Diabetes Awareness Month

November is American Diabetes Awareness Month. It is also a special month to a host of other illnesses and causes, all very important, but I'll be focusing on diabetes. My daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes 10 months ago, so a cure is at the top of our wish list. 

This is the army of mini Dinobeadies for Diabetes that are on hand right now in my Dinos for Diabetes section. Each one is $10, and proceeds will go to the JDRF. 

**Also, during November, everyone who purchases a mini dino will be entered into a drawing for a FREE bead! It's my way of saying thank you for all the support these little dinos have gotten over the past few months. These mini dinos have already earned over $1000 for the cause! I'm hoping to add a lot to that total during November.

During November I'll photograph the mini dinos with some of the equipment that comes with being a diabetic.

 This little blue dino is staring down the opening of the lancing device. Hold that hole on your finger, and with one quick push of the button a tiny lancet pops out and pierces your skin. This is how diabetics get that much needed blood sample to test their blood sugar. 

Next that tiny drop of blood is put on a test strip that's been inserted in a blood glucose tester. The pink dino above will be sure to throw away her used test strips. She knows that as cool looking as they are, leaving them on the table or the counter is not the best idea.

After a few seconds, the tester reads the amount of sugar in the blood. This dino is in the safe range, at 108. Way to go! Normal is from 70 to 130.

If it's time to eat, then a diabetic has to put insulin into her body before her meal. The orange dino uses an insulin pen for injections. 

The purple dino has picked out a pen needle, which attaches to the insulin pen and is used for the injection, which can be in the stomach, leg or arm. 

The yellow dino is hanging out on some glucose tablets. These sugar tabs help a diabetic with low blood sugar get her numbers up quickly to the normal range. Diabetics should always carry glucose or other fast-acting sugar with them.

Thanks for checking out my new mini dinobeadies for diabetes and all of their equipment! They all hope to help raise money for a cure for Diabetes.

Hooter GIVEAWAY!

I'm giving away this petite blue fritty owl. 

Here are the rules:

1. Share this post on Facebook. I'll post it first on my Maybeads page, then all you have to do is share it.

2. Come back here and leave a comment saying you shared it. Also - be sure to leave your contact information so I can find you if you win. 

Easy as pie. 

Thanks for entering! I'll draw a name on Thursday night.

Turtle Bead GIVEAWAY!

Time for a giveaway!!!

Here are the rules:
1. Leave a comment after this post - it can be about anything. Also, make sure there's a way for me to contact you.
2. For an extra entry - like Maybeads on Facebook and share my giveaway post there. Then leave a separate second comment on my blog saying you shared it.
Easy Peasy right?

I'll draw a name tonight, May 6, around 9pm Chicago time.

Thanks for playing!

Who Give a Hoot? I Do! Giveaway Time!

It's been a while since I've done a giveaway, so when I announced my intentions this colorful little hooter stepped up to the plate. He'd love to find a new home.

Here are the rules:

Leave a comment on this blog with a way to reach you.

For an extra entry, like my Maybeads page on Facebook and share a link about this giveaway - then leave a second comment saying you did so.

I'd also love it if you followed my blog. :)

I'll pick a winner on Sunday night (March 11).

Thanks for playing!!!

1000 Facebook Fans Celebration ~ Giveaway!

A few days ago I hit 1,000 fans (or "likers") on my Maybeads Facebook page. I couldn't be happier to have this many people following my work. Thank you! And what better way to celebrate than to give away a bead! Here it is, fresh from the kiln:

It's an owl wearing the latest in feather fashion - layers. I've been experimenting a lot with this style of chest feathers, and I was quite pleased with this color combination of blue, green and orange.

So here are the rules:

You have to be a Maybeads fan on Facebook to enter. After that, just leave a comment below about anything (beads, glass color combos, the weather, the holidays, your pets, etc.). Also, be sure to leave an email address or a way to reach you.

For an extra entry, share the post I put on my Facebook page about the giveaway. Then leave me another comment telling me you did so.

I'll pick the winner Wednesday night (12/7/11).

That's it! Thank you so much for your support!

Lauren

Give Me The Finger

My current turtle finger companion.

That's right. I'm looking for a few good fingers, so flip 'em this way. I'd love to start selling my turtle rings (I wear one, my kids have them and my sister has one that glows in the dark), but I'd still like to experiment on someone and see how I do with sizing a ring for someone I don't see in person. I've really only used copper wire for the wire-wrapping, but hopefully I'll eventually venture out to different wires. So if you like turtles and would actually wear a glass turtle ring (made with copper wire), please leave me a comment with a way to reach you after this post. Also, make sure you know the ring size of the finger you would wear it on, and I'll contact one or two people from the comments to get the info. to make and size a ring. Thanks in advance!

Another angle of my ring.

GIVEAWAY!

It's been too long since I've done one of these. I have the best customers, blog followers and Facebook likers, and I want all of you to know how much I appreciate you. So I'm giving away this penguin-bunny bead.

I came up with the idea for a penguin-bunny because my 2nd grader just had a unit on penguins. She learned that male Emperor penguins have to keep the newly hatched eggs warm and protected by balancing them on their feet so they don't touch the frozen ground. The eggs are kept warm by a thick fold of skin that lays over the egg. They do this, without eating, for about nine weeks, while the female penguin is off at sea having a feeding frenzy. If the egg touches the ground during the incubation period, it will freeze or crack and the chick is lost.

My daughter's teacher gave each kid in the class a plastic egg and had them try balancing it on their feet as they waddled around the classroom. When the eggs eventually hit the ground, they'd pop open and their were a couple Starburst candies inside. My daughter came home from school that day with her little Starburst penguin chicks (she had drawn little bird faces on them) and refused to eat them because they were her chicks. I put them in her lunch and they came back, uneaten. She held out for a few more days, but she eventually ate them. But she saved the wrappers with the faces on them.

So, after that long explanation, I decided that my penguin should at least have a pretty egg to protect. So I placed a piece Egghunt murrini (from Lori and Kim) on this penguin's feet. Then I had to add bunny ears and a cotton tail, so his mate would be able to find him easily when she returns from sea.

For this giveaway, all you have to do is leave a comment after this post. I'll pick a winner on Tuesday night (March 15). I'd love it if you followed my blog as well, or liked me on Facebook.

Thank you!

Giveaway Winner

I picked a winner for the turtle giveaway I posted nearly two weeks ago. I'm SO sorry it's taken me so long to post this! The winner, after using the random number generator, was Twix the wiener dog! And Twix is a wiener dog with a blog, aptly called A Wiener Dog Blog. So all you wiener dog lovers, and dog lovers alike, check it out! The pink turtle is on its way to Twix. Thanks to everyone who entered!

One World One Heart

The One World, One Heart International Blog event is HERE, and I've got a ticket to ride the magic carpet. As a new blogger, I'm joining hundreds, probably thousands of other bloggers in this magical blog-connecting event. It's time to explore other blogs out there in the blogosphere, and maybe win some great prizes along the way. Click the host icon above for more information about the event, and to find out which blogs are participating.

My giveaway prize is this bright and cheerful alien bead named Abner. Wouldn't you know it - his spaceship ran out of fuel, so he's hitched a ride on the One World One Heart Magic Carpet. He's going to explore the blogosphere along with me, and then he'd love to do some real traveling . . . via the USPS. If you'd like Abner to travel to your neck of the woods, leave a comment on this post. Be sure to leave some contact information so I can contact you to let you know to expect a visitor from a far off land. And to start stocking up on Ju Ju Bees, Abner's favorite food. The winner will be announced on February 15, so my cut-off time for entries will be at noon, US central time, on Feb. 15.

The Fire Divas blog is also participating in the One World One Heart Event. There are several chances to win some fabulous lampwork beads from some amazing artists.

Therapy Thursday ~ Giveaway!

I was trying to come up with something therapeutic and uplifting for this week's Therapy Thursday, and I decided to go with the age-old practice of gift giving. Giving gifts is just as much an upper for the giver as it is for the receiver. So I'll be giving away a bead today on my blog. See that little pink hippo caroling with the teeny weenie? It could be yours by the end of the day. All you have to do to enter is comment below. It can be about anything. Also, leave some contact info (if I don't know you). I'll pick the winner by the end of today. Thanks for visiting!

Halloween Giveaway ~ on my sister's blog

This is such a cool giveaway - hop on over to Raspberrykidz and check out my sister's blog. Her giveaway this month is Halloween-themed, and you could have your little monster's Halloween drawing turned into a spooktackular masterpiece! I speak from experience. Rachel has turned my girls' drawings into super-cool works of art, and the girls just flipped when they saw them!

The top drawing here was made by a child. The bottom one is the finished drawing with my sister's special touches. These make wonderful gifts for grandparents!