Gems and Pirates

We just returned today from another trip to the beach. It’s been a great long weekend filled with beads and adventure.

Before leaving town for the weekend, I stopped in to the Gem and Jewelry show that comes around 4 times a year. I did bring all 3 boys, but had no choice if I really wanted to attend the show! They were really well behaved…it helps that they like to search for minerals, crystals and cool carved stones. We picked up some adorable carved stone crabs and a fossil that is supposed to be 500 million years old. While there I visited the booth of fellow jewelry designer, Lori Anderson. I’m always impressed by the variety of design styles that she can create.

Here are a few photos of my latest bead stash. As you can see I’m trading in my favorite summer blues for Fall browns (also a favorite).

Fall stone beads

Bronze pearls

Bali and Thai silver

While at the beach, we took part in an amazing treasure hunt adventure! My youngest is super-duper in to pirates, so we went in search of Captain Scott’s long lost treasure from the early 1800’s. Thanks to a cryptic treasure map, and after much exploring and digging (and the use of a metal detector), we were able to uncover the buried treasure chest. I had a photo of the treasure chest and it’s contents, but my oldest son (very wisely) suggested we not show that photo on my blog…too revealing! The ancient coins and secret key we found within must be kept under wraps!