Countdown to Christmas: KCEtsy Team's Great Giveaway! WEEK TEN: Win an Adjustable Fairy Elven Choker / Necklace from Thyme 2 Dream!

WEEK TEN: Win an Adjustable Fairy Elven Choker / Necklace from Karla Hall at Thyme 2 Dream in WINNER'S CHOICE of colors!

According to Karla, "I believe that the root of my artistic career really came about as a result of a restless need to do something with all the creative energy I was no longer using as my kids became more independent. I just suddenly had this consuming passion to make things. I played with polymer clay for awhile, got into beading, and then I discovered wire working and was totally hooked! I first started making sun catchers and trying my hand at wind chimes and such, but then one day my 89-year-old grandmother asked me if I could make a pair of ear cuffs for her. This appealed to me as well; I had never had pierced ears and loved dangly earrings. Basically, I started making the sort of jewelry that I loved, but could never find anywhere else. The results of that effort have evolved into a full-time jewelry business."

"I love growing things but am a terrible gardener- I created my crystal leaf gardens because they are much easier to keep alive. I delight in fanciful stories from literature, theater, and music, and I am fascinated by the process of trying to convey the enchantment from one genre to another," Karla notes.

She credits Alphonse Mucha and his artistic love affair with the actress Sarah Bernhardt, the jewelry he adorned his portrait models with, as well as the designs he actually had made into jewelry pieces in collaboration with French jeweler Georges Fouquet, for much of her inspiration. "I like to think I might be related to him somewhere back there- my maternal grandparents are from the same region of the Czech Republic where he was born. I also love the work of Arthur Rackham, Maxfield Parrish, Rick Griffin and N C Wyeth."

TO ENTER THIS CONTEST AND WIN the Adjustable Fairy Elven choker necklace, simply visit Karla's Etsy Shop thyme2dream.etsy.com and choose your favorite item in the shop, then post a comment about your favorite item here. BE SURE TO INCLUDE contact information (your e-mail) in your post, so we can notify you if you win. For an EXTRA ENTRY, become a follower of this blog, and BE SURE TO POST A SEPARATE COMMENT letting us know you've done so. For yet a THIRD entry, Tweet on Twitter or blog about this contest on your own blog, including a link to this blog, and BE SURE TO POST A SEPARATE COMMENT letting us know. Include in your comment a link to your post! Contest closes at 11:59 p.m. Central Time on Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009. Monday Oct. 26, a winner will be randomly drawn from eligible entrants and notified by e-mail, and the winner's name will also be posted here. Winner has one week to contact Karla to claim his/her prize. Contest open to U.S. residents. Keep checking here for our weekly drawings, and good luck to you!

The winner of this drawing is Anne J! Congratulations!