Any beaders out there?
I always loved beads but was too intimidated to try to make anything. But then a couple of things happened. My niece gave my daughter a really nice handmade bracelet as a gift for being her bridesmaid. And I started working with a woman who has created a lot of her own jewelry. So I bought a toolkit, some beads, and some organizing containers, and started practicing. I'm not very good, but I have a few necklaces and earrings that I wear. I like that I can make a piece (or set) that will match an outfit without spending a lot of money.
So anyone out there do beading as well? Got any tips for a "newbie" like me?
Comments
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Hi Carol:
I got into a beading frenzy a few years ago. I learned a lot from beading magazines and went to a few classes given by stores that sell beads. Michael's had some classes too. I get lots of compliments on the stuff I made but how many necks and ears can one have? Enjoy!
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Carol ~
I got into the beading...still do! I love it ! Its not only therapeutic its beautiful "art" you can make for yourself or for gifts...whats best about beading is if you don't like it ....try again! My advice would be to actually GO to a bead shop they have tables etc...I use all their tools and just pay as I go...whats best about doing this is you get ideas in the shop change a few things and its your creation. If you start buying beads or crystal from shops and take home you will find you will spend too much and you may not need what you purchased.
The bead shop does not charge for someone to sit and create and they are eager to help always...I can't tell you HOW many times I picked up crystal or toggles and kept swapping or changing my mind. ( I bought from Michaels but it still sits in the box) so this way pick out what you only need and if you get tired of it you won't have stocks of beads in the back of your closet.
Happy Beading!
(I have made earings ( takes a little practice..buts it gets easy!), bracelets, cell phone charms,and necklaces
Much LUV
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I love Buying Beads! Does that make me a Beader? LOL
I have made some earings & some bracelets...but nothing fancy. Its hard to pass up all those pretty beads when they are on sale. As Luvmy2girlZ said- Alot of my beads just sit unused.
I do need to use some of them...Maybe I will try to dig my beads out over the summer & help my boredom.
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Oh this thread is great I just signed up for my first beading lesson with a women who has a shop, I'm very excited about it. It's 35.00 for an hour and a half and extra for certain beads. I think it would be really thereputic for me and I'm like a mag pie I love anything shiny.
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WooHoo! Beaders! Why didn't I ask about this before?
My first encounter with the bead world was when I had just finished rads. I met a lady (from this very website!) who was essentially my neighbor. She was going through chemo, and had just started beading. She was going to teach me, but we couldn't hook up, so I taught myself!
That was 6 years ago. Now I have enough beads to start my own bead shop (Hi, my name is Anne, and I'm a beadaholic!) I go to bead fairs locally a couple times a year, plus have a few internet sites I use more than my local bead shop or Michael's. I've sold several pieces, and am working on a necklace line right now that I hope I can get in a local boutique. the only problem/annoyance is the tax issue, as I have made this a business so I can get wholesale prices!
My goodness, I could go on and ON, but I won't. Yes, I love to bead/make jewelry/whatever you want to call it. It's a great way to tap a creative outlet!
Anne
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Hey bead-buddies! Great to see this thread. I LOVE beading - been doing it on and off for years. Always have too many beads, but I love looking at them and touching them and imagining them in different ways. Have done the jewelry and such but always looking for new and unique ways to do beading. I love beading around things (buttons, etc) and creating cool pins.
Tried some crystal snowflakes this past Christmas with wire and turned out pretty good.
I will keep visiting this thread - glad to meet new bead-buddies!
Amy
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I started beading about 6 months ago, but haven't gotten into it too deeply, due to the cost of the beads!! Those Swarovski crystals are EXPENSIVE! I thought it might be a nice hobby, and I could maybe sell some of the jewelry. But, a friend woke me up to the reality that it is alot of hard work to market them, and sell them.
So maybe I'll start 'puttering' around, and make a piece or two or sets of some fun 'glass beaded' jewelry, to wear. I have a few pieces I made, when I took a class with a friend, back in December. That is what got me hooked.I will read these posts later, I gotta run... a dentist appt!!! I'd MUCH rather be beading! Nice to meet ya'll!!!
Harley
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I like to bead. I got started at "Craft night" at a camp we went to in New Hampshire. It's easy to get hooked!
My MIL passed away recently and I swear, that woman had more necklaces than anybody I've ever seen. She had envelopes full of broken necklaces too. So I've been redoing some of her beads. My main challenge is the clasps.
I have to wear an ID badge at work, and it conflicts with all my jewlery. So I've been beading ID badge necklaces. Instead of wearing a necklace and then covering it up with a silly ID badge cord I just clip the badge onto the necklace-like chain.
I've only been doing this a year or so and already I have two storage boxes full of stuff. When I get catalogs I tear out the necklaces I like and save the pictures because usually I can do something like that.
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I love beading.
Rose .. what a great idea about saving pics from mags and catalogs for ideas. I like to check flea markets for old beaded jewlery too. Still saving two from both my grandmothers that I haven't decided what to do with. One is a large strand of hand painted glass beads (probably full of lead) from Egypt and about 70 years old and the other is pink crystals equally as old.
I make bracelets for friends and they're easy to enclose when mailing cards.
It's addicting ... collecting beads!
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BinVA - just an idea, but if you really think you may not want the beads on your skin (truly lead concerns?!) or whatever a neat idea I have done is 'window jewelry'. I just use some cool beads and place them on a wire that I can coil in any shape I like. I've attached them to shades or wired around a push pin at the top of a window frame. It is a pretty cool way of showing off beads without having to string a whole length of them - or a great way of using a 'focus' bead. I've also made the same idea as Christmas ornaments. They look very pretty on a tree in the twinkling lights. Anyway, just some ideas!
This thread rocks!!! So cool to share a passion!
Amy
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I'm not a beader but belong to a guild that has a monthly session for beaders and it is getting more popular each month. I am SORELY tempted to join them but already have a huge stash of needlepoint threads and canvasses so I don't dare! You might want to ask at the bead shops about any organizations that sponsor classes or projects. Our guilds are not expensive to join and the atmosphere at the sessions is so therapeutic. Sometimes I go to beading just to be there but I stitch instead of bead. I really like that feeling of a quilting bee from times past and present.
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I love to bead! I also do stained glass, and got into beading as an extension of glass work. I make a lot of beaded "window jewels" that combine the two things.
I am about half way done with a totally beaded mermaid doll. The biggest problem I have now is the numbness in my fingers from my chemo. It makes it hard for me to work with little tiny beads.
Deb C
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Wow, you gals are terrific! I love listening in when women talk about something they're passionate about.
Fortunately for me, I have a friend who's into beading. I have to wear a Lymphedema Alert bracelet, and for someone like me who's never been into jewelry, the stupid chains on the Alert bracelets are downright depressing. She offered to make me a better bracelet, and it's a keeper. Pretty (and mercifully small!) wooden beads intersperced with just a touch of thin metal to set them off. She strung them on a stretchy but tough cord, so I can slip it on my wrist in the morning without the hassle of a clasp. Love it! And it sure meets a need.
Just a thought for those of you who might need a useful gift for a bc Sister...
Binney
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Hey Binney - what a thoughtful gift she made for you! I just love how creativity presents its self and how something practical can be pretty.
And Collector - ever given a thought to combining beads and needlework? I'm also addicted to some needlework. Did a beadweaving of an angel for a friend; was gorgeous. I saw a show not too long ago that was detailing beads incorporated into needlepoint fancy stitches. I think she made pins/brooches. They were darling.
AlaskaDeb - sorry to hear about the numbness in your fingers. Will keep mine together in some prayers for you!
gentle hugs to everybody!
Amy
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I could never make a living at selling my jewelry. I usually just wear what I make. Then if someone I know sees it and wants something similar, I'll make it and sell it.
I beaded a chain for my reading glasses which are always around my neck at work. I get lots of compliments on it. I have made lanyadrs for badges, too.
Yes, those swarovskis are gorgeous and expensive, but there are some pretty Czech crystals out there that are cheap. I love HillTribe silver, but silver prices are simply ridiculous, so I stick mostly with semi-precious, pearls, and crystal. I'll throw in silver for accents.
I'd get more beading done if I spent less time on this board!
Anne
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you guys are making me want to dig my kit out that I bought. I love looking at the hand made jewelry and thought I would give it a try and bought a beginner kit. Still haven't opened it as I have so many projects started and nothing finished!!!! I have a ton of scrapbooking to work on and cross stitch kits as well as crocheting projects and I would love to learn to knit again. As I read you all's posts I just want to dig out that kit and give this a try!
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Amy, I do embellish some of my needlepoint projects with beads and next year I am taking a class in Atlanta where the project will use lots of beads as part of "fancy" or combination stitches. I rarely use traditional basketeave for stitching because the combination stitches give so much more texture. I'm looking forward to adding the bead expertise. I just feel guilty statring a whole new stash of equipment, beads, etc. when I have a major stash of needlepoint threads and canvases and books already. Guilt is the gift that keeps on giving I guess.
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Anybody out there in bead-buddy land have cool bead stores near them? We have two right here in Lincoln Neb. that I know of. There are more in Omaha which is about an hour away. One of my fav things to do is when I am going out of town, I look up bead and maybe craft stores in the area we'll be visiting and check them out when we get there. I also always look up yarn stores too as I am addicted to crochet.....so many addictions, so little time. I'm having distinct hyper nerve pain in the right arm so I am unable to crochet right now. I'm going to do everything in my power to get the nerve pain to diminish and eradicated (!) so I can get back to all my crafty things. I did manage to sew a quick tube top for myself - I'm sick of the one they sent me home in. Lesson.....don't sew when you are on narcotics!!!!!!!! Man - it was way too big (do I have a distorted sense of my actual size?...lol!!) I'm embarrased by the seam! Okay, don't drink and drive. And don't do narcotics and craft. very scary!!!
Anyway, share some shops with me if you have any near you. We do travel a bit and I love searching out new beads and findings!!
Amy
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I work in polymer clay and make my own beads. At least I do when I have the time, which isn't very often these days. I belong to a local polymer clay guild and have learned so much. I actually get hungry to make jewelry, usually when I don't have a chance to do it. My house is filled with supplies and tools. I have sold a few things, but mostly do this for fun.
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I bought my 6 year old a beading kit and I ended up doing it and loved it, her attention span was too short. Can anyone post some pictures of their work. I am also going to get a glass staining kit from hobby lobby. I love crafts, decupouge (spelling), latch hook, beading, I have my husband cut out large round pieces of wood and make tables out of out broken ceramic tile, small flat stones and sometimes costume jewelry or pretty button..
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This is one of my homemade table tops
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Hey Spar!
I love mosaics although I'm not actually any good at it. I bought two small tables - plain wood - at garage sales. Alas, they still sit in the shed, along with all the tiles, plates, glass etc I was going to cover them with.....I'm bad that way! I love metal too. Copper especially. I have pieces that I've saved from construction on our house and I'm determined to make a copper trellis...when I'm done with my mosaics...and all my beading ideas....
I don't know how to post pictures. Can I just add them into these posts? Like copy/paste? Or do you have to have them someplace else and post a link? I have no idea how to do that. I know how to send them in emails, but it would be cool to have them here where bead buddies could see them.
Amy
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That is gorgeous!!!!
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Wow - do you sell those or make them for your own/friends? Where do you get your materials? I saw the coolest project - someone did mosaic on their front steps - not the treads, but the upright part. It was so beautiful!
Amy
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spar2..that is absolutely gorgeous!
Oh..this was definitely fun to read. I am into all kinds of things and can't concentrate on one thing in particular. I love beads but have no patience for beading. I can't see well enough and it frustrates me. But..I take beads with larger holes and thread them on rough string (I don't know what it's called in English) and wrap that or hang it on something I've made...like a paper mache bowl, a bookmark or card, an altered book.. My girlfriend owns a Paint your own Pottery store here in Israel and uses beads on thicker wire that you crinkle (she asked me to do this for some of her samples) on plaques or bowls that have holes in them for this.
Beads add so much. I like the kind that sparkle but on my papermache I use the kind that look more like clay...
My daughter makes FIMO beads and mixed that with tiny beads and made a little doll that hangs from her cell phone.
The ideas are endless!!!! It certainly doesn't have to be jewelry! I made beaded necklaces when I was in high school..you know..the hippie days. Okay..just gave away my age.
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thank you, I just make the table for fun for me. That one is down at our pond so when we sit down there we use it for our drinks or food. That one is just made from old ceramic tile from our house when we ripped it up to put down wood floors.
Amy, to get my pictures to post I had to upload them to photobucket ( free program) I kept trying from my photo album on the computer but it wouldn't work.
Tomorrow I am starting one with tiny colorful stones and tiny sea shells. I polyurethane over them so they are weather proof.
The mosaic steps sound gorgous, had never even thought of that. Have a gread day.
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I love Rose's idea of making ID badge necklaces. It's very similar to eyeglass necklaces/holders, and that's a wonderful idea, to customize your own.
Another thing I love to do is go to the thrift store (I go about once a week, unfortunately, because I usually find too many things!). In addition to the clothing -- I got a lovely Ann Taylor blouse today for $4 -- I always check out the used jewelry and beads. If there is a necklace with beads I think I can use for my own projects, it's a great score. Today I bought such a necklace for .99. My co-worker haunts garage sales for the same thing; she has made lovely necklaces and earrings from jewelry she's found at garage/yard sales.
Now I need to get off the computer and make something, lol.
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carolsd -
Garage sales ROCK for beads and findings! I've found so many great things at sales. And I'm right with you on the thrift store - never know what great stuff you'll find.
Hey RavDeb - do you have anything like garage sales in Israel? Sometimes I think they call them tag sales in other places ? Or what we call flea markets? It sounds so goofy what we call them now that I write it!! Like garages and fleas are for sale!!! LOL!!!
Spar2 - have to see the new table when you're done! Sounds beautiful!
Amy
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amy...no garage sales here...we do have markets here that sell "treasures", though. Sort of like a flea market, I guess. (only we don't sell fleas...LOL!)
And we have dollar stores here (which today is equal to about 3 shekels).
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Hi Ravdeb ~
We have one chain of dollar stores - they are okay - they just don't carry much craft stuff. Where I lived before, we had a few different types that all carried their own particular stock. We had one that had aisles of craft stuff. I miss that one very much!
I'v been wanting to visit one of the paint your own stores - the one here is called Paint Yourself Silly. But I'm afraid I'll find a new craft addiction and want to start off in another buying spree!! Yikes!!!! We have a brick-faced fireplace in our living room that is very outdated. We are going to cover it up with drywall. We will leave brick around immediate opening but I would LOVE to make my own tiles as a surround. Is that something that you could do at those pottery stores? Do they fire the pieces? I don't know much about it - I really should just stop in and check it out. But I really am afraid I'll fall in love with the whole creative thing and that is dangerous for me!
Oh big surprise for me yesterday! My DH got me a new pendant for my omega necklace - it is a gold ribbon with a 'slash' of pink sapphires going down one front side of the ribbon! He is sooooo wonderful! It was a total surprise and he had it designed for me - called the jeweler back where we lived and told her what he wanted. He is MY gem!
I'll have to figure out that photo bucket thing so I can take some pics of my beadwork - that I haven't given away!
Amy
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