Caravan Beads and other current happenings

I have not been doing any beading since I've been in Chicago if you can believe that. I did restring a couple of stretchy bracelets that my grandma got me from the Lizzardo Museum of Lapidary Art in Elmhurst before I left Iowa. I actually got the bracelets for Christmas and am can finally wear them now. They were both a little big so I took some of the stones out of each one. I feel a little silly admitting that it took me that long to do that. Now I have some extra stones in mind that I can use for a new project.

I also spent quite a while putting together a handful of projects to work on while I'm on the road so I didn't have to bring all of my supplies with me. We'll see how much I actually get to, but I can always work on them later, too.

I did get a chance to go to Caravan Beads in the city since I've been here, which I've been wanting to do for a long time. I know that I said that I was done with major purchases for the summer, but I'm not in Chicago very often now. Even when I am there, it's rare that I have the time to go into the city for something like that. So I figured that I would take advantage of this opportunity. Caravan advertises in a lot of the major beading magazines and is the sister store of Briolette in Forest Park that I've mentioned before.

I had high hopes going in and was not disappointed. I was planning to get a lot of delicas, but I ended up getting a handful of cube beads and a ton of Czech glass beads. I was blown away by their selection of Czech glass. I really had to limit what types of beads I was looking for because my mind kept going in so many different directions. I could have gotten lots of new colors and shapes without buying anything that I buy on a regular basis and I still would have come away with a great selection and tons of new ideas. As it was, I got a lot of beads to supplement current ideas/interests (like leaves), supplemented a couple newer interests (like flowers), and only picked up a couple brand new items (like flat disc beads).

My goal now is to work through a lot of the projects that I already have ideas and supplies for before purchasing anything new. When I do make new purchases, it will be primarily to purchase single items that I need to complete a project that I already have the rest of the materials for.

No sales on the road yet. I'm hopeful that I'll make at least one. I still won't be dropping any Entrecards or listing any new items until I'm back in Iowa. Thanks for your patience!