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 ovals

Mmm... faceted kyanite marquis briolettes

Just look at that color!!!

Prehnite briolettes

Sunstone briolettes

I also got a few new types of cabs -

6mm square cushion cut peridot

8mm x 12mm faceted pink amethyst teardrops

8mm x 12mm faceted prasiolite (green amethyst) teardrops

12mm faceted square cushion cut rose quartz

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

8mm round amethyst

8mm round citrine

8mm 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 tourmaline flower tiles - these will make lovely pendants or earrings, or nice large rings.

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

Green tourmaline art deco-ish leaf-like something-or-others

Pink tourmaline flowers

Wouldn'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?

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

And 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.

I 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!