MVTimes Online - The Martha's Vineyard Times: Island News Now

MVTimes Online - The Martha's Vineyard Times: Island News Now: "�We should have a store like this in our town.�

Sally Roesler of Vineyard Haven, the owner and operator of Beadniks, has overheard this phase within the walls of her beading and craft business enough times to expand once again. This time to a franchise.

An investor may now bring the Vineyard Haven-based storefront into a town of his or her own � provided they receive the approval of Beadniks Group Inc. and pay a franchise fee of $35,000, included in the overall estimated start-up cost of $244,667 to $419,183.

Franchising was the next logical step to Ms. Roesler, whose business began as a one-room store and mail order catalog, The Bead Goes On, in 1989. Since then, Beadniks has expanded into a crafting compound with offices, warehouse, and expansive showroom that swallowed a neighboring building. "


Maybe we should all think bigger....
Keep smiling
Felicity 8-)

beading interrupted

beading interrupted: "My little Sajji man thought the perfect way to get my attention was to lay down on the beads. Now he is blissfully taking a nap and my work is apparently done for the day...or at least he says it is."

What a gorgeous photo! Guess who rules this household....
Keep smiling
Felicity 8-)

Unusual earrings....

a tale of two knitties: i wish i could crochet: "
i wish i'd made these
check out these crocheted, beaded earrings i got at anthropologie"

What an unusual use of beading!
Keep smiling
Felicity 8-)

Some different beads...

Lori Anderson Designs: Bead Mercantile: "But by far the best thing was a set of porcelain beads by Joan Miller -- for ME! I met her at the Bead and Button show in Milwaukee -- very nice lady who I actually met on the plane on the way over because I admired her necklace. At Bead and Button, I bought one of her beads for someone as a gift but ran out of money before I could buy something for myself. I'd already purchased some very cool, unusual (and expensive, yikes) 'jacks' silver beads from her, and these beads will go with the silver....

I love how eclectic they are! And these are so not my colors -- well, the purple is, but I was looking for a set that was a total mix of colors and patterns and textures. "

These are gorgeous - I've never seen beads like these before.
Keep smiling
Felicity 8-)

FluffyKnitterDeb: By special request, Beading Made Easy!

FluffyKnitterDeb: By special request, Beading Made Easy!: "As promised, here's the scoop on beaded knitting, crochet style. I much prefer this method because it saves me from having to string hundreds of beads onto my yarn, a pretty onerous task if ya ask me! Plus it saves wear and tear on the yarn since you don't have to slide all those beads along the length of the yarn as you do with the knitted on method. Lastly, I feel this method 'seats' the bead on the knitting better because you place the bead over BOTH legs of the stitch, unlike the knitted on method where sometimes the beads slip to the purl/private side and are difficult to see in the knitted fabric. So let's begin...."

If you are interested in learning how to add beads to your knitting, then I recommend you click on the link to read this lady's blog, it's a fabulous explanation. I've included a photo of some beaded knitting she's done as a sample.
Keep smiling
Felicity 8-)

More on beaded bookmarks....

EZ Crafts - BLOGestates.com - FREE BLOGs for the PLANET: "Beaded Bookmarks
Materials
17 inches of 3/8 inch wide double-faced satin ribbon for each bookmark
Scissors
Beads with large openings

To Make A Fringed Bookmark You Will Need:

Beading needle
2 silver beads
Silver seed beads
White beading thread
Silver-lined, large rocaille beads

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Tie a knot 1-inch from the end of the ribbon. Slide bead (or beads) from the opposite end of the ribbon up to the knot. Tie a knot on the other side of the bead(s) to hold in place.

2. For the other end of the bookmark, measure 10 inches from the inside knot and tie another knot. Put on the bead(s) and slide up to the knot. Tie another knot against the last bead.

3. Trim the ribbon ends.
Concept from Sierra Pacific Crafts

Hints
1. To personalize a bookmark, write a name on the ribbon using a permanent marker.
2. Make both beaded ends the same and use your ribbon as a gift tie to cinch up a surprise sack.
3. Use alphabet beads to spell a name or word. Wisdom, Love, Friends etc.
4. Make a fringe with seed beads and mirrored beads and sew to each end of the ribbon.
5. Use school colors for quick 'n easy fund raiser projects.
6. Make up a batch of these and award them to friends for Thank You gifts."


I thought these instructions might be useful!
Keep smiling
Felicity 8-)

tinkerhell gets buff: Chill day

tinkerhell gets buff: Chill day: "Kristin, MIL and I have been doing some beading (I have an embarrassingly disorganized collection of beads of various types and sizes) and that's actually been quite a bonding experience. MIL designs Nepali jewelry and she brought along some beautiful stones (plus some awesome jewelry for me -- emerald drop earings and a lovely matching necklace). Fingers x'd it continues to go well!"

Getting along with your mother-in-law is always a good thing. Hooray for beading!
Keep smiling
Felicity 8-)

New Pearl Earrings - The Jewelry and Beading Blog

New Pearl Earrings - The Jewelry and Beading Blog: "I've made a few pair of threader earrings for her daughter who works at the court house, and now "mom" decided she needs a pair too. The pearls are round freshwater, very nice quality, about 8mm. I got them from the last wholesale show I went to. I strung them on 24-gauge soft gold-filled round wire, and included a gold-filled corrugated bead on top. I used the wrapped loop technique to attach the beads to the threader component."

I love these - so simple and yet so elegant.
Keep smiling
Felicity 8-)

Clean Sweep Jewelry Studio - The Jewelry and Beading Blog

Clean Sweep Jewelry Studio - The Jewelry and Beading Blog: "Here it is...the top of my jewelry making desk! This is where I make most of my jewelry in what I call my corner studio. After Rocky and Jasper went ballistic, I had to put everything away. Of course, now the challenge is to get back to work. It looks so nice and clean. I can't remember when I've seen the top of the desk like that before. "

This is just plain scary.... hehehehe!
Keep smiling
Felicity 8-)

Jewel Mine - Semi-precious Stone Pebble in Wire Wrap

Jewel Mine - Semi-precious Stone Pebble in Wire Wrap: "I have a batch of semi-precious stone pebbles, rose quartz and cintrine, all without a hole to string through, rough cut but smooth surface.
Bought it during a cryatal shop closing down sales, quite a good bargain, so without second thought I just bought a bag (about 20 pieces in one bag).
After brought it home I seriously have no idea what to do with it, it didn't come with a drilled hole, smooth surface, not a single cut on the surface for the wire to hold.
Since I don't do soldering, the only way I can think about to hold the beads is wire wrapping."

The original blog entry has a great photo too! Very pretty.
Keep smiling
Felicity 8-)

Those beaded bookmarks...

Hi everyone!
I've had a few people ask me how to make the beaded bookmarks mentioned in an earlier post, and the author of that blog post has very kindly passed on some information about how they are made. I hope you find it useful
Keep smiling
Felicity 8-)

I learned how to do the beaded bookmarks in a basic beading class I took. They're really simple. You put seed beads in the middle so it fits in the book. Then you put a design of lager beads on either side, which will hang outside the book. You just string them on basic beading wire and place a crimp bead on either end. I like to finsh off the ends with charms but it's not necessary.

Laura

The Basics: Weaving Beads on a Loom

The Basics: Weaving Beads on a Loom: "One of my favorite beading techniques is to Weave Beads on a Loom. You can make bags, purses, tapestries, necklaces, bracelets and more. There are so many beautiful pattern books for loom weaving, including Out on a Loom by Margie Deebs, Designs for Beading on a Loom by Don Pierce, Those Bad, Bad Beads by Virginia Blakelock and The Little Coin Purse by Carol Devlin. "

Some good references there.
Keep smiling
Felicity 8-)