Advice for a New Beaded Jewelry Crafter?

jamie

August 3, 20100 found this helpful

Michael's is a great place to find beads and equipment. Also Fire Mountain gems and Beads will send you a free catalog if you go to their website. I sometimes use beads for scrapbooking.

Christine

August 4, 20100 found this helpful

Fire Mountain Gems is great! I like their site because they have a large variety of things to offer. They also have patterns and project ideas. Another tip would be (if you use Ebay) to search for jewelry lots. I've purchased a few and have gotten some really neat things.

Margaret

August 4, 20100 found this helpful

The website for Fire Mountain Gems is www.firemountaingems.com/. They have a ton of information and supplies. If you go to The Gallery of Design section there are lots and lots of jewelry designs and instructions on how to make them. They also have instructional videos, etc. Another good site to purchase (cheap) beads is www.dollarbead.com. They sell good quality beads from overstock and clearance stock. I bought some very nice 8mm lampwork beads with a pink rose design. I paid $1.00 per strand of 24 beads. I was quite pleased with my bargain. Good luck.

Sandi/Poor But Proud
Gold Post Medal for All Time! 969 Posts

August 4, 20100 found this helpful

You can also find a wealth of information in the library. There you can get valuable information and not spend any money.
Good luck and show us what you make, ok?

Marty Dick
Bronze Post Medal for All Time! 169 Posts

September 13, 20100 found this helpful

I don't do beads but it seems to me that old jewelry from garage sales and thrift stores could be repurposed.

debi

January 26, 20110 found this helpful

Hi, I just found this web site, and noticed this post is quite old, but hopefully it will get to the right person. I just started beading as well, I watched a ton of Youtube videos to learn the craft. My sister got a beautiful beaded watch (chunky beads) from her Sister in law for Christmas, after examining the watch, I knew I could make them, with a little know how from the experts.

I buy discounted jewelery whenever I see it. I just recently bought a braided bead bracelet from Walmart for $2.00, there is probably $10.00 worth of beads on it. Yes garage sales and second hand stores is another place to find great bargains.