Bead & Button Scoop

This year when I was hunting at the Bead & Button show I noticed some trends I thought I'd share with you.

First up - faux sea glass!  Now, we know these are simply etched glass beads that achieve that sand-washed look, but I'm not snob.  I love the faux as much as the real stuff and with several booths featuring these beads I'm not alone.  You'll find they are the perfect fit for your summer inspired creations.  You can find these online at Znet Shows Inc.

Love this trend - Hill Tribe Silver designs in warm copper and with a price that will warm your heart!  The Bead Goes On offered a great collection of classic Hill Tribe designs and beautiful floral pieces.  I had to go back for a round two before the show was over.

I was super excited when my booth helpers brought these large hole pearls to my attention.  They are perfect for wire bangles and using with cord.  So wish I would have picked up a few handfuls of these.   I will have to get back to you on the resource - why didn't they put a business card in my bag! 

Now this booth had me mesmerized! Gemstones everywhere, but not just any gemstones - these were heat-treated to give them an AB finish.  I had never seen anything like them and have to thank fellow ABS editor Erin Prais-Hintz for dragging me back to this booth.  It scared me, I could have spent a small fortunate on these stones with the magical finish. Leslie D'Souza from Beads Direct Online creates these beautiful finishes in his studio.  He and his wife are lovely vendors and I highly recommend shopping with them both online or at a show.

Fibers where everywhere - sari silk, hand-spun yarns, ribbons and linen were all flying out of the booths.  I stocked up on a sampler of colorful waxed linen from Royalwood Ltd.   Another big trend I spotted over and over were colorful leather cords in all sizes.

And my big splurge of the show was stocking up on Swellegant paint.  I won't go into all the details, but basically it's a paint with metal mixed with a binder.  As the metal dries you paint on the patina.  After you have you patina, there is a collection of dyes to use to add more color choices.  My wheels are spinning.  You can paint anything from clay, to plastic to metal to create these awesome patinas.  I will send you over to B'Sue Boutiques, one of our awesome sponsors this month, to get the skinny on this new paint.  I picked up lots of inexpensive pewter pieces to patina and will give an update later this month.

What did you find at Bead & Button that you'd like to share with our readers?  Any trends that caught your attention?