a little gem...literally

So yesterday while on our walk we decided to check out this little special spot in the middle of nowhere down the road from our house called Gem Star.  I had seen it in the past but with funny hours of operation and just not having the right moment we hadn't stopped in - and well yesterday was just the day!  And what we found was quite a surprise!  This little store is filled to the brink with beading supplies (yikes...) and outside is a gemstone graveyard - beautiful gems everywhere...stacked like wood...sitting out on rickety old tables...and purple and yellow towers standing in the woods...

towers of amethyst

stacks of the mineral selenite (what sheet rock is made of)

stone eggs

isabelle's new star necklace

Hard to imagine this place is less than a mile from our house (we really live in the middle of nowhere!), but oh so special...and I see many visits to this special spot in the future.  And as you can imagine my eyes nearly popped out of my head with all the potential ideas for jewelry making....control yourself Caitlyn!  Isabelle managed to make out with a special new necklace we put together when we got home made with a little stone star...  and we also decided to pick one out for our sorely missed friend Maggie in Idaho (I hope your not reading this out loud Melissa!) to send out with a special care package.  She also picked out a pile of stone eggs which we promptly had to play "Easter" with and hide and find these little eggs all over the house.

You just never know what kind of special spot is practically in your backyard...