And The Winner is...

I've been waiting for this moment all week! It is time to tell you all who the winner of my summer contest is! Hopefully one of you will be slightly happier than I am to hear the winner but I am pleased none the less to announce that the winner is...

Krista Skov-Nielsen!

Krista writes the blog, A Ferry Crossing Away & wrote this totally cute post about the contest!

Her favorite piece was Crocus Burst

Krista has won a necklace & earring set in her choice of colour or colour combination in my brand new fall style of necklace! I'm so happy to bring you all a preview of the new style today.

The new simple pieces hang on simple wire, getting their beauty from magnificent, unique collections of beads, textures & colours.  An extra bonus? The price point of these new pieces is 30$ to $40!

I think one of my favorite things about this style is the way they hang & can be layered with other pieces.

The necklace length can be altered as per customer preference & have been created in over a dozen colours already! Make sure to check the fanpage & my website throughout the week to see them unveiled!

Again thank you Krista & everyone for entering! Remember - just because you didn't win does not mean you can't get a wonderful Darling Dilemma creation - ALL items are currently on sale til the end of the month!!!

HOT HOT HEAT

So yesterday I told you all about the contest, but today I have news about the sale....

Double Rainbow, was $60, now $38!

It's on!

Ya that is pretty much the news, but isn't it great??




Punk Pink, was $60 now only $49!

Every item in my etsy shop is now on sale - some pieces have been marked down by more than $20 even!

Hoo Do You Love, was $75 btu now only $55!!!

If you have always loved something, always meant to buy it... get it now while it lasts!
And in case you didn't see it yesterday, check out the contest for your own, free, one-of-a-kind, custom creation!

End of Summer Smash!

Summer has been intense with selling at the outdoor artisan market, Loyalist Plaza, battling an awful lot of rain & of course, trying to squeeze every last moment of summer out of this too short season.

My guilt of a loooong absence is only a good thing for you though, my readers.

I normally love to offer a great discount but this was a particularly long absence so I thought a big contest & even bigger sale were a WAY better idea.
Don't you agree?

So here is the deal - You must 'like' the Darling Dilemma fanpage on facebook.  Leave a comment here letting me know you are a fan AND which is your favorite piece currently in my Etsy shop.

For extra entries in this contest you can;

• tweet about the contest,(please use my twitter name @DarlingDilemma so I can find your entry!)
• blog about the contest

Please leave separate comments here for each of these, to qualify for an extra ballot! Contest closes August 21st, 2011 & is open to all North American residents.

I suppose you would like to know why you should bother doing all of this? What is in it for you??

The winner will receive a necklace & earring set in their choice of colour or colour combination!  This piece will be custom made & one of a kind (as are all of my pieces).

So check out my Darling Dilemma etsy shop for all the deals that will be appearing this week & join the facebook fanpage! I'm excited to create something unique for one of you & hear what everyone's favorite necklaces are...

xo
Emma Dilemma

My Bead Heaven

So yesterday I promised more... more blogging & more photos!

So here are some photos from my shopping excursion for beads in Toronto!

*side note - don't trust ANY of these colours as they have been changed for photo aesthetics & to hide their true identities for the time being



Overwhelmed by the choices!



Stoned



Rainbow of my dreams....



One of my favorite post features from other bloggers lately have been their 'Song of the Week' links & so in that spirit I leave you with my favorite song (on constant repeat) to listen to on this trip...

Life Is A Highway - vacation photo diary



Life is a New Brunswick Highway

Some of  my favorite bloggers are apologizing for being bad because they haven't blogged in ages & as much as I don't feel it is necessary for them to apologize to me, I do feel like I constantly have to apologize to you, my readers. Blogging guilt - it is a 21st century problem! lol Anyways I've just returned from vacation & wanted to share some of my photos with you all as a sort of vacation diary.

The boy & I did a road trip back to Ontario...

En route:


 *Quebec Rest Stop which we abused by NOT resting.                              *Contraption

We had a stopover in Montreal. Although I've driven around & thru Montreal I have not actually 'been' there til now. I was enamoured.

 *Montreal Bridge..duh                                                                        *pretending we're in France for breakfast

Ontario:
 It was wonderful to be home with my parents...

                                                                      
One of the photos reminds me of Mom & one of Dad... can you guess which is which?

Going Home:

Back in Montreal for another go around... & ice cream!



So that's a brief look at my trip in photos... stay tuned for a look at my beading purchases, inspirations & news tomorrow (if I'm not a bad blogger...)!

Maritime Shopaholic!

And no, I don't mean me!!

For those of you that have been following my blog for awhile, you might remember the giveaway I did with local Saint John blogger, Maritime Shopaholic in the fall.

Shopaholic, aka Chelsea, is a staple in the local blogging community & fashion community (anyone see her in the recent trunk show at PGals Closet? Adorable!).

I've waxed on before about the friendly nature of East Coasters & specifically Saint Johners but Chelsea is probably who I owe my (now) wide social circle too! Collaborating with her for the blog contest, brought me full force into the Saint John 'scene' & the twitter world.  She also got me hooked on we love color tights. I love her for all of it!

This past Sunday, we hit uptown Saint John's Market Square on an incredibly rainy day for some photos. Check out Chelsea's blog to see her outfit post, wearing pieces from our favorite local shops;
Je Suis Prest, Urban Shoe Myth & Manchester Shoes!

Chelsea also modelled several Darling Dilemma pieces, available in my Etsy shop.

Orchid

Careless Whisper

Waves of Love

*Click on any piece name to be linked to item in my shop

Check out Chelsea's blog to see more of the photos from the days adventures; Maritime Shopaholic 

Mom, Mom, Mama... Mama

Mom & I at my 2005 wedding

It is my mom's birthday today. I'd tell ya how old but it's quiet possible I might feel the glare across the provinces.... hehhehe.

It is hard to be away from everyone sometimes & all the special events, days, occasions & parties make it harder. So tonight my brother's celebrate with my parents & Grandmother with what I can only assume is a fabulous downtown Toronto dinner, & boy do I ever wish I was in on it!

But, I scored mom a great gift... an awesome gift... heck I'm gonna say it, the BEST gift!!

...I'm driving her gorgeous grandson (aka my son) home for a 4 day visit in May!

Boy & I, March 2011

And so, in celebration of my mom's birthday, mother's on my mind & upcoming Mother's Day (May 8th this year folks!) I invite you to check out all the items in my shop (and new ones to come all the time) this week as I offer 15% off your purchase with the code; MOM11
Or visit my facebook fan page to commission something one of a kind & special, just for your one of a kind mother!


And Happy Birthday Mom!! xox

Apple of My Eye, Sunshine of My Life

Some days have a theme song, don't you think?



Sometimes I wake up with a song in my head or heart, sometimes I have a lyric that randomly springs to my lips. Am I the only one? Surely not.

But where do they come from & what inspires them? I have on occasion woken up from a dream & had the soundtrack to it stuck in my mind.  Or an incident happens in real life that plays out like a song lyric.  Personally, that is my favorite type of theme song.

Anyone who has perused my etsy shop will know that songs play a heavy part in my inspiration & for helping me translate an intention thru my jewelry work.

Today's new listing comes right out of my Stevie Wonder day;

Apple of My Eye

Or there is yesterday's that came from a particular favorite by Band of Horses;

The Funeral

*click on the names to be taken to my site*

Do you have a theme song for today? Or maybe one that is your personal soundtrack for life? I'd love to hear them!

On A Windy Day...

There are a few things I love as much as I love Etsy... no seriously, it's true!  The obvious ones, like family I won't bother listing but I want to share a few of the others with you.


Fashion, blogs, fashion blogs... twitter (although frankly that is more of an obsession these days) & photography.  It is hard to believe but all of these things came together in perfect symmetry last weekend!
Thru twitter I have managed to discover some amazing fashion blogs, my favorite being plus sized fashions and local fashionistas (expect to hear about others in blogs to come...).  Melissa is from the blog Sigh, Gush, Gasp one of the local blogs I discovered thru the large but intimate world of the tweets. 

Melissa & I headed uptown Saint John for a bit of a photo adventure in a blowing & gusty, sunny kind of day.  The following are some of the results (you can check out Sigh, Gush, Gasp for more photos AND a coupon code for my Etsy shop);

Melissa also tried out a few Darling Dilemma creations with her super cute dress. *click name to see listings

Aster

P

Black Heart

Pale In Comparision

All in all it was a great day in one of my favorite parts of our city.  Expect to see more photo adventures in the future.

Sprung!

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Although it might not FEEL like spring yet, here in Saint John it is certainly starting too look like it. One day I looked out into the mountains of snow & within days the scenery changed to lawns with muddy spring grass & brilliant sunshine.
This week I was even treated to lunch with a family of six as I sat in my car admiring...

To me each season has very obvious colour associations... autumn oranges & cranberry, winter blues, spring... always greens & very earthy tones.



http://www.etsy.com/listing/69616288/tender-glass-bead-necklace

 Here I've used some favorite greens & definitely my colour of the year - purple! There are some amazing hints of brown in this piece as well... the whole thing coming together like the growth, soil & flowers of a garden.

Here are a few other pieces & colours from my Spring line;

Orchid

Aster

The Bag Dilemma

(I've decided to just ignore the elephant in the room - not having blogged a word since January...& just jump back in randomly)

So not only do I sell on Etsy, but I shop there... a lot.  It is a serious addiction. I often find myself spending hours surfing the amazing shops there & all the goodness within.  I tend to do this most on Sunday evenings.  I don't know why & it really isn't relevant, but I wanted to share.

Anyways, it is just about Spring so I'm jonesing for a new bag. The perfect bag. 

The problem is, spending this much time on Etsy I've culminated too many perfect bags in my 'favorites' & now I'm overwhelmed with the choice I've got to make!
I've narrowed it down to a mere 7...



mojospastyle

 1. Ivory Ruffle Flower Black Handbag $85 +$30 shipping = $115 USD
This bag is a great size & the beauty of the flower & colour combination makes me swoon. 

OregonLynne

2. Handmade from a Hot Pink Leather Jacket $47.50 + $15 shipping
Okay so I just LOVE the bow detail on this, having eyed several other bags with bows lately, but beyond that & the colour, how cool is it that this was reclaimed from a leather jacket!?! Score one for recycling!

Uzura

3. Eco-friendly Hemp bag with Songbird $48 + $5.50 shipping
Definitely more casual (already I'm convincing myself I need more than one bag - see my dilemma??), but such a great colour & pretty image. Loving that it is hemp too.

ryou

4. Mira in Purple $48 + $13 shipping
I love purple... do I need to say more? Okay, fine... I love the size, shape & it looks super durable! Happy now?


bayousalvage

5. Sweet and Lowdown French Quarter Boho Messenger $54 + $5 shipping

Ruffles are another favorite with me. I love them combined with this grey. I'm trying out grey, as I was verbally abusive of it in the past.

annyandme

6. Delila Bag $68 + $9 shipping

Okay so this bag has been on my want list the longest... the colour, combined with the polka dots just calls to me. So vibrant & fun! But.. I already have a bag in this style.

However

7. Quote $88 + $12 shipping
This bag is dreamy. It is a 3-way bag, with a handle that you can switch around & you can't see it in this photo but this bag is also lined in a gorgeous sunny yellow, giving it an even lovelier look!

And so there is my dilemma.
Which bag would you choose?