Posted by Craftasaurus Rex on 2006-08-07 17:24:54
Post Subject: speaking of jewelry making:
I'm conflicted on something. Well, two things, actually:
1. When I was younger and starting to play with beads, I took the fishing line from my fishing rod which have never been used, and made jewelry with it. Now that I work in a bead store and I've read a ton of beading magazines / books, it says that monofilament always gets brittle and breaks and is generally a bad thing to put beads on.
I still have bracelets that I made with fishing line when I was 11 (I'm 23 now), and they're not brittle, they haven't broken, and I can wear them when I go swimming.
So I ask: why is everyone so anti-monofilament?
2. When I make necklaces that are mostly seed beads (size 11, size 8), and only a few larger glass / semi-precious stones, should I be feeling antsy that I put them on thread and not on beading wire? When I first started using beading wire, I put everything on it. But now I'm realizing that somethings are simply overkill to put on beading wire.
The thread I use C-lon, which is kind of like Nymo, but I find it doesn't fray as much as nymo. I double it, of course, and I use clamshells (knot cups) at the end of the necklace to attach my clasp. I have a necklace that I made 2 years ago that I put on thread, and it hasn't broken / stretched yet. and I sometimes forgot to take it off when I go swimming.
My question is: Can I sell these necklaces that I put on thread in good conscience? Even though I've never had any problems with the thread, I want to make sure that if someone buys a necklace from me that it won't break under normal wear. Maybe I should consider using Power-Pro, or Fireline, or some other kind of heavy-duty thread that's cheaper than beading wire, more expensive than normal beading thread, but seems to have a higher tensile strength?
Posted by culinarymartyr on 2005-01-13 00:54:14
Post Subject: Dallas/Ft Worth Area Crafters?
Hi, I'm visiting some family in Mansfield & was wondering if there were any craft groups that meet in the area? Or are there any suggestions for crafty outings that anyone could suggest? We've been to Yarn Heaven in Arlington, and "the big bead store" (I think it was at the Six Flags Mall) so far. My sister relocated to the area last year and would also be interested in meeting up with crafty folk in the area.
Posted by sarabell on 2008-02-20 21:21:12
Post Subject:
those are just crimp beads that you could get at any bead store. i'd suggest using a jump ring to connect it though, especially if your using a heavy(ish) ribbon. what's in the picture looks a little bulky going thru the hole in the clasp.
Posted by soteralu on 2005-11-08 18:56:03
Post Subject:
Swarovski makes pendants that are crystal and shaped like the antique chandelier pendants, but in various sizes. Any decent bead store should nbe able to help you locate them. A word of caution - the stringing holes have sharp edges, so if you plan on stringing on fiber of any sort - bead thread and monofilament included - you have to use a bail, otherwise the crystal will slice right thru the necklace.
Posted by danielepea on 2004-09-11 18:41:09
Post Subject:
There is a great bead store on 6th ave in the Garment District. It's around 36th or 37th I think? It's called NY Beads.
And if you are looking for fabric, I suggest checking out the fabric stores on 41st or 40th St between 7th and 8th Aves (in the vicinity of Port Authority). Some of them are quite overwhelming.
There is also a place near Union Square (can't remember the address) called Beads of Paradise that has cool stuff.
Posted by freelancemama on 2004-07-23 03:20:53
Post Subject: Making necklaces with nylon thread
I've been beading for a while, but I've always used wire or stretch cord. I recently discovered the cool possibilities of nylon thread, with all the different colors available. I got the little cards of it that have a beading needle already attached. After making one necklace, I ran into a few problems. First, I obviously had to cut off the needle. If I want to use the rest of the cord, do I just thread it on a regular sewing needle? It seems like it would be really hard to thread it b/c it unravels so much. Any tips? (Can you tell I'm not a seamstress??) Also, I need to learn different ways of making closures on these necklaces. How can I affix findings? For the one I made, I did an adjustable knotted-thing that the lady at the bead store showed me. However, after I put my necklace on, the ends of the cord hung down in the front in a weird way. (I hope this makes sense!) Any ideas? Any links to a site with good pics and step-by-step instructions?
Posted by kuju on 2005-08-17 10:43:51
Post Subject: Black Jewellery findings
Hi All,
I've got some lovely turquoise beads I found in turkey and I've found some other beads to complement them but I'd really like to use black jewellery findings (eye pins, chains etc) instead of sterling or gold to put the necklace together. Ideally, I want the metal to be good quality as well. Can anyone tell me what I should be looking for? Is black plated my only option? Dosen't have to be fully black, even that dirty black silver look? Hehe...sorry don't know the name! I'm pretty sure my old bead store in Australia stocked what I needed but I now live in London and I can't see to find what I'm looking for! (Always the way). I've checked a few beads stores here with no results! Anyone have any ideas where I could get them in the UK or even online?
Posted by artsytex882006 on 2005-05-02 18:33:08
Post Subject: Maybe this will help
I am from texas and live about an hour away from San Antonio. The river walk is so much fun and the market area there is cool to. They have some great shops and awesome tex-mex there are some on the river walk but for ultimate tex mex eat a chuys they are the best and an austin-texas original. The Mcnay art musuem is cool too. The Alamo is ok if you are into history but thats about it. Texas is known for weird weather but it hasn't been very humid lately but that could all change. The misssions i think are a lot more intersting. There is a cool bead store called nomadic notions. Oh and if you have time go to san marcos about 30 minutes away, there is this awesome store called paper bear and it is definitly worth the extra miles
Posted by jenavira on 2005-08-07 19:31:41
Post Subject:
You can get Czech seed beads by the hank at firemountaingems.com, but their shipping is kind of expensive (moreso than the beads). You can usually get a hank of seed beads for $5 at the local bead store; http://www.beadshopfinder.com has usually been up-to-date for me. :)
Posted by schnitzle on 2004-06-01 12:19:11
Post Subject: Making jewelry, beading, how to start?
I haven't stepped into a bead store since '92, but I have seen so many cool beaded projects lately that I want to try my hand at things again.
I'm kind of afraid to start though because I don't want to spend $50 on a bunch of beads that I don't know if I will use or what. How do I get a project together and just get what I need without creating a huge bead stash (I already have so many craft supplies I should start my own preschool!).
Is there a good way to start? I was thinking of making a cool beaded deal to hang my eyeglasses around my neck.
I know this is kind of a stupid question :) I just want a few pretty things...
Posted by kissmyknitz on 2005-05-14 14:07:15
Post Subject:
I used to work for a jewelry designer and we all sorts of foo-foo charm bracelets for tiny girls, but none for guys! I would suggest you go to the craft store/bead store and find a simple length of chain. It must be smaller than you would want for yourself, as his wrist is teeny. There's one that's called a "fishhook" -- no real hooks! -- that is a little more masculine. Take a look at your hubby's jewelry, or look in shop jewelry shops, find something you think would work -- I don't know what you're looking for designwise -- and then duplicate it real little! (that's dumb advice isn't it? lol! )
Posted by jenfullmoon on 2004-07-07 13:23:47
Post Subject:
Generally, no. I have one friend who I think used to be crafty before the kids came along.
This is why I hang out at the bead store and the local craft class center a lot- so I have people to talk to! The other night on my volunteer shift three of us were talking about doing metalsmithing/lost wax casting and how we'd all managed to make rings too big. Where else do you even have conversations like that?
Posted by redthreadarts on 2006-07-31 23:23:52
Post Subject:
Local Bead store and artisans for focal beads. My wallet screams for me to buy from FMG, and I might get some just to enter the back cover contest someday and maybe exploit them a bit :) but my heart's not in it. I like stores.
Local Hardware guys. By the time I get to Home Despot and back the diff. is eaten up in gas anyway.
Linden Hills Co-op. (Whole Foods, eat this)
I thrift almost all my clothes these days. I am so over fashion, I'd rather make other people cute and sparkly and just wear a lot of black and white and look put together.
Now for the reason I suck:
This is going to make me sound SO bougie and I'm so not BUT:
I hate that I do this: but I drink Starbucks. I have tried to drink indie coffee. Minneapolis is full of indie coffee and one of the few viable challenges to Bucks is HQ'd here, Caribou. I've tried.
I can't. Independent coffee mostly sucks.
I never know what I'm getting. I'm not paying 4 bucks for burnt crap. I want to love on my nearest Dunn Brothers but no go. I do buy Peace Coffee for the house and I do appreciate that Starbucks is at least trying to make some vague gestures of providing insurance without FT.
Posted by Nancy Flynn on 2007-08-29 09:20:12
Post Subject:
for craft shopping-- not thrifty but lovely are the Purl and Purl Patchwork shops in Soho-- a beautiful yarn and fabric store combo just a few doors down from each other. Check out http://purlsoho.com for directions.
if you're planning to be around the Empire State Building, the garment district is right by there, and there are lots of stores that sell to the public. Tinsel Trading http://www.tinseltrading.com/ (also not inexpensive) has tons of neat vintage trims. Big Apple Beads is a great bead store with TONS of stuff, and fairly good deals. It is on 6th avenue just south of Bryant Park (can't find a website, sorry!)
If you're planning to go to the Guggenheim or the Met on the Upper East Side, don't miss the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum on 91st and 5th, it is amazing.
Posted by smudgy_cat on 2004-05-21 12:05:49
Post Subject:
This may or may not be helpful, but what about customizing a nalgene bottle?
When my bf went to college, I gave him a nalgene bottle with some macrame and beads on the lid's plastic hinge. It's held up well for 2 years now, and it's unique. The only issue may be that the nalgene could be too heavy for the trail, but a lot of hikers I know use them.
I know that when I go hiking, jewelry really bothers me because my hands and feet swell a bit.
Oooh, how about making customized zipper pulls? You can find cute charms at a bead store and then put them on crab claw closures or clips and she can put them on various backpack zippers. Your friend could even make a custom poem of their meanings, like:
-heart - my love for you
-smiley face - i smile whenever i think of you
-hiking boot - for all the hikes we've taken together.
Posted by Miss M on 2004-11-06 08:34:16
Post Subject:
Fun thread!!
*making collages with my mom - we(my sis, bro & I) were little - 1st grade/preschool maybe? - and I always tried to make mine as nice as moms. Hers was a girl with a gingham skirt and yarn braids
*playing on the floor outside my moms teeny tiny sewing room with empty spools. Later, I would sew things using her scraps(by hand of course) and my dad would get mad about the pins I lost in the carpet and he would step on. I'd beg my mom to let me use her ribbon and iron-on patches
*My very first trip to a local bead store that I found in the phone book - I was in middle school. My mom took me there after school. The owner helped me make my very first pair of earrings(I still have them!). That was the beginning of my bead obsession that lasted a long, LONG time and the birth of this crafty girl!
*As an adult, a trip w/ my mom & sister to a creative arts convention. It was the first time us girls ever did anything like that. Because I didn't knit at the time or sew all that well either, I forced them to take classes they'd never normally take. Hello new hobbies! It was hands down the best weekend I've ever had with the two most creative, influential, amazing women in my life!
Posted by anati on 2004-06-30 13:26:30
Post Subject: how did you all get started?
so i'm curious...how did everyone start getting crafty?
i started when i took a jewelery course one summer and now i have a giant collection of beads that i make jewelery with all the time. that's pretty much the only crafting i do. i'm also planning on learning how to sew this summer.
i'm so excited because a couple of months ago they opened a bead store in my town. no more trips to the city every time i want an interesting bead!
Posted by glassprincess on 2004-05-04 15:03:46
Post Subject:
A laundry list (I get bored easily I suppose):
Bakery Clerk - responsible for all things sugary, decorating walk-in cake orders, and closing at a mom and pop's bakery.
Retail Cashier - ringing it all up at a card store, drug store, and major retail chain.
Pee On - was hired at a greasy burger joint and lasted 2 weeks after I had become unglued from the constant advances of the female assistant manager. Not to mention scrubbing the break-room floor for the millionth time.
Assembler - worked in a factory that bid and won a lot of government jobs that involved component parts for war-ware. I actually LOVED this job until I found out what we were making.
Veterinary Assistant, Groomer's Assistant, and Kennel - bit and sh** on too many times to count, and still thought it was the most rewarding job.
Switchboard Operator - at a VERY busy payroll processing company. I had to quite after I kept thinking the phone was ringing during the middle of the night.
Independent Consultant - worked in direct sales selling candles, made lots of $$$, and burnt myself out (pun intended).
Assistant Sales Secretary - should read head secretary's slave at a major aggregate company... enough said.
Nursing Unit Coordinator - glorified secretary for a managed healthcare company. Unit was transferred to Arizona and I was engaged so made the decision not to go.
Sales Coordinator - still a secretary at a laser machinery company. Left after I was unable to pull myself together when a colleague committed suicide.
Office Manager - still a secretary, and responsible for 2 subordinates at a interior window treatment manufacturer. Left after I married my DH - he worked there too (still does).
Office Manager / Project Coordinator - glorified secretary responsible for project management for a brokerage firm. I LOVED this job and left it to move with my DH transfer within the company mentioned above.
Executive Administrative Assistant - I'm still typing so I'd say this was the over glorified secretarial position to the VP of Sales at a major 1st tier automotive supplier. I left after I was told I had to ask to leave my desk even to pee.
Training Coordinator - they sure do come up with a lot of names for secretary. This wasn't so bad - worked for a great tight knit team in the HR dept of a major automotive company. I started feeling uneasy when they were trying to "type" me. What they didn't realize is they were all circles trying to force a triangle to be a square.
Quality Assurance Coordinator - the most $$$ I've made in my life, doing new and interesting projects on a regular basis. I never felt like I was a secretary. It was the first time I was ever fired. I come to find out when battling them for unemployment benefits that my HR file said hired as temporary... huh? News to me - I eventually won my case as some anon co-workers spoke on my behalf.
Independent Contractor - a little different thing for me here. I was an enrollment specialist in the direct sales of health insurance and did a lot of traveling for this HMO. I could accept or decline assignments, which provided a lot of freedom. I made a lot of money, and eventually became a lot of bored so I left.
HR Secretary - worked for a foster care / adoption non-profit and lost it after being micro-managed to death.
Instructor - taught hot glass beadmaking and jewelry making at a small bead store owned by my former boss at the hmo. Left after becoming pregnant (currently) and decided to be a SAHM.
The worst part of this list is that I've had twenty jobs within a total of 15 years.... would you hire me? HA!
Posted by CraftyChicaAZ on 2005-03-26 13:24:16
Post Subject: words you love
to me, discovering new words is like coming across a killer handbag, a catchy song or a new color of paint. i love the feeling of breaking them in. sometimes they are fancy, sometimes simple. my favorites change week by week, day by day. my ear listens for them in the nooks and crannies of everyday life, the same way i dig for loose treasures in the
clearance bin at the bead store. there's always a few that make you gasp in delight! then i use these new letter nuggets a few times in work, play and conversation - and then i put them out to pasture, once when the freshness wears off.
know what i mean? if so, what are some of your recent favorite words?
i just came across this one today. it made me think of bleu cheese!
gorgonize \GOR-guh-nyze\ verb: to have a paralyzing or mesmerizing effect on : stupefy, petrify.
it also always happens that once i find a word that is new to *me*, i see it pop up everywhere! in magazines, on the news, in books. turns out, it wasn't so new at all!
