Shopping, shopping, shopping!

It's been almost a whole week since our last post!  I'm sure you've all been frantic wondering what we've been up to!  Or not.  Either way, if you follow us on Facebook ("Like" us by clicking that button over there, to your right... yeah, that one, right there ---->>>), you may have noticed us post a couple reviews of stores this week.  We've been shopping!!!  We made a few pieces of jewelry too, but, more importantly- SHOPPING!

First, Saturday, I hit the jackpot at an estate sale:

That's three awesome beading books, a folder of some basic jewelry techniques, and a baggy of beads, wire, thread, etc... They were all in a box together.  The whole box cost $1.  Awesome, awesome, awesome deal. We're really excited about some of the techniques and patterns in these books.

So, Sunday, we hit a bead store on South Grand called Earth, Wind, and Bead.  (See their Facebook here):

We thought these were all really cool stone beads.  I like the flat corally-pink ones (the lady at the store was very knowledgeable and told us exactly what each stone is, but I forget easily) for maybe a bracelet.  Theresa's planning to use the moonstone (the clear-ish one) for a necklace for her mother.  We didn't buy a lot here, but the selection was fantastic and our visit got us to start thinking of more possibilities. (You can read my review of the store under "reviews" on their Facebook page.)

Over the weekend, I found a "Now" Groupon for Schaefer's Hobby Shop, another store I wanted to visit.  Since I wanted to go there anyway, buying the Groupon for this shop on Gravois was a no-brainer.  It had to be used Monday morning, so I went without Theresa.  I should not be allowed to go shopping alone:

A package of bead mats, a bead design board, spring rings, magnetic clasps for a special order, seed beads, art gel, and a "traditional" beading loom.  It was a pretty awesome shopping trip.  They had an awesome selection of jewelry-making tools, findings, beads, etc.  (You can read my review on their Facebook page.)

So, today, we packed up Theresa's kids and set out to hit two more shops on a day that was about as hot as St. Louis gets. (Probably not the best idea, in retrospect.)

First, we hit 2nd Street Beads in St. Charles. (Their Facebook page is rather sparse, so here's their real website.):

In the upper left are some glass beads from a clearance table.  We thought they were pretty cool and had a lot of fun going through the dish of beads.  They have a very large selection of beads, including a variety of different types of seed beads.  The little baggies there aren't actually seed beads at all, but are actually small cubic beads.  Very cool-looking.  I loved the stone beads, "zebra agate."  Then on the bottom left of the photo are genuine Swarovski crystals.  We have plans to use those particular ones in a special order, but we'll be looking for more reasons to buy these beautiful Austrian crystals.  I haven't posted a review on 2nd Street Beads' Facebook page yet, but I will soon.

The second stop we made today, with two overly-curious toddlers and a teething baby, was Bizzy Beads and Gifts in Chesterfield Valley. (You can visit their Facebook page here.):

We didn't buy as much, and I'm hesitant to write a review explaining why.  I think the children had become so distracting in this store that I was unable to fully appreciate the selection they had.  We will have to return without the kids at some point.  However, the baggy contains beeswax, which we will need for some of our beading as it will help strengthen thread and keep the ends from fraying as we're working.  The charm is for a special order, and we're very excited about it, because it means we may just have all the supplies we need for this order of 6 necklaces.

There are still more stores we want to visit, but for now it's time to draw up some ideas for how we're going to design our bridal party special order necklaces.

If you have a special order for us, email us at tamjewelry@gmail.com.

Until next time,
-Amy