Save the Bead Museum

The Bead Museum in Arizona is in danger of closing after 23 years. The Bead Museum in DC has already closed. The Arizona museum is the only one we have left. Who knows, maybe someday your beadwork, mine, or beadwork from someone else we know will end up in this museum. We need to do what we can now to keep this museum open. The Bead Museum is in jeopardy of closing its doors at the end of May.

We are in the process of a $200,000 sustainability campaign but need to raise $100,000 of that goal by April 30th. This funding is needed to allow
us time so that we can continue our fund development plan to insure the long
term financial health of the Museum. Read more about what The Bead Museum offers and their situation on The Bead Museum's website.

Interweave has decided to help by making it easy and quick for everyone to make a $5 donation to help keep the museum doors open. It's just 5 bucks, the cost of a Starbucks coffee. I'm unemployed and I did it. You can too. Donate now.

If you are interested in making a larger contribution, please contact The Bead Museum directly.

How To Make a Delica Color Sample Book

Finally finished all my Delica color cards and bound them together into a book. I wanted my book to be small enough to fit in my purse or carry around when shopping at a bead show, so I chose to make it 1/4 of the size of a sheet of paper. It was really easy to do. The binding is reinforced so that the pages won't rip out from use. The book itself is just an old photo album I had lying around. I should have typed in all the Delica numbers but I couldn't wait to play with the beads, so I wrote the numbers in as I went instead. Since I do not have all the Delica colors, I just used the ones I do have. Now I have a Delica Sample Book I can refer to when creating patterns. I can also take it with me to bead shows to help me know if I already have the irresistible color I'm about to buy. Instructions are below the picture.

Supplies:

• Paper
• Spreadsheet software (or substitute graph paper for above paper)
• Scissors
• Glue
• Delica beads
• Thread
• Beading needle
• Small photo album or day planner with rings you can open to insert your pages.

Step By Step Instructions:

1. Create a grid using a spreadsheet program like Excel. If you don't have one you can download open office for free. Or, use a piece of graph paper and mark out your lines using the grid on the paper. Email me if you want me to send you a copy of my template. RECYCLING TIP: you can use paper that has already been used on one side. Print your grid on the other side. The backside will not be seen when the book is finished.
2. Fold your paper in half from top to bottom (hamburger fold). Cut along that fold.
3. Stitch your beads onto each paper. The knots and thread can be all over the back side of the paper, it won't be seen later.
4. Fold your paper in half again, keeping the beads on the outside. The side with the thread and knots will end up inside and not seen. You now have a Delica Color Card.
5. To make a stronger edge where the binding goes cut strips of tag board. Make the strips twice as wide as you want the finished edge to be. Fold the strip in half lengthwise (hot dog fold) with the writing on the inside. RECYCLING TIP: Use food packaging boxes (like cereal boxes or pasta boxes). You can even use the existing folds in the box as your folds.
6. Glue these onto each of your Delica Color Cards. Hold them on with paper clips while they dry.
7. If the tag board edge is longer than your Delica Color Card trim it down to size.
8. Measure the distance between each ring of your photo album/day planner.
9. Use a hole punch to make the holes for each ring based on your measurements. TIP: use a piece of leftover tag board to make a template. Cut the tag board to the length of your book. Mark where the holes should go and punch them. Use this piece as a stencil to mark your Delica Color Cards, that way the holes will always be in the same place on each card, but you only have to measure once.
10. Put your Delica Color Cards into your little binder and you have your very own Delica Sample Book!

Gemstone Beaded Bead Auction #2

As you all know, I created two of these gemstone beaded beads to be auctioned off for Bead Aide. The first was already auctioned off. The second was to be temporarily strung with everyone elses second beaded bead and auctioned off as a whole "set". I'm not sure why, but the beads are all being auctioned off individually. My second gemstone beaded bead is now up for auction. So if you missed out on it the first time around, here's your second chance. 100% of the proceeds goes to help a fellow beader with cancer.


Gemstone Beaded Bead Auction - Bidding is closed. Final auction price was $8.00.

View all Bead Aide items being auctioned

Beaded Bead Auction Open Closed

The bidding on this beautiful gemstone beaded bead has begun ended! 100% of the final price goes into the BeadAide charity fund. The Gemstone Beaded Bead sold for $13.63. Thanks for bidding!

If you are interested in having a bead like this for yourself and you missed the auction, don't worry, I can always make more. Send an email to anne@kinteraarts.com

To read my previous entry for details about this bead, go to http://snipurl.com/1bp7s

To bid see bidding on this bead, go to http://snipurl.com/1bp6q

To see all items currently being auctioned for BeadAide, go to http://snipurl.com/1bp6n

Bead Aide Beaded Bead

I've created a beaded bead (that's a bead made by weaving smaller beads together) to donate to the Bead Aide auction. I actually made two of these beads. One will be auctioned off as a single bead. The other will be auctioned as part of a strand of beaded beads made by the various artists that donated beaded beads to this cause.

Bidding on this beautiful gemstone beaded bead has ended! The winning bid on the bead was $13.63!

Bead Aide is a fund created to help beaders in need. Items are auctioned off on ebay and all proceeds go into the fund. The most recent recipient was a cancer patient that needed money to start on an experimental treatment because the normal treatments weren't working for her. Unfortuately she passed away before the new treatment was started, so the fund was used for her funeral expenses instead.

The bead I've created is constructed from czech 11/0 purple lined blue beads and citrine aquamarine semi-precious gemstone chips. The base is a peyote tube encrusted with the chip beads. This beaded bead is approximately one inch long. According to the color trend forcasts this bead will be in style from spring/summer of this year all the way through winter and into spring/summer of next year.

If you missed out on the bidding for this beautiful gemstone beaded bead don't worry, I can make more. Just send an email to anne@kinteraarts.com to tell me you're interested in one.

Stone lore for the two stones in this bead:

Citrine

• The gemstone Citrine is the official birthstone for the month of November.


• It is also the Planetary stone for the Sun Sign of Virgo.


• Citrine is the accepted gem for the 13th and 17th wedding anniversary.


• Citrine has also been said to ward off poison such as snake bites.


• Citrine is known as the "success stone" because it promotes success, prosperity, and abundance.


• It particularly promotes success in business, earning it's other nickname, "merchant's stone".

Aquamarine

• The gemstone Aquamarine is the modern March birthstone.


• It is also the birth stone for the Zodiac sign of Scorpio.


• Aquamarine helps husbands and wives work out their differences to ensure a long and happy marriage, making it a good anniversary gift. Aquamarine is suggested as a gem to give on the 16th and 19th wedding anniversaries.


• Aquamarine is to endow the wearer with foresight, courage, and happiness.


• It is said to increase intelligence and make one youthful.


• As a healing stone, it is said to be effective as a treatment for anxiety.


• Legends say that it is the treasure of mermaids, with the power to keep us safe at sea.

Beaded Bead Swap

Last night I received my beads from the Beaded Bead Swap I participated in on the Beadchat group. For this swap we were to create beads made from smaller beads in teals, blues and purples. As you can see, they are beautiful!

Troll Bead

Went shopping at the Rings and Things show in Novi yesterday. As always, saw tons of high quality beads at very low prices. This is still the best bead show I have ever been to. Got some nice cabs to bead around, and lots of black beads - tourmaline and onyx (my stock in black was low). I picked up a few other strands that looked like they'd be fun to play with too, and wished I could afford to get a whole lot more.

Maybe some of you have heard of or seen the Russ Troll bead? His employees like him so much they had his likeness made into a troll shaped bead. I was surprised not to see any of those at the show. Well, when I was checking out they asked me how I'd heard of Rings and Things. I told him I am in an online forum with the owner Russ. That's when they handed me one of those beads. They were giving them out to whomever drops Russ' name at the show. The one I got has on red socks, green shorts and a polka dot shirt. I'm not sure what I'll use it for, but it's kind of cool having a bead of someone I know. Thanks Russ.