Super Beads and Sidekicks
Just a quick side by side size comparison. From the left: SuperDuos, MiniDuos (Mini SuperDuos), DiamonDuos, Mini DiamonDuos, and GemDuos, and the new Mini GemDuos. Sometimes, you just want to see them side by side. 😉
Category: Tips & Techniques
Class Sign-up Trouble-shooting!
TAKE MY MONEY! BTW – if you are signing up for any of our classes and having troubles with paying for them – we just found out that if you have a pop-up blocker – you might be missing the payment portion of the process. Feel free to email us at info@beadfx.com for more help. Â Â
Hot Tip …
The Thread Zap – if you are not already familiar with it – is a nifty little tool for cutting off threads with a neat, tidy end – particularly those very tough threads like Wildfire, Fireline, and Nanofil. But – is it a one-trick pony? Is that all it does? Well – no. You can cut Satin Rat tail and Asian knotting cord – leaving a nice tidy end without having to go back and heat seal it to prevent fraying, with a flame or lighter. And – you can use it – as I just discovered – to make …
Lampworking in High Speed
Anne Marie and I have been comparing notes on the Jet Age Powders – the Jet Age Studio powders and flakes from Creative Art Pigments, in our Resin Inclusions and Etc. section. Anne Marie – being the doyenne of Resin – frequently posts about using resin (see recent post here) – and asked me to contribute as well. Some of the powders are capable of being used as the kind of high temperatures that glass melts at – in lampworking – glass bead making. So I thought I would make a little video of the process. But I sped it …
What Color is Silver?
Have you ever found yourself wondering – what color is silver? Is silver just a super shiny grey? If you didn’t think of silver as being, oh, “special” – what would you call it? You know, the base color, without the shiny metallic look. I’m not sure. I am going to hazard a guess that the good folks making beads may not being in total agreement either. There are a number of Czech seed beads that are labelled – by the manufacturers – as Metallic Silver. And then, there are others, labelled Metallic Silver [Terra]. And when you put them …
Classes – Jewelry Making Basics – Crimps & Loops
 Jewellery Making Basics: Crimps and Loops. Gotta start somewhere, right? In-studio class for absolute beginners – will give you the skills to make basic jewelry. These two techniques will open the doors to thousands of designs you can make yourself.
How many Beads do I need …
Hi there! I want to make about 40 to 50 memory wire bracelets (around 5 loops each bracelet). How many packages of 6/0 Toho seed beads would I need? question from a customer Hmmm – this reminds me of those word problems in math class. Here goes … Size 6/0s are 8 to the inch. Depending on the size of the coil of the memory wire – let’s say, for the sake of argument, 2.25 inches – that seems fairly standard. But that is diameter. To get the circumference – we actually do have to pull out some old math …
A Cab, A Chain, A Tassel – A Necklace!
Ooo – nice cabochons, you think to yourself. But I’m not about to start learning how to bead a bezel around them. If it doesn’t have a hole – I can’t use it. But still – nice. Fortunately, you don’t have to. Because the OlympiArt cabochons are what we in the biz call “Calibrated” – which means – they come in standard sizes that you can easily get findings for. And these 30x40mm ovals drop beautifully into these 30x40mm Gallery Ovals. Add some chain, and a tassel and you have a lovely necklace that can be a wide range of …
What the Heck is a Fleegle?
If this is the image that just popped into your head – well – me too. And I think that means we are carbon-dating ourselves. Nope a fleegle is a fleegle beader – which is a tool for putting beads into your knitting without having to pre-string them. Which appeals to those of us who have a tendency to think of things just a little too late! When it comes to adding beads to knitting, you can string the beads you want first onto the yarn, and slide a bead up into the stitch or you can use the fleegle …
Pearls – Knotted vs Strung
Traditionally – pearls were knotted – strung on silk with a knot tied between each pearl. This was when pearls were enormously valuable and rare, and later, because it was just traditional and if you had imitation pearls – you wanted them to look like the real thing – right down to the method of stringing. Nowadays – you can get reasonably priced pearls, and very fine imitations – all at budget friendly prices. So, would you still want to knot your pearls? Traditionally – the reasons given for knotting pearls were if the strand broke, you only lost one …