My New Agate Beads!

I grew up wandering the shores of Lake Superior every spring on quests for the perfect agate.  I remember there was still snow on the ground, and ice on the lake...but as soon as any ground was bare, there we would be, agate picking.  It was mostly fun except for those scary times when my little dog Cindy would get too close to the unpredictable ice but she always listened and came back when we called her.  We were there in early spring to find the new agates before the other rock hounds who would be soon coming in droves.

Other times of the year we would be hunting them in local gravel pits.  It was always fun too because me and my brothers would play king of the hill and play, more than hunt rocks.  Then my mother would take her precious minerals and polish them in her tumbler.  It would take months before the final polishing, you can imagine the excitement that would come with the final polish stage. 

Anyway...Lake Superior Agates are one of the hardest stones.  The only thing that can cut them is a diamond saw, and drilling them is very hard.   Only recently have I been able to get a drilled strand of them after someone in the area shipped them overseas. I decided this would be the perfect birthday gift for my mother this year!

To go with the agates, I made these beautiful rectangle glass lampwork faux agate beads & pendant...

 

I just love the richness of them and will undoubtedly be making more of this kind.  You can see here how well they go with the real Lake Superior Agates!