How To Create a Tassel Color Fade Necklace

This pretty necklace, designed by Aimee Leang, features a mix of tassel colors in a fall fade. I like to think it's the perfect blend to wear over a slouchy sweater and your favorite jeans...mmm, I can almost smell the pumpkin spiced lattes now!

But really, to make this sweet necklace you'll need:
22 inches of chain
13 small cotton tassels
1 silky rayon tassel (all tassels are found here)
1 tulip bead cap (the raw brass one can be found here, the plated ones are sold out but will be back soon)
1 carnelian bead
20 gauge wire
a clasp
13 jump rings

round nose pliers
chain nose pliers
wire cutters

to create the main tassel dangle, check these instructions out right here

Sally Rossler Trunk Show, this weekend!

New items this week

this vintage beaded cord is made with cotton thread and tiny seed beads

delicate, but durable enough to use with other materials

ask to see it next time you are in, due to the fragile nature and limited availability, this is not on the website

Our mix table is busy...

stir, stir, stir, pluck

stir, stir, stir, pluck

stir, stir, stir...

That's the sound of our bead mix table. This is a large, custom-built table that holds our various bead mixes. It's in the back of the shop, but it's one of the most popular places in the shop. Regulars visit it every time they stop in the store. We fill the compartments with a variety of mixes; glass beads from the Czech Republic, or wooden beads of all shapes and sizes, or a mix of chevron beads from India. It's the most cosmopolitan part of our shop, and one of my favorites. 

Because the table can be accessed from both sides, quick friendships form. 'What are you looking for? Blue? How about this one?' and 'Can you see if you can find any of these brown flat ones for me?' Strangers spend long minutes happily helping others find the perfect match. It's a place of social connection, I'll help you find what you need while you help me find what I need. If I don't find it, well, it's just a bead...The search is so much fun. 

It's also addictive. Even for me, the quick glance at the table can lead to minutes, hours? spent stirring and plucking beads. See that one gold and green one in the picture above? When I was taking this picture, I saw it and thought 'oh, those would be perfect in earrings...' and then spent a few minutes stirring through the mix until I found a match. While doing that, I found a pretty red one that also needed a match...

You see how it goes. We do sell a few of the mixes on our website, like the glass beads right here, but the real fun in the mix table comes from joining the group crowded around the bins...

stir, stir, stir, pluck

Bollywood Beads Trunk Show

This week we are welcoming Arun Shah of Bollywood Beads for a trunk show at our shop. He'll have an amazing selection of precious and semi-precious stone beads for sale. If you are looking for special beads for a wedding or other event, this is the show!

Watch me on Beads, Baubles & Jewels!

The BB&J episodes I filmed with Katie Hacker last year are going to be up on BB&J today. Curl up with your laptop or tablet and watch me add Decopatch to mica, rivet accents, and even rivet 'unrivetable' things like ribbon!

The projects are the Illuminated Mica Earrings, where I add Decopatch paper to mica for a quick, lightweight earring project. The second half of the show is where I'll show you how to work with the mylar lacing I love. It's so shiny and sparkly and looks metal, not just metallic. I also show you an easy way to make a small tassel using our hand-dyed Shimmer Floss. I've been wearing tassels of this floss all summer and like the extra sparkle in the shimmer floss. The bracelet uses the mica tag idea again, plus a ribbon tab idea.

Click on any of the pictures to visit the Beads, Baubles & Jewels page on our website. All the parts are there, plus links to the tutorials. You can also watch my episode right there! 

Don't forget to check out the show Facebook page, and let them know if you like my episode! 

Keith O'Connor Trunk Show

To see the Keith O'Connor beads we currently sell on our site, visit this page.

Join us Friday and Saturday for a trunk show of his complete line.

Pendant Necklace How-to

Inspiration Packages

We've created some one-of-a-kind grab-bags you won't want to miss. These Inspiration Packages are filled with art beads, project samples, manufacturers samples, vintage trims and other bits that will inspire you. We have done grab-bags in past years, but they were in opaque bags and it always drove me crazy wondering if the person who got the one with the lovely mix of blue goodies even LIKED blue. 

Yeah, I know...

Still, this year we packaged the bags in clear, shimmery bags. You can see what's inside. You'll be inspired. I promise.

In store only, but you can call us and we'll try to help you choose one. 

These are all priced at only $9. 

They make good gifts for crafty friends, too!

In-Store strand sale