21 October, 2009

I have alot of customers that come into the store who are looking for a simple basic beading project. Charm bracelets are the perfect way to create something that not only is quick, but you can add alot of character about who you are into the bracelet. Our charm range we have some great sets which include bees, sewing items, dogs, cats, paris, keys, paris, london, lockets and many more. Ive combined some of theese to make a simple bracelet in 5 different themes.

5 October, 2009
30 September, 2009
photo © Getty Images/Jason LaVeris
Vampire related shows and movies just seem to be appearing everywhere at the moment.

One of my favourite shows for a few years has been True Blood which is based on the Sookie Stackhouse novels. Rutina Wesley, who plays Tara Thornton (one of the shows main characters), wore these earrings to the premiere of the second series.
To create these glitzy earrings I have used swarovski crystal rivolis with a peyote stitch bezel around and then a cluster for the teardrop. I’ve combined these with a pair of hinged crystal earring wires.

I also made this incredible necklace using some of our altered art supplies watch vials. I have used 22 gauge wire as a small loop to create the hook and some food colouring to represent blood in the vial. The vintage label I have given an aged look with some sepia accents combined with black glaze pens. The vial is then combined with some firepolish and swarovski crystals in blood red and fine chain to make a unique necklace, perfect for creatures of the night.
24 September, 2009
16 September, 2009


Our new porcelain beads feature a stunning double sided designs in bright glaze. Available in blue round flowers or green dotted dragonflies they make stunning feature pieces for all designs.
Click the surrounding images to enlarge these examples.

10 September, 2009
I find Kato and basic polymer clay really hard to sell in the store as there is a lot of technical information that is required for the novice to start, so I was just thrilled when they sent me the information for an air dry polymer clay.
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25 August, 2009
Ever had a charm bead or component that didn’t quite match the colour of the beads you are using in a project? Well, this is the product for you!


Smooch accent inks can be used on glass, ceramic, metal, paper, cardboard, acrylic and more…
To use them on metal and ceramic they need to be heat-set by using something like a hair-dryer, heat gun, or an iron.

One of our new components are these funky oval brass connectors with flower accents, and so I have used the smooch accents in molasses and in snickerdoodle to highlight and accent them. Combined with Swarovski crystals in crystal copper and Czech glass pearls in coffee and cream and chocolate they just look fab!!

Smooch accent inks are available in 8 colours in 9ml and the bottles come with an applicator tip similar to a nail polish bottle. $6.95 each.

We have just received new stock of a product that can be used to complement memory glass and frames that we currently stock. They are a capsule that can be placed over the glass pieces before inserting them into the memory frame.
The capsules are made of a thin plastic that doesn’t take away from the underneath image, whilst holding and protecting some items or charms. This enables you to attach some charms, rhinestones or beads onto the top of the glass to match your underneath image, so for example: if you had a sea theme you could have starfish, sand or small items collected at the beach.
I’ve made two examples in which I have used glossy accents to adhere them, in the positions I wanted, to the top of the glass. They are both using images taken from our new vintage ephemera sheets that we sell through our website.
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13 August, 2009

The copper metal charms come in a packet of 6 and are made of a thin copper with a space for attaching onto chain, beads and all kinds of jewellery.
I have for listed them in the store in the paper embellishments section. They remind me of the paper cut outs my family used to make for decoration every Christmas.

I’ve combined two of the copper charms (one butterfly and one bee), as well as one of the new key charms with words, along with some crystal copper donuts. The connectors for the main bracelet are made out of the antique copper brads with the back turned over and the bracelet is finished off with a small segment of copper ribbon.
28 July, 2009
Contemporary fashion is glitzy, chunky and with plenty of embellishment!
We have just received new stocks of charms in a wide array of themes - dogs, horses, cats, cities (eg. London) and items like lockets and keys.
Charm Bracelets 
Making a charm bracelet is really one of the most simple projects you can attempt as a beader. They are a fabulous project for:
- Beginners who have tried a few basic beading techniques.
- Those that are familiar with tigertail and want to venture into wire.
- If you want to practice making loops and wrapping wire tightly.
- People who just love chunky charm bracelets!
About 4 or 5 years ago, in the early days of WishWare Beads, I had an order for 16 charm bracelets and ever since I can basically do these in my sleep! Which is lucky - it’s a project I teach customers at least once a week in the store.
Charm bracelets is one of those projects that there is no right and no wrong, it’s just a matter of what inspires you at the time…
General instructions:
For the base most people choose a thicker cable chain or crimped chain. I’ve found it easiest to use one that is quite flat but has large enough links so that when you attach all your beads they can move around freely.
From there you can use an assortment of beads of your choosing. I particularly like the large firepolish crystals as they make the bracelets nice and chunky. Lately, I am regularly using the head-pins with the ball at the end as I think it adds a pretty touch.
Examples:

Pandora’s Charm Bracelet
In this bracelet I have used some brushed silver chain, a lock and several key charms and a packet of oval lockets. You can then place small pictures or mementos that you’d like inside the lockets. I’ve used an assortment of deep aqua blue firepolish crystals so that they match the round key charm.

The Cat’s Meow Charm Bracelet
This charm bracelet is made in the same way, but uses a crimped chain and instead of using 3 packets of charms it uses just one cat packet and a few swarovski and firepolish crystals to finish.