My Bead Show Treasures - Check Them Out!

Yesterday I visited the Rings & Things bead show in Trevose (Philadelphia) PA

and came home with a tremendous amount of brand new gemstone goodness! 

As promised, here's a look at some of the goodies I brought home...

(If you haven't read my previous post about the bead show, click here to check it out!)

Let's see, I'll try to remember what these are off the top of my head...left to right:

Fluorite, Citrine, Quartz and Rhodonite, Crab Fire Agate (for size reference,

these are about the size of a penny), Blue Agate, Celestite, Magnesite, Amethyst, 

Rainbow Amazonite, Blue Jasper, and Blue Chalcedony. I have to just say that

the photo doesn't do them justice - they are all so much more beautiful in person!

Big thanks to my sister Lisa for being my bead show buddy for the day! Not
only did she offer to come along with me so I didn't have to drive alone (it was
only about an hour from my home but I was unfamiliar with the area) but she 
also insisted on driving us in her car. She was so patient and waited as I strolled
the bead isles! Afterward we drove to beautiful Doylestown, PA, and I treated 
to lunch in a shady sidewalk cafe. It really was a great day! 

I couldn't resist the skulls...and am going to do something interesting & fun with them!

 Okay, left to right we have; Turquoise Magnesite skulls, bone colored Magnesite skulls, 

Chalcedony briolettes, rough point rock crystal points, African Turquoise, more rough point 

rock crystal points, Kyanite, Rutilated Quartz, small rock crystal points, Labradorite, 

and larger rock crystal points. I seemed to be drawn to the stick shaped stones! 

I've been hungering to get my paws on some natural Quartz Crystal Points, and was thrilled
to find the tiny ones (they're not cheap!) I've also been yearning for some Kyanite and 
Labradorite. I love the smoky blues and grays and the iridescent flash of those two stones.

Left to right starting in the bottom left corner there's a peek of lavender Lepidolite, 
blue Apatite, Rutilated Quartz, Blue Chalcedony briolettes, Amazonite, Citrine,
Pink and Purple Peruvian Opal briolettes, and Porcelain Jasper.

Kinda spooky, but I like!

Left to right: Fluorite, Citrine (and both of those are huge! They were two of the most 
expensive strands that I bought), Blue Chalcedony, Blue Peruvian Opal briolettes,
Pink/Purple Peruvian Opal briolettes, Rainbow Moonstone, and, the bees...I loved the
bees! They are unlike anything that I usually work with because they are not stone, 
but Thermo-Sensitive Polymer (think Mood Rings!) Yep! They change color with
the temperature: from the blue you see in the photo, to a neon green, to a warm 
golden brown, etc. I think they're really unique and can't wait to make something
beautiful with them!  

What do you think?

My Visit To Rings & Things Bead Show Philly

Today I took a trip to Philly to visit my first ever Rings & Things bead show!

I had no idea what to expect - except for a lot of beads, of course! 

Wow, was it fun! I snapped a few photos while I was there so I could 

show you what it was like...check it out!

Holy beads Batman! Imagine an ENTIRE ballroom filled with tables just

like this one, each full of trays of strands of beads. Awesomeness!

They give you a tray when you walk in, and you just walk around and fill

your tray up with beads. When you're finished, they check you out. It was

quick and easy. My tray was very heavy by the time I was through!

I probably should have counted the tables to see how many there were,

but I can say it was an entire ballroom filled up with tables like the

ones above! The photo above shows just a tiny corner of the show!

All of the bead strands have tags. Each tag tells you what the bead is 

made of, what stone, or if it is dyed or natural, etc. The price on each 

strand is the retail price. You pay half of that, which is the wholesale

price (and also their catalog price.) Then they take another fifteen 

percent off on top of that, so it's really a great deal because you are

buying below the catalog price. If you're a business/retailer, don't 

forget to take along your state resale/tax certificate so that you don't 

pay sales tax on your wholesale purchase. 

They give you a price chart in your tray to refer to so you can keep 

track of what you're spending. 

It was so much fun! 

Be sure to check back for my next post, and

 I will show you all the goodies that I bought! 

What do you think?