Ambrosia Bead Shop

Well, I think most of you know that I haven't yet found the perfect bead store in my new city of Baltimore.  Good bead stores are very hard to come by and if you are lucky enough to have a good one near you, you should do whatever you can to support that store.

Whenever I get some free time, I continue to check out bead stores in the greater Baltimore area.  I've been fairly disappointed in the quality and variety of beads and findings available here.  However, yesterday I ventured out to Columbia, MD and discovered a pretty nice bead store.  It is very convenient, just about a mile off 695.

The store is the Ambrosia Bead Shop located at 9143 E. Red Branch Road, Columbia, Maryland.  you can find their website at www.ambrosiabeadshop.com.  The store is small but they have a fairly good selection of high quality gemstone beads.  In addition, she has a couple of rotating trunk shows that she changes about once a month.  She generally doesn't have any idea what will be showing up in the trunk shows but it is usually something interesting.  She also stocks a few gold and silver plated findings along with vermeil and brass findings.  I also found glass beads and Swarovsky crystals.  A small bit of bead stringing materials are on the wall as well.  I didn't see any sterling silver wire but I found silver and gold colored wire.  She doesn't carry any seed beads at all.

By far, the best part of the store was their gemstone beads.  In addition, her pricing was ok.  However, she doesn't currently sell wholesale but is trying to figure out how to give discounts for purchasing in bulk.

The store is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11:00 am. - 5:30 pm. except for Saturday when they close at 5:00.

One very positive comment I need to make about Ambrosia Bead Shop is the the store is very clean.  There was no dust accumulating on anything in the store and the beads were sparkly clean.  It's very difficult to keep your stock dust free but Ambrosia has succeeded.

I still haven't found the perfect bead store in or around Baltimore but I'm planning to continue my search.  I suspect I'll not find a replacement for Scottsdale Bead Supply (which I've blogged about in the past).  Rather, I'll end up with several different stores for different things.  Of course, there is alway online but I'm one of those folks who want to touch my beads before I purchase them.

Do you have a favorite bead store in the Baltimore/D.C. area?  If so, I'd love to hear about it.

Owen's First Steps

My grandson, Owen, took his first steps today.  The best part of the video for me is how excited Owen is.  He has a twin brother who hasn't yet taken the plunge.

Unfortunately, my daughter-in-law was on a Girl's Trip to Chicago with a pack of her friends and didn't get to see his first steps.  I think everyone understands that you cannot also be there for all the firsts but it is so disappointing when you find out you've missed something big.

Have a glass of wine Kara and enjoy the rest of your Girl's Trip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0a8SDqFtyZQ

I'm in Denial

I turned 55 today.  I really don't even think that it is possible.  When did I get so freakin old?

I feel like the same person I was 50 years ago.  I still have all my insecurities.  I still struggle with my weight.  I still want to go to Africa.

It seems that the majority of my life is behind me.  Oh how I wish I could just start over again.  Some things I would do differently but mostly I'm happy about my life.  I only want it to last a lot longer.

Hopefully I'll have another 30 or 40 years to watch my grandchildren grow up and see the fine adults they will become.

Who knows, maybe I'll get to see my great grandchildren!

Here's to old age.  Life should be celebrated.

Remaking Jewelry

I seem to be a bit spacey these days.   For example, I recently made a green kyanite and lampwork necklace using some beads that I found a couple of years ago at the Tucson show.  It was really the first time I had spent more than $200 per strand for gemstone beads.  The green kyanite is spectacular!  In fact, I liked the green kyanite so much that I couldn't decide what to make with it.  I finally decided to make a simple wire wrapped necklace.  Here is the picture of the finished necklace.

I didn't notice until a photographed the necklace that it wasn't right.  The clasp in the front didn't lay right and it looked very asymmetrical.  It wasn't at all what I wanted it to be.  So, it was back to the drawing board for this one.

After cutting apart all my wonderful wire loops, I began again.  Sometimes, I have had to remake a necklace several times before I get it right.  This time, however, the second time was a charm.  Here are some pictures of the remade necklace that is now on sale in my Etsy, Artfire and Zibbet shops.

Ahhh, much better.

A Few New Listings to Share

I've recently completed a few new pieces for listing on Etsy, ArfFire and Zibbet.  Keep an eye out for them as they'll most likely be listed this week.  Meanwhile, here they are for you to preview:

The first is a long antique brass, prehenite and Czech glass bead necklace that I put together with wirework.  The necklace is 84 inches long and doesn't contain a clasp.  Rather, it is designed to be wrapped around your neck or waist as many times as you like.  In addition to the stones and Czech beads, the necklace contains several Vintage antique brass pieces and brass links.  I love this piece because it is the perfect color for me and it so very flexible.  I've also created a pair of coordinating chandelier earrings.  Check out these pictures...

Next, I've created a classic necklace with a chain made from various green jasper beads and sterling silver beads and bead caps.  The pendant focal is also made from green jasper.  I found these beads when I was walking through the International Gem and Jewelry Show in downtown Baltimore a few months ago.  The pendant was the first piece to jump out at me.  It reminded me of a Monet impressionistic painting.  I immediately stopped and reached out to touch it.  Of course, once I've picked it up, it almost always goes into my goody bag.   I knew it would make a beautiful classic piece.  Let me know what you think about it.

Another piece I recently completed is made from some wonderful, absolutely striking, green kyanite beads that I found at the Earthstone booth at the February Tucson Gem and Jewelry Show.  Earthstone is a wholesale only dealer who has amazing quality stones.  The last time I visited them in Tucson, I walked away much poorer than I was when I arrived.  However, their stones are so beautiful that I can never resist.  In addition to the green kyanite beads, this necklace contains some beautiful green lampwork beads that I also found in Tucson and a few Swarovsky crystals.  All the accent pieces are sterling silver.  Here are the pictures.

My last new piece was made from a few beads I purchased recently in Dallas.  This piece is made from Czech glass beads and sterling silver.  The pendant focal is something I found a year of so ago at the Tucson show.  This is a design that I haven't done before but that I thought would make a fun necklace.

At any rate, you can find all of these new items on Etsy, at www.jillsjewelry.etsy.com; on ArtFire at www.artfire.com/users/jillsjewelry; and on Zibbet at www.zibbet.com/jillsjewelry.

The Amazing World of Etsy - Part III

Here are my remaining favorites from the first 500 pages of my Etsy search.  I hope you enjoy them.

My first favorite is a lovely wirework bracelet from Stella Rordan.

You can find Stella's work at www.stellarordan.etsy.com.

This lovely necklace is from Paul A. Elliott whose work you can find at www.paulaelliot.etsy.com.

This wonderful necklace is very simple, feminine and very beautiful.  It was designed by Amaia whose work you can find at www.amaia.etsy.com.

What wonderful earrings!  They are sparkly and have amazing movement.  I love them.  Designed by vanini.  You can find her work at www.vanini.etsy.com.

Finally, my last favorite is another piece from Vanini.  Her work can be found at www.vanini.etsy.com.

As you can see, there are endless surprises on Etsy.  It is amazing to me that there are so many talented people out there who make such beautiful jewelry.  I never tire of looking through the amazing world of Etsy.

The Amazing World of Etsy - Part II

I've now had a chance to review the next 250 pages from my Etsy search. Here are my favorites from those pages:

This first necklace is from Karen Sugerman Designs.  She has a very appealing style and I almost always have some of her pieces on my favorites list.  You can find her shop at www.karensugarmandesigns.etsy.com

My next favorite also comes from one of perennial favorites, Marie Wu Designs.  Marie also have a very pleasant style.  You can find her shop at www.mariewudesigns.etsy.com

Here is a lovely design from Comer Neal Design.  You can find this and all his other designs at www.comernealdesign.etsy.com

Next on my list is this wonderful piece from Town Country Jewelry.    You can find this and all of their other work at www.towncountryjewelry.etsy.com

I'm actually surprised that I like this next necklace as much as I do.  It is very simple yet I am drawn to it.  This one is by Off the Chain Jewels located at www.offthechainjewels.etsy.com.

I have a few more to list in this section but since I'm running out of room, I'll list them in another post.

Enjoy checking out my favorites.