Bead Wish List: New Additions

January is the month of newness. It’s not just a new year - Christmas gifts still have that fresh out of the box appeal, and new school semesters are getting underway. Wherever we go, we’re looking for what’s new, hoping for things that are just a little more exciting than the year before.

For this month’s bead wish list, I went on a fun stroll through the New Arrivals and New Additions sections of some favorite bead shops, and found a fantastic assortment of goodies to get excited about.

Camo Mix Swarovski Elements Bicones
from FusionBeads.com





Indicolite Helios Pendant by Swarovski Elements
From ArtBeads.com





Vintaj Natural Brass Harvest Grapes Pendant
from Rings & Things





Pink Resin Butterfly Cameo
from Beads Direct





Fruit Colors Glass Rondelles
from Auntie's Beads





Indian Pink Swarovski Elements Wild Heart Pendant
from BlueMud





Cobalt Blue AB 8/0 Delicas
from Fire Mountain Gems





Fire Agate Round Beads
from Happy Mango Beads





Retro Copper Pin Up Girl Beads
from Baubles and Beads





Golden Rod Yellow Lucite Scallop Shell Beads
from The Beadin' Path





Brown and Seafoam Handmade Lampwork Cylinder Beads
by Juliyamr on ArtFire.com

What's your favorite new bead product of the year?

Copyright 2011 Inspirational Beading and Friends
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A Bracelet a Week: One

I’m at it again! When I said that I might do a bracelet challenge after A Necklace a Day, I was mostly kidding. Once the last challenge was finished, I took a much needed break, and spent some time getting things organized, working on my shop, and writing more.

Just like taking a long vacation from a job, I almost didn’t want to go back to beading. I needed something to motivate me, and get that spark going again. I finally decided it was time to work on finishing the beaded rope I started for the tubular herringbone tutorial. When finished, it will be a fun variation of my Cornucopia Lariat, along with a new PDF tutorial.

Did I really want to spend the next three weeks working on a plain brown rope? Nope!

I considered working on the rope one packet of beads at a time, and making other things in between each addition. Then I thought “What if I make one small project at the beginning of each week, and work on the rope the rest of the time?”

What a great idea! And if I’m going to make it worth while, I might as well blog about it. Doing a bracelet a week seemed like an obvious choice, since I haven’t done them yet, and I need the challenge. The thing is, I don’t really like making bracelets, because I never have any ideas for them. And I never have ideas, because I don’t really like making bracelets. Hopefully, a little pressure will help things along.

So, can I make one bracelet a week for 52 weeks? I’m going to say probably. Most likely. Hopefully! If I get to thirty and can’t stand the sight of beads anymore, I reserve the right to call the whole thing off. I know I can do thirty. One project a week is easy compared to one a day!

So, the very first project of A Bracelet a Week is this totally weird and fantastic cuff. When I took inventory of my 6/o seed bead tray, I realized that I’ve had these neon lime seed beads for over a year, and never even opened a single package. Not once have I looked at them and thought “Those would be great for…”. So I decided to try and use them all up at once and be done with it.

The biggest reason that I’ve never used them is because nothing goes with neon except stark neutrals and other neons. And although I have hot pink and fluorescent orange beads, too, I had no desire to combine them whatsoever. Also, if I wanted to be sure to use up all or most of the 24 grams I had, I needed to do something simple and bold.

I envisioned all kinds of things from ropes to cuffs, mostly with stripes and swirl patterns. And then I had an idea of boxes and blocks, and that turned into an image of windows. I just happen to have a whole lot of copper lined gray 6/o seed beads that look just like tinted window glass. Perfect!

So that’s one down, and only 51 more to go. Wish me luck!

Copyright 2011 Inspirational Beading
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Bead Shops: Royal Metals

I really enjoy creating my own clasps and findings from beads, and coming up with designs that require no closures at all. Still, once in awhile I miss some of the more traditional beading and jewelry techniques. There are just some designs that can’t be done without metals.

With the prices of metals going up and up, finding a good price on jewelry components requires a little more work than usual. One of the best places to look is with smaller suppliers, especially those that specialize in the types of materials you need.

For our first ever bead supplier spotlight, we’re getting a look at some of the unique beads and findings from Royal Metals. An expert purveyor of precious metal beading supplies, Holly shares some insight into the benefits of shopping small.

Inspirational Beading: How did you get into the business of jewelry supplies?

Holly: I've been designing jewelry for several years now and have always bought lots of supplies, so when I sit down to create I have what I need right there. It was a natural progression to start offering my favorites online and from there it just kept growing and growing. Now it's grown to the point I don't have time to get 8 hours sleep!

If I did not design jewelry I'd have no idea of which findings and beads to offer, which work best and are top quality.

Inspirational Beading: In your opinion, what’s the best thing about small supplies shops vs. the big bead retailers?

Holly: The big supply shops have a lot of overhead the smaller online stores don't, so pricing is usually a lot more reasonable online from the smaller shops. Just as important is customer service. I do a lot of custom ordering and even advising that you wont find with one of the large retailers. And my customers, who are the best, do appreciate that I'll bend over backwards to help them.

There have even been cases where I could not find what they wanted from my vendors so I've located the piece and sent them elsewhere to buy. Fortunately that doesn't happen often! I don't think you find the same level of customer service from a big shop.

Inspirational Beading: Do you have a favorite material, color or bead style to keep in stock?

Holly: I keep all of the necessary supplies available and add others that I love. Karen Hill Tribe silver is a good example. It's incredibly beautiful, fair trade (if not made in a factory) and so unique. Actually it is my favorite.

I generally design with silver and studies show that 70% of women prefer silver over gold. I do like designing with gold filled and gold vermeil as well though. Copper patinas beautifully and I love mixing it with silver, especially my Hill Tribe silver. That also brings down the cost of a finished piece.

With metals soaring it allows someone who might not be able to afford silver alone to buy a piece of mixed metal jewelry at a more affordable price. Besides that they do look wonderful together not that copper can't stand on it's own. It can.

Inspirational Beading: What makes your bead selection stand out from other craft supplies shops?

Holly: Besides carrying the "staples" I chose a large variety of beads and findings I love. If something doesn't make my heart happy I don't offer it. My selection is huge. I have to slap my hand sometimes before clicking Order as I have so many assorted items already. I don't think you'll find this variety in many shops. I've had customers comment they can find all of their metals with me.

Inspirational Beading: Most beaders are familiar with the emotion that comes from selling a finished design. How does it feel when you well something that will become a beautiful work of art?

Holly: Some of my customers email me pictures of their designs and that is always so gratifying. I love hearing from them and seeing what they create. Sometimes I'll peek into one of their shops and just be awed. My only complaint is that I rarely have time now to design myself. Here I'm surrounded by all of this great material and hardly using any myself. My head swims with ideas...

Inspirational Beading: What is your favorite thing to make with the supplies you carry?

Holly: Presents for my mom! I love to make her new necklaces and earrings. Since I rarely have designing time these days I tend to do more custom work.

Inspirational Beading: Do you have any plans for new products in 2011?

Holly: My main supplier comes out with a large supplement each year in January or February. You know I'll be adding from that. And every time I order Hill Tribe silver I find several new must have items as well!

Inspirational Beading: Can you recommend any great beading sites or books to help artists make the most of your products?

Holly: Most art shops offer coupons you can print online. We have an AC Moore here that comes out with a 50% off coupon frequently and I often go in and grab a book.

There are so many different types of jewelry designs that it would depend totally on what the designer enjoys doing. There are also a bazillion tutorials, free and otherwise, online for just about anything you can think of.

Want to see more? You can shop for beads and findings with Royal Metals on ArtFire and Etsy.

Copyright 2011 Inspirational Beading and RoyalMetals
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Favorite Beads: African Trade Beads

Today my guest is the designer behind the exotic and intriguing jewelry of SarasinArt. The elegantly rustic appeal of trade beads really make her designs stand out.

Inspirational Beading: What is your all-time favorite bead?

Sarasin: If I had to pick one type of beads to work with, it would be African trade beads. I love working with gem stones too, but the trade beads are my favorites.

I like them because there's so much involved in them. There's a culture and a set of techniques to make them that we in this country will never understand the depth of. The colors represent a continent that is mysterious and age-old in its ways, and so are the trade beads that the people from there produce.

Inspirational Beading: What is your favorite technique or method to use them?

Sarasin: I love to find different colors and combine them with other rustic and tribal components, like horn and bone, and use a lot of copper in the closures. Sometimes I make my own copper closures, to maintain the primitive style of the finished jewelry. I sometimes mix them with other things too, if I find things that seem to go well with them.

Inspirational Beading: Of all the creations you’ve made with these beads, which one is your favorite?

Sarasin: [Leopard Necklace and Earring Set] That is my favorite ever, because I found a cat that seemed to blend so well with the particular beads I combined it with. That set sold at a show about 2 weeks after I made it. It was something I had been tempted to keep.

Inspirational Beading: Do you have any tips for making the most of these beads?

Sarasin: Making the most of them, I believe, is understanding their origin, and explaining to the customer about their origin. These beads are made in Ghana in a labor intensive old way, in wood fired kilns. The molds are hand made, the kiln is hand made, the glass is recycled glass that's gathered up, and sometimes the bead makers have to travel many miles to get the wood to fire the kilns.

Then there are procedures to make the beads, a wooden stick placed in the center of the glass which burns away to create the bead hole....returning the colorful ones to the kiln many times to set each new application of color. These beads are both a source of income in an impoverished area and a labor of love that is centuries old.

When I tell my customers the stories about the beads, people like knowing the history of the piece they're buying; it adds to the "thing" being just a pretty thing, and then when they wear the jewelry, they can tell the stories again. People like that.

Inspirational Beading: What is your favorite bead or material to pair these with?

Sarasin: Mostly other natural and primitive materials: bone and horn, and also some brass trade beads made in another area of Africa, Ajiba in the Ivory Coast. And copper findings and copper beads go well with them, the best, I think.

Inspirational Beading: If you were stranded on the moon, and you could have only one kind of bead with you, would you choose these?

Sarasin: Oh, what a thought! I would be stranded with trade beads, because they would give me inspiration, that even when times are tough, you can make good things happen!

Inspirational Beading: In your opinion, what is the best source for these beads?

Sarasin: I buy the majority of my African trade beads from a non-profit organization that operates from here, also has an employee and volunteers in Ghana, and buys the beads directly from the bead makers.

The lady who runs the organization is strongly dedicated to helping the people of the Krobo area of Ghana to improve their lives. There are fewer hands in the transactions when I buy beads from her, and that leaves a large portion of the funds in the hands of the bead makers. I like that concept. The organization is called Soul of Somanya.

You can see even more inspired creations at SarasinArt on Wordpress!


Copyright 2011 Inspirational Beading and SarasinArt
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Book Spotlight: Micro-Macramé

If you’re a crafter or designer that likes to make new year’s resolutions, chances are that trying something new is on your list. If you’re already stuck deciding which new techniques you should explore, your local library could be a great place to start. You never know what you might find!

While browsing through the Hobbies section of my local branch recently, I came across a book that looked interesting enough. I had no idea when I checked it out that it would completely change the way I look at beads and thread.

After a few minutes of browsing through Micro-Macramé by Annika deGroot, I was instantly transported back to high school, when my sister and I spent hours weaving intricate friendship bracelets using colorful embroidery floss. At the time, we had no idea that the techniques we were using had stemmed from traditional macramé art. If I had known then what those little knots could do, I might be a completely different beader today.

Micro-Macramé offers a fantastic assortment of jewelry and accessory projects that combine beads with traditional knotting techniques. Thirty full projects feature three levels of macramé skill, with ten simple designs for beginners like a ring, keychain fob and gorgeous earrings. The final ten projects are much more complex, and definitely something worth striving for.

Like all great beading books, Micro-Macramé begins with an in-depth look at materials that you can use to create your own variations of the projects. Included in this section are detailed descriptions of 11 different cords that beaders can try in their own designs, with helpful tips for making the most of each one.

Basic techniques are covered in plenty of detail, including a tutorial on creating a padded clipboard for easy macramé work, and a simple embroidered cabochon tutorial. Then it’s on to the knots! Annika’s step-by-step photographs feature extra large cords in different colors, so it’s easy to understand the placement of each strand or loop. Five knots are explained in detail, with some handy variation tips.

My favorite project is the Mariposa Necklace, which features a gorgeous beaded butterfly. If I had known all those years ago that macramé could do this, I would have kept at it. The amazing creativity behind this book makes me wonder if I chose the wrong calling!

Micro-Macramé finishes with a recap list of helpful tips from throughout the book, and some extra advice for working with knots and cords. It is a truly thorough and inspiring guide to getting started and succeeding with a fascinating medium. If you’ve been looking for one more way to make sensational items with beads, this is worth a try!

Copyright 2011 Inspirational Beading
St. Martin's Press and Annika deGroot
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