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| | The @-@-@- Pearls of Wisdom, Beads of Knowledge -@-@-@ Network is not currently active and cannot accept new posts | | Tools of the Trade | Views: 240 | | May 24, 2008 12:35 pm | | Tools of the Trade | # | 
Ingrid Webster | | This thread will have a listing of nifty gadgets that you may find useful in beading. List those items that are unusual or especially helpful by doing a job that other things can't.
Here is one of my favorites:
For pearl stringing and many other beading jobs, I like to use a nylon thread. Nylon is more durable than silk, and it cleans better and makes more even knots. If you don't know which to get: just go to your fabric store and buy the "Home Decorator's" thread (Coats and Clark has it). It comes in a variety of colors and it is perfect!
Double it for pearls or use multiple strands for beads with larger holes. Very durable and easy to string.
Happy Beading!
Ingrid Webster
The Neverending Necklace
"A String of Love and Peace going around the World!"
http://www.addbeads.comPrivate Reply to Ingrid Webster | | May 24, 2008 1:59 pm | | re: Tools of the Trade | # | 
Eileen Brown | | Great Tip Ingrid!
I had not even thought of sewing thread. I buy a lot of
wire (accu-flex at fire mountain gems) as I like the tiny
crimp endings. I'll show that a little later on with a
pic. I have a new camera and don't know how to take close-
up pictures as yet. I'll have to get the book out soon
though and learn how - when that happens I'll be able to
share better.
I have bought fishing line and it is good but bulky. I
have some really darling caps that I use with that but have
gotten used to the wire and really like it for the eyeglass
holders I am making.
Next trip out - I will get some coats and clark as this
would make the "fluid" movement of matching necklaces (for
the eyeglass holders) much nicer.
Thanks for this great tip!
Eileen :D
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http://www.eileenseshop.com/ - Gifts and Home DecorPrivate Reply to Eileen Brown | | May 27, 2008 1:04 pm | | re: re: Tools of the Trade | # |
Eileen Brown | | Hiya Ingrid.
I don't know if you use this tool. I have used mine quite a
bit and have found that, even with accu-flex wire, it is
pretty handy-dandy.
http://www.jewelrysupply.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=396_431&products_id=19194
This link is where I purchased mine also, along with some
uh, beads. I have seen this tool for sale for as high as
$30.00 so thought this was worth posting.
I do have a hard time purchasing tools and supplies. Here
is why: while I am there I have to look at beads, what's
new and what's on sale. I wind up buying beads each and
every time I shop at any online beading place. I have to
STOP doing this. Anyone have advice on how to STOP bead
shopping? I think I am getting addicted... LOL.
Eileen :D
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http://www.buddycopywriting.com/copywritinghome/ - SEO Copywriting
http://www.buddywebgraphics.com/ - http://www.microwebmasters.com/
http://www.eileenseshop.com/ - Gifts and Home DecorPrivate Reply to Eileen Brown | | May 27, 2008 1:22 pm | | re: re: re: Tools of the Trade | # |
Ingrid Webster | | Eileen, yes that tool is a bead knotting tool and many people love it for pearl knotting. I teach knotting by using an awl, which is just as nice. Both will take a bit of practice, but after you get proficient they both will deliver beautiful results. It's a matter of preference.
And in beading, just as in real life, there is more than one way to skin a cat. (No meow here, not showing my claws either, prefer to purr... ;-O)
Thank you for posting the link, it's definitely the best price I have seen for the tool, and I'm sure many people will appreciate the info.
As for bead purchasing, oy vey! There is no cure for bead addiction, and the more you buy the more beads you need. Wow, why didn't I invent the bead craze, tehee!
Be sure to check for bead shows coming to your neighborhood, for a quick fix. Oh boy, don't get me started.
Happy beading!
Ingrid Webster
The Neverending Necklace
"A String of Love and Peace going around the World!"
http://www.addbeads.com
Private Reply to Ingrid Webster | | Jun 09, 2008 9:53 pm | | re: Tools of the Trade | # |
Eileen Brown | | Do you have this one?
A handy dandy tool for moving small beads from your bead
board and putting them away:
http://www.jewelrysupply.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=396_429&products_id=2060
I didn't buy mine online but at a local JoAnn's store on a
sell-out rack. I did not know exactly how I would use it
but now use it everytime I bead!
Eileen :D
http://abhp-network.ryze.com/ - ABHP http://www.buddywebworks.com/ - Web Svcs.
http://www.buddycopywriting.com/copywritinghome/ - SEO Copywriting
http://www.buddywebgraphics.com/ - http://www.microwebmasters.com/
http://www.eileenseshop.com/ - Gifts and Home DecorPrivate Reply to Eileen Brown | | Jun 09, 2008 11:11 pm | | re: re: Tools of the Trade | # |
Ingrid Webster | | For a beading newbie you sure are coming up with the niftiest gadgets...
This one is pretty high tech (really) in all its simplicity, and I can see where it is very useful in many ways.
A great addition to many fellow beaders/stringers, thanks for bringing it to our attention, Eileen!
If anybody has a "must-have" item that is really making our lives as bead addicts easier, feel free to share it with us. In recent years we have seen so many innovations to an age old craft, it is head spinning. But never has the market seen so many varieties of beads either, and every bead lover is eagerly awaiting the new crop of beads, tools and materials.
String 'em on!
Ingrid Webster
The Neverending Necklace
"A String of Love and Peace going around the World!"
http://www.addbeads.comPrivate Reply to Ingrid Webster | | Jun 17, 2008 8:52 am | | re: re: re: Tools of the Trade | # |
Ingrid Webster | | One of the best little discoveries of beading mankind is the beading mat.
The cleverest surface for beading and beads...they will not roll away, they will not bounce off, and you even can lay out your design on it instead of a beading board.
Talk about versatility!
These mats are available for little money at bead stores, and they are lightweight and completely washable. All they are is a rectangular piece of Vellux. So if you have one of these soft blankets, cut yourself a piece off it. (Nobody needs to stay warm at night anyways, right?) Please ask the family first.
You can upgrade this mat easily yourself: cut a same size piece of shelf liner (the rubbery grid), and glue it with tacky glue on one side of your beading mat. If you use fabric glue, then the mat will stay rollable. Be careful not to spread the glue too thick, it will stiffen the mat.
You can take this mat with you everywhere, and it will not slip at all. This is where the airplane comes in...
Try it out, it is a mind opener!
Happy blanket cutting,
Ingrid Webster
The Neverending Necklace
"A String of Love and Beads going around the World!"
http://www.addbeads.com
Private Reply to Ingrid Webster | | Jun 27, 2008 4:20 pm | | re: re: re: re: Tools of the Trade - You need this needle! | # |
Ingrid Webster | | The best and easiest needles to use, not to talk about the longest lasting: The threaders http://www.joann.com/joann/catalog.jsp?CATID=cat2863&PRODID=prd17573
I string all my pearls, stone beads, glass beads and everything else I can think of with these.
Why? They are EASY to thread, they wont kink like the little twisted wires, and they glide into even the smallest holes easily. And they last!
Get these, there is NOTHING better available. (I don't get commission for endorsing them - and I don't have any stock in that company either :-), but maybe I should?)
Ingrid Webster
The Neverending Necklace
"A String of Love and Peace going around the World!"
http://www.addbeads.com
http://www.addprayers.com
Private Reply to Ingrid Webster | | Jul 15, 2008 4:07 pm | | Tools of the Trade - Beading Board | # |
Ingrid Webster | | Hah! I know what you're thinking: beading board is the grey flocked plastic tray with grooves and little wells in the center that you can see at every bead and craft store.
Not wrong. These boards are readily available everywhere, and they will fill your beading, layout and design needs quite nicely. (As in: don't put them away)
But they drive me nuts. The measurements are not accurate if you use lots of different shapes and sizes of beads, they are too lightweight and hence prone to being swept away easily by sheer movement of one's elbow or anything else touching it.
here's what I use: a piece of moulding. Not that I am telling you to go home and rip yours from the wall. No. Go to your hardware/home improvement store and let them cut you a yard. get the widest one with the even grooves. That will hold all your beads and you can glue a yard stick on the back for easy measuring, and it gives you a little back for your beads. It's inexpensive and great if you do a lot of beading because you see the beads in a straight row right in front of you. Try it out!
Ingrid Webster
The Neverending Necklace
"A String of Love and Peace going around the World!"
http://www.addbeads.com
http://www.addprayers.com
Private Reply to Ingrid Webster | | Jul 15, 2008 5:35 pm | | re: Tools of the Trade - Beading Board | # | 
Teresa Mahieu | | Ingrid, you are absoultely amazing. A wealth of knowledge, hence the Network name I think!!
Eileen, who would have guessed.
I am going to learn so much from this place. I have oodles of beads, and beading tools, I bought with the intention of using often and ended up seldom using. I am getting them out tonight.
Teresa aka Tess
http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/63111/teresa_mahieu.htmlPrivate Reply to Teresa Mahieu | | Jul 20, 2008 10:33 am | | Tools of the Trade - Extra Fingers | # |
Ingrid Webster | | Teresa, I am confident that you have created something very enjoyable that evening, and if you get a chance, feel free to share it in a pic.
By now you surely have heard of the "extra hands" little gizmos that come with or without magnifying lenses attached. These are great for a variety of jewelry or other detail work, but the little alligator clamps are not very suitable when it comes to holding string. The string or cord will slip through the little "teeth" of that clamp, and hence it does you no good.
Enter the electrical clips.
These are small metal clips, much like a clothes pin, and they have a red rubbery coating at the end for better grip. They REALLY hold your thread in place and it will not fray or, - if you use any kind of cable - injured, kinked in any way.
You usually can get these at a Dollar store with 6 pieces per pack. Perhaps the hardware stores keep it in stock, - they are a true life saver and really serve as extra fingers in a convenient, simple way.
Ingrid Webster
The Neverending Necklace
"A String of Love and Peace going around the World!"
http://www.addbeads.com
http://www.addprayers.com
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