Archive: November ’10 on The Blog

The holiday season officially kicks off tomorrow, which means it’s time for the Lima Beads Holiday Gift Giveaway. Today through the end of the year (12/31/10), you’ll be able to choose from an awesome selection of beads and supplies that you can get free with your order.

This year, we have more free gifts than ever before. There are over 30 things to choose from: gemstones, A grade peridot, tools, Beadalon, Czech glass, pendants, cubic zirconia, even a resin kit! These are hands down the best free gifts we’ve ever had. I’ve been collecting awesome, limited availability stuff all year for this

We only have 30-40 of some of the free gift items and they will sell out before the end of the year, so if you have your eye on something, don’t wait too long. We will replace anything that sells out with another item of similar value.

Finally, I want to thank all of you for another wonderful year. From the entire Lima team – have a safe and happy holiday season and enjoy your free beads!

If you get a chance, please let us know what you think of this year’s gifts in the comments below!

There’s nothing quite as frightening as a bunch of beaders who are all competing to win free beads! Seriously, we’re all really impressed by the amount of thought that went into each and every submission for the latest Fresh Pick Challenge. There were certainly some bone-chilling combinations and thrilling stories. Thanks to everyone who participated in the contest.

Here are the winners of the $25 Gift Certificates:

Best Composition: BeadAddict’s “Before I Fly South“

One of the most popular trends in this contest was the use of C-Koop Enameled Metal leaves in Fresh Picks! It was a pretty obvious choice because of the crafty, colorful, autumn-esque designs. However, BeadAddict was able to surround those beautiful pieces with a nice supporting cast of gemstone beads, pearls and metal. Just one look at this pick and you’ll be longing for a fall retreat in upstate New York.

Best Use of Color: Brenda S’s “The Zombie“

We all really enjoyed her eerie story, but the most impressive thing about this pick is the way Brenda used color to complement that story. I’ve never compared our Labradorite to the decaying skin of a zombie, but the greenish-gray luster of the stone has never looked so creepy. The red accents of garnet are a bloody-brilliant touch as well. Great pick.

Best Use of Color: Kitty Chicky Cat’s “out of the seaweed rising“

“Seaweed comes to form her hair, a floating, tangled, grasping mass, writhing there like medusa’s snakes, free to hunt again and take hold like wet fingers anything that lingers.” This sounds like it belongs in the latest collection of Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories. We also really liked the composition. All around great pick!

People’s Choice: Eeka Mouse’s “Midnight Decision“

It’s the pick with the most favorites, and it’s not hard to see why. The story is great and the colors are fantastic. Not many of you were brave enough to throw Rainbow Fluorite in the mix, but Eeka Mouse did it quite well. As we mentioned before, the winner of the people’s choice award will also be receiving a pumpkin full of beads!

The winners will receive their Gift Certificate code in a message from me in The Garden. If for some reason you didn’t get the message, just let me know in the comments.

Again, we really appreciate everyone who contributed to make this contest so successful. Hopefully, we’ll have another one of these up our sleeve in the coming months.