of 3, featuring Amazing Designs by Marlene Cupo, Kristi Bowman Design, and Olla Podria Vintage. 

Reversible Art Charm featuring Kristi Boman






Art Charm featuring Marlene Cupo


Art Charm featuring Olla Podria



See you then! 

What's this?  What art charms will you just love ??
Come back on Friday to pick your favorites!

2 comments:

  1. I am eager for Friday and for our auction to begin, Rita!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is my favorite time of year! You've joined some awesome hops - cannot wait to see what creativity you have mastered!

    ReplyDelete

Gracias for your comments and for visiting! I appreciate every word :)
Namaste --
Rita