This blog is now hosted on my website at mcfarlanddesigns.com/blog-posts; please update your bookmarks to follow the latest posts. Thanks!

Thursday, April 24, 2008

I love FedEx

It's so fun to get packages of sparkly, beautiful beads! Here's what came today... I'll start with the beads -

faceted citrine beadsFaceted citrine ovals

kyanite marquis briolettesMmm... faceted kyanite marquis briolettes

kyanite beadsJust look at that color!!!

prehnite bead briolettePrehnite briolettes

sunstone bead brioletteSunstone briolettes

I also got a few new types of cabs -

square peridot cabochon6mm square cushion cut peridot

pink amethyst cabochon8mm x 12mm faceted pink amethyst teardrops

prasiolite cab cabochon8mm x 12mm faceted prasiolite (green amethyst) teardrops

rose quartz cabochon12mm faceted square cushion cut rose quartz

I also branched out this time and bought some simple faceted stones -

faceted amethyst8mm round amethyst

faceted citrine8mm round citrine

faceted white topaz8mm round white topaz

Finally (and most exciting), I discovered a whole new section on one of my favorite supplier's websites that I had never explored before!!! They sell these amazing hand carved fancy stones and I just couldn't resist buying some, especially since there were several tourmalines available, which as you've probably noticed is a favorite of mine.

green tourmalineGreen tourmaline flower tiles - these will make lovely pendants or earrings, or nice large rings.

pink tourmalinePink tourmaline carved teardrop - perfect for either a ring or a pendant.

green tourmalineGreen tourmaline art deco-ish leaf-like something-or-others

pink tourmaline flowerPink tourmaline flowers

pink green tourmalineWouldn't these be cute all used together to make a pendant or a pin, with some silver stems and leaves to tie it all together?

watermelon tourmaline sliceThese carved watermelon tourmaline slices are to die for. They are quite large and will make stunning rings.

bi-color tourmalineAnd what can I say about these? Bi-color tourmaline, amazing hand carved detail, and huge size - I think I'll use these as centerpieces for two amazing necklaces.

pink green tourmalineI mean really, what can you say but WOW?!?!!!!

I'm going to hang on to some of these fancy carved pieces until after I take my stone setting class at the Mendocino Art Center in July because some of them (the ones with irregularly shaped edges) won't lend themselves well to bezel setting, and are probably more suited to prong settings or some other type of setting I don't even know about yet. :-) But others, like the watermelon tourmaline slices, the green tourmaline flower tiles, and the pink teardrop, are available now for custom orders, so if you see something you need, let me know!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

gorgeous!! i especially love the kyanite and the carved tourmaline... so yummy looking, looks like candy almost, LOL.

:) orchidstripe555

Vegan Girl (Roni Seabury) said...

Hi Tamara,

Are the 8mm round stones drilled?

Your new beads are lovely.

Tamara said...

Nope, those ones aren't drilled.

Anonymous said...

The new loot is just Amazing... The Kyanite is too good.. The hue on it looks like London Blue Topaz.

The Tourmaline is ridiculously insane!!!

It would be hard to sleep...