Tomjoolery Times

Hello!

I've had a couple of emails from people asking to see what I bought at the Sydney Bead and Gem Show. Nothing I bought is especially Victorian, but you asked for it, so here are some pictures!

After wandering about for what seemed like an age, I finally bought some lovely porcelain beads. They came from a small stall run by a Chinese man. Sure, I looked at all the big places, but the beads all looked a bit same-ish to me. This guy had some stuff that was a bit different. For example, he had these gorgeous little porcelain butterfly beads. Aren't they gorg? The hole is drilled from top to bottom through the centre of the butterfly. I bought two of these to make a pair of summery earrings. I also bought from him some sweet round porcelain beads. Here they are:

At the same stall, I also purchased some large porcelain "blue willow" beads. They are giant! The egg-shaped bead with the little bird on it is about 30 mm long. And the round bead is as big as one of those large marbles. I'll be using these as focal beads. I am picturing a long-ish necklace with some kind of tassle - beaded or otherwise - flowing from the bottom of the large bead.

I also bought a selection of Indian lampwork beads. These I got especially for my step-mum, who we are visiting this week. She's a very creative person, but her speciality is quilting. She has asked me to show her how to make some necklaces using lampwork beads. Here's what I got for her to play with:

Here's the only thing I bought for my web site. It's an antique-brass kilt pin. But it's not really a kilt pin; it's actually a brooch pin. The idea is that you can dangle things off the three rings along the bottom. I can't wait to have a play with these, as I have never made a brooch before. The pin is quite large (78 x 18 mm), so lends itself to a dramatic design. They're not listed yet; I'll put them up some time in the next few weeks.

And finally, here are the faceted pendants I bought. I lurve these! One is light amethyst and the other is a cross between purple and dark sapphire. They measure 50 mm long by 35 mm wide. I am going to have some fun with these! I'll put a pinch bail through the hole at the top, then make some kind of dramatic necklace. I am also thinking of glueing a wee little antique-brass embellishment to the front-centre facet.

That's it!