And the winner is…….

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First of all, thank you to everyone who submitted their favorite funny cat videos to our Evil Kitty T-shirt Giveaway contest – ALL of them made us smile and it was a tough choice to pick our favorite. Tough, but not impossible. Our favorite kitty video was sent to us by Mikaela E. – Congrats Mikaela, you are the winner of the adorable Evil Kitty T-shirt!

Without further ado, for your viewing pleasure – the winning funny feline, Many too small boxes and Maru:

Honorable mentions go to Beth R. and Jill L. for the following two videos which we also really loved:

Evil Kitty T-shirt Giveaway!

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In case our adorable mascot Zed (who makes a sneaky guest appearance in all our ads and was featured as the “Amazing Chainmailling Cat” in our 2009 April’s Fools day joke) didn’t tip you off – we heart cats here at B3.  Many B3 team members are proud cat owners.

Therefore it is no surprise that Rebeca fell in love with this cute kitty tee (click for a larger photo) made by fellow Chicago small business Evil Kitty.  When she placed her order however, there was a little size confusion and generous Evil Kitty owner Lidia Wachowska decided to send her two sizes just to be on the safe side (props for the customer service, Lidia!)  Long story short, we have an extra Evil Kitty tee in size small that we are giving away!  (Please note, this t-shirt is quite small!  Rebeca said of the t-shirt, and I quote, “I could squeeze into the small, but it wasn’t pretty.”)

To be entered to win, you must share your favorite funny feline viral video. Sure, we could just draw a random name out of a hat – but that wouldn’t be as fun now would it?  Submit your video to us by Friday, February 11 @ 12pm to be entered to win.  The B3 team will vote on their favorite to choose a winner who will be announced on Valentine’s day.  Sounds like a purrfectly lovely way to celebrate to me!

Send the link to your favorite funny internet cat video to: [email protected].
BTW – we can’t wait to see them! Here’s one Rebeca shared with me recently to get you started:

“Ask an Artist!” – LAST CALL

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Do you ever have those times when you turn around and *poof!* what seems like yesterday was actually several months ago?


Well, I’m having one of those times today (truth be told, I think that happens here at B3 all too frequently!)  Today, I turned around and it was February and I still hadn’t completed my “Ask an Artist” interview with the fabulous Sara Richardson (which by the way, I began in *cough cough* NOVEMBER!) Lucky for me, she is truly lovely (and understanding and flexible and all kinds of other helpful things!) and is still up for answering all your burning questions about submitting your work to magazines and online publications.

As such, this is officially your last call for questions. I will collect your curiosities until Wednesday 2/9 at 12pm.  After that, it’s time to pick Sara’s brain – expect to see the results of all this inquiry posted by the end of next week!  Check out Sara’s artist profile to find out more about her art and her background as one of the founding editors of Step by Step Wire Jewelry magazine.

There are four easy ways to submit your questions:

  1. Write it in the comments section at the end of this blog entry

  2. Post it to our wall on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BlueBuddhaBoutique

  3. Tweet it to us using @BlueBuddhaBtq: http://twitter.com/BlueBuddhaBtq

  4. Email it to me at [email protected]

Adventures of B3!

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Even though many folks around us here in Chicago are in full, post-holiday hibernation mode, we’re not letting the weather scare us away from venturing out to get our weave on with you folks.  Check out what we’ve been up to the past couple weeks!


At the end of January, B3’s Kat Wisniewski had the great pleasure of teaching a workshop at the Chicago Craft Social. This event, which features crafts of all kinds, happens a couple times a year here in Chicago and the event on January 22nd was, in Kat’s words, “insanely busy for us.”  Insanely busy also means hugely successful as people clamored to make the Japanese Cross Earrings from CHAINED for the entire 3 hours of the event.

Kat actually said some people waited for almost 2 hours just to be able to sit at her little 5 foot table (a tight fit for the 6 crafters we were able to squeeze around it at a time!)  While Kat was rightfully exhausted at the end of the event, she was thrilled that everyone was so excited about the project and that she was able to introduce B3’s unique take on the art of chainmaille to so many folks.  (More pictures to come from this event – stay tuned!)

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On the same day in another part of the state, Rebeca had a super-successful book-signing at A Beadtiful Thing in Aurora, IL. Lot’s of folks came out to have their book signed by Rebeca (seen right with ABT store owner, Karen), enjoy refreshments, and shop for CHAINED kits.  Preceding the signing, Rebeca piloted a new advanced project tutorial for her Beaded Fire Wyrm design (shown left).  Students (shown below) were challenged by the project but left with smiles on their faces as they learned to create this beautiful weave.  Rebeca will use her experience teaching the project to perfect the tutorial which will be released by B3 in the coming months.




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Not long after this very busy B3 day, Rebeca was boarding a plane to LA to attend the Craft & Hobby Association’s Winter Conference and Trade Show where B3 was honored as an Innovative Retailer. Rebeca spent a couple days checking out the conference and trade show and even ran into some folks from home.  Lindsay Obermeyer, a fellow Chicago Craft Mafia member, had booth in the artist’s Licensing and Design section and B3 designer & teacher and founder of Kali Butterfly, Vanessa Walilko was there as the winner of the CHA Fashion Fever contest this summer.



B3 was considered along with 4 other retailers for the top honor of 2011’s Most Innovative Retailer at last night’s Moonlight Mixer event and while we didn’t win, Rebeca still had a great time rubbing elbows with some “celebs” at the event *grin*.

Now Rebeca is off to Arizona to teach a few classes and have another book-signing before she heads back here to snowy Chicago.  How did she manage to plan to be somewhere sunny while we’re bracing for what could be the worst blizzard in Chicago’s history?  Let’s just chalk it up to chainmailler’s intuition.

Want to take Rebeca’s classes in Arizona?  Registration is still open.  Sign up today!

Meet Rebeca Mojica at the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show | Feb 2-5

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CALLING ALL ARIZONANS & ANYONE ATTENDING THE GEM & MINERAL SHOW!

Rebeca will be heading your way February 2-5 and you have 4 great chances to meet and learn from her.


She will start the week at the Create Your Style Show on February 2nd.  Create Your Style highlights jewelry artists of all kinds who integrate SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS into their work for added sparkle and allure.   Rebeca will be teaching her Crystal Ring Byzantine bracelet project which was featured on the cover of Wirework 2010. This beginning level project uses SWAROVSKI cosmic rings to elevate the well-known byzantine weave to a new level.


From there, Rebeca will head to A Beaucoup Congé Beads in Tucson to teach two more classes.  She will be teaching her beginning level Coiled Crystals project as well as her intermediate level Zig-Zag Lancelot project.  Visit the Tucson class page for additional details and to register.  Spots are limited so sign-up today!


Finally, Rebeca will finish her visit to Arizona with a CHAINED book-signing also at A Beaucoup Congé Beads.  Join her on Saturday, February 5th from 2:30-4:30pm for your chance to buy the book, meet the author, and enjoy refreshments.  As an added bonus, the first 30 guests will receive a free Arizona Designer Craftsmen tote bag!

We sincerely hope all you Arizonan weavers can come out and say hello at one or more of these events.  It’s so rare we get to meet folks face to face (although we are hoping to expand our travels in the coming years) and it’s always a blast when we get our weave on with you!  For more information and to register for any of the classes mentioned above, please visit the Tucson class page.