You’re here for beads!? The good ones!
We buy ’em, sell ’em, make ’em… and teach ’em too!
Let’s start with the latest news!
- Bail Out, Itsy Bitsy Coins April 25, 2019
Nope – we’re not changing our business model here. It’s just that this week, we have TierraCast Bails for your pendant-hanging pleasure, and 4mm Diamond Cut Faceted Stone Coins – which is a bit of a mouthful.
Bails – a bail is a loop to hang something or hold it. That wire handle on a bucket – that’s the bail. These bails are for hanging pendants, from crystal pendants to whatever you want to dangle. It’s tough to quantify what a bail will fit on, and most of them are pretty flexible in terms of working for more than one thing. However, if you want to check before you buy, email us and we will offer our opinion as to whether the bail you have in mind will fit the pendant you have in mind. No need for you to amass a collection of bails that don’t fit anything you have.
Now, these are “pinch” bails – which means you pinch them or squeeze them shut. They are a U-shape, with a short “tooth” or peg to go through the hole in the pendant, and so are for those pendants with a front facing hole.
They range from simple
to fancy.
We have a wide selection of bails, actually, and bail making pliers too, if you are making your own. So if you are going to just hang around, do it in style!
On to the coins! These are small – itsy bitsy – 4mm – faceted coins stone beads. Nice accent beads, or if you want nice colored-stone beads but with a daintier look. Lots of colours to choose from.
Like …
Oooor, Just Sapphires. “Like my sapphires? – just a little something I whipped up.”
Blue Apatite, or Amazonite – soooo pretty.
Labradorite, for the rabid Labradorite fans – you know who you are!
Last week’s Dzi beads and the Terra Agate were super popular – they sold out in hours – we will be getting more in!
Cheers!
Review all the new stuff here!!!
Can’t find what you are looking for? Feel free to just email us and ask!
Our Class News
- Bloom Where You’re Planted
If you’ve been anywhere near a garden centre, you know that there are flats of bright colourful flowers, herbs and other greenery ready for your home garden.
BeadFX classes are blooming too. Whether you’re a Seed Bead Snapdragon, a Wirework Water Lily or a Metalwork Marigold, we have a class or open session for you!
As a matter of interest, gardening and crafts have similar benefits for adults:
- Encourages use of all motor skills
- Learning new skills challenges the brain and promotes problem-solving
- Reduces stress levels and promotes relaxation
- Improves wellbeing as a result of social interaction
- Promotes self-esteem
Here are the BeadFX activities scheduled May 1 – 10:
Wednesday, May 1
Open Metal Studio: Kiln Enamelling
Facilitator: Christine Woollacott
5:00 – 9:00pm
This is the perfect time to work on those enamelling projects you’ve been itching to finish!
FREE Open Bead Night
Facilitator: Pamela Kearns
6:00 – 8:00pm
Share your passion with other like-minded folks over coffee and conversation!
Thursday, May 2
FREE Afternoon Bead Tea
Facilitator: Pamela Kearns
1:00 – 3:00pm
Give yourself dedicated time to work on your projects!
Saturday, May 4
NEW Tubular Bead Crochet Boot Camp
Instructor: Gillian Clarke
10:00am – 4:00pm
Bead crochet has an undeserved reputation for being difficult. It’s not, and the results are stunning!
Sunday, May 5
NEW Stretchy Bracelets on the Endless Loom
Instructor: Pamela Kearns
11:30am – 4:00pm
Expand your stretchy bracelet tool box by learning how to create them on the Endless Loom. Learn how to judge your size and allow for ease of wear.
NEW Pearl Pendant
Instructor: Lucie Lee
1:00 – 3:00pm
Enhanced by beads, pearls or stones of your choosing, you will learn how to weave with wire, how to shape the wire base and how to apply a patina.
Monday, May 6
Happy Hour Torching
Facilitator: Carol Cooper
5:00 – 9:00pm
If you have recently taken a lampworking class or are a regular studio user, Happy Hour Torching is the perfect time for you to come by and work on your lampwork projects!
Wednesday, May 8
FREE Open Bead Night
Facilitator: Amanda Pittman
6:00 – 8:00pm
Be among the first to see the new weekly products!
Thursday, May 9
FREE Afternoon Bead Tea
Facilitator: Pamela Kearns
1:00 – 3:00pm
Work on your projects or peruse our extensive library for future ideas!
Peyote Boot Camp: Even-Count Peyote
Instructor: Pamela Kearns
5:00 – 9:00pm
Peyote stitch creates an amazing fabric of beads using only beads, a needle and thread. If you have been intimidated by peyote stitch in the past or are a first-time peyote learner, this class is for you!
Open Metal Studio: Metalwork
Facilitator: Darija Radic
5:00 – 9:00pm
Open Studios are a great opportunity to start or finish a metalwork project or get expert assistance in building your skills as you work.
Friday, May 10
Introduction to Crochet de Luneville/ Tambour Embroidery, Class 1
Instructor: Catherine Sequalino Poitier
6:00 – 9:00pm
This ancestral technique creates appliques and overlays for jewellery and clothing designs as seen on the high-end fashion runways!Click on the class/open session title see complete details including course description and applicable fees. You can also click on the instructors’ names to see other class they are teaching.
Our Latest Inspiration
- Photo to Beaded Pattern
A fun little tool from Miyuki to convert your photos to beading patterns
We’ve seen a number of beading-pattern-makers over the years – by and large, they seem to not be much fun to use, and try to do too much.
This, by contrast, does Miyuki Delicas, Peyote or Square stitch. That’s it.
You can also use the Square Stitch option to create patterns for looming.
The software is online, and runs in your browser, so nothing to download – except the pattern afterwards if you want.
They have instructions in English here, but I’m going to run you through a brief intro here too.
First, you will need to click on Peyote or Square to start, depending on which you want the pattern to be.
Next, you will see a screen that asks you to input dimensions
The maximum size is 370 x 370 mm. I had a fairly large image, and so I scaled it down by dividing the size so that it was a lot smaller.
However, if you just playing with it, just enter the 370 in the height and width boxes. Where there is text in a box that is grey, it is a suggestion, not a default value, and you need to enter it yourself.
Number of colours – well, as Miyuki themselves say,
The larger the number of colors used, the more delicate expression will be.
Fair enough, but there does come a point at which, needing to buy 2 beads of a colour is ridiculous, even in my humble opinion.
So you can start with a low number of colours as Miyuki suggests, about 20 or so, and adjust afterwards. One of the things that I like about this software is that you can go back and forth and change things, instead of needing to have it all correct before you start.
Click on import, and navigate to your saved jpg on your computer. Click ok.
From here, you have some options to resize and scale and crop. Click on the blue line to resize, and use the scroll wheel on your mouse, or the zoom icons, to zoom in and out.
And click ok.
Now you get to modify the number of colors, with a preview of what it will look like. You can reduce or add to the number of colours by clicking on the rectangle above or below. Keep selecting a lower number of colours until the quality of the image falls off.
When you think it is ok, click ok and go to the next screen.
It will spin it’s wheels for a bit, and then give you a preview, that you can review or edit.
Pretty awesome, huh?
From here, you can edit the individual beads.
Use the eyedropper icon to pick up colours from beads. Use the paintbrush to apply the colour.
The coloured droplets let you switch to the full Delica colour palette to pick whatever colour you want.
I don’t see anything that looks like a search and replace, however, so to get less complicated colour choices, just go back a step.
I do think that starting with a less complicated image is probably a good idea too. Running your image through a filter an image editing software can make the image less complex. Look for a filter or process called “Posterize”, “Cartoon” or “Simplify” to get a smoother image.
Or, click the back arrow and select a lower number of colours.
When you are done, click ok, and it will ask you if it is ok?
And then pop up the slightly scary warning …
Don’t worry – it will give you the number again on the next page. You can write it down or cut and paste.
You do have the option to download a pdf, which is a good thing, as I haven’t actually seen any of the emailed notifications from them, but maybe they take awhile.
If you use the pattern online, it will actually keep track of rows for you, which I think is a lovely feature.
Here I was playing with a much simpler image – beading a picture of beads is very meta.
Here are the pdf patterns if you’d like to have a closer look. The “shopping list” is at the end, and lists the standard delica number, the quantity and the grams.
And, btw, you are free to go ahead and use these patterns if you want – if you manage to bead up a picture of my wonderful old dog, do send me a pic and let me know! (Because you know I’m never going to get around to it … )
The Dude – (my old German Shepherd) Complex 19031501260367278629
The Dude – (my old German Shepherd) Simplified 19031501474795333579
Black Beads 19031504040304327490
If you get stuck at the “simplify the image” thought and need a hand there – fire me an email and I’ll see if I can’t help you out.
This is a far from comprehensive tutorial, but I don’t think it needs it. The program is fun to use and play with. It’s not like you can do anything wrong, so just click and have fun!