Two Works in Progress...

Didn't get much done this week, except breaking up and pricing strings and strings of beads for The Gem Expo. I always underestimate how long this will take and this year I am determined to start sooner working on items than two days before the show. Must getting old here: my days of pulling all-nighters are long gone. Sigh...

In the meantime, Nancy came over this morning and we played with beads. Here are just two of the things we came up with.

Still needs tweaking, but for now, Chinese turquoise (of which I have lots for the show), raw lapis from Afghanistan via Nelson Gemstones via the Tucson Bead Show and sponge coral separated by handmade African brass and copper beads. This is a fairly heavy necklace, but if it's custom-fitted, it's very wearable.

This got restrung a couple of times, but I think it's a keeper: hand-carved rectangular/angular soapstone and some fairly decent labradorite rounds with a few pewter spacers. It's so hard to get labradorite beads all firing at the same time when photographing them.

Got some earrings to make for the market, as well, this evening. My favourite basket of flowers...

Thanks for looking!