FOLLOWING MY CURIOSITY: A TEMPORARY CHANGE IN DIRECTION

I've always worked in gemstones with Swarovski crystal and some high end metal like Sterling silver or carat gold. But I wanted to make a line of less expensive pieces using glass and silver plate findings. So I went mousing around the bead store the other day and found some spectacular beads -- gorgeous color, exacting cuts and loads of flash and brilliance. And, as I found out, glass beads can be as expensive to buy as the McCoy. Some of these little beauties, in fact, can be very pricey. The only difference: not using karat gold or Sterling. So. . . the following posts are the results of my experiment. For the most part. . . I like it.