the journey...

Today I went to the Twin Cities Bead Bazaar. It's a fairly small show, but we don't get too many that we don't have to travel to, so it was nice to get a bead fix. It also reminded me what a huge pool of talent there is out there. Wow. I was both inspired to create and at the same time had that tiny negative thought in the back of my head- who do you think you are? You're not a metalsmith. Or a bead maker. You don't belong in this arena.



But then I remembered one of my favorite quotes: the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.


So I bought some beads.


Here's a photo of my purchases- I was very restrained as I had Jaxon with and he always keeps me multitasking so I'm never quite able to spend as much. Which is good.



But, I did find some interesting pearls, I'm hoping to use in something, perhaps a new earing design I have in mind. I also snagged some silver charms from Hip Chick Beads. I love her stuff. It's so fun and whimsical. I also bought a triangle mandrel. Not sure what to do with it yet, but I couldn't go to a bead show without buying tools!



Look for some more photos after next weekend's getaway-- it's jewelry retreat time!