Isn’t She Lovely? PLUS: A New MBB Giveaway!

The first time I met my friend Ruby, I was mesmerized. I mean, look at her: Her skin is deliciously chocolate, her eyes are incredible—piercing. And when she smiles? A thousand angels weep for joy. She is, in a word, stunning.

I took this picture one recent Easter at my sister-in-law’s house, while the kids were out hunting for eggs. It was a sneak attack; Ruby didn’t know I had the camera aimed at her, and just when I clicked she turned and looked right into the camera with that amazing smile. And she’s every bit as sweet as she looks in this picture, which I'm posting to help celebrate the launch of the new I Heart Faces blog.

Ruby's sweetness extends to her passion/side-hustle as a designer for her own jewelry company, Stringz Attached. Her designs, unique and spicy, are sold in several Atlanta-area boutiques, and she’s fast becoming a rising star on the jewelry design circuit, selling out private shows and leaving all of us in her circles wondering how she does what she does, and how we can get more of her bling. Lucky us: She’s expanding her business to include jewelry-making parties, during which she teaches us crafty wannabes how to duplicate a few of her pieces. Just yesterday, she threw a jewelry-making party in my living room for 13 little giggly girls, ranging from age 2 to 10—spent hours teaching them how to make necklaces and earrings and bracelets adorned with butterflies and hearts and bows.



Be clear: It takes an incredible amount of patience, enthusiasm, and yes, sweetness, to keep 13 children engaged, happy, and satisfied. For sure, by the time Ruby finished with those girls, she was a bona fide rock star; I thought maybe we’d have to hire security to get her out of the house.

Ruby did eventually make a gracious getaway, but not before she let me talk her into donating this dazzling necklace and bracelet set for our new MyBrownBaby giveaway. The precious-in-pink translucent beads are hand-strung with miniature white beads, and finished with a gorgeous ribbon designed to hang on the side. A matching double bracelet with hot pink, light pink, and white beads sets off the set beautifully.



Want in on Ruby’s uber girly bling? Here’s how you can win it for the lucky little girl in your life: Visit Ruby Buah’s website at Stringz Attached, then come back to MyBrownBaby and leave a comment telling me which of Ruby’s designs is your favorite by 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, January 18, 2009.

Want to enter more than once? Boost your chances of winning by completing one or more tasks on this list:

If you haven’t already, sign up for MyBrownBaby’s email updates by 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, January 18, 2009. To be eligible, you must verify your email subscription when Feedburner sends you a verification email. Your entry will be invalid if you do not verify. If you would prefer to get MyBrownBaby updates via an MBB RSS feed, please leave a comment letting me know you’ve done so, and include an email address, as RSS subscribers are anonymous.

Rate MyBrownBaby on Top Sista Sites—be sure to leave a comment!—and then leave a comment here at MyBrownBaby telling me you did so by 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, January 18, 2009.

Blog about MyBrownBaby and post a link to your blog entry here.

Fave MyBrownBaby on Technorati. After you do this, come back to MyBrownBaby to leave a comment with your Technorati user name so that I can verify it.

See? That means each of you can receive up to 5 entries. A winner will be chosen via Random.org, and contacted via email. This contest is available to U.S. mailing addresses only.

In the meantime, if you live in the ATL area, you check out Ruby’s jewelry designs at Cherry Pie, Festivity, Hand In Pocket, Pashmere, and Fab-Rik Forum; if you’re interested in hosting a jewelry party with Ruby’s Stringz Attached, give her a shout at info@stringzattached.com.