Goodies From The Bead and Button Show

Delectable vintage beaded "camel" tassels from Afghanistan, bought at Tika. I spent a long time browsing in their beautiful booth which was packed with wonderful things. Some of these I'll sell, but some will be added to the tribal-style belt I'm making for myself!

A Temari bead by Emiko Sawamoto

A Cherry Blossom bead of Satake glass by Akihiro Okhama. Crow Totem bead by fellow Canadian Keri Ruhr.

Good Luck cat bead by Anne Choi.

These are the fine silver pieces I made in Anne Mitchell's three day workshop.


I bought a number of other great bits...vintage coins with loops added for pendants or tribal coin bras, some delightful vintage bottle cap beads, some reverse painted glass Virgin Mary cabs, a vintage silver goddess pendant from India, some silver earwires, discs for bead caps, some pretty pearls, a lot of jasper beads to go with my organic glass beads, some lovely amethyst beads, a mixed strand of faceted gemstone beads in odd, irregular shapes, and a group of serene bone moon face cabochons carved in Bali.
I found extra tiny mandrels at Arrow Springs, for making teeny weeny beads, and some dichroic glass, and some fine high-fire wire for wired flowers. And at Frantz I bought some lovely new colors of CIM glass to play with.
This was all purchased with immense willpower and restraint...I wanted to buy and buy and buy! There were two strands of tiny faceted multi-colored sapphire beads that I lusted after, one strand was tiny triangles, the other was briolettes and the color and sparkle were soooo lovely! I visited them several times, but regretfully, I left them behind. I was hard, but "character-building"! (I overheard a woman say that when she reluctantly passed on another expensive strand at the same booth).
I think I might be shopped out for a while!!