I've been meaning to show you these beads for weeks. Aren't they cute? I had a hard time limiting myself to just three of these Day of the Dead beads, as each one in the bowl was painted a little differently. I was going to say, "Guess where I found them?", but since the title of this post sort of gives it away, I suppose I'll resist the urge.
As part of his extended birthday celebrations, we took the Short One down to Chicago to visit a couple museums, including The Field Museum. Both the Husband and I were avid dinosaur enthusiasts in our shorter days (and, of course, I had a great interest in gem and minerals, too). We're both hoping the SO will take after us in this respect - and, really, have you ever met a little boy who didn't like dinosaurs? Oh, and before we get off the subject of dinosaurs, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County has the coolest dinosaur puppet roaming the halls - I would love to see this in person:
Anyway, where was I? Oh, yes, the beads, the beads! So, we went down to the natural history museum in Chicago, and I decided to check out the gift store for any interesting rough cut stones I might be able to use in my jewelry. As it turns out, I didn't buy any stones, but I did find a surprising array of unusual beads - cat goddess beads from Egypt (Bastet or Bast, I believe she is called), Day of the Dead beads from Mexico. There were a few others, but they escape me, unfortunately. I know not everyone who reads this lives near The Field Museum, but I suspect many museums, especially the larger ones, may yield such interesting finds (if you know of any near you, please do leave a comment). So if you live near one, or will be traveling to an area that has one, be sure to check it/them out for beady finds, along with your usual array of bead stores (and rock shops, of course!).
Thanks for visiting!
