Rings 'N Things Show

A couple of weeks ago, I went to the Rings 'N Things trunk show with my friend Julie from work. Much fun was had and many beads were bought. I also finally got to meet Dave Robertson from R&T in person.

Dave was the one who was kind enough many, many moons ago to invite me to be an R&T blog partner. I was so flattered (OMG...someone is actually reading this crap I'm writing about!!) and had a great time being part of the program. I promised Dave at checkout that I'd blog about the show...ummm...probably a little more timely than this, but I have been busy with floods and broken teeth (more on that in a future post), etc., since then.

So here is my belated trunk show report:





Got this gorgeous strand of bronze keshi pearls. There were some AMAZING quality white ones that I wanted, but even with the generous trunk show and wholesale discount, they would have blown my entire budget so I had to go for this less expensive strand. The color is just stunning, though, and I'm excited to play with them (if I could just get some beading time!)

Okay, at first glance, these don't look like much. But wait...

Just warm them in your hand and check out the amazing color shift! Years ago I bought some color-shifting "mood" beads at the L.A. Gift show, but they didn't have patterns on them like these do.

Okay, who asked if I'm still hoarding them? Oh wait, yeah, I am.

You guys know me too well.

And then I saw the teardrop shape...

Look at that gorgeous purple...

And then they start to cool off and fade...

And you get some green and orange...

And more yellowy green...

My only question is, when designing with these...do you design for what color they are "at rest" or do you design for what colors they turn when warmed by the skin? I smell a design challenge coming on...

These are some nice jumbo-sized rondelles of snowflake obsidian (top) and sodalite (bottom). I just thought the size and very nice uniformity in cut would make them great as secondary beads to go with fancier art beads or even by themselves with some touches of Bali or Thai silver.

I have to admit - this was purley a color purchase. I can't seem to stay away from anything in the turquoise/teal color scheme. The label on these beads says they are "multi-stone." I don't know what that means and I don't really care because they are just pretty. They actually have an almost glittery effect running through them that you can't see in the photo.

Although I'm not usually drawn to earth-tone beads, the incredible high polished shine on this strand of wood opalite was too pretty to pass up. I wish it showed in the photo because that's really what made this a special buy.

This is another "out of my comfort zone" purchase. I don't think I've ever worked with stones this color before, but this brecciated mookaite (say that three times fast...I dare you!) really blew me away. Those darker bands running through the stone are actually nearly transparent. They look like maple syrup or dark honey criss-crossing the stones. YUMM!

And last, but not least, my favorite purchase of the day was this strand of unusual jasper. I can see each bead being an individual focal because they are all so unique.

This is one of my favorites - like winter branches against a pink sky.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

KJ