So many beads, so little time

This past week I went into overdrive knocking out a few dozen sets of earrings

 You ever have one of those dreams where you’re in a car that’s rolling backwards down a hill and you can’t figure out where to find the brakes? It was a recurring nightmare in my childhood, and I only have to think about it to get the same stomach fluttering sensation that would wake me up at night. Nowadays, I’m not prone to that sort of anxiety (in fact, I rarely have nightmares), but I do feel my heart race a bit when I get into one of my beading frenzies.

That’s what happened this past week. As you may recall, I had every intention of listing more findings in my store, and so it all started out innocently enough with making a few dozen batches of earring wires, which led to more clasps and a bunch more head pins, and finally me going wild fusing jump rings left and right.  And then once I had all this stuff sitting there in my big box of Etsy goodness, I got to thinking about how I maybe needed some more beads.

So I finally paid another visit to the two new bead shops in my area. At The Bead Hive in Coopersburg (formerly My Father’s Beads) I had a lovely time chatting with Jackie and Chantelle about their new operation. They have a very thorough selection of seed beads and a great list of upcoming classes, so I stocked up on some of those and I fell in love with some fire agate beads that wound up in the following bracelet. 

Red coral, fire agate, grey quartz and black stone bracelet with silver links. Delicious.

Then, on Saturday I went to the Innovative Bead Expo and spent several hours wandering around in a bead-crazed stupor.  I really don’t consider myself a “shop ’til you drop” sort of gal, but I managed to pick up some lovely grey rondelles and compressed red coral coin beads (also in the bracelet at left), Chinese turquoise, vintage components and silver spacer beads, as well as some more glass drop beads. In hindsight, I think it’s safe to say I was like a sugar fiend in a candy store. And as if that weren’t enough, since I was in the neighborhood after all, I dropped in again on Kat’s Bead Boutique to see if she had anything new since I’d last been there (fortunately, I was able to control myself and walked out with only a few new strands). 

When I got home, my dear sweet husband surprised me with a new photo prop (also in the shot above) that he picked up for a quarter at a local yard sale. What a bargain! 

All in all, when I consider my recent shopping spree I think I’m going to have to revert back to my patented Silpada Calculation Method of Bead Rationalization. Simply put, the SCMBR allows you to feel good about your recent purchases by converting the amount spent and estimating about how far that would go if you were to buy finished jewelry at a modestly expensive jewelry party. It’s similar in logic perhaps to the idea that if you break a cookie into two pieces and share it with a friend, it contains no calories. In my early days of beading, this formula allowed me to feel pretty darn good about my purchases, so if you find yourself in the same boat as me, I’d highly recommend it!