Stone Shape Beads Per Inch

It’s easy to find a list of number of beads per 16″ strand for ROUND beads – but not for shape beads! I’ve had this list a long time, and I think it came from South Pacific Beads. It does start out with round beads, but includes all the great shapes, too – lentils, stars, twists.

Round: 2mm = 203 / 3mm = 136 / 4mm = 100 / 6mm = 67 / 8mm = 50

10mm = 41 / 12 mm = 34

Hearts: 6mm = 90

Thick Hearts: 12 mm = 36 / 20mm = 20

Stars: 6mm = 70

Twists: 8 x 20mm = 20

Lentils: 12mm = 40 / 20mm = 22

Leaves: 14 x 18mm = 20

Shells: 18 x 20mm = 20

Triangles: 16mm = 24

Rice: 5 x 12mm = 36

Melons: 4 x 6mm = 64

Rondelles: 3 x 5mm = 175

Cubes: 4 x 4mm = 102

Tubes: 3 x 5 = 80 / 4 x 13 = 30

Rectangles: 4 x 13mm = 30

Teardrops: 6 x16mm = 25 / 9 x 22mm = 19 (strung lengthwise)

Donuts: 20mm = 20 / 25mm = 15 / 30mm = 13 / 40mm = 10 / 45mm = 8

Discs: 3 x 5mm = 25

Cylinders: 13 x 4mm = 16

Pears: 16 x 7mm = 24

What is CERF?

CERF stands for Craft Emergency Relief Fund. It is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization which is dedicated to providing immediate support to professional craftspeople facing career-threatening emergencies such as fire, theft, illness and natural disaster. CERF was created in 1985 and is the only organization of its kind in the United States.

CERF’s programs include: Interest free loans with flexible pay back dates; booth fee waivers at craft shows; discounts on materials and equipment from craft suppliers; assistance with marketing and promotion; special loan funds available for certain guilds, state-wide craft and media-based organizations; and special loan funds for craftspeople facing particular emergencies such as HIV/AIDS, cancer, homelessness, natural disasters and heart ailments.

CERF is a small fund. Loans are modest and range from $200 to $2,000. Additional funds are available to those who are members of various organizations such as The Glass Art Society, The Society of American Silversmiths, etc. Funds to support CERF come from craftspeople, craft show producers, craft organizations, store and gallery owners, suppliers, collectors, foundations and from the National Endowment for the Arts. All donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

You can make your donations to CERF by writing to: Craft Emergency Relief Fund, P.O. Box 838, Montepelier, VT 05601-0838. Voice mail 802-229-2306, fax 802-223-6484, or going to their website at http://craftemergency.org/.

I’m just warning you…

If you are a new beader…

THERE IS NO 12-STEP PROGRAM FOR BEADERS.

A Little About Silk Thread, and a Handy Chart

Gudebrod silk is one of my favorite stringing media – it comes in sizes as fine as Nymo, or thick enough to use with a large-holed gemstone bead. It is the ONLY thing to use for knotting! Silk is strong and supple, and comes in lovely colors from Plum to Chestnut. You can use the larger sizes (F to FFF) to crochet with beads, or for micro-macrame. And you can make a self-needle out of silk thread (I will cover that in a later post.) And did you know that fishermen use silk thread to tie decorative flies?

Here is a handy chart to know how many yards are on a spool of Gudebrod silk beading thread.

sizeOO = 695 yards

size O = 600 yards

size A = 475 yards

size B = 390 yards

size C = 310 yards

size D = 260 yards

size E = 200 yards = 1/2 ounce

size F = 140 yards

size FF = 115 yards

size FFF = 101 yards

Straightening Headpins and Wire

When you order headpins in bulk, they can arrive looking like a bird’s nest.  To straighten them out, you can roll them between two surfaces.  The Wire Whacker is a good tool for this, as it is made of a heavy plastic which will not mar the headpins.  Another great tool to straight headpins (or any wire for that matter) is the nylon-jawed pliers that I call “Mr. Smoothie.”  For light headpins, a nylon-jawed chain-nose plier would be fine.

Gem Lore: Sodalite

Sodalite – properties and history

Sodalite is a mineral component of lapis lazuli. It is commonly mistaken for lapis because of its similar look. Unlike lapis, however, this rich blue gemstone rarely contains pyrite inclusions, and is a less expensive alternative to lapis. The name “sodalite” alludes to the sodium content of this stone. It comes in a massive form, translucent to opaque with a dark blue color, often streaked with white veins.

Sodalite was discovered in 1806 in Greenland. In 1891 large deposits of sodalite was found in Ontario, Canada. At that time, Princess Patricia of Connaught (1886-1974) used it as an interior decoration for Marlbourough House in England, setting the stage for sodalite to become used as an ornamental stone. Also due to her use of the sodalite, the stone became commonly known as “Princess Blue.” Today, the largest deposit of sodalite is in Brazil.

New Age Attributes:

Sodalite is thought to bring inner peace. It is also considered to be the stone of athletics, as it stimulates endurance. It is said sodalite will harmonize the inner being or the conscious and subconscious mind. Sodalite promotes peace and harmony. Sodalite is extra lucky for writers.

Sodalite is associated with the thyroid. Some believe that if you wear it in a necklace, it will help you lose weight and will give you confidence for public speaking.

 

Designing with Sodalite

Sodalite is a softer blue with more white inclusions than lapis. It looks lovely combined with white stones such as white marble, white agate, or white howlite.  Sodalite looks nice with gold or silver findings, and is especially pretty with the soft, bright gold of vermeil Bali beads.  Sodalite works well with a lapis lazuli pendant or focal bead(s).  For contrast, try sodalite with red cinnabar -it’s stunning!

Toddler Beading

In my store, I often have customers who are young mothers. They need to bead, but they have a small child who needs to be entertained, and who is also fascinated by mommy’s beading. Here are some ideas for those of you who have the same problem.

Cut yarn into 2 foot long strips. Give the children a big bowl of cheerios and fruit loops and tell them “these are YOUR beads!” Let them string their “beads” onto the yarn, and when they are happy with their beadwork (be sure to lavish the praise along the way), tie their yarn into a knot, let them put on their beautiful creation, and then let them eat the necklace while they watch TV or play.

Use this opportunity to teach your child to respect your beads and know the difference between their beads and yours. VERY IMPORTANT: Make sure they understand that your beads do not go in the mouth! Some of our beads are delicious looking. And…tying something around your child’s neck can be a strangulation hazard as well. Be sure your child is well-supervised while wearing his or her necklace, and throw away or cut open the yarn when the “beads” have been consumed.

Even more fun, use licorice ropes to string the cereal on. This will eliminate the concerns about choking on the yarn…and it will make your dentist very happy.

Another idea is to use those big wooden macramé beads. For small children, though, make sure the beads do not present a choking hazard. Square beads are really great for this. Plastic pony beads, large animal-shaped beads and so forth can be added to the mix. Along with this, give them long shoe-strings in bright colors (check the closeout section of your local variety stores.) Children can make necklaces, pull-toys and so forth with their creations.

For older children, try making beads from dryer lint, potatoes and other materials. There are lots of “recipes” for these available. If any of you are interested in more recipes for hand-crafted beads, please let me know and I will include some of these recipes in a future blog entry.

 

 

Beading for Charitable Causes

I have been thinking about ways people use beads to promote charitable causes – I often see advertised in magazines bracelets for breast cancer, for instance. A friend who is a mammographer makes pink beaded breast cancer support pins to give to her patients, and also gives a portion of her profits from the breast cancer support jewelry she makes to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Here are a few stories about creating jewelry for non-profit organizations and other worthwhile causes.

A while ago, I was approached by a women’s organization. One of their members had recently been diagnosed with ALS (commonly known as Lou Gerhig’s Disease.) Some of the members had seen a bracelet made with Swarovski crystal cubes and diamond-shaped beads, sterling silver balls and bali beads, with a sterling silver heart shaped clasp and dangling charm. They wanted to make something similar as a fund-raiser. Together we designed a bracelet using Chinese crystal AB cubes and bicones, silver-plated round beads, pewter Bali-like flower spacers, a pewter heart-shaped clasp and pewter charm. We used Beadsmith Cyclone crimps so that they would not need special tools, and the bracelets were strung on .019 SoftFlex. The materials came in at under $8 for each bracelet, and they sold over 600 for $25 each. Although we used lower priced materials, the bracelet was quite beautiful and well worth $25. Additionally, the group had fun meetings where the members assembled the bracelets – you could buy them either ready made, or come to a party and make your own. I thought this was an original twist.

You may know that almost every charitable organization (especially those pertaining to a particular disease) has its own signature color or symbol; pink for breast cancer, for instance or the puzzle piece for Autism. One of my customers does a whole line of different bracelets using the colors and symbols from different charitable organizations and also representing different branches of the military. She earmarks part of her profits for the corresponding group.

Recently a woman came into my store looking for help with her son’s project. Kyle Spivak was preparing for his Bar Mitzvah by doing a project which was designed to support charitable organizations. Kyle’s project is called “Pookas for Peace,” (pookasforpeace.com). Kyle made shell necklaces which include the colors of both the Israeli and the Lebanese flag, as symbol of peace for the region. All profits are being split equally between Lebanese and Israeli charities.

Using beads for fundraising and awareness is a good way to promote the causes you feel close to, and to promote yourself. Even if you don’t care to do a whole line of jewelry devoted to a charity, donating your work for the PTA silent auction, or other worthy cause is a good way to get your work seen and to do some good in this world!

Bead Swap Tales

When the internet was young, I belonged to a very active bead chat group on AOL. Beaders from across the country would exchange ideas there and as a matter of fact, I met some local beaders including Sue Everett (BeadGal, aka MiyukiGal.) On sojourns to bead shows in other states, I also met members from across the country. Some of them are friends to this day. It was an active and enjoyable group.

One of the things that was the most fun was the monthly bead swap. In fact, I understand that it is still ongoing. I thought I would write a little something about it for two reasons – it was a blast, and it could be something you might like to do in your own group bead society, either informally or through a Yahoo group.

The bead swaps worked like this: Someone would volunteer to be the “Swapmeister” for a particular month. The Swapmeister would determine the theme of the swap, along with any “extras.” (I’ll get to the “extras” part later.) For instance, a swap theme might be “Beach Sunset.” If you wanted to participate, you e-mailed the Swapmeister. The Swapmeister would set a date for swappers to get their beads in. If a swap had 15 people signed up, each person would prepare 15 bags of beads, each one with the approximate value of $1.00 and appropriate to the theme, and send them to the Swapmeister, along with a self-addressed stamped priority mail envelope. When the Swapmeister had all the bags of beads, she would mail each person a package which contained one each of the bags received from the other swappers.

The exciting part of it was seeing what others came up with – my idea of “Beach Sunset” might be very different from yours! It was also fun to see if you could come up with a piece made from all of the beads you received. One of my favorite necklaces is a Halloween-themed necklace made up of swap beads – you can see it below (click on it to see a larger version). I added the charms but all of the beads came from a Halloween swap.

The swaps often had color themes, but another memorable swap, which I hosted, was “Just Say No to Druks.” Druks, as most of you know, is a term for round beads. So, for this swap you had to send shape beads, no rounds.

As for the “extras” I mentioned, a Swapmeister might request that each swapper send a recipe, a favorite poem or saying, or a short bio, for instance. This was just a way for us to get to know each other and add a little something fun to the swaps. I remember a swap with a “favorite quotation” extra – there were some beautiful sentiments, but one swapper’s favorite was “Whatever.” As I got to know her over the years, it turned out to be quite apropos.

Some of my favorite beads came from the swaps, including some very cool slices of sea urchin spine made into beads, and some snake vertabra!

If you decide to give bead swaps a try, be sure to set the rules out very clearly. You may decide, for instance, that you don’t want seed beads in your swap, as they are difficult to quantify.

 

 

Some Helpful Measurement Conversions

Here are some helpful measurement conversions.  Sometimes I get beads in kilo bags, or 1/2 kilo bags and I need to sort them out by the gram.  And you will notice in my eBay store I sell many items by the gross – this handy chart will remind you of how many beads in a gross!

Kilo = 1000 grams = 2.2 pounds

1/2 kilo = 500 grams = 1.1 pounds

Gram = .035 ounces

Ounce = 28.35 grams

Gross = 12 dozen = 144

1/2 gross = 72

Mass = 100 dozen = 1,200