My Bead Shopping Part 2: Purchasing Larger Beads

I am a bargain shopper. I am always looking for a deal and beads are no exception to this rule. If you go into a craft store or a bead shop you will realize that beads are not cheap. Depending on the beads, you can spend $50.00 on beads and come out of the store with a very small bag of beads and wonder, “Where did my money go?” This is why it is important to know where and how to shop in order to get your best beading dollar value, without compromising quality.

Just like seed beads, there are many types and sizes of larger beads, swarovski crystals, pearls, glass beads, and Czech crystals to name a few. And depending on the beads, they can be rather pricey. Since most of my beaded jewelry is created using bead weaving techniques, rather than bead stringing, I mainly use larger beads as accent beads. The larger beads that I favor are size 6/0 and size 8/0 seed beads. I also like to work with high-end glass beads in sizes 2,4,6,and 8 mm. Occasionally I will use pearls or glass pearls and Czech crystals.

I can usually buy large tubes of size 6/0 and size 8/0 Czech seed beads for under $3.00 a tube at bead stores or craft stores. However I usually purchase them from a bead store because bead stores have a much better selection than craft stores. I have seen hanks of the larger seed beads sold on e-bay but not in any of the bead stores or craft stores that I frequent. And, I also prefer to by my larger beads in volume too. Both the bead and craft stores where I shop sell larger beads strung on a strand of monofilament. The craft stores have almost as good a selection as the bead stores but the prices are about 25% less than the bead stores. Bead stores also sell individual beads. I have found it is less expensive to buy a stand of beads than to purchase them individually. I buy individual beads if I only need a few for a project, or if I am making something special.

Swarovski crystals are very beautiful, very sparkly, and very expensive. I have not used them yet in any of my beading projects. Both the bead and craft stores I patronize sell swarovski crystals. The craft stores do not have as good a selection of crystals as the bead stores. Also, the bead stores have better prices on the crystals. I have not as yet priced swarovski crystals on E-bay or Internet bead stores, because like I stated previously, I have not had occasion to use them.

This all of course is my own personal bead shopping experiences. Depending on where you live, and what kind of beading you do, prices for beads may be different. It is just important to know where and how to get the best value for your beading dollar without compromising quality.


If you get the chance, visit my website, “Bead Between The Lines.” You just might find something that you like or something that will inspire you. And, please, take a moment to sign my guest book.

http://www.picturetrail.com/bead_between_the_lines

My Bead Shopping Part 1: Purchasing Seed Beads

I am a bargain shopper. I am always looking for a deal and beads are no exception to this rule. If you go into a craft store or a bead shop you will realize that beads are not cheap. Depending on the beads, you can spend $50.00 on beads and come out of the store with a very small bag of beads and wonder, “Where did my money go?” This is why it is important to know where and how to shop in order to get your best beading dollar value without compromising quality.

There are many types of seed beads such as, Myuki, Toho, Mill Hill, Czech, Delica etc…
My personal preference is Czech seed beads. I prefer to buy size 10/0 and 11/0 seed bead by the hank. At my favorite bead store the average price of a hank of beads in about $3.00. The average size11/0 seed bead hank has 12 stands. Each strand is comprised of about 410 beads per strand, equaling approximately 5,022 beads per hank. The average size of 10/0 seed bead hank also has 12 strands. Each strand is comprised of about 328 beads per strand, equaling approximately 3928 beads per hank. These are great values and the standard I use for comparing prices when shopping for seed beads in craft stores, bead stores, or on the Internet.


I also take into account the price of gasoline and the amount of gas it take me to drive to my favorite bead store, verses shipping cost when shopping for beads on line. The driving distance from home to my favorite bead store and back is about 21 miles. Gas prices are at an average of $3.00 per gallon in my area. My car gets about 25 miles per gallon of gas. So driving to my favorite bead store costs me an additional $3.00 per trip. Even though many Internet bead stores will have prices that are lower than $3.00 per hank, their shipping costs are more than what it will cost me to drive to my favorite bead store. And, some Internet bead stores have a per hank shipping fee rather than a flat rate shipping fee. So these are important factors to take into account when trying to get my best bead dollar value.

I have found some great seed bead bargains through bead sellers on E-bay. E-bay has been great for purchasing large volume lots both “buy now” purchases and “winning bid” purchases. One of my best purchases was 22 hanks of seed beads in a variety rainbow colors for the price $35.00 and this included shipping!!! Another great E-bay purchase was 50 hanks of seed beads in a variety of color for the price of $65.00 and this also included shipping!!! Both purchases were much less than what I would have paid from my favorite bead store.

I also take advantage of any sales or discounts that I may find when bead shopping. My favorite bead store has a customer incentive card program. They give you a card and total up your card after each purchase. Once you have reached $100.00 in purchases, the next $10.00 is free. This is a great marketing technique for both the store and the store’s patrons.

So by being price conscience and doing a little market research I am able to get more seed beads for my money without sacrificing quality.

If you get the chance, stop by my website. You just might find something that you like or something that inspires you.

http://www.picturetrail.com/bead_between_the_lines

Beading With A Cat

I have heard it said that the people do not own a cat but a cat owns the people. Well that is certainly true in my household. We have a beautiful calico/Siamese female cat. Her name is “Patches.” She came with the name; if I had named her she would have a more exotic name, more befitting with her kitty status, like “Sheharazadde.” And, she is definitely a mans’ cat. She prefers Stan to Angelina and me except when it comes to feeding time. She knows that I am the one who feeds her every morning. If I am not up when she is ready to eat, Patches will gently rub her paws in my hair and “meow” in my ear until I do get up and feed her. The other time she prefers me to Stan is when I am beading.

As soon as Patches notices that I have sat down to bead, she is right there beside me. She bats at the thread with her paws while the needle travels through the holes in the beads. I scold her and say, “Patches, no!” She will then look up at me with those innocent blue kitty eyes and start rubbing her face against my arm as if to apologize. But I know her kitty wiles and I do not fall for her tricks. As soon I pick up my needle and begin to bead again, Patches tries once again to attack the thread. Of course I know she is not being malicious. She is just doing what comes natural to her as a cat.

Patches also loves the beads on my beading tray. When I am not looking, one of her favorite things to do is to pounce on my beading tray and watch the beads scatter. If by chance she happens to find a larger bead on the floor, Patches will roll the bead back and forth between her paws. She will hit the bead with her paw so hard that the bead will zing across the room, hit the wall, and ricochet back to her. Patches will hit the bead again as though she is playing in a kitty handball tournament.

If given the opportunity, Patches likes to steal and hide whatever project I am currently working on. There have been times that Patches has hidden a beading project so well that I have not been able to find it. So, I sit down and start the project over. Sometime later, I may discover her with the beading project between her paws, carefully biting at the threads in order to release the captive beads. Consequently, I am learning not to leave my beads and beading supplies unguarded and out in the open where they are fair kitty game.

But most of all, Patches is a very sweet kitty. And, being a bead-lover myself, I totally understand Patches’ attraction to my beads. It is one of the things that we have in common.

If you get the chance, visit my website. You just might find something that you like, or something that inspires you. And, please take a moment to sign my guest book.

http://www.picturetrail.com/bead_between_the_lines

Peyote: The Beading Stitch Not The Other Kind, Pt.2

For many people, including myself, learning how to do the “peyote” bead weaving stitch has been a difficult, if not traumatic, experience. So I am going to share a few tips with you regarding little things that helped me learn how to do this bead weaving stitch.

First of all, this is not a stitch that you should work on learning when you are tired, stressed, or do not have much time or patience. You really need to be in a calm relaxed state of mind and have no distractions. If you have children, wait until they go to bed or until you have a fair amount of time to yourself before picking up your beads and beading tray, needles, threads, and tutorial. Shut off the phone, or let the answering machine answer the phone and find a place to sit to bead. Because, you really want to be in a place where there is the least amount of distractions.

Make sure you have a good tutorial, one with clear easily understandable instructions and good graphics. Before you attempt to actually bead, you need to read through the tutorial. If the instructions are good and clear, you will be able to visualize in your head the bead weaving process. If you cannot visualize yourself peyote bead weaving, then you need to find a different tutorial, one with clearer instructions. My personal recommendation is Ann Benson’s peyote stitch tutorial. You can get it free from her website.

So with all of this accomplished you are ready to start learning peyote stitch. I recommend that you start with the easiest peyote variation; “flat even-count” peyote.
To distinguish even-count and odd count patterns, count the number of columns in the pattern. Even-count peyote will have and even number of columns, where as flat-count odd peyote will have an odd number of columns.

Tie on a stopper bead to your thread leaving about a six inch tail of thread. If possible, your stopper bead should be a different color from the beads you have chosen to work with and at least one size larger. String the first two rows of beads on to your thread. Remember that unlike brick stitch and square stitch, the rows are not straight across. Because the way the rows look like they are staggering, one bead up, one bead down, etc…, you read string on every other bead across the row for the third row as well as the remainder of rows..

One of the most important things that I have learned is, after stringing your first two rows of beads on to your thread, and you are ready to start the all frustrating third row, is to keep your tension as tight as possible. After stringing on each bead into the row, your tension will loosen up. So before going on to the next bead in the row, tighten your tension. To do this, push your stopper bead into your beaded row so the stopper bead is touching the bead it sits next to this. Keeping your tension tight is the key in being able to create your first three rows. Peyote stitch gets much easier after you have managed to get past your first three rows. I do recommend tightening up tension for at least the first five rows. After the fifth row you won’t need to tighten your tension as often.

Using the small size 10/0 and size 11/0 seed beads can be extremely frustrating while trying to learn peyote stitch. So, I recommend that during the initial learning process, you use size 6/0 seed bead or pony beads. These beads are larger. The larger beads are easier to hold in your hand and have larger holes. Because the holes are larger, you will want to use a heavier weight of thread. Nymo size D is a good thread for your practice piece. After you have practiced with the larger beads and get the feel for the stitch, then you are ready to use the smaller size 10/0 and 11/0 seed beads.

For your practice pieces, I recommend that limit your bead color choice to one or two colors of beads. The way the rows look like they are staggering on the pattern makes it easy for you to get confused. The goal is to learn to do the stitch, not make your practice pieces look fancy.

Once you have mastered your first peyote variation, you are ready to start your first peyote project. Pick a project that looks easy with a simple design. Remember that patience and tranquility are necessary elements. And believe me, once you have mastered the stitch and have completed your first peyote project, you will feel a real sense of pride and accomplishment. You just might even be brave and confident enough to tackle another peyote stitch variation such as “odd-flat count” peyote stitch.

If you get the chance, visit my website; “Bead Between The Lines.” You just might find something that you like or something that inspires you. And please, take a moment to sign my guestbook.

http://www.picturetrail.com/bead_between_the_lines

Ann Bensons’ website; http://www.annbenson.com

Peyote: The Beading Stitch Not The Other Kind

Yes, there is really a beading stitch called “Peyote.” First of all there are several peyote stitch variations. There is tubular peyote, even count peyote, odd count peyote, two drop peyote, circular peyote, and probably 2 or 3 more other variations of the stitch that I have forgotten.

Peyote stitch is probably the most popular of all the beading stitches. Two of the most popular beaders in the beading community Charlene Hughes, a.k.a BeadyBoop, and Suzanne Cooper have many lovely peyote patterns for sale on their websites. And there are many more beaders who sell peyote patterns that they have created. You can also find many, many, free peyote patterns on the internet.

Although peyote stitch is very popular, when I first learning how to bead, it was the bane of my existence. For about 3 years off and on I struggled to learn peyote stitch. For some unexplainable reason, peyote stitch just seemed to elude me. I must have downloaded every free tutorial on the internet that was available. But, I still could not make the beads come together, but instead I created a tangled mess of thread and beads. The needle too would end up looking like a twisted mangled piece of wire.

One day after a particular frustrating day trying to learn peyote stitch, I logged on to the about.com beadwork forum and vented out all of my frustration with the stitch. On that day, I was ready to give up beading forever. But the kind and wonderful beaders on the forum gave me encouragement and much needed solace. I was directed to “Ann Benson’s” website and her peyote stitch tutorial. So with some trepidation, I downloaded her tutorial and put it in my beading bible were it stayed untouched and unlooked at.

Shortly afterward, Charlene Hughes created her own peyote stitch beading tutorial. She offered it free on her website. The title of the tutorial was called “Peyote Kindergarten.” I thought it was a perfect title for me and took it as a sign that this was a tutorial worth looking at. After all, some of the most important things that we learn in life, we have learned in Kindergarten. So I downloaded this tutorial also. And I am happy to report that between Ann Benson’s peyote tutorial and Charlene Hughes’ Peyote Kindergarten tutorial; I can now manipulate my beads and thread to form the peyote bead weaving stitch.

Ann Benson still has her peyote stitch tutorial on her website and it is still free. Unfortunately, Charlene Hughes no longer offers the Peyote Kindergarten tutorial on her website. So my copy of that tutorial is in my beading bible where it is kept safe and secure incase I need to refer to it. And even though I do not design or create my jewelry with peyote stitch very often, I owe a debt of thanks to these women for creating these tutorials. Without these tutorials, I probably would have given up learning how to bead entirely.


Please visit my website, "Bead Between The Lines." You just might find something that you like or something that inspires you.

http://www.picturetrail.com/bead_between_the_lines

Charlene Hughes a.ka. BeadyBoop; http://www.beadyboop.com/
Ann Benson; http://www.annbenson.com/
Suzanne Cooper; http://www.suzannecooper.com/

When Life Gets In The Way Of Beading

One thing that annoys me is when I sit down to bead; my life gets in the way. I have been working on this r.a.w. cuff bracelet for a week now and still haven’t gotten it finished.

I sit down to bead; I discover that my autistic 10 year old daughter, Angelina, took the scissors to the bracelet. So, I compliment her on how well she has learned to use the scissors. I now have to start over from scratch. I make a mental note to hide the scissors.

I sit down to bead; the phone rings. Normally, I would let the answering machine get it, however; my significant other has just quit working from our home and has now established himself in a storefront. He is an all service computer technician. In order for him not to lose the customer base he has established, I am playing receptionist and redirecting all of his calls to the store.

I sit down to bead; my significant other rushes in through the door asking me to make him some lunch to go. I get up, and make a couple of turkey and cheese sandwiches. He thanks me for making his lunch and rushes out the door.

I sit down to bead; Angelina comes into the room carrying a dvd. She is upset because the dvd won’t play. I take a look at the dvd. It needs to be cleaned. I get a soft cloth and some rubbing alcohol and clean the dvd for her. I put the dvd into the machine. The dvd is playing. She smiles and says, “Thank you mother.”

I sit down to bead; the cat is meowing. She has managed to tip over both her food and water dishes. I wipe the water off the linoleum. I sweep the cat food up off the floor and empty the dustpan into the trash can. I pour new cat food into one bowl and fill the other bowl with water. Then I place them on the floor so the cat can eat.

I sit down to bead; the dryer buzzes. I get up, take the clean dry clothes out of the dryer and put them into the laundry basket. I then empty the wet clothes out of the washing machine and place them into the dryer and turn dryer on. I fill the washing machine with a load of dirty clothes, add the soap and turn the machine on. I bring the basket of clean clothes into the living room sort, fold and put them away, making sure that Angelina’s school uniform is laid out for school the next day.

I sit down to bead; I look at the clock and realize that is time to start dinner. I prepare the pork chops with some Johnny’s seasoning salt, pepper, minced garlic, Worcestershire sauce and put them in the oven at 325 degrees. I peel and cut potatoes. The potatoes are put into a pot of water and placed on the stove. The stove is turned on.

I sit down to bead as dinner is cooking. My significant other walks into the door. He comments on how nice dinner smells. He then looks at me and says, “You have been beading all afternoon. When are you going to get that bracelet finished?”

I place bracelet and tray with beads and needles on my desk. I pick up scissors, look at the scissors, and then look at him. I smile and walk towards him. I put scissors into the cabinet that he is standing next to, and then give him a ‘hello kiss’. I remind myself that tomorrow is another
day.


If you get the chance, stop by my website, “Bead Between The Lines.” You just might find something that you like or something that inspires you.

http://www.picturetrail.com/bead_between_the_lines

Beading on a Chilly Day

I can't think of a better way to spend a chilly day than to be wrapped up in my favorite quilt, a pot of peppermint tea on the table beside me, a favorite old movie on the t.v. screen, and of course my current beading project in my lap.

I won a huge lot of seed beads from an eBay auction a few weeks ago. I received 22 hanks of seed beads for only $35.00!!!! Whooo hoo, what a score. However, I was still missing some colors that I wanted so, I took a trip to my favorite bead store and bought 8 more hanks for $25.00. Not as good as a score as eBay, but it was worth it for the instant gratification of having my beads in my hand vs having to wait a week for them to come thru the mail. And, I love this store for seed beads. They have a fantastic variety of colors and sizes of beads.

So from both these purchases, my current project on this chilly day is a raw cuff bracelet. The inner portion of the bracelet is made with beads that remind me of variegated green/blue yarn. The beads on the hank are all in different shades of blue and green. So I just slid a strand off the string into a bowl, and the bead jump up onto my needle in what ever order they choose. The edges of the bracelet are green. They are made from the eBay purchase. I am planning to make a peyote toggle clasp. So far this bracelet is looking great. I can hardly wait to see the end results.

If you get the chance stop by my website. "Bead Between The Lines." You just might find something that you like or something that inspires you. And, please, take a moment to sign my guestbook.

http://www.picturetrail.com/bead_between_the_lines