The last 2 weekends have been a great time for finding gemstones & beads!
Steve & I attended the Des Moines Bead Bazaar at the State Fairgrounds last Sunday afternoon & came away with some great finds! Starting from the top right & moving clockwise, is an ocean jasper, turitello agate (looks like fossil pieces), canyon jasper bead, brazilian agate bead, & botswana agate; the pink stone in the middle is pink rhodonite.
We also picked up some strings of small jet, black onyx & shell beads.
And I even won something in a drawing (I almost never win anything) -- this brass anaclastic cuff bracelet! Anaclastic forming is something I would really like to try sometime!
I was pretty happy with everything I found!
Then, yesterday, we went to the Des Moines Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show -- also at the State Fairgrounds. This show only comes once a year in October & is my very favorite gem show! They also have some of the most amazing fossils!
Although I didn't find as many gemstones there, I am especially excited about the ones I did pick up -- including the following, starting in the lower left corner & going clockwise -- 2 fabulous boulder opals, fossilized coral & this amazing bumblebee jasper!
I also picked up 4 small oddly shaped gemstone pieces for only a quarter each! I have no idea what I'll do with them yet, but for a quarter each, I'll feel comfortable experimenting!
While we were there, I also saw these really cool trilobite specimens, & decided a trilobite would make a great model for the chasing & repousse class I'm taking at the Art Center. The exhibitor was kind enough to allow me to take pictures -- check this guy out! I am really looking forward to starting to work on him tomorrow at class! I'll be sure to post a picture of my piece when it's done.
An amazing 2 weeks here in Des Moines -- I couldn't be happier with all that I found!
And to see my jewelry, check out my website at http://paulinesjewelrybox.com!