Alloy Necklace giveaway . . . .

Today I am very happy to tell you that I will be giving away a beautiful necklace from Alloy Jewelry. I recently had the pleasure of being introduced to a wonderful young mother, Leah from Vermont, who not only makes beautiful jewelry, but has a beautiful story behind what she does and why she does it. First, take a look at this lovely necklace........

This 'Listen to the Surf' necklace is hand stamped on to this 1 1/2" copper bar. The bar is hand hammered to give a rustic texture, and a sterling silver starfish charm and freshwater pearl charm finish it off. Chain length is 16".

And now, please meet Leah. . . . . 

First and foremost, the most important thing I do is take care of my children.  That being said, while I think there's a certain amount of becoming a mother that comes naturally, I think people overlook the aspects of motherhood that DON'T come naturally.   Motherhood was a shock in many ways, and making jewelry (and the myriad of other half-finished creative projects I have strewn around the house) became my daily practice of paying attention to myself, even if it was for five minutes.  I began to see that the more I took care of myself the more patience I had with my kids. I went with it, and soon people started asking if they could "commission" a piece here and there.  I opened an Etsy shop and saved and saved, buying a new piece of equipment with the money from each necklace I sold.  I sent out samples to magazines, relentlessly looked for other ways to market myself and dreamed of the day I would have my own website and be able to call this my "job".  (All this while I had been editing legal books for a former employer as my "profession" and it was just SO not me!)

Eventually, I got an edit mention in Family Circle Magazine, and boy do they have loyal readers there! It made Alloy Jewelry more visible to the public and the business took off from there. I started doing quote and zodiac pieces to make the business more attractive to retail stores since custom work is hard to stock in stores.  I found that the quote pieces were becoming an obsession for me-I have a love of reading and words.  I started to see that as I would choose a quote for a necklace, I would associate that quote with one of my dear friends-for example "be with those who help your being"-Rumi necklace is for my girl, Anne, who lights up our lives even though we are far apart.  The necklaces I made had a new meaning to me now-I wore them and could hold that friend close to my heart-AND I could connect with customers in a different way, because they would ask for suggestions and would tell me the story of who they were buying for and I could help them pick out a quote (or design a new one) that was perfect.  Fun! 

More of her lovely creations.......

"I began to see that the more I took care of myself,

the more patience I had with my kids."

-Leah

All you have to do to win is leave a comment below before 11:59 p.m. EST on May 7th. The drawing will be Tuesday, May 8th and is open to readers worldwide. Good luck!

Hello friends! This Way to Joy is 3 years old today, and I am celebrating with my first give-away as a way of saying thank you to those of  you who visit me. Every year around Valentine's Day, I spend days making homemade chocolates,  then give them as gifts to family & friends. I am always finding myself adding a new size, shape or ingredient each time I make them. I've enjoyed making quite a variety!....plain, added almonds or pecans, rice krispies, toasted coconut, malted milk, lightly salted peanuts, and this year, added toffee as well. It is truly therapy for me to package them, make tags and find new ways of presenting them. I would love to share a large heart-shaped chocolate of your choice with the winner! They are 8" tall and 7" wide and weigh between 1 - 1 1/2 lbs. And yes, I will make one especially to the winner's liking....so you choose! 

This is what my kitchen counter looks like 

when I'm in the process.........

In addition, I will be giving away this beautiful

 Inspire Circle/Friends Bracelet.....

This sterling silver bracelet is from one of my favorite gift-giving sites called Red Envelope. It is described as "divine guidance meets graceful design in this organically shaped pendant, slightly curved to fit the contour of her wrist. This bracelet takes its cue from ID bracelets, once used to identify the wearer by a simple tag of silver or gold. It will be a simple source of guidance and support to the wearer, whatever life may bring. "

HOW TO ENTER:

It's simple!.........

• Leave a comment below 
• The winner will be chosen randomly
• This giveaway is only open to readers living in the United States 
• Entries accepted until Monday, February 20th
• Winner will be announced on Tuesday, February 21st

Thank you again for visiting me here at 

This Way to Joy!

Best of luck to all who enter!