Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Finds from Whole Bead and Rings & Things

Part of My Rings & Things Stash

I love going to bead shows!  It’s always a good chance to pick up the basics that I need.  Plus, you never know what you’re going to find that you can’t live without.  That was the case at the Whole Bead Show and the Rings & Things Bead Tour last weekend.

First, at Whole Bead, I came across 2 vendors that I was familiar with but had not encountered in person before: “The Bead Goes On” from Virginia Beach, VA http://www.beadgoeson.com/, and Sonoran Beads from Scottsdale, AZ:  http://shop.sonoranbeads.com/Default.asp?Redirected=Y.

Here’s what I snagged at Bead Goes On http://www.beadgoeson.com/:

An intricate “Beaded Bead”:

and some cool fiber rings:

And got these beautiful borosilicate glass beads at Sonoran Beads http://shop.sonoranbeads.com/Default.asp?Redirected=Y:

Rings & Things www.rings-things.com was fun, too.  I usually try to get there right when they open, and make a bee-line to the chain and findings section at the back, ’cause the things I want and need tend to disappear quickly.  I found exactly what I needed, then systematically moved from table to table, row to row searching for the unusual.  This time, I was particularly focused on large, organically shaped stones that I can wire wrap.  Here’s what I found:

Some beautiful, large Amethyst nuggets :

And Peruvian Blue Opal smaller nuggets:

I did buy more things there (see the pic at the top), but these two particularly struck me.  I will be posting jewelry made with these soon in my Etsy Shop www.sarascreations.etsy.com.

Beads, Beads, Beads!

Wow!  Three different bead shows in one week!  How lucky can a bead-a-holic girl get?  It’s spring break, which means I have a whole week off, AND there are 3 bead shows!  There’s just something about seeing the beads in person and feeling the coldness and texture.  A real sensual experience!  If you live in the Austin, TX area – check ’em out!

The first one is today and tomorrow (March 13-14).  It is “The Whole Bead Show”, held at the Palmer Event Center, in Austin (900 Barton Spring Rd.).  It’s $5.00 admission, but you can get $1.00 off if you go to their website and print a coupon:  www.wholebead.com This is for wholesale and retail buyers.  It’s usually a fairly small show, but I have found some interesting beads there before…

The second, is the “Rings & Things Bead Tour”, Sunday, March 14, ONLY, from 1:00-5:00 p.m., at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, in Austin (6121 I-35 N.).  The admission is free, but it is WHOLESALE ONLY (must have a tax ID#/resale # to enter).  This is a fabulous show.  Rings & Things is one of my favorite wholesale bead companies, based in Spokane, WA.  They have many things on the bead tour that are not in their catalog or in their online store www.rings-things.com, PLUS they offer an extra 15% discount ON TOP of the wholesale price.  They also bring along popular findings, cord, wire and tools for sale.  I always spend WAAAAY too much money at their annual bead tour!

And last, but certainly not least is the ever popular “International Gem & Jewelry Show” www.intergem.com, March 19-21, again, at the Palmer Event Center (see address above).  This one comes twice a year to Austin.  It’s not as large a show as when they go to Houston, but I always enjoy going, and ALWAYS come home with a new stash.

I’m hoping that while I’m off this week, I will have time to create some new and interesting jewelry with my finds from this week…  More to come…

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Ah, Valentine’s Day!  A day of love!  A day to celebrate the heart!  A day to enjoy staying home (it’s Sunday) and playing with beads (ONE of my loves)!

Although they’re not heart or valentine related, I pulled out some great beads that have been patiently waiting for me to do something with them since I bought them at the last International Gem and Jewelry Show.  I think it was October.

Here are some cool peace sign beads that make a great basic pair of earrings:

I think they’re ceramic, but I’m not sure.  I purposely broke one so I could see if it was stone or ceramic, but I still couldn’t tell for sure.  They are turquoise color all the way through, except where they the design is  cut out and the hole drilled.  There, it is brown.  I really need to remember to ask the vendors about the beads when I buy them, but they are always so busy!

Here’s some other beads that came from Inter-Gem.  Dyed Mother of Pearl cut outs:

I got the cut outs from one vendor and the round beads from another, but they match!

Both of these earrings can be found in my shop: www.sarascreations.etsy.com

Holiday Earrings Sale Extended Through 1/3/10

Wow!  I can’t believe it’s the end of the year and my last blog was in July!!  New Year’s resolution includes updating my blog at least weekly…  And, since I’m here now, I wanted to let you know about a 25% off sale on my Christmas earrings, extended through January 3 (for those of you who really want to get ahead for next year!).  My snowman earrings above are one of the pairs on sale.  Here is a link to that section in my shop:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/SarasCreations?section_id=6546705

Also, one of my goals is to list at least one new item a week in my shop, so check back often!

Happy New Year!

~Sara

Houston’s “Jade House”

I went to Houston this past weekend to visit family and while I was there, I went to find one of my favorite vendors from the International Gem and Jewelry Show (www.intergem.com), the Jade House (www.jadehouseweb.com).  Although I had their address, I had a little difficulty finding them.  I had been there before, but it had been a couple of years, so I thought I knew where they were, but they weren’t there!  Apparently they moved about a year ago… still on the same street and the same vacinity, but tucked away in a back corner of a shopping center.

It’s much like a treasure hunt going there… it is a very small, narrow shop.  When you walk in, the main aisle is only wide enough for 1 person, and there are bins upon bins stacked on and under open shelving, full of semi-precious gemstone strands.  You have to pull out each one to see what’s in them!  On top of the bins, there are trays of loose pendants, loose stones and Cubic Zirconia beads.

What I mainly went in there for were some wavy silver beads so that I could make a custom request necklace for a customer that matches these “Dangling Daisy” earrings in my shop:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=28081124

Fortunately, those were easy to find.  They had all of their silver beads and findings in little bags on one of the walls.  But, as always, I leave there with more in my bag than what I went in there for… more to come on my other finds…

“Favorite Turquoise Earrings”

I just posted these earrings in my shop on Etsy:  www.sarascreations.etsy.com

Although the title of these earrings suggests natural turquoise, they are really made with czech glass.   The “favorite” part for me are the rectangles on the bottom.  I love the color combination (can you tell from my banner?) and I have been saving them for no other reason than to look at them now and again.  I recently purchased some beads from Bounty of Beads www.bountyofbeads.etsy.com (see my last post – “Triple Stack Threads” – for some of the beads I got…) and Bonnie sent some freebeads (freebies) along with my order.  The 2 solid color turquoise rondelles on the top of the earrings were 2 of them.  When I got them, I knew they would be perfect with the “favorites” I had been keeping, so… there you go.   Thanks Bonnie!

I still have a few more of  “the favorites” to keep and look at though…  = )

Triple Stack Threads

**I had to come back and update this post – These are already sold, but if you like them, I  can make you a pair, too!  Just email me (sara@sarascreations.com) and let me know!**

I just posted these earrings in my Etsy Shop (www.sarascreations.etsy.com)

They are ear threads.  Some people get squeemish when they think about threading chain through their pierced ear, but really, you can’t even feel it!  The chain is very thin and smooth.  The fun part is that the length is adjustable because you determine how far to pull them through!  There are more views of it when you click on it in my shop: www.sarascreations.etsy.com

The beautiful czech glass beads I used came from Bounty of Beads on Etsy: www.bountyofbeads.etsy.com

“Slice of Earth”

Here is another one of my finds from the Austin Bead Market last Saturday.  One of the vendors had some beautiful Druzy Agate Geode slices.  I couldn’t pass them up.  I love the combination of crystalization and interesting colors and patterns that nature provided.  Here is a close up of the gorgeous slice:

The completed necklace includes 2 different shapes of Silver Leaf Jasper beads, black leather, and sterling silver ends and clasp.  I think the jasper really pick up all of the colors of the geode.  Here is a pic of the whole necklace:

You can purchase this beautiful, “Slice of Earth”  necklace in my shop:  http://www.sarascreations.etsy.com

“Opposites Attract”

When I got back from the Austin Bead Market, I just had to make something with some of my fabulous finds.  Here is the result:

The pendant is a faceted chunk of Snowflake Crystal Quartz, very beautiful and heavy.  I added a single  onyx bead and some wire work on the end.  Here is a close-up:

The rest of the necklace is made out of large Obsidian ovals and crackle glass 6mm  rounds.

This is a very chunky, large scale necklace – a little out of my jewelry making comfort zone, but the quartz just “called to me”!  You can find it for sale in my Etsy shop: www.sarascreations.etsy.com!

Austin Bead Market Time!

The Austin Bead Market starts TOMORROW!

I always look forward to ANY bead show that comes through.  I can’t wait to get there and see and feel all of the beads.  There’s just something pleasing about being able to hold the strands and loose beads – their cool feel, the shapes, all of the gorgeous colors and patterns… so much better than ordering online.  And, you never know when you’re going to find something really cool – something you didn’t know you wanted or needed, but you just HAVE to have it!

Got a need to bead?  The Austin Bead Market has FREE admission and parking.  Here’s a link with all the details…   www.thebeadmarket.net