We Marveled at Ancient Aztec Jewelry

We recently went to The Field Museum in Chicago. We decided to get membership there a couple of weeks ago, and it provided us with free tickets to the paid exhibits. One such exhibit, The Aztec World, was ending April 19th, so we squeaked in before it moved on. We were particularly excited to see the exhibit because we had been to the site in Mexico City on our honeymoon, and saw the beginnings of the excavations first hand.

It was a fascinating exhibit, but of course I was most intrigued by the jewelry that was on display. To think they were able to make such fine components without today's jewelry making techniques. There were mostly necklaces, and some rings, made of gold, shell, and greenstone such as

serpentine.

Also on display was a rare piece of textile from a woman's garment. It still had the patterning on it from the inks and stamps they used to decorate their clothing.

If you would like to see some of the exhibit highlights you can find it here: http://www.fieldmuseum.org/aztecs/index.html

Spring is Here...Right?

It's been a long dreary winter, even for me, and I love the brisk weather and the snowfall. It seems that Spring is taking it's time getting here though, and I'm tired of days ranging from 50s, 60s, even 70s one day and back in to the 40s or 30s the next. This design is with a bit of green that came too late for St. Patrick's Day celebrations, but still represents the color of renewal and verdant growth. This is made using Beadalon Gold Beading wire, 4mm and 6mm glass cube beads I picked up at the Bead & Button Show a while back, and some silver-lined topaz seed beads. The clasp is adjustable, using gold colored chain and spring ring clasp.