Beading Books by Design Originals, Clay Faces, Seed Beads

If you have collected beads over the years and still haven't used them yet, I urge you to try one of these Design Original Books. They have wonderful ideas to use your beads and other supplies you have stashed away. I find beading very relaxing and the end product is so nice. If you want a truly unique piece of work, try beading.

Polymer clay is also used in some of the projects and is a great way to expand your use of that medium.

So have fun, take a walk on the wild side!

I made this cutie from the Beauty in Beads book below by adapting one of the patterns to use the products I had on hand at home. I was surprised she didn't take very long and I learned a new version of the peyote stitch-the two drop. It's too bad it doesn't scan better to reveal the shine and movement of the delica beads.

I made this little beauty into a pin, but after that I realized she would be a really cool pen or pencil topper. The circumference of the bottom of her beaded body will fit over many types of pens or pencils to guide you into your fantasy writing-perfect for a journal writing instrument! You could adapt it to fit your special pen.

Design Originals Book Beaded Bag-ettes~ This book features projects using Toho, Seed and Bugle Beads. It has 13 projects in it some of which are beaded bracelets, bags, pouches and sea spray. The cover is very representavie of what projects are inside.

$5.95

Jewelry Making Findings

Our Selection of Beads

Polymer Clay for Sale

Delica Beads

Do you know why many of the books call for Delica Beads? They are a specific type of seed bead that are perfectly cylindrical. They are made exclusively by Miyuki of Japan. Their thin walls and large holes are created by computer controlled machinery. These are a high quality seed bead that are extremely consistent in size and color. Their holes are especially large for their diameter (1.8mm) which makes them much easier to use than regular seed beads. If you were to use regular seed beads, you would have to "cull" them. This simply means that you would have to dump out all the beads and look at them to make sure their size, shape and holes are consistent. Doesn't sound like much fun! By using Delicas, you avoid this timely step. Delicas are currently available in about 800 colors. Some are dyed or treated which reduces their durability on beaded projects like clothes which require laundering or cleaning. There are four different quality beads: AICO-these are the premier seed beads, but are pretty costly; Delicas-most precise; ToHo-about same quality as Delicas and Matsuno-the lowest quality.

I have loaded a few of my hand beaded creations in hopes to inspire you to try something new. I taught myself this beading technique in 2004. That was the year we had our house fire and beading really was very therapeutic for me. This kimono is hand beaded on cardstock using mainly seed beads and bugle beads.

This butterfly was also hand beaded on cardstock. The vibrant blue color is not portrayed well on this scan. I finished these pieces with leather on the back and added a pin back with bail to use as a pin or on leather cording as a necklace.

This was a polymer clay face I had laying around and I glued it to some cardstock and started beading around it and then ended up with this crazy hat or hair-this was one of those surprise pieces- no particular design in my head- just ended up this way.

OUT OF OFFICE- I will be out of the office the last week in July to attend the Craft & Hobby Trade Assoc show. I will resume shipping on Monday, August 2nd. However, it may be a little slow going since I will be having some family visiting and out of town again part of 2nd week in August. I won't have email access the last week in July, but feel free to email and/or order and I will get to them when I return.

PLEASE make sure your Paypal ADDRESS is CORRECT before placing your order. Thanks!

Articus Studio, 8341 Old Tarlton Pike, Stoutsville, Oh 43154, 740-477-1238