New Goodies from BABE

These are a few of the new goodies I brought back from my trip to Oakland and the BABE show. It was a great show; 30 more vendors than last year. What was nice is they opened up a larger area so it wasn't crowded. Of course, these stone cabs are marvelous and I can't wait to use them. I found a wonderful variety of stones this year. In the second picture are lampwork beads by Grace Ma. In addition to being exquisite, they are flat on the back and perfect for bead embroidery. Wish I could have bought more. Of course I bought the requisite seed beads by the tube-ful. I found wonderful mixes at Whim and Glass Garden and I surprised myself when I bought so many neutrals this time. I also bought a ton of vintage at Empyrean Beads.

My classes were terrific. I took an all day class from Christi Friesen working on necklace components. I always learn so much from her and we laughed all day long. I also took a Jewelry Photography class that was so interesting that even though I promised myself I wouldn't buy a Cloud Dome, I did anyway. So much for will power.

Several of us got together for dinner on Thursday evening before the show. We had lots of giggles and fun catching up with each other's lives.

When I got home, I found several packages waiting for me, too. Things I had ordered before the show. Lots of nailheads and other new beads. I also received some great face molds from Sweetbriar. Can't wait to get the clay out and play.

One of the nicest things to happen at BABE is that I was able to finally meet my friend Doris in person. We met online and have corresponded for the better part of a year now. We were able to have lunch and get to know each other better.