The Bead Doodler

Taking Crafting From Hobby to Business

2011-12-15T11:38:00.000-06:00

Hand Made Jewelry for Fun and Profit is a new E book published by Marie Starr, a long time seller of beaded jewelry and jewelry patterns, and owner of Bead Patterns Boutique. We at Bead Patterns Boutique (shoppers and designers alike) call her "our fearless leader" with a big smile. She has many years of experience in the business of crafting and marketing and eagerly shares much of her knowledge with us in the users forum as well as the designers forum.

In her latest E book you will find detailed information on how to:
Build your stock & Decide what to carry
Prepare to sell your work
Price what you have made
Find and approach your potential buyers
Close that deal
This information can be applied to any hand made craft and is sure to help you get started in turning your hobby into a business, or if you're already running a business it can help you find customers and close the deal and increase profits.

On the same topic, I was doing some research for a friend who was wanting some information on bead programs. As usual, I got sidetracked on something else. At least this time it was related.

I found this free Jewelry Pricing Calculator Software. Yes, I said free! This calculator is free to download and will walk you through, step by step,
Working out the EXACT hourly rate you should be charging.
Calculating your overhead costs.
Totaling ALL material costs for your pieces.
Instantly calculating your Wholesale and Retail price.

If you're considering taking your hobby to the next level and turning fun into profit I hope these two items will help you get started and enjoy a profitable business.

Twin Cross Earrings and Twin Seed Beads

2011-12-09T09:47:00.001-06:00

I've finished another pattern using the new Preciosa Twin Seed beads. Here's my Twin Cross earrings. The pattern is available at BeadPatternsBoutique and The Bead Coop. Although I'm finding handling these beads a challenge, I still have many designs going through my mind.

There are just so many stitches and techniques that lend themselves well to these beads that the possibilities seem endless. The main problem I've had so far is finding a variety of colors available by retailers and I'm not in a position to buy in wholesale lots.

I did find that Sparkle Spot has added some more colors, mostly metallics, to their inventory. A friend from South Africa provided a link to West Coast Wholesale Jewellery. I found that they are located in the UK, but ship internationally for reasonable prices. They have 59 colors available. Viki Szabo, from Hungary provided this information:
"The shipping is 2.45 GBP flat rate for domestic shipping, but if your package is small, they won't charge you more for the international shipping either. If the shipping to your country cost more than 2.45 (it depends on the weight of your package) they will contact you with the information and the actual shipping cost. The twin beads are on pre-order, it takes about 1-2 weeks to arrive to their shop. If you have any more question, you can always contact the shop owner, Pam, she is extremely helpful and e-mailed me back very fast."
Although they are a wholesale company they have no minimum order size, their products are available to individuals, and the really big bonus for me. . .they accept PayPal! If you need a currency converter to determine cost you can find one at http://www.currency-converter.com/ .

Now I'm off to clear my bead area. School will be out for the holidays next week and my 6 year old granddaughter may want to come bead with me. I need to clear a space so we can both sit and bead at the bead table.

Make it a Hand Made Christmas

2011-12-03T06:20:00.000-06:00

'Tis the season. It's time to start that mad rush of holiday shopping. . .unless you're one of the well organized who shop and craft all year to avoid the shopping crowds.

This year across America the theme seems to be "buy American", but I'd like to suggest having a handmade Christmas. Of course if you're not a crafter, you can buy hand made from small, independent businesses who sell online or at craft shows.

Here are a few suggestions, mostly for the ladies, of bead patterns that make up quickly and would be great gifts for those special people on your gift list.

Debbie, of Debger Designs, has been on a roll with her tila bangle designs. Her latest, Tiara, is a big hit with the beaders of the BeadPatternsBoutique forum. Here's a picture of one beaded by Bethel Anthony. Isn't it beautiful?
The pattern for Tiara is available at Bead Patterns Boutique.

Lori, At Out of the Flames, has gotten her website back up and running with a completely new look. She shares a picture of her Snow Blossom Necklace. She hasn't decided whether to make a pattern for it or not, but it's a real beauty.
Out Of The Flames: Snow Blossom Necklace

Marie Starr, of Starr Design Studio, and also the owner of Bead Patterns Boutique, is revamping some of her older designs and has posted her Southwest Diamond Bracelet pattern to the Boutique this week.

Tila beads and the new Preciosa Twin seed beads seem to be all the buzz. Many of the designers at BeadPatternsBoutique are busy designing with them. Like their fan page on FaceBook and keep up with the new designs being listed.

2011 Christmas Ornaments

2011-11-30T14:08:00.001-06:00

Almost finished with ornaments for my grand children and great grand children. Only 6 more of the little ones to go and I'll be finished. They are so simple to make I can't believe how long it's taking me to finish. Co-ordination and focus seem to be a problem, but hopefully I'll have them finished and ready to mail in plenty of time to miss the big Christmas rush.

Patterns for all of these are available at BeadPatternsBoutique. From left to right they are Lacy Snowflake, Triple Picot Spiked Snowflake, and the blue and gold on the right are Twinkle Star. Some of those in the twinkle star stack have an extra round added and the pattern doesn't show how to do that. I also have an e book of snowflakes available with four different snowflake patterns, as well as the On Angel Wings ornament cover that I showed you last month. That's all my ornament patterns for this year.

On another note, many of you will be doing craft shows this month taking advantage of the holiday season. Before you start pricing your goodies for sale, read Beading Daily's article on pricing your hand made goods for sale. The common misconception seems to be that NO one will pay that much for an item. My great aunt taught me many many years ago that you charge more for your time and what you know than you do for the materials. Don't sell yourself short when pricing your items. You are an artist. You should not work for free!

Now back to the bead table to finish those snowflakes so I can get on with a design that's spinning around in my head.

Nov. 19 2011 Share Saturday

2011-11-19T12:17:00.001-06:00

Jaycee has done it again with two versions of her new Moana Pearl Bracelet. Check out her blog for full discription and where you can buy this beautiful pattern.

Inspirational Beading is featuring a bead give-away. Check out the faux gems featured.

Check out Art Bead Scene for Holiday inspired jewelry. Ceramic bead maker, Gaea has partnered with Vintaj for some remarkably inspiring pieces.

Ex Post Facto Jewelry shows us her new hand made display plus some of her newest jewelry items.

Bluetina has some lovely stone and chain jewelry to show.

And of course don't forget to check out all the new patterns at BeadPatternsBoutique
and The Bead Coop.

Czech TWIN Seed Bead Pattern

2011-11-16T11:06:00.001-06:00

I have finally found a limited supply of the new Czech TWIN seed beads. Well the supply isn't so limited, but the color selection is. Sparkle Spot carries black and crystal, so I got some of each. I've just finished my first pattern with these beads.
Working with them takes a bit of getting used to. The holes are large so they'll accept multiple passes of thread easily, but they tend to flip around and show the "wrong" end until you get the pattern going. I've got designs spinning in my head, but when I try to figure a thread path, I'm finding you just "can't get there from here" in some situations. I'm loving the challenge! I don't know how many years I've said "If only there were small beads with two holes!" Now there are and I'm having a blast.

The pattern is available at BeadPatternsBoutique and The Bead Coop.

On Angel Wings Ornament

2011-11-04T10:50:00.000-05:00

I have finally finished the first ornament cover I've made in over five years and the first one I've made a pattern for. Four Angels with hearts between them circle this 2 inch globe ornament. The 2 inch luxurious fringe is capped with sparkling 4mm Swarovski bicones.

The angel wings are pulled into slight scallops which give them the feel of motion. All in all I think this ornament cover will add eye catching sparkle to your holiday decorations, whether you hang it on a tree or on an ornament stand.

The pattern is now available at BeadPatternsBoutique, and I hope to have it posted to The Bead Coop And Zibbet by the end of the day, so whatever your shopping preference there's an option.

Now on to the next challenge. Happy Beading All!

Share Saturday - News of other bead designers

2011-11-03T08:30:00.001-05:00

Well, so much for a blogging schedule. Life etc. got in the way last week, but here's this weeks Share Saturday.

jayceepatterns.com: FEATHERS NECKLACE

Lori has finished a beautiful beaded business card sleeve and shares pictures of it. You can find Lori's bead patterns at
Out Of The Flames: Feather Star Business Card Sleeve

Wendy reflects on a day at a bead show and shows the beads she bought there
Bohemian Heart: Focused Shopper

Iliana shows some of her new ceramic pieces. She's getting ready for Christmas!
Iliana's Unique Beaded and Painted Jewelry

Lori has also deviated from her usual loomed designs and created this beautiful, sparkling Winter Ice necklace with rivolis and crystals.

Gail Devoid of Need for Beads has joined the design team at BeadPatternsBoutique.com. She's still learning how to post her designs, but keep checking back. She'll have some up soon. Welcome to the BPB Design Team, Gail.

Preciosa Twin Seed Beads

2011-11-01T10:05:00.001-05:00

Have you seen the new TWIN seed beads from Preciosa? They come in 80 different colors. I'm drooling over the design possibilities of these two hole beads in combination with seed beads and crystals.

I contacted the representative for the continental United States and Canada about availability. I found out that they should be available from distributors around the end of this month. I was very pleased to learn that Shipwreck Beads and Fire Mountain Gems will be distributing them, as those are two of my favorite online bead sources.

OK, now it's time to get back to pattern making. I'm almost finished with the Christmas ornament cover pattern I mentioned. I'll post as soon as I've finished and published it for sale.

News from Other Bloggers

2011-10-29T10:59:00.000-05:00

I'm trying to set up a blogger schedule and get back on track with blogging. I've decided I'll try a Share Saturday to show what other bloggers in my network are doing.

Bead Oragami will be teaching 4 of her beaded bead designs at the 2012 Bead&Button Show, including the one in the picture. You can view full details on her blog by clicking the link above.

The 2012 Bead & Button Show will take place in Milwaukee, WI from June 1-10, and class registration will begin online on January 10. If you're anywhere in the area don't miss this show.

Bohemian Heart owner, Wendy shares frustrations over not being able to find items she knows she's made in her blog, Ramblings of a Beader. I think many beaders may share her frustrations. I know I've been looking for some small cabochons and Swarovski elements that I know are around here somewhere. That's what happens when I "organize" my bead space.

The designers at BeadPatternsBoutique have really been busy lately. Check out the beautifully unique creations recently listed.

Time for Reflection

2011-10-21T15:41:00.000-05:00

Over the past years as a designer, I've explored many stitches and stitch variations, creating my own unique patterns. I find that my "crowning glory", if I may brag a bit, is still my very first pattern.

I was exploring one of the many ways Right Angle Weave could be executed and/or embellished. I finally figured out a thread path that would allow me to make this necklace in one pass with the addition of 3mm crystals around the neck and the clasp added in another pass. After making about three repeats and having to loosen the thread and retrace the thread to see how I'd woven the previous step, I finally sat down to the computer determined to draw it and explain it.

Once I finished the pattern, I returned to making the necklace. When both were finished I was so excited I took it to work to show what I'd done. My boss promptly ordered one in black and white to wear to the next formal event she was attending. She also wanted earrings.

From that moment my beaded jewelry design career was launched. Although I've created patterns in many different stitches, and in varying intricacy, In my opinion, I've never topped the first hurdle I jumped.

The pattern is available at:
BeadPatternsBoutique
The Bead Coop
The Bead Doodler/ Artfire Studio

Christmas is Just Around the Corner

2011-10-15T09:55:00.000-05:00

Oh my, where did the time go. I haven't posted in a very long time. For a while I was getting many How-To article titles to write and didn't have much time for crafts and beading. My muse has my head reeling now with ideas.

I am working on a beaded ornament cover and have an idea (and a start) on an embellished RAW ring/bracelet. No pictures of either just yet. I'm working on the pattern for the ornament cover as I complete each step, band, fringe, attachment. I haven't gotten to the attachment yet. I still lack about 1/4 of the fringe. It has been several years since I made an ornament cover and those were just make it up as you go type of designs that I never made patterns for. I'm finding that calculating how many rows it takes to go around the ornament to be a challenge.

The grandchildren and great grand children won't be getting these elaborate ornaments. I just don't have the time or patience to make 25 of them. Sorry guys and gals.

Now it's time to get back to the bead table. I hope to have some pictures to show soon.

Crocheted Mobius Scarf

2011-09-24T13:07:00.000-05:00

Last week I agreed to write an article about how to crochet a Moebious Scarf. Well, no, I didn't know how, but it's crochet. I've been crocheting for over 60 years, and the internet is overflowing with information. Sure enough, I found several "how to" tutorials and wrote my article featuring the easy way, crochet a strip the length and width you want the scarf, Bring the right top end to the left bottom end and vise versa and sew the ends together. I also discovered that Moebious is the correct AP spelling even though the three dictionaries I checked said it was Mobius. Ahhh, I love writing articles. I learn so much!

OK, article submitted and approved, but the other way kept bugging me. In my head I couldn't picture it. I found several free patterns, but when I tried to work them up I didn't like the way they turned out. The one thing all the patterns had in common was "choose a stitch that looks the same on both sides" and none of the patterns did. I decided to use a basic eyelet stitch. I crocheted the base chain to the length I wanted the scarf, turned and worked in eyelet stitch one row. Then I laid the first row out flat making sure there were no twists and joined the top of the last eyelet stitch to the bottom of the first stitch of the first eyelet chain. I didn't bother to try to sew up the end at this point. I just worked the second row along the bottom the the starting chain.

When I reached the end of the starting chain, I was on the outside of the strip directly across from where I started. It finally sunk in! You go around the "circle" twice before you come back the starting point.
In the picture I've shown you three rows. Two done in gray, one on each side of the starting chain, and one row of black. Every time I come back the the starting point I'm so pleased with myself I just can't wait to crochet another round. Yes, I'm easily amused.

Here's a link to the directions that started my quest. She says she had to turn at each row to keep the Moss Stitch from curling. I think NOT turning is half the fun, so I just chose a different stitch. Oh, and I didn't sew up the end of the start row, I just crocheted the other side of it together when I got there.

News Designers at BPB

2011-09-17T15:23:00.002-05:00

BeadPatternsBoutique has two new designers!. Come on by and see what they have to offer.

Valerie of Romina Designs has a beautiful bracelet and fabulous ring pattern to share with you.

Bethel of Bethel's Wild Wanderings doesn't have a shop set up yet, but she's shared a beautiful Autumn Leaves Cuff pattern. She's working on more patterns.

Debbie, of Debger Designs has been a busy little bee and graced the site with several new patterns over the last few weeks.

Stop by and see the patterns of all our designers at BeadPatternsBoutique.

Beaded Snowflake Collection

2011-09-10T10:58:00.000-05:00

I've wrapped four beaded snowflake patterns into one collection plus I've added a free mini snowflake surprise as a bonus.

The snowflakes are Bugle Snowflake, Lacy Snowflake, Triple Picot Spiked Snowflake and Herringbone Snowflake.

The pattern for the Triple Picot Spiked Snowflake is made with a single color, but I've added a graph showing the placement for a rainbow of pastel transparent colors to accent it.
You can find this collection at Bead Patterns Boutique or The Bead Coop.

If you bead any of these patterns, I'd love to see your work. Send a picture to the contact e mail on the pattern and I will feature it on my FaceBook Fan page and on my personal FaceBook page.

Triple Picot Spiked Snowflake

2011-09-05T09:39:00.000-05:00

I've finished another beaded snowflake ornament. I worked this one with a rainbow of accents and alabaster white beads, but it can be worked in any color you choose.

The pattern for this Triple Picot Spiked Snowflake is worked in modified netting and the pattern is available at BeadPatternsBoutique. There is a picture of it in all white there too.

The pattern is fully illustrated step by step with text to explain the illustrations.

Now I'm working on compiling all four of my snowflake patterns into an e-book which will be available in another week if the weather stays cool enough I can stand to be at my computer.

Twinkle Stars

2011-08-20T09:25:00.000-05:00

It's still hot and dry here on the High Plains of Texas. I'm trying to stay cool by thinking about Winter and the holidays to come. I've finished this six pointed star pattern. It's my first ornament of the year. It measures 1 inch by 1 inch. I think it would make a beautiful decoration for tree, wreath, packages and more. Or you could make two for earrings.

I've made it in several different colors of size 11 seed beads, but have used 3mm rainbow clear bugle beads in all of them. The bugle beads reflect the color of the beads around them, giving a little extra sparkle.

The pattern is available at BeadPatternsBoutique and The Bead Coop.

I have a snowflake pattern in the works. I don't know if I'll get to the free form brick stitch "toys" decorations this year or not. Right now I have no ideas floating on the surface of my creativity. We'll see how that progresses as the weather cools.

Happy Beading!

Flowers From Nylon Hose

2011-07-23T08:17:00.000-05:00

This has been a week of nostalgia. While researching for a craft how-to article, I came across flowers from nylons. I remembered some corsages my Grandmother had made way back in the late 1940's and early 1950's, so I looked into that subject a little more. I had most of the materials on hand (with some improvising) and here's the result of my second try at a tulip. Let's just say pliers and I form an alliance for necessary household repairs, but when it comes to crafts, they are not my friends, so this was a struggle. It might have been easier if I'd had forms to shape the petals over.

I have a big bag of old pantyhose with runs in them. I kept them when I was working in an office because they're usable for a lot of different things. I knew my Grandmother had died her old nylons, but I didn't know what she used. I found some red food dye in my cabinet and decided to try that. I wanted two different colors of petals, but having only one color dye, I chose a pair of coffee colored hose and a pair of nude ones. I brought some water to a boil and put the coffee ones in it to soak some of the color out so it wouldn't run when I tried to dye them. The water turned very dark, but the hose didn't seem to loose any of their color.

I refilled the pan with clear water and added 1/2 cup vinegar and about half of the bottle of food dye. Brought that to a boil, wet the nude hose and put both pair into the dye bath. I let them set in the dye bath about 15 minutes then rinsed until the water ran clear. I blotted them with an old towel and let them air dry.

Here's a picture of my first six petals. Three burgundy ones and three red ones. You can see the hose on the right. I was a little surprised at how much red the coffee colored hose soaked up, but very pleased.

When I got these all put together, the result did somewhat resemble a tulip. . .badly beaten by the West Texas wind. It stayed together long enough to get a picture, but fell apart when I laid it down.

I tried again with bigger petals. Making the petals isn't too hard, but putting them around the stem seems to me like a three hand job. The first picture in this blog is of the second tulip.

The instructions say to arrange the large petals around the stem wire and wrap tightly with thread, then arrange the small petals and fasten them with floral tape. My track record with floral tape isn't good. I either pull it so tight it breaks or don't get it tight enough to hold, so I wrapped the smaller petals with thread before I taped them.

Well that all took the better part of a day, but gave me much greater respect for my Grandmother's talents. It will take a lot of practice for me to make beautiful flowers from nylons, but I'm glad to see the craft revived.

It has gained so much popularity that you can now buy everything you need including nylon tubing in a wide variety of colors. New Sheer has everything from the stems and stamens to the colored nylon, petal forms, wire for the petals, petal forms, tools and free tutorials all in one place.

I think I'll stick to beads for my main craft, but learning something about this retro craft was fun.

Illusion Square

2011-07-19T09:19:00.000-05:00

I've started on a new design. As usual, it started out as something else and just evolved. The illusion wasn't planned, but when I saw it, I enhanced it.

I like the way the light blue fades between the bisque and cobalt but seems darker between the cobalt and silver-lined purple. Yes that's the same color. Somehow a white iridescent bead got in with my opaque light blue. You can see it in the top right side of the blue line. It picks up the color from the two cobalt beads above and below it and looks lilac. I had started using that color as the background, but as you can see, it just made the whole design fade.

I call this design "Illusion Square". I hope to have the pattern available by the end of the week.

I finished the blue Butterfly Fantasy with a pretty antiqued gold butterfly button I found in my button box. I think a flower would have been more appropriate, but my flower buttons were bronze and copper and just didn't go well with the gold beads in the bracelet. I laid the green one aside when I ran out of the background green. I decided anything I had to improvise with just wouldn't blend with the rest of the beads, so I'll wait until I get more beads to finish it. I'm going to close it with a round magnetic clasp.

Butterfly Fantasy

2011-07-15T08:24:00.002-05:00

My beading muse has visited me briefly and deposited this cute design into my mind. It's been a while since I've created a sculptured peyote design and this one actually evolved from something much more abstract.

I worked this one with size 15 blue seed beads, size 8 pink lined crystal seed beads and three other colors of size 11 seed beads. I like the way the design works up with the size 15 background, but I have many customers who have a problem working with such small beads, so I decided to make one with size 11 Delicas as the background. The colors in the green one actually go better with my wardrobe.

I haven't decided what kind of clasp I'll put on the blue one yet. I don't have anything on hand so it either has to be a beaded closure, or I'll have to buy an appropriate one. The green one will be tapered on the ends with a magnetic clasp.

The pattern is available at
Bead Patterns Boutique
The Bead Coop
ArtFire

Well I haven't posted in a while and Blogger has made improvements to it's platform. I have to learn how to use it all over again. Perhaps my next blog will look a little more professional.

New Spinner Earring Pattern

2011-06-21T10:45:00.000-05:00

I've been distracted from my beading and blogging for quite a while, but I've finally managed to finish one bead project.
These Spinner Earrings are worked in brick stitch with size 11 delica beads. I've worked them in a combination of opaque and transparent beads to give them a demensional effect.

For your shopping convenience, they are available at
My ArtFire Studio
The Bead Coop
BeadPatternsBoutique

I hope to get back into my blogging routine soon and bring you more beading technique instructions and pictures of new beadwork I've made.

Random Sale

2011-06-05T14:05:00.000-05:00

Attention Shoppers! I'm having a random sale in my Bead Patterns Boutique shop. This applies only to The Bead Doodler's shop. The number of items will be random, the length of time they are on sale will be random and how many are changed out will be random. The only thing that will not be random is the discount. Each item on sale will be discounted a whopping 25%.

Bookmark the link and stop by often. If you see your favorite pattern, grab it now! It may not be on sale tomorrow. Get your favorite patterns and start on your Christmas list early.

Again this is not for the whole Bead Patterns Boutique site, it is ONLY for The Bead Doodler's shop.

2011-05-28T08:04:00.001-05:00

I hope this Memorial Day Weekend is a pleasant one. In honor of Memorial Day, I'm having a store-wide sale at my ArtFire Studio. EVERY thing is 30% off through Monday, May 30th. Come on by and take a look!

BPB Member Tips

2011-05-20T12:22:00.001-05:00

Candy Williams has submitted some tips for doing home shows for hand beadwoven jewelry in the BeadPatternsBoutique Shop Blog. Stop by and take a look.

Beth Rudy of Bouncing Wolf Creations Writes the Shop Blog for BPB and includes news of our designers and members on a regular basis. For more news and to find out what's happening in our little corner of the bead world be sure to bookmark the Shop Blog and visit it often.

Join the BPB forum and share your tips, ask beadwork questions and glean loads of information on beadwork. Just scroll to the bottom of the BPB home page and click on the Yahoo! groups icon to join the forum.

Nothing beady going on in my world right now except for rearranging my work space. My children gave me a total of $75 in Amazon coupons for Mother's Day so I bought a 64 draw organizer and have been busy filling it and emptying my old bulky chest type storage units.

I've also been sorting through my other craft supplies and organizing them (they're scattered from one end of the house to the other) in the chest type units.

I'm a pack rat and having lived in the same house for 20 years ( a new record for me) I've accumulated things that in the past I would have found new homes for when I moved. No more moving! Now I just have to get in the habit of clearing out no longer used items once a year. This 20 year accumulation is ridiculous!

What's Old is New Challenge Finished!

2011-04-28T20:27:00.000-05:00

I've finally finished my What's Old is New Challenge piece. I haven't decided on a name for it, but I'm thinking of "Ravishing Ruby".

As I told you in a previous post, I've had to make several revisions on my original design due to underestimating the amount of the light bronze size 11 Tohos, but I'm pleased with the over-all look of the finished design.

The drop is made from a 15mm glass pearl capped on each end with fine filigree bead caps. This is the main part of the what's old. I've place a twisted antique gold spacer and an 8mm glass pearl above and below the 15mm pearl, and attached the dangle to the center beaded bead with size 11 light bronze Toho beads.

The center beaded bead is formed from 4mm Swarovski Light Siam Xillion bicones, 3mm Swarovski glass pearls and size 11 light bronze Tohos.

The red beaded discs are made from the same beads as the main focal bead, but in a different configuration. The white discs are made of 3mm Swarovski pearls and light bronze Tohos. All these components are put together with Russian netting ropes made with size 15 silver lined seed beads and the Tohos and the same antique gold twisted spacers as I used in the drop.

To finish it I attached short pieces of chain from the original necklace to the rope with the bronze beads and the other end is attached to the antique gold KeepSake clasp with a gold jump ring.

This is the first time I've used Toho beads. I've heard many claims of their quality and uniformity. I'm very pleased to say that I was not a bit disappointed. Their quality and uniformity is all I've heard they were and they were great to work with.

Swarovski components are one of my favorite bead types as I'm sure all of you who read my blog know. I haven't seen a Swarovski bead or component yet that disappointed me. I usually use the crystal AB bicone or colored AB, but the light Siam bicones without the AB coating are as spectacular as anyone could expect from a bead.

The KeepSake clasp is a sturdy toggle and ring but very delicate looking and the scroll decorations on it are beautiful.

ArtBeads sends beads free of charge to be used in challenges and projects from time to time and ask only for my honest evaluation. I am not paid to blog about these supplies.