It's Our 4th Birthday and We Have a Surprise!

Thanks to Facebook's memories app, I was reminded that we kicked this project off April 17th, 2012. In that time, we've published over 1200 blog posts, hosted about 40 Component of the Month design challenges, an earring challenge, and several other challenges. We're written a plethora of tutorials, shared successes and failures. We love what we do and are so excited to continue. 

So to celebrate our birthday, we are going to select one lucky person to win all the components shown below:

How do you win? Leave a comment by this Saturday, April 23, 11:59 PM telling us why you like to read AJE. Edited to add: PLEASE leave an email or some way to contact you as clicking your name doesn't always give us any way to contact you! 

Re-Birth of the Sun - Winter themed challenge and Giveaway.

Winter Solstice Stonehenge, Wiltshire, England

So today we're launching the last AJE challenge of 2015 and this month it's another of our themed events where we invite you to join us in designing beads, jewellery or decorative items inspired by a chosen subject and this month the theme is the sun.

Now that might seem a little strange when those of us in the northern hemisphere are cold and gloomy but the sun is actually very appropriate for this time of year particularly as we approach the the Winter Solstice on December 22nd.

"The winter solstice, the rebirth of the Sun, is an important turning point, as it marks the shortest day, when the hours of daylight are at their least. It's also the start of the increase in the hours of daylight, until the Summer solstice  when darkness becomes ascendant once more."
http://www.thewhitegoddess.co.uk

Throughout time many cultures understood the astronomical phenomena that divided their year into half light and half dark (and was so critical to their survival) celebrated the midwinter sun with festivals based on the need to preserve light and ensure the return of the sun. To ancient people it seemed that the sun may never return once it dipped below the horizon so they practiced rites to call it back and sought to capture it's light.

Around the world many ancient and sacred sites are oriented to capture the rays of the sun and moon at certain points of the year. The picture above shows the rising sun of the winter solstice as it shines through the carefully aligned standing stones of Stonehenge.

New Grange in Northern Ireland was originally called An Liamh Greine - the 'Cave of the Sun' and for a week either side of the winter solstice the sun shines through a narrow slot above its door and pours down an 80 foot passage into a chamber where it strikes the back walls and lights up intricately carved spirals and solar discs. The triskele, or triple spiral is a tripartite symbol composed of three interlocked spirals. The triple spiral is an ancient Celtic symbol related to the sun, afterlife and reincarnation. The light remains for approximately seventeen minutes and then fades again.

http://knowth.com

http://www.worldheritageireland.ie/bru-na-boinne/built-heritage/newgrange/

www.mythicalIreland.com

www.mythicalIreland.com

In ancient Egypt the sun was revered as a symbol of life and Re, or Ra, the Sun, was the chief of the gods and became the central figure of a reformed religion under the name Aton, bestowed by Pharaoh Amenhotep.  The early Egyptians believed that he created the world, and this is why the rising Sun was the symbol of creation. The daily cycle of the Sun moving across the sky represented creation and renewal.

Limestone carving showing Pharoah Amenhotep offering gifts to the sun god Aton

The Egyptians also used architecture to convey the significance of the solstice with the great temples at Karnack, Thebes and Abydos built in such a way as to focus the rays of the midwinter and midsummer sun directly into the heart of the temple enclosures.

Winter solstice sunrise at Karnack

Winter Solstice celebrations were also to be found in ancient America in the form of Soyaluna ceremonies held by Hopi Indians:

"The Hopi Indians traditionally believed that at the time of the Winter Solstice, the sun had traveled as far from the earth as he ever did. Only the most powerful humans could persuade the sun to turn around and come back to the pueblo. The purpose of Soyaluna, which is still held among the Hopi who live on the mesas of Arizona, is to prevent the disappearance of the sun at the time of year when the days are at their shortest.

The main ceremony takes place in the kiva, a large, circular underground room that can only be entered by climbing down a ladder through a hole in the ceiling. Hopi priests prepare the kiva by scattering cornmeal around the floor. On the west wall of thekiva, a stack of corn serves as an altar, surrounded by stalks and husks. Each family has given some corn to make the altar. At the solstice, everyone assembles in the kiva for rituals designed to bring the sun back for another agricultural year."

http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Hopi+Soyal+Ceremony

Hopi Sun characters symbolize life, growth, strength of spirit, and abundance and most Hopi accounts of creation centre around Tawa, the Sun Spirit.

Hopi Kachina sun spirit - by Linda Henry

So as you can see the sun and it's rebirth at midwinter have been hugely important across time and many cultures so it seems like the perfect inspiration for a bit of modern day creativity don't you think? We'd love you to join us and take part and here's how...

Theme challenge details

1. Giveaway- This theme challenge DOES include a giveaway! ( This will vary each time.) I will be giving away these two ceramic sun pendants to two winners selected randomly from comments on this post. The pendants are porcelain stoneware, glazed back and front and decorated with lustre.

• Winners selected Thursday December 3rd.
• You must have an active blog.
• Please leave your email and blog address in the comments

2. Goal - Have fun! Try something different! Be inspired to make something that fits within this theme. This can be an artist bead, a component, or a finished piece of jewellery or decorative piece.

You are free to use any artist bead/component in your design, from an AJE team member, of your own creation or from another artisan bead maker...

3. Share/Reveal - Due to the holidays the reveal date for this challenge has been extended to Sunday January 10th 2016

If you would like to be included in the blog reveal on the 10th, please private message me (Lesley) via Facebook  Since this is open to all, this is the most efficient way to be included. Messages need to be received by January 8th to be included.

if you're are looking for components to inspire your designs I will also have the following selection available in my Etsy shop...

And Caroline has some new designs available in her shop too...

I hope this leaves you raring to take up the challenge...I'll be back with some more inspiration before the reveal date and in the meantime I'll be looking forward to seeing some sunny creations to warm up my January!

Giveaway Time! GIVEAWAY CLOSED THANK YOU

We're celebrating here at AJE and once again it's all down to you - our wonderful readers!

Earlier this week we passed the 2000 followers milestone on our Facebook page and we think that deserves a little something special so we're have a mega giveaway. One lucky winner is in line to win this bumper collection of beautiful art beads made by members of the AJE team...

There are pieces by Jenny Davies-Reazor, Caroline Dewison, Jennifer Cameron, Susan Kennedy, Kristen Stevens, Karen Totten, Rebekah Payne and me and yes...all these goodies will go to one person.

To take part in the giveaway all you have to do is leave ONE comment on this post and we will then pick a winner using Random.Org. You have until 12 midnight EDT on Monday 5th October to leave your comment and we will announce the winner on the blog on Tuesday 6th October. Please feel free to share the love on your social media sites.

Once again thank you to all our loyal supporters and good luck!

The AJE team

September Component Of The Month Giveaway

Ready to move into designing jewelry for autumn?  September's Component Of The Month ceramic pendants are a good place to start (or perhaps you're way ahead of me and are working on winter designs already!).

I love fall colors and had a lot of fun combining them into different palettes.  I hope you find these inspiring for your designs.

Want to play along? Here are the rules…

• I will giveaway 1 stoneware leaf pendant (chosen at random) to each of the 2 winners selected randomly from those who leave a comment below this post. Your comment MUST include your EMAIL AND BLOG address so we can contact you should you win.
• Please — only leave a comment if you can commit to creating a finished piece and blogging about it on the reveal date.
• The names of the 2 winners will be announced on Saturday, September 5, 2015.
• This giveaway is open to US and international countries, but please be aware that these will be posted from the US and international addresses will have longer postage times… sometimes up to 3 weeks.
• The blog reveal will take place on Tuesday, September 29, 2015.

Good luck!

 Linda Landig Jewelry

May Component of the Month Giveaway! Beaded Beads!

It's my turn to provide the May Component of the Month, and after taking a poll of the AJE team members, I decided to offer a pair of beaded beads! 

I've really enjoyed making beaded beads in the past using round wood beads and size 15 seed beads.  I had purchased this tutorial from Datz Katz on Etsy (Debra Schwartz) and really enjoy coming up with different color combinations!

These are the beaded beads that I will choose from. Want to play along?  Here are the rules:

• I will give away 1 pair of beaded beads in the colors of my choice to each of 3 winners selected randomly from those who leave comments below this post. Your comment must include your EMAIL address and BLOG url so we can contact you should you win. Please note, this is required, I can't choose you if you don't provide both.
• Please — only leave a comment if you can commit to creating a finished piece and blogging about it on the reveal date.
• The names of the 3 winners will be announced on Saturday, May 2, 2015.
• This giveaway is open to US and international countries, but please be aware that international addresses will have longer postage times… sometimes up to 3 weeks.
• The blog reveal will take place on Sunday, May 31, 2015.

Good Luck!

Susan Kennedy

SueBeads Etsy Store

SueBeads Web Site

SueBeads Blog

December Component of the Month and Giveaway!

It's my turn to host the Component of the Month!  Yay!  I've been excited all year about this because I revamped my rustic stoneware snowflake pendants and I love them more than ever!

If you would like to play, here are the rules…

• I will give away one Rustic Stoneware Snowflake Pendant to each of 2 winners selected randomly from those who leave comments below this post. Your comment must include your EMAIL address so we can contact you should you win.
• Please — only leave a comment if you can commit to creating a finished piece and blogging about it on the reveal date.
• The names of the 2 winners will be announced on December 3, 2014.
• This giveaway is open to US and international countries, but please be aware that international addresses will have longer postage times… sometimes up to 3 weeks.
• The blog reveal will take place on January 3, 2015.

Good luck!

Diana P.

Suburban Girl Studio LLC

Surprise Giveaway!

I had planned to do a book review today but have been in bed since last Thursday (literally) with a tenacious upper respiratory infection. In addition to lots of coughing and persistent fever, it's meant no play time in the studio, so no project samples. The book review will have to wait.

I decided instead to do a giveaway of a book that several members of the AJE have found inspirational since it's publication, myself included.

Melissa Meman and I both used elements from this book in our Component of the Month challenge pieces for July.

Kristi Bowman used some for this lovely earring pair, which promptly sold.

And Linda Landig wrote a whole review for us last December after trying a lot of the projects - these lovely earrings are in her shop now!

If you haven't already guessed, the book is Cindy Wimmer's "The Missing Link" and I'm giving away a brand new copy to ONE lucky Art Jewelry Elements reader! Here are the rules:

• Enter to win by leaving a comment below.
• You must include your email address in the comment for the entry to count!
• Comments received through 6:00 p.m. Central Time on Sunday, September 14th will be eligible to win.
• The winner will be announced Sunday evening here and on the AJE Facebook page. (Have you "liked" us yet?)
• I will contact the winner via email to arrange delivery.

That's it! Entries are open to everyone, everywhere, so spread the word!

Until next time -

September Component of the Month and Giveaway!

Winners have been announced HERE
Thank you!

Hi there Beady People!!! It's time for the September Component of the Month Giveaway!!

This month I made something new and I hope you love them as much as I do!!

I call them Goddess Vessels! They are good sized Focals made with Copper and White Copper in several different designs!

 I'll be giving away 3 of them to those that are randomly picked from the comments.

Let me know your preference in color and texture and I'll do my best to get you what you want!

Want to play along? Here are the rules…

• I will giveaway 1 Goddess Vessel to each of 3 winners selected randomly from those who leave comments below this post.
• Your comment must included your EMAIL address and a link to your blog, so we can contact you should you win.
• Please — only leave a comment if you can commit to creating a finished piece and blogging about it on the reveal date.
• The names of the 3 winners will be announced on Thursday August 28th.
• This giveaway is open to US and international countries, but please be aware that international addresses will have longer postage times… sometimes up to 3 weeks.
• The blog reveal will take place on Sunday, Sept 28th, 2014.

Kristi

KristiBowmanDesign.com

KristiBowmanDesign.Etsy

July Component of the Month GIVEAWAY!

It is my great pleasure to be hosting this month's Component of the Month Giveaway. This is where one of us provides an art jewelry component of our choosing to members of the AJE team and three lucky readers, and then at the end of the month we all check in to see what we made with them. Here's what I'm offering:

Glass cabochons! I make them in batches, and it's a great way for me to use up my glass scrap. I love experimenting with the colors. The cabs will be available drilled or undrilled, as you wish.

So, wanna play along? Here are the rules:

• I will give away 1 cabochon to each of 3 winners selected randomly from those who leave comments below this post. The cabochon sent will be a surprise for the winners. Your comment must include your EMAIL address we can contact you should you win.
• Please - only leave a comment if you can commit to creating a finished piece and blogging about it on the reveal date.
• The names of the three winners will be announced on Friday, July 4th, 2014.
• This giveaway is open to US, Canadian, UK and European countries, but please be aware that Canadian & European addresses will have longer postage times (sometimes up to 3 weeks).
• The blog reveal will take place on Thursday, July 31, 2014.

Ready? Set? GO!

Until next time -

Drum Roll Please...

First of all on behalf of the entire AJE team I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who joined in with out celebratory giveaway and for all the wonderful feedback you've given us over the past week - we really do appreciate all the support and encouragement and are so pleased to be able to give a little something back. Thanks and welcome also to those of you who joined us on Facebook during giveaway week, we're so glad to have you along and hope you enjoy our offerings and don't forget to follow the blog too.

But I know you're all desperate to find out who the lucky winners are so let's get on with it shall we - drum roll please...

Winner day 1 - Cynthia Riggs, Cynth's Blog
Ceramic charms by Diana and copper focal by Kristi.

Winner day 2 - Therese Frank - Therese's Treasures 
Lampwork cab by Sue and Keum Boo pendant by Francesca

Winner day 3 - Erin Prais Hintz, Treasures Found
Headpins by Jen and beaded links by Kristen

Winner day 4 - Barbara Mason, Adorningly Yours
Ceramic pendant by Lesley and ceramic bead set by Caroline

Winner day 5 - Tara Leiterman, Jewels For The Journey
Ceramic focals by Jenny and Linda

Winner day 6 - Melissa Trudinger, Bead Recipes
Polymer clay focal by Rebekah and Enameled flowers by Melissa

Winner day 7 - Z'anne, Zanne's Bazaar
Copper chain by Keirsten and bronze focal by Karen

Congratulations ladies - we will be in touch with you shortly to arrange for your prizes to shipped.

Normal service will resume on the AJE blog tomorrow and once again thanks to all our loyal followers...long may our journey together continue.

Lesley
The Gossiping Goddess

Seven Day Giveaway - Day 6

Welcome to day 6 of our Seven Day Giveaway! We're still celebrating those 1000 Facebook "likes" and that number just keeps right on growing! What a truly fabulous community AJE has grown into! It really is such a great place to share and learn in the thing we all love so much—art jewelry elements! It's been such an inspiring experience so far—thank you all for making this possible with your support and enthusiasm!

And now, here's what's up for grabs for one more very lucky winner…

First from Melissa Meman, these 2 pair of gorgeous torch-fired enamel flowers…  perfect for layering! She made them up just in time for this special giveaway event and really, what could be more perfect for summertime creations!?

And from yours truly, one of my brand new woodsy green fern frond focals—polymer textured with the detail of a real wild growing fern and hand painted in acrylics. Years back my brother and I would spend whole days out wandering the woods of Virginia—so many happy memories of carefree times were brought back when I pulled out this forgotten mold and started creating with it for the first time!

To be in with a chance to win today's prize, simply leave a comment below and make sure to include your e mail address so we can contact you should you win - please note comment moderation is activated  so  your comment will not show immediately. The winners will be announced on Monday 23rd of June when all the giveaways are complete.

And don't don't forget...the giveaways run for a whole week thru Sunday 22nd of June so make sure you visit each day to increase your chance of winning a prize.

The details:

• The giveaways run from Monday June 16th through Sunday 22nd June.

• There will be a different prize of 2 art jewelry elements each day.  

• Each day of the contest will feature something from two different AJE contributors 

• For a chance to win that day's prize leave a comment on each day's blog post AND MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE AN EMAIL FOR US TO CONTACT YOU!

•  We will draw a winner daily, so don't forget to comment each day. 

•  ALL winners will be announced at the end of the week. 

• This giveaway is open to anyone living on planet Earth.

• Each person is eligible to win once. Unless you're on the AJE team. Then you cannot win any of the days. And you know that each of us in the AJE team would love to win these components… after all, who wouldn't!?

Good luck!!

Rebekah Payne

TreeWingsStudio.com

Seven Day Giveaway - Day 5

Welcome to Day Five of our week long celebratory giveaway.  Art Jewelry Elements now has well over 1,000 followers on our Facebook page and we're so grateful for each and every one of our wonderful readers!  We're giving away two artisan jewelry components per day for this whole week!  Take a look at our original giveaway post  for more info.

First up today is a beautiful earthenware celestial pendant by Jenny Davies-Reazor.  It is one of Jenny's hand carved, original designs and is glazed on both the front and the back.  Lucky you, if you win this!

Our second giveaway item is this rustic flower pendant from yours truly.  This would be perfect for a fun, summer necklace.

If you'd like a chance to win today's prize, simply leave a comment below and make sure to include your email address so we can contact you should you win - please note comment moderation is activated  so  your comment will not show immediately. The winners will be announced on Monday, June 23rd when all the giveaways are complete.

And don't don't forget...the giveaways run for a whole week until Sunday, June 22nd, so make sure you visit each day to increase your chance of winning a prize.

The details:

• The giveaways run from Monday, June 16th through Sunday, 22nd June.

• There will be a different prize of 2 art jewelry elements each day.  

• Each day of the contest will feature something from two different AJE contributors 

• For a chance to win that day's prize leave a comment on each day's blog post AND MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE AN EMAIL FOR US TO CONTACT YOU!

•  We will draw a winner daily, so don't forget to comment each day. 

•  ALL winners will be announced at the end of the week. 

• This giveaway is open to anyone living on planet Earth.

• Each person is eligible to win once. Unless you're on the AJE team. Then you cannot win any of the days. Sorry. I want to win too and I'm pretty sure I have the power to rig it. No one (except maybe me) should wield that kind of power. 

In the meantime, thank you for supporting AJE and good luck!

Linda

Linda Landig Jewelry – Etsy 

Seven Day Giveaway - Day 4

Welcome to day four of our week long celebratory giveaway...if you've come directly to this page and don't know what's going on take a look at our earlier post and all will be revealed...

There have been some great art jewellery elements up for grabs this week so far and today's prizes are bought to you courtesy of the UK contingent of the team.

First up is one of my ceramic red rose pedants. I love these...this vibrant rose reminds me of those big bold roses you see in tattoos and turquoise and red is such a great colour combination for hot summer days...

Today's winner will also receive from Caroline this gorgeous hollow porcelain lentil bead which has been sandblasted with a dream catcher design and accompanying feather charm. I have one of these sets and I'm thinking it's going to look great with the summer linen outfits in cool neutrals I love so much.

To be in with a chance to win today's prize, simply leave a comment below and make sure to include your e mail address so we can contact you should you win - please note comment moderation is activated  so  your comment will not show immediately. The winners will be announced on Monday 23rd of June when all the giveaways are complete.

And don't don't forget...the giveaways run for a whole week until Sunday 22nd of June so make sure you visit each day to increase your chance of winning a prize.

The details:

• The giveaways run from Monday June 16th through Sunday 22nd June.

• There will be a different prize of 2 art jewelry elements each day.  

• Each day of the contest will feature something from two different AJE contributors 

• For a chance to win that day's prize leave a comment on each day's blog post AND MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE AN EMAIL FOR US TO CONTACT YOU!

•  We will draw a winner daily, so don't forget to comment each day. 

•  ALL winners will be announced at the end of the week. 

• This giveaway is open to anyone living on planet Earth.

• Each person is eligible to win once. Unless you're on the AJE team. Then you cannot win any of the days. Sorry. I want to win too and I'm pretty sure I have the power to rig it. No one (except maybe me) should wield that kind of power. 

In the meantime, thank you for supporting AJE and good Luck.
 
Lesley
www.thegossipinggoddess.blogspot.com

Seven Day Giveaway - Day 3

I can not believe how awesome it is to be a part of this amazing group of women.  I am very lucky.  You our readers have made us so proud and happy to bring our posts to you and share our art with you.  This as you know is Day 3 of our giveaway because you are so special to us.

I am happy to be giving this set of 4 twin rings for you to play with.  

You can also see black ones here.

And our leader Jen Cameron is giving away a set of her Murrini Headpins!

: xc

Aren't they just scrumptious!

Now remember to follow the rules to be entered!

The Rules

• The giveaways run from Monday, June 16 through Sunday, June 22, with a different prize of 2 art jewelry elements each day. 

• Each day of the contest will feature something from two different AJE contributors

• For a chance to win that day's prize, leave a comment on that day's blog post. AND MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE AN EMAIL FOR US TO CONTACT YOU! Please note: comment moderation is activated so your post will not show up straight away.

• We will draw a winner from each day's post, so don't forget to comment each day.

• ALL winners will be announced on Monday, June 23rd.

• This giveaway is open to anyone living on planet Earth.

Each person is eligible to win only once. (Unless you're a member of the AJE team. Then you cannot win any of the days. Which is a bummer, because there is some seriously cool stuff being given away!!)
Good Luck!
Kristen

Seven Day Giveaway - Day 2!

The Art Jewelry Elements reader community is awesome: creative, invested, and enthusiastic! And on June 7th, you pushed our Facebook page over the 1,000 "likes" milestone. To celebrate, we're hosting seven days of give-aways - two gorgeous art jewelry components given away every day to a single reader.

Today's components are offered by yours truly and Susan Kennedy.

Sue's glass cabochons are just stunning, and I love this ammonite version. (Sue was the hostess for last month's Component of the Month challenge - her gorgeous cabochons and beads inspired some wonderful creations!)

This is a textured Keum Boo pendant  - sterling silver with real 24 karat gold, patina'd to make the gold pop. It has a simple loop bail on the back and would be a great starting point for a one-of-a-kind necklace. (FYI, this is a demo piece from a recent class and is not hallmarked.)

Want a chance to win these components? Here's the scoop!

• The giveaways run from Monday, June 16 through Sunday, June 22, with a different prize of 2 art jewelry elements each day. 

• Each day of the contest will feature something from two different AJE contributors

• For a chance to win that day's prize, leave a comment on that day's blog post. AND MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE AN EMAIL FOR US TO CONTACT YOU!

• We will draw a winner from each day's post, so don't forget to comment each day.

• ALL winners will be announced on Monday, June 23rd.

• This giveaway is open to anyone living on planet Earth.

• Each person is eligible to win only once. (Unless you're a member of the AJE team. Then you cannot win any of the days. Which is a bummer, because there is some seriously cool stuff being given away!!)

We love our readers - you're the reason we post here every day! And we're grateful to you for helping us make this such a great community!

Now, ready to enter for these great components? OK, three....  two....  one.....  GO!

Until next time -