New items

these are all available in our shop, but not currently on our website

come see us, we're worth the drive!

(road trip, road trip, road trip!)

Weekly Newsletter - you should just subscribe!

Good afternoon! I'm sorry my note is late today. I returned from a trip to the mountains yesterday and my bed was SO comfortable. I feel like I left a big part of my brain under a tree in Western NC. Perhaps it's there now, watching a blue-tailed skink scamper down a branch, into a stream?  I had a lot of fun on my mountain trip. We saw some amazing bear tracks (!!!) incredible starry skies and lots of those skinks. I am happy to be back, though. I filled my brain and my sketch books with lots of fun ideas for projects that I want to get started on. This hot weather we'll enjoy for the rest of the week gives me great incentive to stay inside in the cool air and bring those ideas to reality. If you are looking for cool, indoor activities, we have a few good classes this weekend (look below) plus our Make-N-Take jars are full of fun ideas for you. The Decopatch paper coupon on the bottom of this note can help you to do this if you really want to keep busy!  Pop-Up Sunday Vintage Market is THIS Sunday, and I'm looking forward to a great day. We'll have beer donated by our friends at Carolina Brewery (yum!) and all our donations will go to support Global H2O. This clean water initiative was started by a group of NCSU and UNC graduates and has put clean water wells in 30 villages in Uganda. While we don't usually support international charities at Pop-Up, the strong work done by Global H2O was so compelling we had to work with them. Learn more about Global H2O here, or when you stop by the Carolina Brewery tent at Pop-Up this Sunday. Find the list of vendors at this month's Pop-Up here.  some new items in the store this week: and now in our Etsy shop:

Well, since my brain doesn't seem to have actually returned from the mountains yet, I think I'll see if I can find some busy-work today. Perhaps there are some beads I can sort? I might be able to find those around here somewhere... I'll see you soon-    This message is excerpted from our store newsletter.You also missed some amazing coupons and discount codes for classes...so subscribe already! Use that link in the sidebar >>>>

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

New Items in our store...

These softly-toned wooden beads from Germany are lovely and very well made. 

This mix of vintage face beads and cabs is incredible. 

These Inspiration Tubes contain a color-matched mix of vintage and new beads in stone, glass, wood, shell and metal. They are ready to be strung or worked with wire. 

Reproduction Stone Arrow Pendants - New item!

We have some wonderful new stone arrowheads in our shop that are making us all very excited. They are made of mixed-stones and look GREAT wire-wrapped or wrapped with leather. These can be guy-jewelry, too!

Check out the arrows here. 

Tees from Tiny Peepers

We started carrying these sweet Raleigh acorn tee shirts recently from Tiny Peepers. I love the bright green acorn on the blue shirt. I think I need one of these to wear with a jeans skirt and some neon pink tennis shoes...

I'm not much of a matcher.

(the shirts aren't available on the site but you can call to order or stop in to try one on...)

Elaine Ray new items preview

Why is this sideways? Well, Cynthia held the camera sideways because she was so darned excited about the beads...if you are in Raleigh, come by the shop on Friday, April 26th, 8:30-10 and let Elaine know what you think of her new clasp ideas. She may even have more goodies to show off!

Silver plated alphabets...

I'm thinking of making this bracelet, but with a word or two interspersed in the design. Or this necklace, but with a different color palette and a different message. Hmm...

New tutorial! Stockholm Summer Necklace

Check out this brand spankin' new tutorial for the Stockholm Summer necklace!  We used Lucky Squirrel shrink plastic and  ball chain in Jonquil Yellow (one of our new colors!)... a perfect summer accessory!

Vintage Glasses Lenses,

These vintage lenses, complete with their super-cool vintage lens packages, are available NOW on our website and in the store. They are pretty cool, eh?
Hey, I think that one right there is my prescription!
What can you make with lenses? Hmm, you tell me-

Springy New Project; Eyes & Eyelets Bracelet

This project is for Friday's Dispatch but I was so pleased with it I decided to share it here, today. Now I'll have to go create something else new for Friday!

I love these new stone skulls. They are carved from howlite and dyed in a turquoise blue or left in their natural, skull-colored howlite white. Either way, they are pretty cheery for skulls, don't you think? I made three of the bracelets and might just make a few more. I'm really in the mood to layer up the bright, colorful bracelets this year for some reason. 

The deerskin lacing is very soft and comes in some lovely colors. Like all leathers, it does stretch a bit so I recommend making the bracelet on the short side or pre-stretch the leather. I used the Crafted Findings Riveting Tool to set the eyelets in the ends of the deerskin. This tool is so amazing, it sets rivets and eyelets so perfectly you don't have to be embarrassed about the backs of your jewelry. I used the tool to punch holes in the leather quickly and then to set the eyelets, creating a loop for the jump ring. The tool flares the eyelet with such a nice finish.

fold the leather, then punch hole

insert the washers and eyelet

such a nice finish!

Then I created the spinning flower charm. I used the Crafted Findings tool to create a hole in the middle of the cab setting. Then I fed the eyelet, flower and washer (star shaped!) onto the eyelet. The tool flared the eyelet so quickly, and so perfectly!

punch a hole in the cab setting

fit the setting with the eyelet

stack the flower and accent

flare the accent using the tool

To create the skull bead dangle I used an extra thick brass head pin. It is sturdy enough that you can skip the wire wrapping...

thread bead onto jump ring

loop with round nose pliers

I have a video I shot while making this that will be up on YouTube very soon...I'll let you know.

The ingredients for one bracelet:

7 inches deerskin lacing, 3/16” wide

1 magnetic clasp

1 skull bead

2 pewter bead caps 

2 extra thick brass jump rings, 7mm

1 round cabochon setting, 18 mm

1 vintage plastic flower

2 square jump rings, 1/2 inch

5 riveting accents  

5 eyelets, 1/16th inch x 1/8th inch 

Tools

Crafted Findings riveting tool with 1/16" eyelet setter

Round nose pliers

Flat nose pliers

Wire cutters or scissors

For the in-depth directions you'll have to wait for the Dispatch!

Hey! the video is up: right here on our YouTube channel 

Really, really cool new tool...

 

I'm excited about the new riveting and eyelet setting tool that we received from Crafted Finding this last week. The folks there have been trying to get me to try the tool for a while but honestly, the super-slick YouTube video makes it look too good to be true. 

Well, for the first time in a while maybe we CAN trust a YouTube video! 

This tool is, to quote our fabulous Chantal 'da bomb!' It sets rivets like nothing else and makes eyelets so perfect you can't tell which side was the good side. I made the five samples right here in about five minutes (yes, not my best design work but I was riveting anything that didn't move!) That red lucite flower? I widened the hole with the hole-punching side and then riveted it right in. The flower did not break. We've got the tool set up at the demo counter in the store right now and you can stop in and try it out. If you want to make a project with it join Sarah and everyone else on Thursday night for Technique Thursday. She created a necklace with a very sweet nickle-silver disk pendant with a flower riveted right in the center. Come make the project for just $8.

See the tool and the video here.

See the lucite flowers here.

See more about Technique Thursday here. 

and that red leaf filigree and pink rosette filigree that you see on the pendant is just this and this sprayed with a bit of red or pink spray paint!

Something I am working on...

Actually, it might be 'something I have finished.' I can't decide. On the one hand, the chain and Swarovski looks great and the clasp spaces it out nicely on the wrist. On the other hand, um, it's just not done. At least, I don't think it is...
Any ideas? More chain? More crystals? Move on?
And it's a bracelet.
And, I was making this for a Dispatch* for Thursday or maybe Sunday.  Now, however, the turquoise chain is sold out. We have about 8 more colors being made (right now) for us at the Magic Crystal Chain Factory and we hope they'll be here by Friday.
For now, however, I can't use this project for the Dispatch. So I might want to call it 'something I have finished for now' and move on to the next projects...
Oh, the link for the ball chain is here, the crystal chain is here. And the ball chain fits in the crystal chain ends, by the way.

And I am off to make something else...

*the Dispatch is a weekly or twice-weekly email with a free project. Subscribe here.

ecopoxycraftresin- the safer, cleaner craft resin!

This is the new product I have been so excited about...it's a soy-based resin that is odorless and has a fabulously flexible mix ratio. What's that mean? Well, you can use it in your home and not want to move out because of the smell AND you can make a teeny mistake when mixing and it will still set up. Those things both make me really happy!

Check out more info here...the website is up but not totally finished. We are taking orders now and will start shipping on November 1st. Do you have a store? We can send you a case! This will replace all the 2-part resins you are already using...safer, cleaner, clearer, easier...

I'll be posting projects, directions, videos and more over the next few weeks.

See the new tee logo tonight!

Join us Friday night for a special Handmade Holiday party.

• wear any vintage beadfreak tee and you can register to win your choice of one of our new tees or a $15 store gift certificate
• pick up a free felting tutorial project sheet
• see the new product I am so excited about and register to win your own
• get great 20% discounts on selected classes when you register during the party
• check out our many new items this week (metal, enamels, beads by Loriola, more!)
• enjoy cider, cookies, wine and more!
• no registration, just show up and have fun!

see you there!

Two new earring designs...

Both of these new earring designs were made with some of our newest parts by Jane Mormino. Visit this page to see all the new items and don't forget to look for the project ideas. Just click on the item pages to see the ideas.

Make a sabre bracelet...

click here for this link...go pyrates!

Earring of the Week

These earrings feature cotton pearls. Super lightweight and very dramatic, these beads come to us from a European manufacturer who has been making cotton pearl beads for almost 100 years. They are waterproof and durable and have a soft sheen. I like to use them in earrings because they look like they'd be too heavy. I flattened a petal bead cap to use on the bottom of each of the 20x27 mm cotton pearls. and I used a 3" head pins. Yes, these are that big. The rest of the project is a quick bit of layering with  long leaf bead caps, rhinestone balls and antique brass leverbacks.

Voila, instant glam!

Trying to find room for the enamels!

You can learn to use the enamels at the Enameling Slumber Party.