6060 Rides The Crazy Train

Crafters of soft and plushy stuffed animals will love the googly eyeballs of all types offered in this shop. 6060 has a great variety of colors, sizes and designs. Get your teddy bear ready!

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Vote on the Fire Divas Thanksgiving Challenge

To celebrate the season of giving, the Fire Divas are having a Thanksgiving Challenge! Some of our members have made wonderful pieces for YOU to vote on. First, enjoy viewing these wonderful treasures. When you're done, please vote for the bead you are thankful for on right side of the Fire Divas' blog. The voting will stay open for one week - then the winner will receive a really cool prize!

Click here to go to the Fire Divas blog and vote, see the right side of the page! Thanks for voting! We appreciate your time :)

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JewelOrry Rides the Crazy Train!

What a delightful little shop JewelOrry is! It's full of crystals and shiny silver and bright colors. I love it! Just think of the people you can cross off your Christmas shopping list with some great items from this shop!

Check it out...

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Butterfly-Crafts Rides The Crazy Train

Butterfly-Crafts Cards and Gifts is the perfect place to find great greetings for any occasion, and some other goodies too!

I love hand crafted cards. And with Christmas just around the corner you can't go wrong!! I love the cards featured in this shop. Check them out, and you'll see what I mean!

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"Not all treasure be silver and gold, Mate."

...Quote Jack Sparrow.

The ArtFire Stalkers guild is usually hard to detect, hidden in the shadows and lurking behind doors. We watch, we wait, we post links to our victims' awesome shop items and dare others to look at their creations!!

But we're not ominous! We're really a lot of fun And we'd like everyone to join us in our Stalker Treasure Hunt. There will be great prizes donated by our very talented and stealthy stalkers.

It's your turn to stalk the Stalkers! Check out our blog starting October 15th for details! Get details, see prizes.

Something wicked this way comes....wickedly fun!!

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Catinalife Rides the Crazy Train!

Catinalife has the most amazing jewelry items! It is like a gemstone candy store with all the yummy goodness going on in there! And what amazing wire work jewelry as well. Catinalife is a great jewelry artisan and I can certainly see there are many beautiful items that would make wonderful and unique gifts this holiday season!

Take a peek, you will be amazed!

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Aquariann Rides The Crazy Train

One of my all time favorite artists is Aquariann on ArtFire! Her artwork is fantastic, romantic and whimsical. She is the creator or beautiful creatures from fairies and dragons to pirates with parrots.

She has bookmarkers, magnets and framed art! I love the vibrant colors and can feel a world of wonder open in my imagination every time I visit her shop! Just take a peek....

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CreativeCritters Rides The Crazy Train!

CreativeCritters is such a fun ArtFire studio to visit. She's a true polymer clay artists, and her items range from fashionable to whimsical and fun! What a great place to get some great unique gifts for the coming holiday season!

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DoMosaics Rides The Crazy Train on ArtFire!

This is such a fun shop, with tons of unique gift ideas! ArtFire is a wonderful place!! Go and visit DoMosaics to knock off some of those items on your Christmas List!!

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SpunSisterDesigns Rides The Crazy Train

Oh, do I love lampwork beads and gemstones. Earrings and, well, all kinds of jewelry. This is a really great shop with tons of unique gift ideas. Check out SpunSistersDesigns!

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KraftlyLady Rides the Crazy Train!

Oh, I have to tell you that KraftyLady's shop is FULL of amazing Christmas items. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Christmas!! But wait! That's not all she has. There were a couple of oh-so-adorable hand knit baby dresses. I really wish I had a baby to buy them for. And she has some beautiful jewelry, and felt ornaments, and....and....well, you just have to go see for yourself.

Enjoy a browse and have some fun...

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Smiss00 Rides the Crazy Train on ArtFire

Smiss has some awesome hair clips and pony tail accessories! I love the fabric covered buttons :) She also makes rings from them, they are adorable! I also saw some bobbypins and jewelry! Just take a peek below, and go visit her shop :D I know you want to!

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Believe it or not.....

The holidays are just around the corner! I know it seems too soon to think about it, but if you plan ahead, you can ease the strain on your pocketbook, AND get some really unique gifts that your family and friends will simply adore! And ArtFire is the perfect place to shop!

It's easy for me to say "shop early", and I am usually the one in the stores on Christmas Eve...well, close to it! But when you buy handmade you can't wait til the last minute. Because items are usually one of a kind and totally unique the don't usually last long.

Now, if you know someone who loves jewelry, lampwork beads, or both, have I got a great shopping experience for you! Just take a peek at my lampwork beads. Find something you like? Great! Now what? How about we build you something totally one of a kind. Let's go.....

You can buy something already made, like this--->

Or, buy separate components and make something really special, like maybe this....
<--- And mix it up with some of this...
My pendant posts and findings will create something really unique for you -->
:)

And get something cool, like this pendant below!

So, this holiday season, don't forget to shop ArtFire.com for unique gift ideas. Did I mention unique gifts, all handmade? Yeah, I think I did!

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aKimberlyDesigns Rides the Crazy Train!

aKimberlyDesigns has some absolutely gorgeous artwork! She also has beautiful jewelry and she has awesome little purses! Check her out :)

Read more about her on her Artists Bio.

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JewelryByJoy Rides the Crazy Train

Take a look at the beautiful jewelry below! JewelryByJoy really has some talent. That wire wrapping is so stunning! Check out her shop!

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HeatherDesigns Rides the Crazy Train!

HeatherDesigns is a great studio, full of handmade lampwork beads and jewelry. She also has ribbon and cording for your beads! This is one awesome shop, go ahead, visit her studio! Enjoy :)

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Andrea Designs Rides The Crazy Train

AndreaDesigns knits some awesome handmade scarves and shawls! And she has some really cool colored yarns! Take a peek and go visit her shop and take advantage of her Christmas in July Sale!! This lovely summer isn't going to last forever!

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One Great Giveaway

Don't miss this great giveaway by GemsByJerri. I was just visiting her shop and bought myself some great little packs of gemstones! Can't wait to make some cute little necklace and bracelets with some of these beauties. Amestyst, Jade, and Moukaite Jasper are just a few of what I bought.

Now don't forget to got to GemsByJerri's blog and find out how you can participate in her great giveaway! Here are a couple pics of some items you just might win!

Oh, and I wanted to show you my favorite item in her shop. Turquoise! LOVE IT. Okay, you ca stop drooling now!

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DanglesByDiane Rides the Crazy Train

DanglesByDiane has the cutest items, from baby booties, toddler girls skirts to awesome jewelry! Check her out...

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BeadLady5 Rides the Crazy Train!

I loved visiting BeadLady5's ArtFire shop! Her work is very vintage style, with other styles as well. She uses crystals, pearls, and lampwork. Her jewelry is wearable art! Below is just a sampling. Visit her studio for more awesome goodness!

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ExquisiteStudios Rides the Crazy Train!

I love wire work, jewelry, glass, and especially candle holders! Visit ExquisiteStudios for some great shopping!

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What shinanigans am I up to now?

I'm sitting at the computer reading, drinking coffee. Just relaxing before everyone else gets out of bed. It's my favorite time of day on the weekends. As I looked over at the scattering of supplies I thought, I wonder if any one else wonders what I'm up to?

Well, just in case you were wondering....

LampworkEtc.com is a great forum for lampworkers like me. Member's generosity is amazing there. They are so helpful, and love to share and teach. And Mr. Smiley shared an awesome tutorial on hearts. He started the thread back in 2005, and it's still going strong today!

So the other day I tried my hand at his hearts. He uses boro glass (very hard) and I use soft glass, so I wasn't too keen on the thin glass loop (see bottom left heart), so I tried some thicker loops. Not too keen on those either, too bulky and yucky looking! So someone else shared pics and they made the hearts right off the mandrel. I feel in LOVE! So above is a small sampling of my hearts in progress.

LampworkEtc also has a great promo thread from Amy at Zooziis where she shares her bead presses so we can try them. You get one press for ONE month, and when you are done you pass it on to the first lucky person to reply after you announce it's ready to move on. And I was waiting for The Crystal Chunky Duo! And I got it :) So yesterday morning I was able to squeeze in an hour or so and made a couple of these little beauties. I'm thinking they'll make great key chains, cell/flash drive/purse charms, or even pendants! And as this idea was bouncing around in my head, I realized I was out of bead bars :(

Of course, before I ever order anything I always think long and hard to determine if I really do need the supplies. And quite honestly, I've decided that I do need these. And I really want to tell you why.

I love these Bead Bars and their special components! You can see the huge difference in the bar versus a normal headpin. These bead bars are chunky and super sturdy, and are great for roughly handled items like key chains and purse charms. But are definitely stylish and beautiful on pendants as well. They have really turned out to be my favorite findings for working with lampwork and creating lampwork jewelry and accessories.

However, as you can imagine, they are not cheap! At almost $2.00 vs the $.20 for a plated headpin, you can see why I had to consider this purchase long and hard. And each cap and spacer is equally expensive for a silver plated component. But I think you will agree, they are really beautiful, functional, and in the end, well worth the cost!

Let me know what you think. I love hearing from you :)

---

The look of the headpin vs the bead bar.
Headpins are great, you can use them with any findings. And I love using crystals!
The bead bar has a unique look of it's own. It's becoming my favorite.
And well worth the price, in my eyes.
---
Here is a closer look at the bead bar and components, compared to the headpin.
The holes in the finding are large, and they are designed specifically for the bead bar.
And this is just a sampling of what is offered.

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Studio JRU Rides the Crazy Train!

This are is truly inspirational. I love the texture and colors. So relaxing! That's one of the great things about the Crazy Train...seeing shops that you may have missed or never even seen! I'm glad I have seen this one.

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One Lovely Blog Award, round 2

There are a lot of great blogs out there. I appreciate them all, and enjoy reading them. And I'd like to announce round 2 (there will be one more post with my last 10 candidates). My next 10 candidates for The One Lovely Blog Award...

So here are the rules for the One Lovely Blog Award

1. Accept the award
2. Post it on your blog together with the name of the person (or persons) who has granted the award, along with their blog link.
3. Pass the award on to 15 other blogs that you've newly discovered. (And don't forget to contact them that they have been chosen for this award.)

20. ColtPixy
19. Silver River Jewelry
18. EmilyClaire Creations
17. Island Girl's Insights
16. Haffina Creations
15. 2 Sisters 4 Art
14. Creative With Clay
13. Far North Creations
12. The Pet Boutique Blog
11. RainWolf Studios

It's really hard to choose from all the wonderful blogs out there! It really is. And I'd like to thank you all for your inspiration and information! Have a wonderful and safe 4th of July!

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Important news! And a winner too!

Yep, it's true, I have important news, so PAY ATTENTION!! Okay, that's better.

If you take a gander down the right side bar there, you may or may not notice something missing. Go ahead, take peek, see if you can figure out what it is.

I'm sure most of you can, but for those who can't, I'll just tell you. Ahem *clears throat*.

It is with great happiness that I announce that I have completely removed all my items from Etsy and will no longer be using them as my selling venue. There are numerous reasons, from messing with our SEOs, to closing threads that are asking WHY, to muting members and closing their shops down with no explanation. As far as I'm concerned that's not very American at all.

And so, with that I've closed my poll which, by the way, was 5 for Etys, and a whopping 17 for ARTFIRE!! Woohoo!!

And now, the lucky winner form the comments of this post. Drum Roll PLEASE ! brrrrrrrr


The winner is...Silver River Jewelry! Yay!! You can find Silver River Jewelry on ArtFire. So go check out her awesome stuff. Go...now!! Wait, see what she chose for her prize first, then you can go! lol

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BacisCreations Rides The Crazy Train!

Bacis Creations is a monther-daughter team of jewelry designers. And what great items they have too. Take a break and go visit their shop. You may get some Christmas shopping done early! Enjoy :)

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Hoffee And A Nuffin

If you like sock monkeys you will love Hoffee And A Nuffin! This is where you can find all kinds of adorable cards, keychains and more. All sock monkey themed!

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Totally Tyra Rides the Crazy Train

Totally Tyra has some awesome baby/toddler items! And some sweet home made cards. And some other goodies. Go give her shop some lovin'!!

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Dancing Wind Designs Rides the Crazy Train!

Just look at the awesome jewelry created by Dancing Wind Designs. The beadwork is amazing!

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Make your own ArtFire Widget!

I just gave this a shot, and what do you know, it worked!! Haha, I'm so happy!



It's really easy to do. What I did was copied and pasted the below widget into Notepad. It will be easier to see what you are doing in there, then in the little widget box. Here is the code to copy:

<a href="http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&op=listing&product_id=251246" target="_blank">

<img src="http://static.artfire.com/admin/product_images/thumbs/afv--22034--23658_product_1689421597_thumb_large.jpg" width="150" height="150">

• The RED area is where you will remove that string and paste your item or page url. For my widget, I used the item page url.
  
• The ORANGE area is where you will remove that string and paste your image url. For my item I used my item image url.
• The last thing to do is to add the spacing of <br/><br/> between the two codes above, and again after the second code. (they don't show up here because I have to "make" the html code NOT work. If that makes sense! lol
  

If you want to use a pic that is not online you will have to save it on either Flickr, Photobucket or another online service. And use that url.

To find url using Firefox as a browser just right click and you will see an option of "copy image location".

To find a url using another browser you just right click and choose "Properties" (usually at the bottom of the box) and highlight/copy the image url.

I hope this helps. I'm not really very computer literate, but it seemed to work for me! I hope you have as good of luck with this as I did!

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LicaLee rides the Crazy Train!

Woowoo, all aboard! LicaLee is the next featured artisan on the Crazy Train. Please visit her shop, has wonderful items. Just look!

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iHeartCrafts

Introducing iHeartCrafts which features handmade felt, fabric and clay crafts straight from Ireland! This studio is so cute, you just have to visit them.

These items are literally cute at a button! A fabric or felt button, that is! lol You can also find cookie cut ornaments and little felt goodies!

Stop on over at iHeartCrafts and check them out. You'll enjoy yourself!

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A great end to a crazy week!

First of all I would like to thank two wonderful people, Jenn from JennuineCandles and Willow Walker for awarding me with the "One Lovely Blog Award". I mean, I know it looks cool and everything, but who'd a known it was that cool?

I thank you both, and it is greatly appreciated. So now I get the prestigious honor of awarding this title to not 15, but 30 blogs! Wow! So, let's start the countdown....

So here are the rules for the One Lovely Blog Award

1. Accept the award
2. Post it on your blog together with the name of the person (or persons) who has granted the award, along with their blog link.
3. Pass the award on to 15 other blogs that you've newly discovered. (And don't forget to contact them that they have been chosen for this award.)

30. My First ward goes to Hey Lola. She's completely snarky in her blog, and I totally wanna be like her when I grow up. Which isn't going to be any time soon since I'm 45 and haven't grown up yet. Oh, and she's a ninja bride too. Or something cool like that.

29. Goes to my friend Deb of ArtisticFlair. I love Deb's wit and her awesome fused artwork. I met Deb through Etsy when she asked me to make her some goddess beads, which I had never done before. But I was up for the challenge, and she was extremely patient while I practiced until I made some she was thrilled with. And Deb has a rocking blog too.

28. Goes to Kay Sommers of Popnicute. And Popnicute she is, and so is her blog, and her jewelry is totally awesome. She has great stuff for everyone on her blog, from informative to fashion. Go check it out!

27. Goes to Jenny of Jenny Karlsson Designs. Her blog features just about every cool artisan there is. And she has a ton of cool links, and a list of even more blogs to check out. And she also shows us her great work there as well.

26. Goes to Amy Designs Musings. Amy has great tutorials and how-to's on her blog. And I love those!! She also has a featured artisan section. That's so awesome!!

25. Goes to Valerie of Emily Claire Creations. Her tag line is earthy elemental jewelry. That just sounds yummy. Her business is named after her daughters. And what beautiful names. Valerie's blog is fresh and new.

24. Goes to Eileen of Dorset Hill Beads. Eileen always has a new little tidbit for us almost every day. And she has tons of cool and cute little links to enjoy as well.

23. Goes to Deon of MNHPhotography. Her photos are amazing. It's hard to talk about anything else when I get so absorbed in her great pictures! I know there's more stuff on there, but I can't pull my eyes away from her photos! lol

22. Goes to 3zArt. You can find featured artisans which is really a great feature. As well as links to her goodies. And the bright cheery color makes your day!

21. Goes to Neoma Jewelry. She not only features her great work, but the work of others too. I love reading and learning about other artisans.

Thank you for sharing your great blogs, everyone. Please go visit their blogs and see what they have to offer. I'll be back with 10 more in couple of days!

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Let the ghoulishness begin!

I'm not sure if you noticed by one of my previous posts, but I love Halloween, and I wanted to show you one of my most popular items. My Ghoulish Halloween Fingers! They're gross, and disgusting with their green skin and red fingernails. And they really need a manicure too.

They'd make a pretty cool pair of earrings, I've had others dangle them from necklaces. Hmm, I think I need to do that myself!

What would you do with your very own pair of ghoulish fingers?

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Fun with Dick as Etsy

See Dick...


See Dick think...

See Dick mess with your SEO...

Don't be a Dick!

I'm sorry, just in case you were wondering...we're hopping mad! Read all about it!

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Crazy Train Rides Again!

The Crazy Train has Kay Sommers of Popnicute as the featured rider! You have got to see these items. They are amazing! And when you scroll down her shop page, I'm betting your eyes will fall on this sweet piece of eye candy. Made with Soo Chow Jade teardrops,
this is one stunning necklace.

Kay also has some pretty cool tutorials. I love these, and I just happen to have some copper wire. Hmm....I think I need that! lol

So come on and visit Popnicute, you know you want to!

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The Crazy Train takes off again!

This time with Designs by Patricia Hall as the passenger! Patricia is from Hillsborough, North Carolina!

I love the crazy train, and I love Patricia's ArtFire studio because she has awesome lampwork jewelry. As you all know, I am a little partial to lampwork, lol. Look at these lovely little blue heart earrings! How adorable!

Not only is there awesome glass and lampwork jewelry, but she has this adorable puka shell ankle bracelet! In turquoise, my favorite color for the summer!

And look at this Jasper! Wow! It's so beautiful. And there are other awesome gems and agates.

So what are you waiting for? Get on over there and take a peek at all the great items in Patricia's ArtFire Studio!

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It's so great to be able to come together to do something for someone!

I received a request from a lady on Etsy asking if I could make a ring from my cute little hippo bead. Well, unfortunately I am not equipped to make a real ring that is sized properly. But, as luck would have it, I had just bought some Argentinium silver wire from Lanna at Lanna's Jewelry Chest, and she had some cute rings on there. So I gave the customer Lanna's name and told her I'd be more then happy to ship the bead right to her and if Lanna was able, she could make her something.

And did she ever! This Hippo Ring is adorable! I'm so glad I could work with Lanna to make sure our customer received something wonderful. She said it was important to her, so I hope she is truly happy. I think the ring turned out perfectly! Thanks Lanna!

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Simply Beautiful

I'd like to introduce you to Ellyloo! I chatted with her briefly on Twitter, and had to visit her shop. Not only does she have some wonderful beads, but look at that cute Avatar!

I've made these beads before, and although they are fun to do, and beautiful to look at, you have to have a fair amount of patience to keep those little flowers looking so good. I'm very impatient. I like to melt everything as quickly as I can. And that's not good for this type of bead!

So I tilt my hat to you, Ellyloo. Awesome beads! Go visit Ellyloo and get yourself some goodies!

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Oh no, scary!! Hide under the covers!

Halloween is coming! I know, summer doesn't even seem like it's here yet. But for you jewelry designers, you know that now is the time to get your beadies for Halloween.

I love creating Halloween beads. They're so much fun to make. And you can see from each bead that I love the humor in life, and that humor is captured in each bead I make.

So, whether you are a collector of lampwork, a jewelry designer, or just someone who thinks they'd really like to have one, visit my ArtFire shop and check out what I have. Remember, I love to do custom orders, too! So check out my Gallery to see what's already been sold, I can make you one too!

And, just a reminder, if you do find a bead you like but don't make jewelry, I'd be happy to create a pendant for you! I can do it all :)

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Mystical and Magical

Those are the words I use to describe KabiDesigns ArtFire shop! And her banner shows a wonderful example of what is inside! Let's go take a stroll, shall we?

This is my favorite piece, and the first one to catch my eye. Blues and purples are so beautiful together. I know this piece is titled Dragon Fly, but the colors are beautifully reminiscent of the damselfly, and so close to what mother nature designed. And what attention to detail! Just look at those wings! Wow.

These items are all done in polymer clay. Wow, have things changed! Who knew that one day we'd be able to make art of out clay!

This is another of my favorites. I love the rich earthy colors. I had to add it to my ArtFire hotlist! After all, I have a birthday coming! lol

Boy, I tell you what! All these beautiful pieces make me want to go out and buy some clay. But I think I'll stick to flames and glass. And leave all this gorgeous detail up to the true polymer clay artists.

Please visit KabiDesigns. You won't be disappointed :)

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Just a Romantic at Heart

That's me. I love the old fashioned, the antique, the Victorian. And when I stepped into this virtual shop, I stopped short! It is truly breathtaking!
The above necklace was the first thing that caught my eye. How beautiful, what detail, and I love the earthy colors. And below are some gorgeous shrugs. I've always wanted to knit up one of my own. But, you know how that goes! It doesn't!

Bolayla is located in Istanbul, Kadikoy. How romantic is that! Go visit her shop, and show her some love. Are you a romantic at heart?

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