mountainshadowdesign

Gift with Purchase!

2011-04-13T20:40:00.000-07:00

While supplies last, I will include one of these stacking drawers from Beadalon in each order placed on Etsy. One gift per invoice, beads shown in photo not included.

Heads up to my Canadian Customers!

2011-03-30T14:56:00.001-07:00

I will be offering a Priority Mail upgrade for all orders over $70 (not including shipping) for my Canadian customers! I just received a shipment of these new flat rate bubble mailers and thought that it might help speed up orders that are traveling over the border into Canada.. Offer is good only on regular Etsy store orders, not reserve listings and not valid on orders on my website at this time.

As for my U.S. and International customers, I am working on a Priority upgrade for you as well :)
Stay tuned..

Update March 20, 2010

2010-03-20T12:44:00.000-07:00

I just put my Etsy shop on vacation for the new few days. I have quite a bit of new inventory to photograph and get ready for listing as well as a lot of new "old" inventory that has arrived and needs to be restocked. It's also the deadline for my taxes.

If you need to place an order in the meantime, you can do so on my website www.mountainshadowbeads.com. However, the soonest that I will be able to mail it will be Monday March 29. Feel free to contact me with any questions or requests.

Website Update

2010-01-18T12:33:00.001-08:00

It's been a while since I've mentioned my website but the good news is that you can now find ALL of my 4x6mm Baby Bell Flowers and 6x8mm Bell Flowers on www.mountainshadowbeads.com. I also have many of my other rondelles, crystals and firepolished round beads on there as well . I am going to be running a grand "re-opening" special here very soon and I will post that here on my blog. The website is a work in progress but one of my priorities right now is to get it completely finished.

I offer FREE shipping on all orders over $50 which are placed on the website. I also have multiple quantities listed of my inventory so you won't need to wait for me to make a reserve listing for you on Etsy.

www.mountainshadowbeads.com

Something that I wanted to share..

2010-01-12T10:25:00.001-08:00

I came across this necklace in my jewelry box this morning. It was a piece of jewelry that came from my mother's aunt. This aunt lived in Hollywood back in the 20's and was involved with the movie industry. She had some wonderful costumes, jewelry, old furs and so on.

I just love this necklace and when it was given to me years ago, I don't think that I stopped to appreciate the beads. They are most likely old Czech beads, and they are knotted in between. Wouldn't it be a fun necklace to duplicate?

New Beads 1.05.10

2010-01-05T15:02:00.001-08:00

These just in.. gorgeous 14mm puffy rondelle beads!

Restocking the Etsy Shop

2009-12-30T20:54:00.000-08:00

Well, with the holidays almost behind us, I'm beginning to restock my Etsy shop. I still have over 70 sale items listed but I am beginning to list my regular items and also many new items. Stay tuned! Here's a photo of another new beauty!

12.27.09 New Beads

2009-12-28T11:05:00.000-08:00

I had some time yesterday to work on taking pictures of some of the new beads that have arrived. You can find them in my "New Arrivals" Section of my Etsy shop.

SALE!!

2009-12-20T12:47:00.001-08:00

Ok, the sale has started. For the next two weeks, I will be marking down and listing items that I am wanting to clear out of my inventory. There are limited quantity of these items and many I am not planning on bringing in again. So, if there is something that you see that you like, don't wait to buy!

Happy Holidays to everyone! Thanks for making this such a wonderful year for me on Etsy.

Diana

New Beads 12.12.09

2009-12-13T16:28:00.000-08:00

I finally had some time to get out my camera and take pictures of my new beads. You can find them in my "new arrivals" section in my Etsy shop.

December Update (and some new beads)

2009-12-12T05:49:00.000-08:00

Well after traveling over Thanksgiving and bringing back what my doctor felt might be the H1N1 flu, I'm finally beginning to get things back to normal here. I'm all caught up on shipping orders and re-stocking my Etsy shop.

I've started a Facebook Fan Page for MountainShadowDesigns, you can view it here.

This weekend I will be working on taking pictures of all the new beads which have arrived over the last few weeks and getting them listed on Etsy.

And, I want to take a minute to thank all of my loyal customers for a wonderful year! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone.

Check out my feature in Papavercreations's Blog!

2009-12-03T09:52:00.000-08:00

I am going to be featured in Papavercreations's blog for the next two week. Come and check it out and you can participate in her blog giveaway which is packet of 12 Czech Firepolished Faceted Glass Multi Colored Gemstones and packet of 25 4x6mm Czech Firepolished Faceted Glass Multi Colored Gemstones from my shop! And thank you to Shabana for featuring me!

Snow Day!

2009-10-30T19:32:00.000-07:00

We had quite a storm this past week on Wednesday and Thursday and ended up with around fifteen inches of heavy wet snow. This isn't usually a problem for me unless they close the schools, which they did. So, I'm running a little behind in shipping. I hope to get caught up this weekend. Here's a picture of our storm, hard to believe that it's only October.

Sale Update

2009-10-21T08:25:00.000-07:00

I've decided to extend my sale at least through the weekend 10/25. So, don't feel rushed to shop.
Today, I will be listing the remaining stock that I have here from Vintaj. There are a few Vintaj items that I have marked down and you can find them in my "Sale" section.

Time To Stock Up!!

2009-10-17T21:09:00.000-07:00

I rarely ever run a discount in my Etsy Shop but the other day I was realizing that I've been selling online now for over six years. And, my Etsy anniversary is coming up here in a few days (along with my son's birthday our anniversary).

So, in celebration of the last six years online and especially the last three on Etsy, I'll be offering all of the items in my Etsy shop (with the exception of sale items and shipping) at a 10% discount through this coming Wednesday 10/21. I'll be refunding the discount by Paypal when I pack the orders.

Now's a great time to stock up, I don't plan on doing this again any time soon.

Enjoy!

Czech This Out! Featured Seller!

2009-09-27T08:30:00.000-07:00

This gorgeous bracelet can be found at justCharming.etsy.com. Lisa sent me a picture of this bracelet in a convo and I knew right away that I had to feature it here on my blog. She has used such a wonderful combination of fall colors. You can also find the earrings at her sister shop, justEarrings.etsy.com.

Back to School!

2009-08-23T09:44:00.001-07:00

Wow, the summer just flew by. Even with my son's school starting one week later than normal, it still went by very fast. I have mixed feelings with him going back to school tomorrow. The summer is always difficult when it comes to striking a balance between work and play. Because I only have once child, he always expects me to play with him. When he's here I have a constant companion, which is nice. I've been selling beads online since he was about 18 months old. It's hard to believe he's almost 8. So, I'll be missing him tomorrow, at least I'll have the four legged critters to keep me company. It will give me an opportunity to get my Etsy shop loaded back up. I've been slowly entering all my inventory into a database so that I can keep a better track of what I have on hand.

I do have some beautiful new beads which you can find in my "new" section. I'm also going on a buying trip again next month and like I did last year, I'll be marking down a number of items here soon in order to make room for the new beads. Stay tuned...

It's Almost Time for the Yart Sale

2009-06-06T15:46:00.000-07:00

Well, it's almost time again for the 2nd Annual Yart Sale which runs June 10-14th. You can read more about it on the Team Esst Blog http://teamesst.blogspot.com or you can read the Etsy Storque article for details.

http://www.etsy.com/storque/how-to/ya-gotta-yart-4049/

I will be participating and there will be a number of markdowns in my shop as well as some fun "grab bags".

If you have an Etsy shop you are also welcome to participate in the YartSale as well.

Vintaj Back in Stock

2009-05-21T11:31:00.001-07:00

I just finished working on my Vintaj inventory and I have activated most of the listings again. Here is a picture of a bracelet that I made with the "Sparrow's Compass Pendant". This is actually not my design but one that I found in the Idea Gallery on the Vintaj website. The glass beads are my 8mm Czech Pressed Glass Melons in Opaque Antique Green.

More New Arrivals

2009-05-20T19:32:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been working on my inventory in preparation for my son being home for the summer. His last day of school in on Friday! I can't believe it, 1st grade just flew by.

I've also been working though a large box of beads that had arrived over the last few months and I didn't have time to get them listed. So you will find many new beads in my Etsy shop as well as my Artfire shop.

Design Idea

2009-05-16T11:57:00.001-07:00

For Mother's Day, I received this beautiful necklace from my best friend, Liz. I had sent her most of the beads for her birthday and this is what she came up with. I'm sharing it with you because I think it's a great example of how versatile the Czech Glass Beads are. She used 8mm Firepolished Faceted Rounds beads in Tanzanite (a color that I no longer can get my hands on), 4mm Firepolished Faceted beads in Montana AB, and 6mm Silver Pressed Glass Spacers. She gave me permission to post this picture and hopefully it will inspire you to think outside of the box when it comes to combining colors.

Back in Stock!

2009-05-13T09:28:00.001-07:00

I just received a shipment that contains many Czech Glass Beads that have been out of stock for the last few months. I'm very excited to have these beads back in stock. You can view them by clicking this link.

Birthstone Crystals are In!

2009-05-07T09:40:00.001-07:00

I had a special request for the Czech Briolette Drops in Birthstone Colors. I thought that this would be a great addition to my Etsy shop for anyone making jewelry that has the traditional birthstone colors. So, here they are.. I now have the sweet 6x10mm drops in:

Garnet-January
Amethyst-February
Aqua-March
Crystal-April
Emerald-May
Light Amethyst-June
Ruby-July
Peridot-August
Sapphire-September
Rose-October
Topaz-November (I have Smoky Topaz and regular Topaz on order)
Blue Zircon-December (on order)

New Beads!!

2009-05-06T11:12:00.000-07:00

If you stop into my Etsy Shop, the shelves may look a little bare. Here's why.. for the last 10 days I've been working with our neighborhood HOA to fight a crematorium which wanted to move into our community. It would have been about 250 feet from our house and since we have an asthmatic son, this was a big concern to us. Some people don't seem to be concerned with a crematorium in a neighborhood but there are so many unknown risks. The EPA does not regulate crematoriums and there are many studies that prove that mercury is released into the environment during a cremation if the bodies have old amalgam fillings. I'm going to spare you with the rest of the details. I've learned more about cremation over the last 10 days that I wish to know. To make a very long story short, we made the front page of our local paper and the landlord that was leasing the property has rescinded the lease offer to the crematorium. (YAY!). This project kept me very busy but when it comes to something that affects my family, there is nothing that will stop me. So, family first and beads second. I'm back and getting ready to list all the new beads that have arrived over the last couple of weeks.

I haven't made the official announcement yet but I now have a new website!! Please stop by and take a look www.mountainshadowbeads.com. I am adding to it daily and you will be able to buy multiple quantities and save on shipping. I will of course continue to sell on Etsy but this will be a great addition to my business.

Things Are Moving Slowly This Week...

2009-04-16T10:47:00.000-07:00

I returned home from Arizona on Monday evening. We had a wonderful visit with my parents but my mom didn't seem to be feeling well. Tuesday afternoon my dad called to tell me that he thought that she may have had a stroke and she was being airlifted to a hospital in Tucson.

Needless to say, I've been worried about her ever since and the packing of the orders is going slowly. I'm currently as of writing this on Thursday, packing orders from Sunday.

She has stabilized and hopefully today we will know exactly what it was that happened on Tuesday. I'll be packing orders all day today, tomorrow and Saturday and hopefully things will be back to normal at that point.

On a much lighter note, I have three large shipments of beads that arrived while I was away. I have many NEW beads to list.

And the Winner Is...

2009-04-12T11:07:00.000-07:00

This morning we entered all the names into a hat for the drawing and I had my son pull one out. The winner is BlueNostalgia. Thank you everyone for participating in my first poll and giveaway!

Happy Easter!

Important Information Needed From My Valued Customers

2009-03-28T09:45:00.001-07:00

I'm getting ready to do a little remodeling in my Etsy shop and I'd like a little input from my customers. For as long as I've been selling on Etsy, I've organized my categories (or sections in Etsy) by the type of bead. So, I have Firepolished, Pressed, Flowers and so on. Many sellers organize by color which I have never done because you can easily search by color in an Etsy store. I organize my beads here in my office by type and it just carries over to my Etsy shop. So, I'm running a poll which expires in at midnight on Saturday April 11. At the end of the two weeks, I will put all the names of people that have participated into a basket and draw one winner. The winner will win a $5.00 gift certificate to my Etsy shop and a free grab bag of assorted goodies from my shop.

So, the poll is over on the right side of my blog and after you vote you can send me a convo through Etsy and I will record your name. The drawing will be on Sunday April 12 at noon Etsy time.

Thanks in advance for participating!

New Swarovski Product!

2009-03-09T12:59:00.000-07:00

I don't have a whole lot of time these days for making jewelry. But I put these gorgeous earrings together this weekend. They are made with the new Swarovski Rhinestone Encrusted Beads in 13mm. They come in two sizes, 8mm and 13mm. I have the 8mm listed in my Etsy Shop and right now I only have the 13mm in the color shown in these earrings. They aren't cheap but if you see them in person, you will understand why!

The Night Shift Here at MountainShadow

2009-03-03T17:23:00.001-08:00

Just about every morning when I wake up, I find large bags of beads scattered on my stairs. While I'm sound asleep, my cat Sabrina, is busy working downstairs in my "bead room". I'd like to think that she is trying to help me but I'm pretty sure that it's some primal instinct that keeps her busy working with the beads. I'd prefer her to be snuggling with me. After all, we spend a good deal of our day down there already. Of course most of the day, she is asleep. So, as long as I don't close the door, she is busy in my basement, working the night shift, choosing just the right bag of beads to carry up to me.

Sabrina is a great little cat. We adopted her three years ago after losing our 17 year old kitty. She was a hurricane rescue, most likely from hurricane Katrina. We were told that she had most likely been born either just before or just after the hurricane. She was at the shelter with her whole litter. I had sold quite a bit of jewelry and beads on Ebay and donated all the proceeds to the Humane Society of the United States. Not that I expected anything in return, but we were blessed with such a great fun cat.

February's Promotion...Scratch Off Cards

2009-02-15T07:38:00.000-08:00

I've always liked those little scratch off cards, from Lotto Tickets to the ones that they used to give out in fast food meals. A few months ago, I ordered these fun little cards from my favorite graphic design shop PixelbyPixel.

Starting today February 15 through the end of the month, any order over $15 will receive one of these cute little cards in their order. Every card is a winner and you can win one of three things on your next order.. free shipping, a free gift, or 10% off. Please mention "scratch card promotion" in your notes area of your order so that I know that you read my blog :) This promotion is not valid for previous orders or reserve listings.

I'm Back With Lots of New Goodies!

2009-02-11T06:16:00.000-08:00

Well, the Tucson trip went really well. I have a lot of new Czech Glass Beads as well as a few Vintage Lucite Beads. I left half of the Czech beads down in Arizona so that my mom could pack them in little bags for me (thanks mom). I also didn't want to check them in my bag when we flew home. I always worry about the bag getting lost and to carry them on is difficult because of the weight. On a recent trip last fall, I carried on a large bag of glass beads. When I went through security, I guess it must have looked odd to them on the x-ray and my bag ended up having to be hand searched. The look on the TSA guys face was pretty funny when he opened the bag of beads after first "squishing" them around with his hands.

I'll be listing the new beads slowly over the next few days. You'll be able to find them in my "new arrivals" area of my Etsy shop.

Vacation Mode!

2009-02-04T16:58:00.000-08:00

I think this is the first time that I've put my Etsy shop in vacation mode since we have had the ability to do so. I generally try to work around long weekends, cramming order packing in right before I leave for a long weekend and long days of the same when I get back. But this time, I need a little extra time to get myself organized. All of the orders that have been paid for have been shipped. Tomorrow I will spend some time on my inventory and making room for all the new beads that I'll be bringing back with me from Tucson.

I plan on opening up my Etsy store again either Thursday night or Friday morning. Shipping will begin bright and early Tuesday morning. If you would like to request a reserve listing, please feel free to drop me a convo. I have a list of requests and I can add your name to it. I will be listing the reserves as time allows over the weekend in the order that they come in.

Oh, and by the way those beauties that I mentioned in my last post will be here tomorrow. I am sure that I won't be able to wait to list them, so you'll probably be seeing them tomorrow night :)

Getting ready for Tucson

2009-02-02T15:39:00.001-08:00

As much as I don't like to do it, I'm taking down about half of the listings that I have in my Etsy store. I need to slow things down a bit so that I can get away on Friday. I haven't decided yet but I may need to put my shop on vacation hold for a couple of days before I leave. Once Friday rolls around, I'll get it back open with all nearly 600 listings back up and running. I'll be home Monday afternoon and shipping will resume on Tuesday morning.

I have some really exciting new beads arriving on Thursday and I'll try to get them listed before I leave. They are expensive but SO pretty and so far nobody else seems to have them on Etsy (yet).

Here are a few pictures of this week's arrivals...

It's Happened To Me Twice Now...

2009-01-31T08:02:00.000-08:00

People buying beads from me, and reselling them on Etsy using MY photos. If you buy beads from me to resell on Etsy, I don't have a problem with that. But I do have a problem with someone else using my photos. I have started watermarking all the images of my new product since early January, but I still have hundreds of listings that don't have that watermark. For the time being, I'm pulling down the old listings, retaking the photos and I'll slowly be activating them again. So, if there is something that you are looking for and can't find it, please write me.

More New Beads Coming Up This Weekend

2009-01-30T16:54:00.001-08:00

The weekends are always my chance to work on organization and listing my products. I have a large box of beads that I'm slowly chipping away at and I also have my old Ebay stock that I'm slowly listing as well. So, a little sneak peek into what I plan on working on this weekend will include some Swarovski Pearls, Soft Flex Wire and more Sterling Beads and Findings!

Newest Arrival...Czech Rhinestone Ball Beads!

2009-01-30T08:27:00.000-08:00

Well, these are the latest arrival and I'll be adding more finishes and colors in the near future. I love these beads because they are so versatile. They make a great instant easy pair of earrings when just left on their own, or a great accent when used in combination with other beads. Let me know what you think!

New Beads!

2009-01-25T15:40:00.000-08:00

It's a cold and snowy afternoon and I spent a good deal of the day listing some of the beads that arrived this week. Here are a few pictures.

I'll be leaving for the big wholesale Tucson bead show in a little under two weeks. It's been probably 9 years since I've attended this how, long before Etsy even existed. I'm looking forward to bringing back some new goodies and spending a few days in warmer weather.

Happy Holidays!

2008-12-26T12:41:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that it's the day after Christmas. It was a very busy selling season and I've taken a few days off from shipping orders and am up in the mountains with my family enjoying the snow. I'm including a few pictures of our winter wonderland. The elevation here is 9600 feet above sea level and the winters are quite long. The snow can come in feet and in one of the pictures you'll see the guys shoveling the snow off the roof of the building next door. (a job that I'm glad that I don't have). The other picture is of our pup Gary, who you will see is looking more and more like a full grown dog. He's almost 8 months old now and turning into a wonderful dog.

I'll be spending the next few days working on my inventory, my husband loves it when I pack the car full of beads :). My Etsy store will be open and fully stocked and I'm around to work on reserve listings and to answer convo's. I may even list a few new items if the battery on my camera will hold out (forgot the charger). Orders will begin shipping again Tuesday morning.

Have a wonderful and relaxing holiday season!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!

2008-12-06T10:22:00.001-08:00

We are up in the mountains for a long weekend and it looks a lot different than the last time we were here on Labor Day. They had 30-40 inches of snow last weekend so it will be a good weekend to ski. Check out the icecicles on the building next door! It will be a good weekend to work on my beads, since I'm not a skier. Yea, I know I live in Colorado and don't ski!! Someday I plan on giving it another try but right now I'm too busy playing with my beads.

Etsy Frontpage!

2008-11-08T09:45:00.001-08:00

Ok, well it's not recent but I've made it to the Etsy frontpage now two times! I was aware of one of them but not the other. I always knew about the Flicker group called EtsyFrontPagers but I never thought to search the archives. So, here's what I found ! Why don't you try searching too, to see if you've made the Etsy front page and didn't know about it!

New Beads!!

2008-10-20T06:18:00.000-07:00

My trip back east was so much fun and now that I'm back home I'm busy listing the new beads that have arrived. I have new findings, Czech Glass Beads and Acrylic. This week Vintaj, a great line of brass beads, charms, chains and findings will be arriving. I look forward to making some new jewelry as well as selling the supplies.

Goodbye Old Friend

2008-10-08T06:27:00.000-07:00

The last couple of weeks have been kind of crazy. It all started with our 11.5 year old Chocolate Lab, Mandy getting ill and having to be put down. She was diagnosed with Cushings Disease almost exactly a year ago and we were managing that pretty well. But all of a sudden she lost interest in eating, which I found to be pretty alarming. She's been on a prednisone therapy for the Cushings and it has given her a tremendous appetite, so for her to not want to eat, I knew that something was terribly wrong. So, to make a long story short, after a weekend of caring for her, we put her down Sunday night September 21.

Mandy was like my first born child, a dear and sweet dog. She and I competed in dog agility trials with the AKC. She had bad knees and ended up tearing both ACL's which required two extensive surgeries. At the same time, our son was born, so it worked out best that we retire from agility.

Even though we have a five month old black lab puppy, Gary (named by my 6 year old after "Gary" in Spongebob), I'll always miss my girl. Thanks to all of you that sent your kind words of support. My Etsy customers are awesome and your e-mails really helped me get through a rough period.

On a Personal Note

2008-09-13T06:22:00.000-07:00

I've been fighting a bad cold and sinus infection the last two weeks. Although I never really caved into it, which I probably should have I pushed through and was packing orders each day. I have a few "assistants" in my bead room but they only provide me moral support.

Our latest addition is Gary, our new black Lab puppy. We also have Mandy, our 11 year old chocolate Lab and a Tortoishell cat, Sabrina which was a rescue kitten from Hurricane Katrina. This past spring, our neighbor informed us that she was going to breed her lab. I knew we were in trouble then, because her dog, Abby is a real sweetie. I was fortunate enough to be able to help out with the puppies which was a once in a lifetime experience. We brought Gary home in early July and he's been an absolute joy to have around. Now, if I could just get these little "bead room companions" to help me count bead and pack orders, I'd be all set!

SALE!! SALE!! SALE!!

2008-09-06T17:01:00.000-07:00

The SALE is officially on in my Etsy store. I'm trying to make room for the new beads that I'll be bringing back from my buying trip here in a couple of weeks.

I just spent this past week nursing one of the worst colds that I've had in a very long time. I'm a bit behind in sale preparations but this weekend I managed to get the markdowns taken care of. There will be more markdowns coming in the next few weeks. Most of these sale beads are coming from inventory that you won't find currently in my Etsy store. I have many, many more beads than what's currently listed in my Etsy store and when time allows I will get them listed.

I also just listed some new beads, you can find them in my "NEW ITEMS" section.

On Monday, I'm going to be featuring one of my new favorite Etsy jewelry designers. I'm planning on featuring one new store here in my blog each Monday.

Fall Is In the Air, and Winter Is Just Around the Corner

2008-09-03T06:55:00.001-07:00

We spent the holiday weekend up in the mountains. Yesterday morning, just before we left I snapped this photo of the ski mountain. If you look closely, you can see the frost on the roof of the building and the beginning of some fall color in the bushes by the creek. Fall is a very short season at 10,000 ft above sea level. In less than a month there will be snow on the ski runs.

More New Beads! Happy Labor Day!!

2008-09-01T14:50:00.000-07:00

I took a few days off with my family this Labor Day weekend but now I'm back to listing new beads! You can view them here, and don't forget to visit my SALE section where I've listed some great deals. I'll be leaving on a buying trip here in a few weeks and I'm anxious to make room for the new beads that I'll be bringing back with me.

New Lucite Beads Have Arrived!!

2008-08-29T08:33:00.000-07:00

I have many new styles of lucite beads, both vintage and contemporary that I will be listing over the next few days! You can find them in my "Lucite" section.

Finally, a year after signing up for this blogger account!

2008-08-27T20:08:00.000-07:00

A year after I signed up for this blogger account, I'm finally getting around to blogging! My plan for this blog when I set up the account was to have a place where I can keep everyone up to date on new arrivals in my Etsy store. I have some exciting news planned for September. All that I can say about it now is that it's really important for me to clear out some beads to make room for the new ones that will be arriving in late September. Just in time for some last minute beading for the holidays! Check out my "Sale Section" in my Etsy store for some great deals!