Goodies

To those curious about what goodies I bought at the Intergalactic Bead Show last weekend, here's some eye candy for you!

Here's the entire booty ...

My favorite is this 8" strand of textural copper beads. I love the way the light plays between them, making it appear as if they're two different shades of copper.

All I could think of was "party" when I saw these multi-colored glass bead chips! Can't you see them strung along with the copper beads into something interesting? Hmmm, maybe.

Beadwork Magazine featured these hand-painted porcelain beads which, of course, with the starfish and shells on it, caught my eye. They were $7 each, a slightly larger size was available for $10 each. These are probably destined to be focal beads in a necklace/bracelet set.

I also liked these copper seahorse charms although after further inspection, I'm not thrilled with that goofy smile on their faces. Seriously, don't they look like they have little beaks?

The sheen on these top-drilled tigereye nuggets is mesmerizing.

I see them in a spectacular multi-strand necklace with these small green and cranberry button cultured pearls.

Perhaps the necklace will look nice with this copper toggle clasp that I also bought at the show.

One vendor was doing well offering great prices on these bone beads. You'll probably see them in some unisex surfer jewelry one day soon.

I enjoy square cut beads and this little strand of mixed gemstone beads caught my eye, too.

After getting them home and checking them well, though, I realized they're unfortunately just a medium grade with a few irregularities. Defintely not quality material for Jewels of the OBX jewelry! I've decided to just use them in a bracelet for myself along with some faceted jasper rondelle beads I already purchased the other day at Cloud Nine.

While I was in Cloud Nine, a girl came in who Harry and I had just talked to at the show. She had been working for the vendor I purchased the copper beads from and turns out she lives here in Colington! It's a small world.

Hope you enjoyed browsing my new stash! That ought to keep me busy for a little while!

See you on the beach!

Julie

You can bead on it!

A question I am frequently asked is where do I get my beads. Here on the Outer Banks, the choices are fairly limited although my favorite local bead store, Cloud Nine in Nags Head, will order anything I need if it's not in stock. I keep hoping Michael's will be the next chain store to propose a location here but until my dream comes true, I have to travel to Chesapeake for that.

My idea of Christmas and my birthday all put together is the Intergalactic Bead Show. They are the "premier purveyor of bead resources from around the world," and presents bead shows in the eastern United States. Harry and I went to their Bead Show this past weekend in Chesapeake, which was just down the street from Greenbrier Mall at the Khedive Shrine Temple on Woodlake Drive. It was really nice because it had easy access yet just out of the hustle and bustle of the mall traffic. Although he didn't really use them, Harry liked that there were comfy leather sofas available in the entrance hall. We figured if they ever installed a bar and wide screen TVs, the place would be packed!

Use can find a schedule of the Intergalactic Bead Shows at http://beadshows.com/welcome.action

for upcoming shows in your area.

But, my go-to supplier of all things beads and jewelry making has always been Fire Mountain Gems. I usually order at least 15 items to take advantage of their "all-assortive pricing." It's fun to see the amount due go down after selecting the 15th item. They have a beautiful 436 page catalog that's absolutely free with no purchase necessary. It can be ordered at http://www.firemountaingems.com/catreq.asp?lnksrc=3&navsrc=2

If your purchases total more than $100, you'll receive their comprehensive 1,220 page catalog, also completely free. Comprehensive is right, like getting the Sears catalog we used to look forward to each year. Oh, geez, please don't tell me I'm dating myself! Everyone remembers that, right?

Jewelry Designer in the Making!

Here's our beautiful, very smart and talented 8-year-old granddaughter, Jade, posing with the beaded necklace and bracelet she made while staying with us this summer. Didn't she do an awesome job? Truly, I helped very little ... she picked out the beads, crystals and toggle clasp from my bead stash and she designed the basic layout. For the necklace, I helped with stringing the wire onto the clasp using crimp beads and made sure the length was right. (The clasp she picked out is a cute teapot and spoon). She strung butterfly spacer beads on each side of the beautiful purple crystal focal bead.

She loved the aquamarine Swarovski crystal and silver-plated spacer beads so I showed her how she could make a double stranded bracelet with them. She picked out some coordinating size 6/0 blue color-lined Dyna-Mites and then I showed her how to string them all onto elastic cord, made sure the length was right, then knotted and glued the cords to keep the bracelet secure. Beautiful!

We bought a pretty little plastic heart box from the Dollar Tree, lined it with cotton batting and she had an adorable jewelry box to keep and protect her jewelry. Jade did such a wonderful job, I'm sure you'll see more exciting jewelry designs from her in the future!