More Bead Tips!

I’ve stumbled across some great bead tips again! These little ditties can be very helpful in your every day beading experience. I’ve been doing a lot of seed bead work lately… so many of these are ideas for seed bead projects. Print out this page and keep it handy in your bead case, and read over them once in a while. They’ll stay fresh in your mind and in the long run can save time, and that means more time to bead! Here we go…

Good old plastic wrap from the kitchen works great if you’re traveling with seed beads. Just lay your tubes on it and wrap it like you would a present. The wrap sticks to itself and is easy to un-do once you get to your destination. This works especially great if you’re flying and you have to put seed beads in your checked luggage.

When making a bracelet with magnetic clasps, remember to use a small piece of chain connecting the ends. Be sure to leave enough room to let the bracelet slip over your hand, but tight enough that it won’t easily slip off. Then if you have a mishap with a washing machine or some other metal object that wants to steal your bracelet, you have a better change of keeping it on your wrist!

Giving earrings as a gift? Make it easy for them and give them 3!! That way if they lose one, which happens more often than you think, they’ll have an instant replacement!

Save your scraps of sterling and gold wire in well labeled containers, and when you have enough, take it to a fine jewelry store and cash it in. Every little bit adds up!

Keep a sketch book in your car or purse. Sometimes when you’re out shopping you’ll see something that will inspire you, such as the jewelry section at a department store, or someone’s necklace they’re wearing. Or maybe a set of colors you wouldn’t think to put together. Have a book to jot them down in and when you sit down to design something, you’ll have a great place to start.

When beginning peyote stitch in the round, thread a fine gauge of wire through every other bead on the row. This will align all the beads and prevent them from twisting. Keep it there for a few rows, then take it out.

Empty film canisters work great for storing many sizes of bead, and the lids snap on tightly enough that traveling is worry free. You can get them in bulk for free from your local film developing place.

Stretch your Nymo before using it to release the curl. This will minimize tangling as well.

Did you know that you need to thread your needle from the end of the thread that comes off the spool first? Thread is wound onto the spool intentionally in the direction that will allow you to thread your needle onto the end that will fray the least. And there is a back and a front to the needle, as well. Since needles are made in molds there is a right and wrong side to the needle so if the thread does not want to go through the eye turn the needle around and give it a try again.

If you’re creating a piece that uses one color of seedbead in a really large quantity, take all the tubes and dump them in a bowl, mix them up and then refill your tubes. This will prevent different dye lots or faded beads from making stripes in your work.

Not really a seed bead person?? Why not? Seed beads are great spacer beads, and also can be great fillers in a necklace or bracelet if you’ve got pricey beads in there. If you’re selling your work, then it helps to keep your cost down. And just look at seedbeads… they come in a variety of finishes and colors that are stunning!

Hope these have been helpful! Stay tuned for more bead tips in the future. And if you have any bead tip suggestions for us, you can e-mail them to imbeaden@yahoo.com. We’ll pass them along to help other beaders.

Happy Beading!

The Bead Belle