No matter where I travel, I always look for gemstones to incorporate in my designs. I can’t wait for the Beading with Gemstones special issue to hit the newsstand in mid-August. It was tough working on extra projects, and having to come up with my three projects was a challenge, but to see the finished layouts really made it worth it. My favorite way to design a piece of jewelry is to shop (of course) for unusual shapes and cuts of gemstones. Usually I have to see the stones and pick them up, but for two of my projects Julia brought me some stone strands from Tucson, and it was really fun taking it from there. My designs may have turned out very differently if I had picked out the gemstone beads for myself.