It was great to be in Tucson again for the bead and gem show. I only went to two shows this year, but found enough treasurers to last me well beyond this year.
I started at "To Bead True Blue" and "Colors of the Stone", held at Casino Del Sol. The two shows must be made separate for their own accounting reasons. For us shoppers, it is a seamless transition between the two.
The show was smaller this year but still fun and filled with lots of great items. I shopped at "Filigree & Me", which is one of my favorite shops. Then went to the Parawire store and bought a huge (for me) amount of bare copper wire. I'm into wire these days, and this will keep me busy for quite a while. Found some great jasper beads at Colors of the Stone, and a few more cabs and beads that were just too good to pass up at other shops.
The next day I visited the shops at Kino. This venue is totally different. Lots of tents and outside booths filled with huge slab and uncut stones. You buy these big boys by the pound. Since we don't have a place to cut and polish stone, I didn't buy any of the slabs. However, many of the places have a few cut into cabochons. Lots of other booths have row after row of cabs. It's great. I bought some lapis, more jasper, a composite called "Mohave Turquoise", Goldstone, and more. One of my favorite finds is a Cherry Quartz heart that I hope to wire wrap soon.
This venue also has lots of other items - unusual tables and furniture, rugs, baskets and other items from around the world. It's like going into a foreign bazaar without having the hassle of passports and long airplane rides. I love Kino!
A final quick stop at the nearby Tandy shop wrapped up this day. They had left over small cuts of great red and purple leather. They will be the perfect weight and amount for bracelets and trim.
On Saturday I participated in the Grand Boutique, the first one I've done in a long time. It was really cold in the morning, but that didn't stop people from coming out to the newly renovated community square at Sun City Grand. There was great live music to add to the festival atmosphere.
