Bead blog recap week 18

This week was a short one too, due to me being away on Friday to visit my father in hospital. Aren't the Fimo dolls in the pic above very sweet? If not too sweet for your taste, you can click the pics to go directly to the Perles & Co bead shop.


Tea dyeing
You can use tea to dye many of your bead supplies: the silk or cotton cords, pearls, white bone beads, paper, MOP pendants etc. Check out my own tea dye experiments, using green tea and fruit teas as well as black tea, here.

Crystallized changes names
Swarovski has during the last years sold their beads and components under the brand Crystallized -- Swarovski Elements. In June they will drop the Crystallized and just be Swarovski Elements.

End cones as pendants
End cones are not only useful for finishing necklaces, they come in many pretty shapes that can make the focal point of a pendant or charm.

May challenges
New monthly design challenges from Vintaj and Art Bead Scene Blog means new chances to win lovely beads and jewellery components.

Fimo dolls and frosted gold
French Perles & Co have added some very cute doll's head beads made in polymer clay to the shop (click pics above). While American Kabela Design has added a new finish to their collection (sold by e.g. FusionBeads): Stardust, a frosty white "wash" on gold plated brass. Includes link to post on how to colour your own brass.

Jewelry Making Daily
Helen Driggs' Flashcard newsletter for Jewelry Artist/Lapidary Journal has been a personal favourite. Now it becomes part of Interweave's new community Jewelry Making Daily, similar to their Beading Daily site.

Spun tin and copper threads
Spun tin -- or pewter -- thread is a special type of metallic thread used not least in Sámi embroidery and braided bracelets. While tin is the most common version, you can also find copper and enamelled copper threads as well as "gold" thread. Includes a short description of how the threads were made in old times (has been used since at least the Iron Age). I have written about the threads in English too on this blog -- check out this post. Note that it's not the same text in both posts.