Rainy Saturday, March 8, 2014

My pal D and I went to a most wonderful bead show last Saturday.  It was raining then and it is raining now!  This was a very crafty show and I was so glad that we went.   It was held at the Saanich Fairground.  This machine is used to roll metal and create wire!  I had no idea!   I was told that it is much more economical to make gold wire this way, as it is very expensive to buy.

These are a variety of punches .. I think this was over $700 so one would need to be a slightly serious jewelry maker to invest in something like this.  I can only admire it.

More tools for the creation of jewelry ..

I was almost tempted to purchase some of these kits.   They are a good way to try out a craft without sourcing all the materials needed.

Here is a close up .. very pretty and quite a variety of stones & colours

Bling …. bling .. my eyes were dazzled by the sparkling colours ..

We turned a corner into another large room ..oh no more beads ..

Embellishing a shoe with rhinestones .. how classy ..

Beads from Kenya .. all hand painted ..

I think this was a hand carved bead .. it was rather lovely ..

And we had to follow the sign into another room .. there were a lot of tables in every room and I loved talking with the artists.   Didn’t have time to visit all the tables this time but I look forward to next year.

Now, this was a most interesting table .. tea was the focus here!  Teapots, teacups, all things tea!

I couldn’t resist and bought this little teacup ring!  It is in my garden!

The crafter was English and lives “across the water” on the Mainland, somewhere in Vancouver!  She was very lively and I spent a lot of time at this table, just looking at the treasures there.

Then on to another vendor’s table .. these delicate earrings were once oil paintings.  The artist had too many so he decided to cut them up.  How very creative. They were very light http://www.pinterest.com/thirdeyecandy/original-earrings/

And this table was magnificent.  These beaded items were truly works of art.  The woman who had created all of these beautiful items was not there, but her son and his wife were proudly presenting them.  I was just so impressed at the quality of work.

They had actually run out of her business cards so I took a photo

Apologies, this photos is a little blurry ..but look at the detail of thebeadwork ..

There is a cafe/deli/fine dining area in Central Saanich that is called “The Roost” .. they grow their own wheat, use organic butter, etc. in their products.  And The Roost was the dining area at the Saanich Fairgrounds!  Better food you cannot find.

I had already purchased some treats to take home and then at 3 pm (nearing closing time for the Bead show) there was a 50% discount.  How could I not go?  Oh, if only I had a separate freezer at home I would have bought so much more, but I was able to buy a few loaves of their sunflower/poppyseed bread, more treats ..

And this mixed berry pie! So very decadent!  The filling was 2 inches thick, with locally sourced berries!   This was the pie of the year, folks!

So, fully laden with these treats, D and I made our way home .. each to surprise our families  with these tasty treats.  And I just enjoyed remembering all of the amazing treasures of art that I had seen that day.

🙂