The Bead Spot

Masks and Lanyards

2020-11-29T20:53:00.008-06:00

Kids Facemasks Made by My Mom

At the beginning of the pandemic, back when everyone was fighting over toilet paper and hand sanitizer, I found a mask pattern online and bought several fat quarters and sewing supplies. I planned to make masks and hand them out to my family.

But I am no pro at sewing. I wasn't even sure I bought the right stuff. Additionally, my full-size machine isn't usable, so I dragged out a mini sewing machine I bought at Aldi to use on my first mask. Two hours in, I was so frustrated that I just left it a little less than half finished.

I've been telling myself for months that I would complete at least the one mask. Maybe one day.

My mom is much, much more skilled at using a sewing machine. She has easily made 50 or so masks, and kept cranking them out long after every member of our family had one and at least one backup.

So, I think I might work on a few lanyards. My supervisor at work gave me a lanyard to use for putting my face mask on as needed at work. At first, I thought I wouldn't ever really use it, but, to my surprise, I find it incredibly handy. I'll need a few supplies to make the kind I'd like, so it looks like a Shipwreck Beads or Fire Mountain order might be in my future.

Have you made masks or lanyards? Let me know in the comments below.

A Beaded Cover for Hair Buns

2020-03-22T21:50:00.000-05:00

Last fall, my mom beaded some hair bun accessories in the netting technique. She first made these probably 20 years or so ago, but she has focused on mostly earrings, headdresses, and barrettes for several years. What a happy surprise to see them after this much time!

If only I could make a decent bun show that I could show them properly.

A couple of months ago, one of my co-workers wore her hair in a smooth, full, absolutely perfect bun. I told her I was envious; the buns I make, whether in my own hair on in my daughter’s, always come out sloppy and lopsided. My co-worker said she uses a sock to make hers look fuller and more uniform. That's something for me to google — how to use a sock to create a perfect hair bun — and then I can retake the photos of my mom’s hair bun covers for my Etsy store.

My daughter, age 8, loves these, by the way. She insisted on wearing one to school, and I reluctantly allowed it. I envisioned her coming home with the whole thing nothing but a pile of beads and string. But she actually managed to run around the playground and gym class and keep the cover intact.

***
Interested in these hair bun covers? Visit my Etsy store.

6 Thanksgiving-themed beaded projects that made me smile

2018-11-21T07:00:00.000-06:00

Pixabay.com

It's too late to begin Thanksgiving projects for this year, but I've been looking around Pinterest for a few ideas for next year and making note of my favorites for inspiration. I'm thankful for each and every one, because they all give me ideas for my own projects.

Here are just some of the ones I've found that made me smile:

Beaded pilgrims on Pinterest. These are some of the first ones I saw, and I just thought they were so adorable.
Beaded pumpkin pie earrings, also on Pinterest. How clever! I think this is the first time I have ever seen pumpkin pie earrings.
Turkey charms for a necklace and matching earrings. I haven't bought this pattern, so I don't know for certain that it uses double-hole Czech beads, but I think that's what it is. I love the colors of the turkey feathers and the layered looked.
Turkey brooch pin. This might just be the cutest turkey I've seen today. I never think about making brooches. Perhaps I should.
Pumpkin brooch. Another brooch. I love the fall colors.
Turkey banner. The message simply: Give Thanks.

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Bead projects for the holidays

2018-11-15T19:56:00.002-06:00

Feather earrings

A few months ago, I had big plans for this holiday season. I wanted to spend at least thirty minutes every night from October 1 on working on holiday-themed beaded jewelry to list on my Etsy store.

Funny how I keep making plans like that then don't follow through for various reasons.

Rather than make excuses for the umpteenth time, though, I am just going to try to get myself on a regular schedule for everything from time posting for this and my other blogs to making some progress on my beading plans.

I plan to get a few pairs of the feather style earrings up on my Etsy shop, and then I might do some other earrings and necklaces with a holiday theme, maybe Santas or Christmas trees.

Time to get to work.

Beadwork and binge-watching go hand in hand

2018-10-17T19:24:00.000-05:00

My husband and I have had some marathon TV sessions over the last couple of days, catching up on season 2 of Netflix's Ozark and giving Hulu's Light as a Feather a shot. We still have a couple of episodes of Light as a Feather to go, and I'm really enjoying it. It puts me in a Halloween kind of mood.

While we're watching, I've been beading. So far, I've made one and a half pairs of feather earrings, and I can't be sure, but I think I might be getting a little faster at it. Or maybe it just seems that way because binge watching seems to make the time go faster.

Once I get the second pair of earrings completely finished, I will list them and a couple of bracelets in my Etsy store in hopes of getting a few holiday sales. Fingers crossed.

Do you binge watch while beading? What shows do you like?

Just two pairs of earrings, but a success nevertheless

2018-10-10T08:29:00.000-05:00

Two pairs. That’s the answer to the question I asked myself last week, “How many beaded earrings can I make before Saturday?”

That’s only half the pairs I’d hoped to make, but I’m not complaining. To reach my goal, I would’ve had to bead twice as quickly, and beading fast leaves me with nothing but tangled string and little patience.

I made both pairs in the feather shape I’ve used several times before. I had hoped to come up with a new pattern, but, in the interest of getting earrings made in a hurry — I don’t come up with new ideas quickly at all — I stuck with what I know. I just used colors I hadn’t before. One set was pink and white, the other gold and black.

But guess what? Both pairs sold at the festival last weekend! Yay!

I wish I’d taken photos so I could include them here.

I am encouraged by the speed at which they sold, so even though I’ve been trying to come up with a fresh idea, I think I’ll make more of the same earrings. Then I’ll list them at my Etsy store, Beadwork and Woodwinds, to see if site shoppers are as interested in those colors as the festival-goers were.

How many beaded earrings can I make before Saturday?

2018-10-03T21:56:00.000-05:00

Feather earrings, made by me in 2017.

How many pairs of earrings can I make before Saturday? That's the question I'm going to try to answer in the next couple of days.

I've been focused on bracelets for months, but I'm shifting gears. Today, I was talking with an aunt who also does beadwork, and she sells a lot of it. I asked her what sells the best; she said earrings.

With that in mind and with an arts and crafts festival coming up Saturday, I'm going to see how many pairs I can churn out this week, then see if they sell. If they do, I may try to make even more for the holiday season to sell in my Etsy store, Beadwork and Woodwinds.

New and improved peyote-stitch bracelets: Now with fewer beads

2018-09-27T07:00:00.000-05:00

I don't have a whole lot to write about this week. I'm still just making some peyote stitch bracelets in a diamond-back pattern, though I realized too late that the last two I made were too big for most women's wrist.

This morning while I was in the shower, I had an idea for a way I could salvage one of the bracelets by adding places for it to "clasp," which would essentially make it adjustable. I was so proud of myself ... and then I thought about how that would when it was done. The unused clasps would be smooshed underneath the band. That would look just awful.

So I started making another bracelet, and this time, I'm going to stop stitching at 6.5 inches.

Perhaps some large-wristed woman will take an interest in the one I completed. Or maybe a small-wristed man will take an interest in it. Or maybe I'll just take it apart and start again.

A beaded lanyard for my reading glasses and a bracelet

2018-09-20T15:33:00.002-05:00

I've had a productive past couple of days. I finished a bracelet that I've had "in progress" since about May, and I created a lanyard for my reading glasses. I also started a second bracelet.

The lanyard is just for me. I've been wanting one for a while now to make accessing my reading glasses easier. But the black and blue bracelet ... well, I can't decide if I want to list it at my Etsy store. See that small bend in it? That won't be noticeable to someone wearing it, but if a buyer doesn't notice it from any photos I put on Etsy and bought it, would she feel cheated when it arrives in the mail? I don't think it would bother me, but I don't know how someone else might feel.

Anyone want to share their thoughts?

Reworking this bead blog

In the coming weeks, I plan to revamp this blog some so that it's a little more navigable. I also had some thoughts on beading videos I can do. Please feel free as I tweak the site to let me know what changes you like and which you don't.

Thanks!

I’ll roll with Etsy’s fee hike — for now at least

2018-09-12T18:39:00.001-05:00

(Pumpkin earrings for sale at my Etsy shop)

What little time I’ve had for beading over the past couple of months I’ve spent doing other things, like going to the gym and reading the latest Stephen King novel, “The Outsider.”

Thankfully, I now have a temporary reprieve, and I plan to spend it doing some of the beading-related tasks that I’ve had on the back burner — like making a lanyard for my reading glasses and doing a little research to see if I want to move my Etsy store to another platform after its recent fee hikes.

But in the meantime, I’m sticking with Etsy. The best thing it has going for it is that it’s well established, but I’m still not happy with the decision to start taking a percentage of shipping charges. Ultimately, I may decide not to switch platforms at all, depending on what I find out there.

(Pumpkin earrings for sale at my Etsy store)

For now, I'll just roll with it. I've even expanded what I have for sale there by two, because I’ve listed the pumpkin earrings I made and the set my sister made last year.

Etsy increases its fees, so I'm on the hunt for a new platform

2018-07-11T19:31:00.003-05:00

(Jack Moreh/FreeRangeStock.com)

I have sold only one item on Etsy, but the upcoming fee increase still frustrates me.

According to the notice Etsy sent me, as of July 16, transaction fees will jump from 1.5 percent and will be imposed on shipping costs. The shipping cost thing bothers me the mos

t. I'm struggling to build up my listings, hoping what I do have listed might sell in the meantime, so I want to cut people a break on the cost of shipping. I do charge, but only the estimated postage amount. If Etsy were to take 5 percent of that, I'd be losing money on shipping. My options would be to raise my asking price or take the hit.

A friend who makes and sells makeup bags told me that someone she knows had told her about another platform that charges a flat $10 a month, charges no listing fees and takes nothing from what users sell. That sounds a lot more about my speed as I'm trying to get my "craft store" up and running. I could spend $10 a month for a year just to try the platform out, then evaluate whether that platform has been worth it. If not, move on to something else.

The only problem is my friend couldn't remember the name, though she thinks she might have it written down somewhere. I tried googling to see what it might be, but I've had no luck.

I plan to do a lot of looking around. Ultimately, I may stay with Etsy. Its biggest asset is its name recognition: People who shop there are in the market for handmade goods and expect to pay accordingly. A platform open to more than just handmade items, such as eBay, might draw more bargain hunters than anything else.

We'll see.

I've got a lot of research to do.

The art of soap making

2018-06-20T07:00:00.000-05:00

After seeing a Facebook video last week on bar shampoo, I've been thinking about learning to make soap.

The video argues that bar shampoo is better for the planet than traditional shampoo because users don't have a bottle to throw away.

At first, I thought about buying bar shampoo; organic versions are easy to find on Etsy. But then I thought I could probably save money if I learn to make both bar shampoo and bar soap myself. It won't be as pretty or as creative as the Etsy offerings, but it would be cheaper and I wouldn't have to worry about paying shipping fees.

So, when I have time, I've been looking at YouTube videos that show how to make and/or offer recipes for bar soap and shampoo. A few have made me a little afraid to use lye, describing it as caustic and recommending gloves and goggles, but I'm determined not to let that scare me off. Once I get the first batch made and cured, I'm sure I'll feel a lot more confident.

Is there a bar soap or bar shampoo video you recommend? Please share a link in the comments below.

My crooked peyote stitch bracelet

2018-06-13T22:55:00.002-05:00

For months now, I've been looking at some pretty awesome work members have been posting in a Facebook group I belong to called "I LOVE Peyote Stitch Beading."

I haven't done a project in peyote stitch for a couple of years, but looking at all of that great beadwork made me want to do a project. I was in the mood for something simple, though, so I settled on a diamond-patterned bracelet.

Everything went fine until my thread broke. For some reason, adding in the new string created a "bump" in the bracelet. Just look at this:

See the crookedness?

I've tried pulling and shifting the beads to see if I can work it out, but nothing I've tried so far works. I can't decide if I want to finish it. Part of me wants to keep going to see whether it's noticeable when I wear it. The type-A person who occasionally pops up into my psyche, though, wants to rip it apart and start over.

What do you think?

My mom's beadwork leaves me in awe

2018-06-06T07:00:00.000-05:00

I love my mom’s beadwork.

She has never said whether she ever beaded when she was a child, and oddly enough, it never occurred to me to ask until right now as I’m writing this.

All I know for certain is that she began beading in earnest about 20 years ago. Back then, three of my four siblings and I had left home, and the youngest, my baby sister, was in high school. Suddenly, Mom had time for pursuing crafty hobbies.

She began the way many people do, working from patterns in books she bought at Hobby Lobby and other craft shops. She started with earrings, the dangling kind that you often see in Native American patterns, and gradually branched out into making barrettes, dream catchers and headdresses.

And at some point, she began creating her own patterns, and that’s when she really began to wow me. Everything she makes is in the Native American style (we’re Cherokee, my mom is full and I am half) even if she doesn’t use the traditional colors.

Recently as I was looking at some of her creations, I offered to list a few on my Etsy store. Here are the two I chose:

If I could wear earrings, I’d get them from her myself, but I have yet to find a pair that doesn’t irritate my ears and I haven’t bought that magic bottle of Jeweler’s Skin Guard I found back in April in a Fire Mountain Gems catalog.

So for now, I just admire my mom’s beadwork and hope someday my own daughter will feel just as wowed by mine.

The ‘ornery’ bracelet: When plans go awry

2018-05-16T21:12:00.000-05:00

Deep down, I knew my plan for the silver tube beads was iffy.

Once I got all of the pieces for the bracelet I was planning to make — rectangles of beads linked together with the tube beads — I started putting them together, only to see the ratio of beads to tubes was way off. Smaller tubes would’ve worked much, much better.

So I started going through some of my stash to see if I had anything that could work in place of the silver tubes. I found short black twisted tube beads I haven’t used in years, and they looked like my best option.

Here’s what I wound up with:

And that was just the beginning of the issues I had. For some reason, on two of the rectangular pieces, I skipped one silver bead in a corner, and by the time I noticed, I had already cut the thread and tied off the end. So I remade them, only to do the same thing again.

I thought I could knock this thing out in about six hours, but instead it took me three days. I told my older sister about what a headache it was, so she now refers to it as “the ornery bracelet.”

I hope to get it listed at my Etsy store within the next few days, but I need to get better photos first.

Speed beading? I wish

2018-04-25T07:00:00.000-05:00

Scrolling back through my earlier blogposts, I see I've been working on my three-row daisy chain bracelet for almost two months, and I'm just now starting to feel like the end is in sight. I haven't had much time, but I've been beading a couple of rows every night. If only I could bead a little faster.

Here's what it looks like now:

Just another three or four rows, and it will finally reach 7.5 inches in length.

I haven't decided yet whether I want to list it on my Etsy site. I'll need a second opinion before I make up my mind; while I like the way it looks overall, I'm not sure it would appeal to most people, and I worry that the string is a little more visible than I'd like for it to be. I don't know if I'm being too critical. Is it really all that noticeable to other people, or is it noticeable to me?

I need to ask someone whom I know will give me an honest answer and not just give me the answer they think I want to hear.

That's on my to-do list for this week. If the feedback I get is positive, it'll be on my Etsy store sometime within the next week. If not, it'll be a deconstruction project later.

Once this is done, it's on to my next planned project: Another bracelet incorporating some silver-plated tubes I've had on hand for a while now. Hopefully that one won't take me several weeks to complete.

If only I could bead faster.

New beading supplies and a new find

2018-04-18T07:00:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, I went to a Joann Fabric and Craft store for the first time in years, and I found these two items:

On the left are some connectors for making eyeglass lanyards, which have recently made my to-do list. One of my aunts used to make them, and back then, I used to think, "I just don't see why anyone would want that." However, now that I need reading glasses myself and realize how often a person has to put them on and take them off, I can see just how practical eyeglass lanyards can be.

On the right are some clasps I found on clearance. I'm not sure how they work, or even if they work, since I haven't opened the package yet, but hey, they were on sale.

On my to-try list is this item I found while flipping through a Fire Mountain Gems catalog that came in the mail, Tuesday:

I am intrigued by this. I can't wear earrings for more than a day because they always irritate my ear lobes. But if this works as promised, I could wear my own earring creations. Or, even better, some my sister and mom have made. A review on Amazon says it works only for a few months, so it would need to be reapplied every now and then, but I'm willing to try it.

Anyone out there try it? What did you think?

Bead photography: Extreme closeups might not be the answer

2018-04-11T07:00:00.000-05:00

(Photo by Bilal Aslam/FreeRangeStock.com)

I want detail in my beadwork photos. If I take a photo of a bracelet, I want to be able to get a very sharp image of the clasp, any designs, etc., but I just don't seem to be able to get it. Perhaps, I've thought to myself, what I need to do is get closer while using the macro setting on my camera.

Here's how most of my beadwork photography sessions go.

I place the beadwork under my bright light and try to find a good place to stand to get the photo.
I set the camera to "macro."
I move in, then focus. I'm still a little too far back.
I move in some more and focus again. I'd still like to get closer to better show the detail of the seed beads.
I move in some more. I'm finally happy with the distance, but now the shadow of my camera is in frame.
I move the light source, but I struggle to find a place I can put it that doesn't cast a deep shadow on the side of the beadwork.
I move back as much as necessary to get the shadow out of view, focus, and shoot the photo.

My frustration with the shadow often getting in the way had me thinking that maybe I should get a different camera, one that I could add a zoom lens to so that I could shoot from farther back.

I googled, "What's the best camera for photographing beadwork?" and found an article that said most digital cameras today would work just fine, as long as they have a macro setting, which mine does, and a white balance mode. (I'll need to dig out the book that came with my camera to see if mine does. I haven't been able to find it by just looking.)

That made me feel better about my own camera, and at the bottom of the article, the author included one additional tip I plan to implement that might improve my photography from even farther back. She suggested using the timer to snap the photo. I've long used a tripod to keep the camera steady, but I always feel like I shake the camera a little when I click the shutter. If I set the timer, the camera stays steady. Perhaps the problem I'd been having in getting good detail has more to do with my hand shaking the camera than how far I am from the subject.

My husband (and the author of the article) both suggested making notes of what works. Before I shell out money for a more pricey camera, I'm going to give all of this a try.

Slow progress for me, but my sister shows off her skills

2018-04-04T21:01:00.000-05:00

As often happens, I've only been able to work on beadwork a little here and there over the past couple of weeks. I have completed nothing, not even the three-row daisy chain bracelet I started a few weeks ago. I've made progress, but it's still not long enough to wrap an adult-sized wrist.

This is all of the progress I've made on the daisy-chain
bracelet I've been working on. The left photo shows where I was
on the project on March 7. The right shows where it is now.

But I am hoping that I'll be able to make some major progress in the coming weeks. I spent two whole days ridding my daughter's room of unwanted toys and outgrown clothes, and now I feel a little more like I can kick back and relax.

New to my Etsy Store

My older sister, whom I still look up to after all these years, created these, which have been added to my Etsy shop:

I think they're so adorable. It's just a shame that I cannot wear earrings without getting an infection in my ear lobe. I'd love to get a pair of them.

Visions of silver-plated beads

2018-03-21T21:51:00.001-05:00

It’s been another slow beading week as I work on an unrelated freelance project, but I’ve had a few ideas hanging out in my brain.

I’ve had plans to use these tubes in a bracelet that incorporates seed bead squares between the tubes:

Because I haven’t had time to focus on beadwork while I’m at home, I found myself thinking of variations of the original plan as I was driving to pick up my daughter a couple of days ago, such as arrows instead of squares, or maybe even stringing the tubes onto a loom and beading around them. I'm just not sure what type of clasps to use.

Hopefully it looks good when it’s complete.

Just gotta finish the freelance project so that I can get back to beading.

Deconstruction days, part II

2018-03-07T07:00:00.000-06:00

Last week, I was taking apart one of my daisy-chain bracelets. This week, I'm reworking it into a three-row daisy-chain.

That's how I've been spending the last 20 minutes each night before I go to bed, working on this bracelet. After I had already deconstructed its predecessor, I remembered that I had it for sale at my Etsy shop, so I deactivated the listing.

My sister noticed and sent me a text: "Did you sell your bracelet?"

"No, I just deactivated it because I took the bracelet apart."

"Oh, well," she answered. "It was in someone's cart for about three days. I was hoping you'd sold it."

I about fell over. I had no idea it was in someone's cart.

Odds art, the person who had it in his/her cart wasn't going to buy it anyway, not after it had been sitting in the cart for three days, but I'm still a little bummed I didn't notice it was in someone's cart before I took it apart. Maybe it would've eventually sold.

Oh well. Hopefully daisy-chain bracelet 2.0 winds up in someone's cart, too.

Deconstruction days

2018-02-28T22:04:00.002-06:00

In the interest of saving beads, I go through phases in which I deconstruct some of my beadwork.

That's what I’m in the middle of right now. I'd like to turn a few of these bracelets:

into three-row (or more) daisy-chain bracelets I've seen in one of my bead books but have never tried. I like the way they look in the book, but I don't have enough of the beads I want to use without taking apart the single daisy chains.

So I deconstruct, starting with the blue and white one. I still have a few "daisies" to demolish before I can start putting it back together again, but I'm eager to get going.

Do you ever deconstruct your beadwork? Tell me about it in the comments section.

My first-ever Etsy sale

2018-02-21T21:32:00.002-06:00

Over the last week, I finally got my first sale through my Etsy store! I sold a flute my uncle made several months ago.

I first listed it back in August, and after the listing expired the first time without a buyer, I have to say, I was starting to get a little discouraged.

And then, this past Saturday afternoon, I picked up my phone after taking a short nap, and I nearly fell over when I saw the notification that one of my listings had sold. I had to read it two or three times to make sure I wasn’t misreading it.

That afternoon, I got the flute all packaged up for it’s trip out to California, but then I had to wait for Tuesday to roll around before I could get it in the mail. (Monday was Presidents Day.)

I cannot tell you how excited I am, even now, days later! Ever since I started listing back in August, every few days, it seems, a visitor to my shop would "heart" one of my items for sale, but I have to admit, I was starting to think no one was every going to actually buy anything.

What a pick-me-up!

One super-short post because it's been a bead-less week

2018-01-24T07:00:00.000-06:00

I had big plans to make heart-shaped jewelry to list on my Etsy shop for Valentine’s Day. Now the holiday is only three weeks away, and I have yet to map out a pattern or even to decide if I want to make a bracelet or earrings or a necklace. Instead of taking time on my days off from work to make progress, I’ve been basking in the downtime, and now I kind of regret that.

Here’s hoping that the rest of this week is productive enough that I’ll have something to list by Sunday. If not, I might as well just focus on creating something for the next holiday: St. Patrick’s Day.

***

Thank you for stopping by. Though I've had a craft-less week, my 6-year-old hasn't. My most recent post on another blog I manage, "Shrinking Carbon Footprint," talks about how my daughter makes crafts of "trash." Find it here.

Social networking on seed bead projects

2018-01-17T07:00:00.000-06:00

Screen grab from a Facebook group for seed bead fans.

I recently joined a couple of beadwork-related Facebook groups. I love seeing what people make in my feed mixed in along with posts about which of my high school classmates recently became a grandparent. I don't know why it didn't occur to me to look for some FB beading connections sooner.

The best part is that I can get feedback fairly quickly. If I'm working on a project and cannot decide between two shades of green, I can post a photo of what I have so far and the two colors, ask for other group members to weigh in, and within a couple of hours, I'll have enough responses to feel like I'm making the best choice.

But there is a small downside: Most of the people in the group, I feel, are much more skilled designers than I am, and I cannot help but feel like an amateur compared to them. But I also feel like they inspire me.