nutty for tagua

Ever since I worked for Future Green in Milwaukee waaay back in '07...I've had a small obsession with a little thang called tagua. It's a nutty little seed from a palm tree that is dried and carved/cut into things like...

Baby turtle egg sculptures! Now that's what Morgan would call "ca-yute!" 

The material is more common down in South America but up here they do a little bit of tagua craftin' too. I'm starting to build up my collection of seedy jewelry: red tagua-slice earrings, a gi-normous ivory-colored ring. You know - just the basics. 

And how could I resist this smorgasbord at the arts & crafts market in downtown Cuernavaca?

The family who makes these necklaces were cool with me showing them off on my Etsy website and spreading the love up north! I've also dabbled in making some tagua earrings that I also put up on Etsy.  

Do you love it too? Or am I the only one drawn to large, bordering on obnoxiously colorful jewelry?? Hope it's not just me!