One of the classes I am teaching this spring is embroidery with beads. Two local beads shops were having big sales this weekend and so I decided to go and get my class supplies. I like working with semiprecious stones so a sale is a great deal. As I started to gather up everything I realized pretty quickly that getting every color to supply every kind of favorite color was really not practical. So I decided my class gets a color scheme – earthtones. I got everything in the amber-green-blue sorts of colors. I think almost anyone can find something to like in this group and it made it so much easier for me to get nice combinations of sizes and textures.

Pictured above: carnelian, amber, tourmaline, labradorite, turquoise, peridot, bunches of freshwater pearls and crystals.