Shopping Opportunities: Chain, chain, chain

I needed some 22 gauge sterling silver wire in a hurry, so I took the opportunity to drop by one of my favorite local bead stores, Chelsea's Beads, while the Short One was at his Mom's Morning Away class earlier this week. While I was looking around, Dawn, who is a huge bead enabler (okay, okay - my bead enabling threshold is pretty low) was showing me some of her recent beautiful creations, including a cute bracelet on stretchy cord with little stone dangles when she paused and asked, "Have you actually seen this chain yet?"

I hadn't, but I was immediately smitten when she showed it to me. There were a few different options there - peridot, amethyst (I think the third choice was amethyst) and iolite, and I ended up bringing a bit of the iolite home with me. This is 4mm faceted iolite wrapped in vermeil.


Chelsea's is well-known for having a copious amount of chain in various metals (they have a ton in different link styles - I believe a decent amount of it is available on-line as well), but I'd never seen anything like this delicate wire-wrapped stone chain before, so I thought I'd share it with you. Now, could you buy the components and wire-wrap something like this yourself? Yes, of course you could. Does it take the charm away from this chain? I don't think so. This is gorgeous, gorgeous stuff, very versatile and, of course, extremely fast and easy to use. The bracelet Dawn showed me was incredibly cute and used just a single ring from this chain (with the stones dangling from it - I think her version was tourmaline) strung simply with small circular beads. (If you want to have a closer look at the chain, click on the one of the above images.) I'm excited to use this, and I can see trying out different stone versions in the future. (By the way, if you, like me, drool after this kind of thing, I believe it is available on-line through the store's website.)

Thanks for visiting!

Shopping Opportunities - Museums

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!

Shopping Opportunities: American Science & Surplus

Before I start, I have to issue a disclaimer. These geodes are not from American Science & Surplus. They are from the handful that my friend Carolyn and I cracked (see my post here about them) - they come from Illinois. (These are some of Carolyn's geodes. She gave them to me when we met for lunch, since they are all sized nicely for jewelry. Where was I? Oh, yes:) However, after writing that post, I thought it would be nice if I could find an on-line source for geodes, and, lo and behold, one of my favorite stores happens to sell them.

If you live in Illinois and know an engineer, chances are, you already know about this store. I kind of think of this as a rummage store or emporium for engineers. (Possibly, I am biased, as I was introduced to the place by the Husband, who is an engineer, when we were dating.) The taglines to the store says "Incredible Stuff! Unbelievable Prices!" and "Unlike Any Place On Earth!", and it's pretty much true. It has the oddest inventory you are likely to find in any retail store - everything from parts for electronics buffs, to miniature build-your-own-volcano sets for kids, to Pyrex beakers, to yarn in psychadelic colors, to, well, geodes (imported from Mexico). And, in the bricks and mortar store, you are likely to find the yarn placed next to, say, automotive parts and fishing tackle, which makes the whole experience even more surreal.

Well, yes, Melissa, but what does all of this have to do with beads, you ask (apart from the geodes)? Well, due to the unconventional inventory, if you do a little digging, you are likely to come across some Very Useful Items disguised as seconds or technical junk (if you'll pardon the term). How about a set of dentals tools that are "slight seconds" and not usable for teeth, but could be good for other things, like working with clay (of different types)? Forceps in a variety of sizes meant for medical purposes that could be astoundingly good for working with cabochons? Triple-magnifier visors that frankly, I, being of a certain age, would be able to use pretty handily when doing detail work? All of which are offered at pretty reasonable prices? Sound good? Then I suggest checking out this store. They have three bricks and mortar store locations - two in Illinois and one in Wisconsin (addresses are on the website), but the website itself has a comprehensive catalog of goodies and is worth exploring. (Actually, it's worth exploring just for the descriptions of some of the items for sale.)

Have fun!