It's been a while since I've been home to see my parents in Colorado. And Mom has been wanting to show me some of her local bead shops. Colorado is such an earthy, inspirational place--so it's not surprise that the bead stores here are something special.

First, we visited The Bead Lounge in Longmont. This spacious shop offered unique handcrafted jewelry--made using beads, natural stone, polymer pendants, dichroic glass, and wire. They also had a wide selection of flat cut stones that can be used in bezels.

I picked up turquoise and purple agate slices with gorgeous colors and striations. I can't wait to get into the studio to design jewelry with these pieces.

Then Mom took me to see the Bead Bling Beads Co. in Loveland.

There, I met shop owner Donna Sena Keirns, who just happens to be a fellow Etsy seller. She explained that her father, Ralph Sena has been a silver smith for 40 years, and that he has been teaching her his secrets to making beautiful silver jewelry. Originally from New Mexico, Donna's pieces reflect the spiritual nature and earthy colors of the land there--many include the turquoise stones that are the signature of this region. To see her work, visit SenaBeadBling.etsy.com.

Bead Bling Bead Co. is housed in a small space, but they carry a very nice selection of glass beads, pearls, and natural stones. I was lucky enough to stop in on a day when they were having a 25% off sale. (And Donna told me that in the next few weeks, they'll be slashing prices even more to prepare for a move into a larger space!)

I like to pick out pearls in person, as opposed to ordering them online sight-unseen. At Bead Bling Beads, I made some great finds and came away with elegant pearls and bold green turquoise chips.

Thanks Mom, for showing me such wonderful bead shops! Now to decide what to create with my beautiful finds.

Oh what a fun day! Visiting with my parents in Colorado, my Mom took me out to see the artsy shops in Longmont. We rambled along Main Street and into Rose Buds Vintage Market & Gathering Place and found so many beautiful, handmade treats at amazing prices.

I couldn't resist these sweet, summery scented soaps made exclusively for Rose Buds by Serenity Naturals. I brought home one of each--Lavender and Mt Clover scented.

And Rose Buds has so many gorgeous, homemade aprons... I couldn't pick just one!

While looking through all the remixed vintage jewelry and artwork, I was excited to come across the work of a fellow Etsy artist, Heide Murray of AllGoodWishes. Her wonderful collage jewelry--which she makes using vintage optometrist test lenses--is on display in the store and can be seen on her Web site.

At Rose Buds they even offer jewelry making & altered art classes. And on Wednesday afternoons they are a gathering place where people can play Scrabble and Mahjong.

What a cool place! I wish there was a store like Rose Buds in my town.

I'm still getting ready for the sale this weekend.

The batch of new Magpie's Treasure pendants is ready to be strung onto silver chains.

All of my sterling chains got a polishing last night, so they are gleaming.

And I've spray painted the angels that I bought at Pier 1 on Thursday. They were dark brown, but needed to be silver to coordinate with the rest of my booth. I love how they turned out! Now I need to decide what will be the best way to display my jewelry.

What an amazing day! I made jewelry all day long and couldn't be happier!

This morning & afternoon, I went to my silver jewelry design class at The Torpedo Factory in Alexandria. I continued working on the small sterling boxes that I started a few weeks ago. I'm soooo close to finishing them and am really happy with the way they are turning out. Now I need to decide what I will display in them.

Then, on the way home from class, I stopped off at Pier 1 Imports in Manassas. I bought some wire Christmas decorations that will be perfect displays to hang my necklaces on.

And right now, I'm up late (again!) making soldered glass pendants to sell at the Fauquier Business and Professional Women Craft/Trade Show (this Saturday--November 15, 2008, 9am to 3pm, Fauquier High School, Warrenton, VA).

It feels so good to have so many creative tasks on my "to do" list.

Well, the time has come to start blogging! There's so much going on in my world and with my amazingly talented friends. I can't wait to tell you about it.