Wednesday 14 December 2016

BLOG-Get Organized

Holidays, weekends and quiet nights are a perfect time to organize your beads. You may not have enough time to start a creation or be in a creative mood but a quick tidy up…or a ‘getting organized’ start is never a bad idea. Who knows, after playing with your beads for a little while, inspiration may strike!

I like to store my beads individually in storage containers, they are cheap and easy to find in shops like  Bunnings, Howard Storage and fishing shops. 

This tray is unorganized and needs a good tidy up
This is an ideal storage box they stack and the beads don't mix if it is closed and dropped


I usually store them by stone/colour and add a label with the following information I need to re-order and/or price my design.
Supplier
Supplier STOCK CODE
Cost per strand
Cost per bead
While this this is great for more expensive beads/findings it does get a little tedious for all the cheaper strands; those I store in a box and have them by colour. 
Mass storage boxes still shouldn’t be unorganized because you will still need to know how much a strand/bead costs and how to get more of them if you want; keeping them in individual bags or on the strand helps.

Storing beads in a logical and neat way helps enormously when designing and creating and can save loads of time when you are looking for that special bead you need to complete your project.

When working at home or on holiday I always work on a tray with a bead mat on top; the bead mat stops beads from rolling around everywhere and I find that working on a tray will restrict my mess and make it easy to put away if visitors or little fingers decide to arrive, or my special other half decides there something very exciting we must do! Hiding the tray on top of the fridge or in a special drawer or cupboard ensures that works in progress can’t get knocked or spilled. I will also come clean now and say my tray is never neat and always has a work in progress or design I am trying to work out.

Tool storage and organizing is also important, keeping your tools away from water and dust will save them from rust and damage, this can be achieved by simply placing them in a pencil case, this will also help if you are a travel beader and want to know you are not leaving any tools behind.

Finding a small cup/takeout/glass container is also an ideal to capture and store your metal cuttings. Sterling Silver and Gold scraps are worth money. Place a small amount of blutac on the base of your container so you do not spill your cuttings, they are sharp and not pleasant to step on if spilled all over the floor. Store them until you have enough to take to a metal refiner, they may not be worth much but I always like to recycle where I can for future generations.

Well that’s it from me for now happy organizing…and happy beading I am off to make a few more kits and inspirations, after all making and being creative is one of the best foods your soul.

Tuesday 4 October 2016

Designing, the trials and tribulations.

Design Basics
We recently held a designing class at our Ramsgate and I spoke about the basics listed below that are on our website as well some very useful construction tips . I asked the students to choose one or more beads and them we designed a necklace to suit those beads and the student. All the necklaces are very different...what do you think? If you wish to join a Design class cost $20.00 as well as your beads usedplease email or call us on 0295299982







Designing beaded jewellery is fun and easy. It allows your own personal style to emerge, or adds an individual touch to designs that have been inspired or copied. When making jewellery designs for other people, always try to include their own personal style and length preference.
Always be open to inspiration from shapes and patterns, either ancient or modern.
Colour combinations can be inspired by nature; look at the colours found together in trees, bark, fish, and animals.
No rules apply. Your beading palette can range from tonal to rainbow creating exceptional beaded jewellery.
Don’t forget if you are going to wear it, only you need to love it!

Jewellery designs can be strung in the following pattern types:


 

All of the above pattern types can incorporate a pendant or drop/s if required.
Beaded jewellery designs are also governed by the following considerations:
- Length
- Weight
- Shape

The length of a jewellery design is usually influenced by current fashion trends, personal taste or specific design requirements; be aware that long necklaces can more easily get caught and broken. 

The weight of a jewellery design is the preference of the individual wearer; be aware if you wish to wear a design continually, a heavy necklace can be tiring. 

The shape of beads in a jewellery design is governed by the initial choice of beads and the compatibility of other beads to the shape of the original beads. Long elongated beads work well when spaced with smaller round, roundel or oval shaped beads. Spacer beads will also prevent the larger beads from chipping and make them sit neater beside each other

Wednesday 16 March 2016


Every Bead is Precious



Never throw out a bead no matter how small it is as one day they will come in useful. I have just finished this beautiful Amethyst, Citrine and Prehnite gemstone necklace using beads I have had in my collection for over 12 years.  This is what I would call random design necklace, but as I threaded each strand I made sure that the larger accent beads were evenly spaced along the strands so there were no "heavy" or "Empty" areas.
Happy Beading
Julie
Bead Them Up

Wednesday 20 January 2016

Beading, boating and Barry
My 3 favourite B's
First "B" my husband is definitely my favourite B, married for 34 years, with 3 wonderful children about to become first time grandparents this June, still happy enough said.
Boating, what can I say everyone loves boating, and as we venture off on our annual holiday I am looking forward to seeing all the wonderful friends we have made on the water.
So enough of my other loves, this after all a beading blog, but beading on the boat is the best as I always seam to able to create better designs and come up with some nice ideas.
Boat beading also allows me the time to review and revise the website as when I am in the showroom my time is all about stock count, stock ordering, stock pricing and looking after our wonderful customers. This Christmas break I am working on our class format, after the massive response to teaching a knotting class Bead Them Up has decided to ramp up our class schedule and add a whole lot of extra specialty classes. Our FREE CLASSES will remain no charge for tutorials but we will be creating some exciting kits for students to use as sometimes it is very overwhelming when students are expected to create their own design in the first class.
So I am about to embark for 2 lovely weeks with my favorite B's and thought I would share with you.
Happy beading and Merry Christmas from Julie and the team at Bead Them Up