I'll tell you where it went; Beadfest Philly, a trip to Disney World, several trips to the antique store, Rings N Things trunk show. I've been a busy bee and in the process I've neglected my poor blog. But can you blame me? Look at all the wonderful goodies I picked up yesterday at Rings N Things!
While most of the women were piling mounds of large chunky earth-tone beads onto their trays I was carefully picking out small faceted pieces. My original intention was to purchase nugget-shaped beads but they were few and far between so I fell back to my trusty faceted gem pieces. I can always count on small shiny things to make me happy. I even threw in some funky pearls for fun.
If you make jewelry then you probably know that the price of silver dropped briefly the other day. I made certain to take advantage of this and bought ALOT of sterling and fine silver wire. However, since the economy is not at it's finest I've been playing with copper because it's certainly less painful on my wallet if I make a mistake or just want to try new techniques. Besides, copper has such a wonderful color and you can oxidize or enamel it!
These little findings are a result of my current dabbling with chasing tools, the dapping block, liver of sulfur and enamel. While I can never get enough beads I have an even greater addiction to tools. There is always another tool to purchase. Thank goodness I can go to Sue's studio for all the tools that I can't fit in an apartment. I cannot wait to buy a townhouse next year because that means more room for more tools!
With all these new gems there will be plenty of new pieces in the shop soon. I have several new pieces completed and I'm in the process of designing more. I want to make certain I can do a full shop overhaul before I post the new pieces. I'll be moving away from collage pendants and adding more metalwork, wire, enamel and even some re-purposed pieces using vintage and antique goodies. My biggest challenge is take better photos which is why I'm off to go to the bookstore now. I need to read up on improving my photography.
