Back-to-school ads make me a bit nostalgic for the days when I got a whole new collection of outfits and shoes every August. Now I have a modest budget, and to be honest, I'm not much of a shopper anyway. Like many beaders, my primary interest is in what goes with the outfits, not the outfits themselves.

Watching the Bead Budget
"Budget" has become our buzzword this summer as the next election approaches. Since politics have no place in a bead newsletter, I'm going to stick to budget issues. Here are my suggestions for trimming your bead budget.

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Helpful Reader Tips

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If you've ever experienced having a spool of wire unwind and become tangled, messy or frustrating, you'll love the following tip from reader Winnie MacPherson:

"Recently, I knitted a beaded bracelet using 26-gauge gold wire as yarn and added beads randomly. Before I even started, the wire began to tangle. Looking around my craft room, I found an empty Blue Diamond almond tin. The spool of wire fit perfectly inside the tin. I punched a hole in the plastic lid and pushed the wire through. The tin prevents the wire from tangling. I have the spool of leftover wire stored in the tin waiting for further use."

The following e-mail came from frequent Simply Beads contributor Debbie Tuttle:

I have a wonderful tip for my fellow beaders who use sterling silver. I save all of my sterling clippings and recently brought them to my local jewelry store. The jewelry stores in my area have been buying old sterling and gold jewelry. They paid me $50 in cash for all of the scrap sterling that I would have thrown away. This helps out with the rising cost of sterling silver these days! Same goes for gold. Every little bit helps!

Debbie's advice is great. Keep your sterling and gold or gold-filled scraps in separate bags. If you're uncertain about the material makeup of any metal, don't include it with your scrap.

If you have any great tips, please e-mail them to me, so I can share them with other readers!

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I Don't, or Do I?
Normally, I will not do commission jewelry pieces. When an acquaintance (Fran) asked me to make a mother-of-the-bride necklace for her wedding, I politely declined, relying on my busy schedule as a solid excuse. Placing the word "wedding" in front of "jewelry" makes me cringe as though I see a vision of "bridezillas" dancing though my line of vision.

Pretending as though she didn't hear me say "no," Fran pulled out a small hank of delicate gemstones from her purse. I couldn't identify the gemstones, but noticed that there were very few, their color was unusual, and the beads and their holes were very small. She explained that her mother doesn't wear jewelry and will never wear anything silver. I declined her offer a second time, gave her several magazines for reference and wished her the best.

We ran into each other a few weeks later, and Fran told me she finally had an idea in mind for her mom's necklace. From her well-stocked purse, she produced a catalog page and pointed at a simple wire-wrapped necklace made with gemstones similar to her tiny strand. It was a perfect choice and involved only basic wire-wrapping and closing a few jump rings. She offered to pay me cash for a private lesson.

As lessons go, it wasn't great. Fran fumbled, swore, dropped the pliers and finally confessed that she hates working with "little things or any kind of string." Then she made me another offer I couldn't refuse, in cash, on the spot. Since we already had chosen a design style and beads, I agreed. Fran opted to let me try using bronze-colored wire instead of more-expensive gold-filled wire. I also made a few alterations to the necklace because I consider it unethical to sell copies of designs from magazines or other artists. The delicate fairy chain took about three hours to complete.

Fran's mom, Kate, loves the necklace and also paid me to make a pair of matching earrings. I'd like to wish Fran the best of wedded bliss. I'd also like to thank her for my new client, Kate, who is now crazy for chains and ready for something in sterling. Never say never!

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Victorian Violet Designs by Barbara Greve Great-grandma never had a necklace like this! Materials Amethyst faceted beads: 6 (6mm) round, 8 (8mm) round, 2 (10 x 15mm) oval 6mm light amethyst round bead Aqua beads: 10 (6mm) faceted bicone, 1 (6mm) smooth round 7 (3mm) gold round beads 1 1/0 seed beads: 121-125 amethyst silver-lined, 121-130 burgundy transparent 11 (8mm) gold filigree bead caps 2 gold crimp beads 3 gold head pins 3 gold eye pins 2 gold earring ball posts 2 gold butterfly earring clasps 4 x 8mm gold hook clasp 3 1/4 inches gold large curb chain 32 inches white beading thread 25 inches .012-inch-diameter nylon-coated flexible beading wire Size 10-13 beading needle Round-nose pliers Chain-nose pliers Crimp tool Gem glue Finished Sizes Necklace 14 1/2 inches plus a 3-inch extender chain Earrings 1 5/8 inches long Project notes: Refer to diagrams throughout. When stringing the seed beads, mix colors randomly. Bead caps should be strung so they "cup" the amethyst round beads. Instructions Necklace 1) Using beading needle and thread, string an 8mm amethyst round, bead cap, eight seed beads, bead cap, 8mm amethyst round and a seed bead. Position beads 1-1 1/2 inches from end of thread. Insert the long end of thread back through all of the beads and out through the second 8mm amethyst round (Fig. 1). 2) String a seed bead, 8mm amethyst round, bead cap and eight seed beads. Insert thread back through the following: previous bead cap, 8mm amethyst round, seed bead, amethyst round and bead cap (Fig. 2). 3) String eight seed beads, bead cap, 8mm amethyst round and a seed bead; pass thread back through previous 8mm amethyst round, bead cap, eight seed beads, bead cap and amethyst round (Fig. 3). 4) Repeat step 2 (Fig. 4), step 3 (Fig. 5) and step 2 again (Fig. 6). 5) String eight seed beads. Pass thread through the first bead cap and amethyst round. String on a seed bead (Fig. 7). 6) Begin stringing seed beads along inner diameter of beaded flower, passing the thread through the previous seed beads. Once seed beads have been strung along entire inner perimeter, string on 6mm aqua round bead; pass thread through a seed bead and then back through the aqua bead and another seed bead. Tie thread in a snug knot on back of flower. Add a dot of glue to knot; let dry. Insert the beginning thread tail inside several beads. Trim excess thread. 7) Pass beading wire through the top two or three seed beads on beaded flower, centering flower on wire. String four seed beads on each side of wire and form a small beaded loop above flower by passing one wire strand through the opposite seed bead (Fig. 8). Gently pull wires to tighten. 8) Working on one side of wire, string on five seed beads. String the following: 6mm amethyst round, 15 seed beads, aqua bicone, two seed beads, gold round bead, two seed beads, aqua bicone and 15 seed beads; repeat beading sequence. String on a 6mm amethyst round bead and 12 seed beads. 9) String a crimp bead onto beaded wire; pass wire end through end link on chain and back through crimp bead and a few other beads. Use crimp pliers to flatten the crimp bead. Trim excess wire. 10) Repeat step 10 with other side of wire. String on a crimp bead; pass wire through clasp and back through crimp bead and a few other beads. Flatten the crimp bead; trim excess wire. 11) Slide a gold bead and an 8mm amethyst round bead onto a head pin; use round-nose pliers to form a loop above top bead. Trim excess wire. Open loop on an eye pin and slide it onto loop on head pin; close loop. Slide a light amethyst bead onto eye pin; form a loop above bead. Trim excess wire. Open loop and attach it to center bottom of beaded flower; close loop. Earrings 1) Slide the following onto a head pin: gold round bead, bead cap, amethyst oval bead and a bead cap. Use round-nose pliers to form a loop above bead cap. Trim excess wire. 2) Slide an aqua bicone bead onto an eye pin; form a loop above bead. Trim excess wire. 3) Open bottom loop of eye pin and attach it to beaded head pin; close loop. Open top loop of eye pin and attach to a ball post; close loop. 4) Repeat steps 1-3 for a second earring. Sources: Amethyst round beads, aqua beads, gold beads and light amethyst bead from The Beadery; seed beads, amethyst oval beads, bead caps, ball posts, butterfly earring clasps, chain and beading thread from Blue Moon Beads; beading wire from Cousin Corp. of America; gem glue from Beacon. Copyright © April 2007 Simply Beads magazine. All rights reserved. Back to top. Click here for printer friendly page.

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