Tag Archives: Shopping

New Poodle Beading Pattern for Beginners

Posted on April 13, 2013 | 1 Comment

A new beading pattern is now available for download at my Etsy shop! Make a cute beaded poodle pin or pendant using size 8 and size 11 Delica seed beads. Learn to work with felt layers using the backstitch & stop stitch techniques. Eight-page PDF file includes: list of beading supplies, sketches which you can print out and use as a template, 24 color photos & step-by-step instructions. This piece is suitable for beginning beaders. Try making one in every color of the rainbow:) Please click the pic for more details. That’s the news for now. Back to beading:)

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Posted in animals, bead embroidery, dogs, etsy, Patterns

Tagged Arts, Bead embroidery, beading, Beadwork, crafts, Delicas, Download, Etsy, Seed bead, Shopping

Hot Wheels Bead Art Car

Posted on March 24, 2013 | 2 Comments

Last week, I worked on a new project – one that I’ve been meaning to try for awhile. I decided to cover an old beat-up Hot Wheels car using tiny Japanese glass seed beads! This one happens to be a blue Nissan Silvia. Check it out:

First, I glued a thin piece of Ultrasuede to the underside of the car. Then, I peyote-stitched size 15 seed beads around the car, stitching the edges to the Ultrasuede beneath.

Considering it is my first time beading a 1/64 scale Hot Wheels car, I think it turned out looking pretty cool! Its also a fun way to recycle an old toy that was otherwise headed for the landfill. The best part is, even though it is now a work of art, it can still be used as the toy it was meant to be:) I am currently running this item on eBay for a limited time, afterwards, it will be listed for sale in my Etsy shop. What should I bead next?

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Posted in cars, ebay, etsy, peyote

Tagged Automobile, beading, Beadwork, Etsy, Hot Wheels, Matchbox, Seed bead, Shopping, Toy, Ultrasuede

New Tiny Blue Beaded Poodle Pendant

Posted on January 30, 2013 | 5 Comments

There is a new blue beaded poodle pendant listed in my Etsy shop! This piece is very tiny – measuring just 3.5cm x 3.5cm. I used size 11/o and 15/o seed beads to create this poodle’s curly hair. Wear this piece as either a pin or a pendant. This adorable poodle pin is now available for sale at my Etsy shop HERE. This design can also be made in black, white, brown, gray, pink, or purple. The perfect gift idea for your Valentine, or for anyone who loves miniature poodles!

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Posted in dogs, etsy

Tagged Bead embroidery, beading, Beadwork, brooch, Dog, Etsy, Jewelry, Pendant, Poodle, Shopping, Valentine's Day

Holiday Pet Shoppes Show @ Sheraton Boston Hotel

Posted on December 2, 2012 | 6 Comments

I am excited to announce that I have been invited to participate in the Holiday Pet Shoppes 2012 show! The show takes place this Saturday, December 8 at the Sheraton Boston Hotel (at Prudential Center) from 12pm-6pm. This show is sponsored by Cityside Subaru and will feature over a dozen carefully selected pet vendors from throughout New England. You will be able to view my beaded doggie designs as well as a select number of my beaded artworks, all of which will be available for sale. Please check the event page to learn about all of the vendors, as well as special guest, Lilly the Hero Pit Bull.

This will be my first show on rather short notice, so I have been running around like crazy trying to prepare. I don’t have a lot of money to spend, so I used what I had around the house to create a display for my beaded pet pins. I simply covered a canvas with felt and displayed it on a tabletop easel. I can now attach my pins and pendants to the felt using U-pins. It’s a simple idea, but I think it will serve its purpose for a one-day show. What do you think?

I will also be offering one of my latest designs at next week’s show – a new beaded Labradoodle pin! I used size 11 & 15 seed beads to created this piece. Beadwork is layered on the dog’s head & ears to create more dimension. I posted a photo of this on my Facebook page, and learned that this piece could actually pass for several different dog breeds. What kind of dog does it look like to you?

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Posted in Boston, exhibits, shops, shows

Tagged Bead embroidery, Beadwork, Boston, Cats, Dogs, Etsy, Facebook, New England, Pet Shop, Prudential, Shopping

Happy Beaded Papillon Pin:)

Posted on February 19, 2012 | 4 Comments

My Etsy shop has been keeping me busy! Here is a photo of a custom piece I beaded last week – a sitting Papillon dog pin. Papillons are such cute little dogs- they are indeed happy:) This piece measures 2″ x 1.5″ wide (approx 5cm x 4cm). It was made by stitching tiny size 15 glass seed beads and 3 glass eyes (for the eyes and nose) to felt. Several different shades of brown & white seed beads were used, and beaded fringe was layered to add dimension & movement. This piece is a pin which can also be worn as a pendant on your favorite necklace chain. It is now listed as made-to-order for anyone who is interested. Back to finishing my 3 beaded Keeshond pins!

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Posted in bead embroidery, dogs, etsy, pendants

Tagged Bead embroidery, Beadwork, Dog, Etsy, Keeshond, Papillon, Pendant, Seed Beads, Shopping

Beaded Happy New Year Sale on Etsy!

Posted on December 31, 2011 | Leave a comment

To thank all of you who have followed my blog over the years and to celebrate the end of 2011, I am running a major sales event in my Etsy shop all weekend. For 3 days only, all jewelry, beaded beads, buttons, bird paintings, and select beaded paintings will be 25% off original price. Sale runs now through Monday, Jan. 2, 2012, 6pm EST. This is the biggest sale I have ever had, so please take a peek a the NEW YEAR SALE section to see if there is something you would like! Out with the old, in with the new! Best wishes for a happy and healthy 2012!

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Posted in etsy

Tagged Beadwork, Clearance, craft, Etsy, Jewelry, New Year, SALE, Seed bead, Shopping

Weekend Bead Shopper: Freshwater Pearls

Posted on November 13, 2011 | Leave a comment

Recently, I received a package full of beads from the Philippines: freshwater pearls! These beads were sent to me courtesy of beadsandfindings.net. I absolutely love the unique colors, texture, and shapes! I can’t wait to incorporate them into one of my beaded paintings!

I will say that I was very impressed with this online bead shop’s customer service, too. I had wanted to order some Red Coral Chili Beads, but they informed me that they could not ship them to me because their importation is banned in the USA. I had forgotten about that fact, and was a bit surprised to see that my FedEx package had actually been sliced open and inspected by U.S. Customs, resealed with fancy U.S. Fish & Wildlife tape! I guess I’ll have to travel to the Philippines to purchase the beads I want.. Someday!

*Please note: I have received the above mentioned products free of charge from BeadsandFindings.net. This is my honest review of the products and I have not been paid for my endorsement as it pertains to the products received.

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Posted in bead shops, beads

Tagged Cultured freshwater pearls, Pearl, Philippines, Shopping, United States

Weekend Bead Shopper: Russian Dolls

Posted on October 29, 2011 | 2 Comments

Recently, BeadCrafty.com sent me some shiny new beads! Check out these cute hand-painted porcelain Russian doll beads! These measure 26mm – a bit larger than most beads I use, but I absolutely love them, especially since I visited Russia last year. What do you think I should I make with them?

If you have not shopped BeadCrafty.com, I will say that they offer a wonderful assortment beads of all types, their customer service is outstanding, and shipment from the UK is very fast. I’m sure I will return to order more Russian Dolls in the future:)

*Please note: I have received the above mentioned products free of charge from BeadCrafty.com. This is my honest review of the products and I have not been paid for my endorsement as it pertains to the products received.

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Posted in bead shops, beads

Tagged Bead, Jewelry, Russia, Russian Dolls, Shopping, Supplies

Personalized Beaded Heart Pendant

Posted on May 15, 2011 | 2 Comments

This weekend, I took a break from my large NYC bead-painting to create a custom order for my neighbor. She asked me to create a heart-shaped pin with her name on it to present as a gift for her mother. I suggested a green heart with growing flowers, and this is how it turned out! I used mostly Japanese 15/o seed beads, Czech glass flowers, and some beautiful glass leaves from my bead stash. It measures 1.5″ wide x 2″ long (4cm x 5cm) including the branched fringe. This piece is a pin which can also be worn as a pendant. I really like how it turned out. I also hope the recipient of the pin enjoys this, and I hope she wears it a lot.. I am now considering making more heart-shaped items for my Etsy shop! But, first, I must clean up all the beads on my work table.. :O

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Posted in bead embroidery, pendants

Tagged Bead embroidery, Beadwork, Etsy, Jewelry, Seed bead, Shopping

>The Hunt for Czech Glass Beads

Posted on May 12, 2008 | 22 Comments

The Lone Beader is now back in Boston, MA – safe and sound. I really missed everyone, and I enjoyed reading all your comments. It was a long three weeks, but it sure went by quickly! I spent the first two weeks of my holiday in Prague, Czech Republic, and I made a quick stop in London, England on the way home. Prague is a beautiful city – probably the most mystical I’ve seen thus far, and its history is dark and intriguing. I can’t wait to share with you all of my photos… My main reason for traveling to the Czech Republic was to learn a little more about the making of glass beads, as well as to search for some to bring home. After a few days of general sightseeing, I went out to search for beads.

Prague Castle Czech Republic Praha Bohemia glass beads beader beading

Above is a photo of the first shop I found located on Ujezd in Mala Strana. This shop sells a few lampworked beads, as well as seed beads, but it is really a beaded jewelry store. I enjoyed looking around here, but it really wasn’t what I was looking for…

The next day, I took a bus trip to Jablonec nad Nisou in the Northern Bohemia. The north country is known for its rich history of the production of glass beads, and there is a wonderful Muzeum of Glass & Jewellery (Muzeum Skla a Bizuterie) in this old industrial town. It explains the history of glass making in the area, and it points out how many factories there were all over the country. Tools of the trade are on display, as well as fine examples of beadwork in several different cultures of the world. The 90-minute bus ride is well worth the trip, but I suggest to anyone interested in going to brush up on your Czech. Most folks in Northern Bohemia do not speak English. I did learn quite a few Czech survival phrases before I went, so I didn’t have any problem communicating. And, the people I met here were very friendly and happy to meet an American visitor!

Around the corner from the museum is a Jablonex jewelry store. The jewelry sold here is beautiful and simple. I was also happy to see that they sold some loose beads in small packages. You can see the prices in the above photo – 49 & 59 crowns. The Czech Republic has not adopted the Euro, nor do they intend to anytime soon. 100, Kc is equal to approx. $6 USD.

Then, I visited the above bead shop. I would not have found this one if it weren’t for the friendly German girl who worked at the muzeum. This shop is in an old house across the main road from the Glass & Jewellery museum. It is a ‘components’ store, and the bags on the floor and on the shelves are full of components to make your own jewelry. The paper bags contain seed beads in almost every colour you can imagine. Shoppers scoop their own beads into small bags, and they are sold by weight.

The woman at this shop was more than happy to help me despite the language barrier. She wrote down prices on a piece of paper for me to consider. So, I picked out the beads below. Some are colours for an upcoming project. Again, you can see some of the prices. I spent about 800, Kc here (less than $50) for a substantial amount of beads. After finding this shop, I was very happy to have made the trip to Jablonec n.N…

While I did find seed beads in the north country, I found bead shops difficult to find in the city of Prague. It sounds odd because the city is full of jewelry and art glass shops. I believe that glass bead production and distrubution in the Czech Republic still remains a very hidden industry. I learned that many years ago, the main company making glass beads in the area split into two, and as a result, many of the factory workers took their skills and began working from home. I believe these small factories are selling directly to those who make the jewelry for all the shops, or they sell their beads directly to much larger distributors who deal with companies all over the world. If you go to Prague looking for beads, don’t get discouraged. You simply have to keep your eyes open, and peek into every shop. Loose beads are hidden, but they are there.

The above shop is the perfect example of this. To the unsuspecting American who cannot read Czech, it looks like any old shop. I took a wrong turn while looking for the Dvorak Museum, and I noticed some art supplies in this shop’s window. There were paint brushes, paints, and canvases, so I took a peek inside. There, I noticed a woman making some beaded jewelry – next to a whole table full of beautiful beads!

She must be making some jewelry for this display!

I spent awhile looking around, then I finally picked the following beads. Most of them were only about $1/bag, then when I looked at my receipt, I noticed that they were on sale! 20% off the sticker price! I was very happy about this shop… Now, I will have to think of ways to incorporated some of these into my beadwork…

Prague Castle Czech Republic Praha Bohemia glass beads beader beading Jablonec Muzeum Skla

I hope my discoveries inspire you to someday travel to the Czech Republic in search of beads. However, if you still need some more convincing, just wait until my next post…

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Posted in bead shops, beads, Prague, travel

Tagged Bead, Czech Republic, Prague, Shopping