Just a reminder that if you haven't entered yet for my Mother's Day Giveaway Contest then click here. The drawing will be tomorrow May 10th, 2009 at 4:00 PM PST.
So brag on your Mother and let me know why she is so special! Your entry just may be drawn to win these beautiful "Forget Me Not" Fine Silver PMC Earrings, available in my shop Beadin By The Sea.
Sadly, when I was in my early twenties, I lost my mom to cancer. It was difficult to be without a mother at such a young age especially as I was just beginning a new career and my adult life. Even though it's been almost 20 years since her death, I often think of how much she has influenced my life. I credit her with giving me a love for creativity. She was always trying something new and encouraged me to explore new crafts often bringing me home craft kits to try. I would sit and watch her sew and be fascinated with how things are put together. She taught me how to knit and crochet and played a huge part in fostering my love of sewing which I further pursued by obtaining a degree in Fashion Design.
I miss her dearly and so I dedicate this giveaway to her loving memory.
And now for the contest rules:
1. Leave your name and email address or a link to your blog along with a comment telling me what you love about your Mom. Click on "comments" at the bottom of this post to see the comment box. Comments without contact information will be discarded.
2. Come back on Mother's Day, May 10th to see if you've won.
3. Entries close at 4:00 PM PST.
4. Open worldwide to anyone age 18+.
5. If you can't wait until Mother's Day, these earrings are available for purchase in my shop.
Meanwhile, if you are blessed to still have your Mother, I encourage you to take the time to express to her how much you love and appreciate her!
I am so excited about the response I received to my second "Where in the World Giveaway Contest"! I received 199 comments in all which is an almost fourfold increase over my first contest. I also want to thank those that wrote lovely compliments about my jewelry. 
Okay, first the answer. The photo was taken at Kilauea Lighthouse in Kauai, Hawaii. There were quite a few that guessed correctly. I guess the photo is not close-up enough to show the tropical vegetation because many of the entries guessed Ireland and Maine. If you'd like more information on this beautiful place here is the link to the website.
Ace is here to say Hi and remind you to enter my giveaway that will be ending April 11th, 2009. You'll find the details by clicking here.
Thanks so much for all your responses to my "Where in the World Contest and Giveaway"! At first I thought my first contest might be a flop, but thanks to Etsygiveaways, I ended up with 56 comments in all. I thought it appropriate to draw the name out of a cute felted bowl that I just bought from a fellow Etsy seller ColAreto. I love my new bowl, you should check out this gal's shop, really adorable stuff. My son drew the name for me so it would be totally impartial.
Stay tuned, as I will be having another giveaway soon as this was so much fun. Oh, and Happy Valentines Day to you, thanks again for visiting my blog and all your comments! 
Here's my cat Ace, looking out the window once again wondering where in the world I'm going to take you this week for my giveaway contest! There are only a few days left to enter before I draw a name on Valentines Day February 14th. I guess last week's photo was a little harder than I thought. Bunny B was the closest guess with Parikia, Greece. The windmill threw many of your off, but it was taken on the island of Mykonos in Greece. I took a wonderful cruise around the Mediterranean Sea a number of years ago.
Here's the contest rules to win my Argentium Sterling silver "Modern Simplicity" earrings shown to your right from my shop Beadin By The Sea :
1. Leave your name and email address or a link to your blog along with a wild guess of where the "Where in the world" photo was taken. You don't have to be correct to win! Click on "comments" at the bottom of this post to see the comment box.
2. Come back on Valentine's Day, February 14th to see if you've won. You will have 3 days to claim your prize.
Keep those guesses coming and don't be afraid to take a stab at it. I'm enjoying all the comments and speculation and I can't wait to give someone some free earrings!
Click here to go to last weeks Photo #3.
As a reminder to everyone, in the lower right is last week's Where in the World photo #1. It was taken at the Liberty Memorial and World War 1 Museum in Kansas City, Missouri. What is so inter
esting about this place is that it is only American museum solely dedicated to preserving the objects, history and personal experiences of WW1. If you visit you will find it a very interactive educational experience that will leave you emotionally moved. More information can be found by clicking here. You can also take an elevator to the top of the memorial for a spectacular 360 degree view of Kansas City. 
This picture I took of my cat Ace yesterday really got me to thinking that I really don't get out much. Since moving back to our small town, I rarely ever leave the island which is accessible by a large bridge to the mainland. The closest shopping is about 25 minutes away and sometimes it just seems so far!
