(I was thinking... I remember a thread where you said that you had trouble finding nice beads. I was alking to someone way back in Novemeber, and she made jewelry too. she said that she gets a whole lot of beads from consignment and second hand shops. She buys old necklaces and re-uses the beads. I thought that was a nifty idea and the beads were VERY interesting. Maybe you could try that too.