Remember when I said I was going to be away for a couple days earlier this month? Yeah, I was down in Vermont to see a show by my very favorite band (The Mountain Goats, if you know, you know, if you don’t know, you’re in for a treat). And while I was down there, I stopped by a place called The Makery, which is a thrift shop for arts and crafts supplies.

I was hot and sticky and tired and faintly cranky, and just about to leave, empty handed, gently grumbling about all of the above, when I saw these. They’re sample cards of Miyuki beads.

At first I debated. They were lovely, but what would I actually do with them? I’m trying hard to Not Acquire Unnecessary Stuff. So I only got a couple, on the theory that it was a cool way to get a lot of colors of beads all at once. But then I realized that they would actually look absolutely fantastic hung on the wall in my office (alongside that rainbow button sampler from about this time last year that I for sure still owe you an update on…what can I say, it’s been an eventful year). So I went back the next morning and got, um, the rest.

But then I got home and realized that I had doubles of one of them, and that seemed a little excessive, even for me. So I figured I’d see if one of you might like the extra!

If you think it should come live with you, leave a comment over here telling me what you’d do with it and I’ll pick someone early next week and send it off to continue its adventures! (That is a public post, so anyone at all can see it, but you do need to be a member, either free or paid, to leave a comment.) This is, alas, limited to US addresses (the postage to send it overseas is murderous, sorry).

What do you think, would these have followed you home? Would you hang them on your wall? Do you share my fondness for hanging non-art stuff on walls (if so, totally tell me the weirdest/coolest thing you’ve got hanging up)?