Snow Day = Bead Day

In message , Beadbimbo writes

I know how you feel. When I see some patterns in B&B I know I have not got a cat in hell's chance of getting the beads I need without doing mail order. Even some do not post to Uk anyway. Often if when I get them I have gone off doing the project anyway. We have had really grey days for the last two weeks and a lot of rain. Some people are flooded out again. Glad we live on top of a hill. We were told to expect one months rainfall in two days.

I feel restless and my creative urges seem to have got lost. Got 3 doctors/hospital appointments for next week, Mon, Tuesday and Wednesday, 2 birthday parties and a craft show to go to. Good luck with your necklace. I have done iris folding. Hugs Shirley

You've got a busy week, Shirley!

There's so many projects in B&B that I've never gotten to because I never had everything, and it's too much bother to mail order because one catalog won't have something, so I'd end up going several different places. Sometimes, I wonder what it'd be like to live near one of the big bead stores like Shipwreck. I'd just love to walk in one of those places one day!

It's icy out today, so I'm glad we don't have to go anywhere!

One of the ladies I talked to today told me "make kits". Would anybody here buy kits? I never have because I always have more ideas than I have time for, but some of the things require rather out of the way sizes and things.

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Where I am the snow and sleet is way up on the mountain, but we're getting our fair share of it this winter too. It's kinda almost funny because I work with a lot of people who haven't been here as long as I have and "Mauna Kea closed" is a new concept to them.

Shirley, I wish you all the best for all of that. Sounds like a busy week, and I hope you'll have the energy left to go to the craft show. Quite often these days I don't (and I'm 20 years younger.)

Maren HiloBeads: Beads - Findings - Hand-made Jewelry

When I've looked at kits, they're so overpriced that I think that I could buy all the beads for the price of what there is to make one item. Occasionally, when I don't have what I need, I'm sure I would buy a kit if they weren't so outrageous, but I usually just move on and find another project to work on.

A lot of times, it's like that with color too. I didn't set out to make something in a particular color, but I happened to have everything I needed in this size, that size, etc. Right now, I'm working in greys and thinking, "I dont' have anything to wear this with!" Lol.

Thanks for that Jerri. And as for "I don't have anything to wear this with" is why I decided to not get heavily into turquoise (but I love turquoise). I have some turquoise but decided to not go any further with that. Malachite, jade, amethyst, that's my colors, just about any jasper you can think of, garnet, carnelian.

I wasn't so much thinking in overpriced kits (I've seen my share of those), but if you're thinking of assembling kits you have to do that in many color schemes, and I live in a rather small house by today's standards, so you just talked me out of that which is probably a good thing.

Hope you get through that storm OK, Maren HiloBeads: Beads - Findings - Hand-made Jewelry

You're right. You'd pretty much have to be a bead store to provide kits in all kinds of projects and then in all colors too!

We're fine here. Just waiting for things to thaw. You mention snow down here, and everyone runs out to buy out all the bread and milk. There's this big panic, and then it usually turns out to be not as bad as everyone feared. At least we didn't lose power! It's way to cold outside though!!

Afraid i never done any thing that's in my magazine they do inspire me with colors and ideas but i dont do the thing there LOL I too wouldn't have all Ive needed smile Love to look and i try new techniques out sometimes ! I have my own ideas floating around as for Kits I would never buy them except to get a part of them lol and they need to be cheap other wise I go i can get that in a full strand and not pay that much and i have that etc LOL I am a cheapskate or bargain hunter LOL! Plus i dont always like others color choices!

Most of us here have our own ideas, and that's not the people kits are for. Our local Ben Franklin teaches classes as far down as making memory wire bracelets as people have no idea how to put colors together (I've been told).

I'm like you - I have considered buying chandelier earring kits to get the chandelier findings, but that was before I did a bulk order on a few Tierracast links (that web page isn't up yet, I got too tired some time in the wee hours and stopped editing web pages a bit before 3 a.m.).

Maren HiloBeads: Beads - Findings - Hand-made Jewelry

It is always seeds that I want more of. When Carol and I asked each other what we wanted for Christmas this year, she wanted some of my emeralds and she is getting me some seeds. LOL. There are never enough and even when you have tons, not enough colors!!!!!

Glad you, the family and the furry ones are all inside and I hope your electricity stays the course!!!

Becki

Maren -- I'm not a kit buyer but I also am not normal in most ways. LOL. I know this -- there are a LOT of people making jewelry these days and a LOT of them don't know what they are doing (yet). Kits are good for those folks. They get to make something themselves.

Becki

I know that's right!! I don't know how many seed beads I have, but I just never have quite the right colors for what I want!

When I first started selling, I did great with kits. Then interest seemed to fall off. That's about the time so many ppl started lampworking and it became all the rage. I'm finding it difficult these days to compete with some of the kits offered out there - especially those with all gemstones and lampwork... I don't know how they make a profit on them. Of course you could always put together a few and see if they sell.

One thing that ppl got upset about though... when you say "kit" they think you mean "complete kit with findings, needle, thread and instructions"> So I started calling them "combos" and tried to make certain ppl understood what was and was NOT in them.

Becko, you're doing SEEDS? Thought I'd never seen the day...

You're not NORMAL? Oh dear, what does that make me? LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

What I do, when I have time to play, is just start putting together what I DO have, then kind of free form it. I've never been much good at following patterns anyway. I use the mags for inspiration and maybe a format to play, but really ain't interested in copying anything exactly.

Karleen -- you, of all people, are well aware of just how "not normal" I am. LOL. (Although it certainly isn't much of a secret on THIS board!!!)

I love seeds. They make great spacers! Can't ever find the right shade of brown, however. I've really been buying up lots of brown seeds when I can. Brown and green frustrate me. I want a light green that doesn't over power jade -- more of a grey/green. There is a standard color of light green that has been around for years, opague, but it is too GREEN for me.

Light blue frustrates me too. Don't even get me started on that.

LOL

Becki

Karleen -- I know how they are doing it. Some of the sellers on justbeads asked me before they started posting their "combos" there, if they could do the same thing I did? LOL. I said sure (why would I care). Competition is good!!

I am buying strands of beads on ebay for $3. That is, .99 and two dollars shipping. Honest to goodness $3. Have purchased big groups of stone pendants for as little as .49 each. That makes a kit you can start at under $10.

Ebay has changed the global economy of beads. End of story. I can't IMAGINE where they are getting the beads to start with -- I think someone in another country is stealing them for them!!! Honestly, I think I re-purchase a lot of "closeout" sales. I'm buying from someone who got one heck of a price in the first place.

Either way -- or any other way, included -- I am now paying lower prices for bead purchases than ever in my bead history. Including straight wholesale. You can find beads on the internet at astronomically low prices. You just have to look.

I wish I could quit looking. LOLOLOLOLOLOL.

My boyfriend got laid off today and I am committed to helping him with the bills (he is worth any effort I might make to help him, a wonderful man in many ways). So I may be re-selling some of my own "deals" real soon. Stay tuned.

LOVE YOU ALL -- Becki

Do you really mean the rest of us (well, me at least) are all that different? (Paraphrasing Sooz "maybe there's only one hole going through all the beads and connects us all")

I'm currently on a 'green' phase. Started with a simple strand of green flourite (well, and all the green beads I bought from Kalera). Then I got malachite, that came in last week. This week I'm getting jade.

Ya. Same here. The "kid" got me a lampwork bead for Christmas over a year ago. I still haven't found the right color _any_ beads to go with it.

Maren HiloBeads: Beads - Findings - Hand-made Jewelry

Haven't gotten into either Ebay or justbeads yet, I just got a full flat rate box off the 'net, put my order of what I wanted to order together and had it filled up with fresh water pearls. Not the greatest fresh water pearls ever, but my LBS wants $12 per strand. I'm reselling mine for $2.- with a rather large discount on multiples.

I think I'm doing the same with beads at the moment what I do in grocery shopping. You get what you need at the time, and buy all the other stuff that keeps when it's on sale. In a town where the cheapest (Wal-mart) canned cat food goes for $0.44 (some stores charge almost 3 times that), I have on occasion found some for $0.29.

Is that ever the truth ... (me too)

sorry to hear. Hope it isn't long term out of work.

I for one don't mind ads here, especially from "regulars". - You've been here way longer than me.

Aloha, Maren HiloBeads: Beads - Findings - Hand-made Jewelry

Oh crap ladies, I'm drowning in seeds... if you can send me a pic of what you're trying to match, maybe I got it.