Santa been berry, berry good to me..

One of the great things about the holiday season around here is the annual "Day After Christmas" sale at my LBS. 60% off the entire store (except lampwork...damnit!)!! Plus, this year, my family finally clued (I've only been doing this for, like, 10 years or something) in that I like beads and got me a gift certificate to use at the store on sale day.

I had limited time so didn't end up waiting in the mammoth lines for Swarovski, wire and chain like I'd planned, but still managed to get some other great stuff:


Got two strands of this gorgeous Jasper - one in coin shape and the other in diamond shape. I'm envisioning mixing the shapes together in a necklace, but haven't fully fleshed out the entire design yet.

These four strands are African Blue Jasper - 2 in coin shape and 2 in square shape. One of the great things about this sale is that it allows me to get enough of a particular type of bead to really play with design ideas. Usually, when it comes to stones, I have to limit myself to one strand only or I blow my entire budget on just one kind of stone.

This strand of Labradorite coins has some beautiful, but subtle, chatoyancy going on in nearly every bead. It's tough to scan, but trust me, these beads are absolutely stunning in real life.

I'm not usually a big fan of Rhodochrosite, but I thought this strand of coin-shaped beads was pretty and well matched in size and shape and I do always try to pick up something that I wouldn't normally get when I hit a show or a sale. Otherwise, I'd end up with nothing but turquoise, amethyst and blue opal when I shop.

Just to round out my stash and fill in some projects I'm currently working on, I picked up a large selection of Czech crystals. They make great filler beads when you need to add color and flash without the expense of Swarovski crystals. The store had some new and unusual color variations I hadn't seen before so I picked up multiple strands of each - this picture is just a small sample.

Other purchases included some size 6 and 8 seed beads in various colors for beading edges around cabs, some Lacy's "Stiff Stuff" (also for cab beading), some polishing cloths, glues and replacement tools.

I also spent part of yesterday on-line doing my major bead ordering for the year. Some of it was generic supplies like head pins, filler beads, earring wires and jewelry boxes for shipping orders, but I found some really different and unique stuff at a few websites so I'm looking forward to watching the mailbox over the next few weeks.

Pictures, of course, will be posted ;-)

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and I wish you all a Happy New Year! Looking forward to a fun and exciting 2008!

KJ