Monday, April 22, 2013

June 2013 Theme Announced: "June Bride"

June has traditionally been the most popular month for weddings for centuries around the world. That is where the term "June bride" comes from. Historically, there are several reasons for that. The month of June derives its name from Juno, the Roman goddess of marriage. In ancient times it was thought that couples who married in June would be blessed with prosperity and happiness. There were also many logistical reasons for brides to consider June weddings. Brides married in June were likely to give birth to a first child in spring (also thought to bring good luck) and recover in time for the fall harvest. During medieval times a person's annual bath usually fell in May or June, meaning that June brides still smelled relatively fresh.

In modern times those things are not so important, but weddings still take place in June more than any other month. It’s the month that summer begins (northern hemisphere), the flowers are all in bloom and the weather is warm without being too hot. So for this month’s challenge, channel your inner bride to create the perfect wedding accessory for a June Bride. Perhaps a decorative barrette for her hair, a cuff to set off her new wedding ring, a beaded sash for her dress or the quintessential necklace full of luster and sparkle. There’s nothing as stunning as a Bride decked out in white, but also think about the red silks of a Chinese Bride, the Henna Mehndi of the Indian Bride, or the bright colors of the Moroccan Bride.

You may start your entry today and post to your shop by midnight May 5th Etsy time. Please do not tag your entry with EBWC until the May challenge is complete (May 16th)

THE CHALLENGE RULES

Any EBW member may create one new beadweaving of your own design (not from a tutorial, kit, book, magazine, or class) in response to the challenge theme. Your work should be entirely beadwoven, or have a substantially woven component, to feature and promote our art form. You may not renew an existing piece, or list a tutorial or made-to-order item as an entry.

Members are expected to participate in challenges when possible, and required to do so once each year. Start the weaving anytime after the theme is announced. Complete and list the work for sale on Etsy by the 5th of the month of the challenge, before midnight Etsy (Eastern Standard) time. Your listing date is proof you entered by the deadline, and also determines your placement in the mosaic, so DO NOT RENEW your work until after the voting poll opens on the 9th.

Your listing must be for sale for the duration of the challenge (not made to order), unless it sells from your shop. If that happens, please alert the moderators to your sale, and you can still participate. If you must reserve your listing for purchase, please follow Etsy's recommendations and edit both your title and your description to begin with: "RESERVED FOR (buyer's Etsy username, or designation of buyer's choice) ONLY." Etsy does not allow the listing of items not for sale, so reserving your entry to sell elsewhere or keep for yourself is not permitted. Please do not put your shop on vacation mode when you have an item entered in the challenge, or deactivate your entry from the time you list, until the close of the challenge. If you must be away from your shop, please leave your challenge entry active, with a message explaining the date the item will shipped if purchased."

WHAT INFORMATION MUST BE IN MY LISTING?

Your listing must include the following four (4) things:
1. The theme of the challenge. For example, “This (describe your work) was created for the Etsy Beadweavers Team (insert the month) challenge on the theme (insert the title of the theme).”
2. An explanation of how your work relates to the theme.
3. The address of our team blog where the voting will take place and the voting dates. For example, “Please visit our team blog, http://www.etsy-beadweavers.blogspot.com between the 9th and 15th and vote for your favorite entry.”
4.Tag your entry EBWC. This is how we find your entry. Please test this tag by searching "handmade" and "EBWC" on Etsy. If your entry does not appear in this search within an hour after listing and tagging it, please contact a moderator for assistance. Please do not apply this tag until after the previous challenge poll closes on the 15th, and remove the tag after the voting poll closes, so entries for the next month’s challenge can be featured.

About Promoting the Public Voting Poll

The purpose of the public poll is to bring as many viewers to our team blog as possible, increasing awareness of Etsy Beadweavers and our art form. The winner of the public poll should be the work that the most viewers liked the best. PLEASE DO NOT request that your friends vote for your work, or that of another member. Please let them make up their own minds about which entry they like the best. Promote the challenge by inviting as many friends, acquaintances, co-workers and family members as you like to vote for their favorite entry. Please use your blog, Facebook, Twitter and any other resources you have to drive traffic to our blog during the challenge. Feel free to say which entry is yours. Many friends will choose to support you with a vote. Let’s play fair with each other, and keep our challenges fun for all.

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Congratulations to the winners of the April “Shades of Scheherazade” Challege

Congratulations to go Luba of BeautyGlamourLuba winner of the April Challenge Shades of Scheherazde with her entry Last Tale of Scheherazde receiving 69 (17%) of the popular votes.

The runners up are as follows:
tied for 2 place - 4. Samira Bead Embroidered Collar - beadn4fun 9% (36) and 22. Aladdin's Amulet Necklace - scarboro 9% (36)
3rd place - 23. Scheherazade's New Necklace - InetasJewelry 7% (30)
4th place - 13. Persian Princess Parure Jewelry Set - HauteIceBeadwork 6% (23)
5th place - 1. 1001 Nights Bead Embroidered Necklace - crimsonfrog 5% (22)
6th place - 8. Gold Treasure - Lirigal 5% (19)
7th place - 14. Queen of Sheba Neclace - SashaSi 4% (17)
8th place - 11 Scheherazade bellydance top - Sobby 4% (16)
tied for 9th place - 12. Tribal Oriental Dance Cuff - annamei 3% (14) and 29. Golden Beauty - beadifuljewelry 3% (14)
tied for 10th place - 6. Scheherazades Jewels - SallyJeansBeadedGems 3% (11) and 7. Persian Nights Necklace - beadsandblooms 3% (11)


Congratulations go to Chris of Beadn4fun winner of this months April Challenge Shades of Schereazade with her beautiful Samira Bead Embroidered Collar. Chris has the double please of winning twice as her lovely necklace sold before the challenge started. Chris' entry received 11 of the 97 team votes

Congratulations also go to the runners up in the team vote as follows:
2nd Place - 1. 1001 Nights Bead Embroidered Necklace - crimsonfrog with 10 votes
tied for 3rd place - 13. Persian Princess Parure Jewelry Set - HauteIceBeadwork and 21. Last Tale of Scheherazade - BeautyGlamourLuba with 9 votes eacg
5th place - 22. Aladdin's Amulet Necklace - scarboro with 8 votes
4 way tie for 6th place - 24. Queen of the Dance - justbrez, 25. Scheherazade's Jewels - EsmerldasStudio, 29. Golden Beauty - beadifuljewelry, 30. Sweet Persian Night Necklace - TheSpecialCase with 5 votes each
10th place - 6. Scheherazades Jewels - SallyJeansBeadedGems with 4 votes

Chris will have the honors of selecting the theme for our June challenge.

Monday, April 8, 2013

Voting for April “Shades of Scheherazade” Challege



The EtsyBeadweaver's April challenge was inspired by the following premise:



“Shades of Scheherazade”

Find your inspiration in mysterious, undulating arms, swaying hips, and the beautiful, smooth curves of bodies in Middle Eastern Dance. Modern Oriental dance is a mixture of many styles, from places like Egypt, Lebanon and Turkey. Veiled faces can add to the mystique, and lavishly decorated costumes fascinate the viewer. Your beadwork should capture for the wearer the feeling of Eastern beauty. You might be designing for the heroine of the fairy tale "One Thousand and One Nights."



Vote for your favorite entry as shown in the mosaic below, and view each one in greater detail by clicking on the images within the mosaic, or the links below.



PLEASE VOTE ONLY ONCE FOR YOUR FAVORITE ENTRY




Voting for for this challenge is on April 9th - 15th. Click on the images within or the links below the mosaic to see additional views and read about each piece in detail.



1. 1001 Nights Bead Embroidered Necklace - crimsonfrog 2. Belly Dancer - Eastern Grace - ArtMasquerading 3. Scheherazade is Dreaming - Maewa 4. Samira Bead Embroidered Collar - beadn4fun 5. Arabian Night Necklace - AnnHochmanDesigns 6. Scheherazades Jewels - SallyJeansBeadedGems 7. Persian Nights Necklace - beadsandblooms 8. Gold Treasure - Lirigal 9. Hakawati Set - VCArtisanOriginals 10. Desert Dancing cuff - suegoodebeads 11. Scheherazade bellydance top - Sobby 12. Tribal Oriental Dance Cuff - annamei 13. Persian Princess Parure Jewelry Set - HauteIceBeadwork 14. Queen of Sheba Neclace - SashaSi 15. The Arabic noon set - BeadsForBeauty 16. Scheherazade Secret Treasure - BeadCatcher 17. A Never Ending Tale - GlitzandGlitter 18. Scheherazade - Behind the Veil - Beadditz 19. Beadwoven Necklace - alterdeco 20. Sheherezade\ 21. Last Tale of Scheherazade - BeautyGlamourLuba 22. Aladdin\ 23. Scheherazade\ 24. Queen of the Dance - justbrez 25. Scheherazade\ 26. Shades of Scheherazade - SpringColors 27. Storyteller Moon - BeadworkAndCoe 28. Oriental Dancer Anklet - ellimei 29. Golden Beauty - beadifuljewelry 30. Sweet Persian Night Necklace - TheSpecialCase 31. Reversible Emerald Collar - CreationsofAgape


1. 1001 Nights Bead Embroidered Necklace - crimsonfrog

2. Belly Dancer - Eastern Grace - ArtMasquerading

14. Queen of Sheba Neclace - SashaSi

15. The Arabic noon set - BeadsForBeauty

16. Scheherazade Secret Treasure - BeadCatcher

17. A Never Ending Tale - GlitzandGlitter

18. Scheherazade - Behind the Veil - Beadditz

19. Beadwoven Necklace - alterdeco

20. Sheherezade's Little Sister - FullCircleDesign

21. Last Tale of Scheherazade - BeautyGlamourLuba

22. Aladdin's Amulet Necklace - scarboro

23. Scheherazade's New Necklace - InetasJewelry

24. Queen of the Dance - justbrez

25. Scheherazade's Jewels - EsmerldasStudio

26. Shades of Scheherazade - SpringColors

27. Storyteller Moon - BeadworkAndCoe

28. Oriental Dancer Anklet - ellimei

29. Golden Beauty - beadifuljewelry

30. Sweet Persian Night Necklace - TheSpecialCase

31. Reversible Emerald Collar - CreationsofAgape