Let it Glow, Let it Glow, Let it Glow!

Oh these beads look silver-lined
but they have a secret entwined
As soon as the lights are low
Then they glow, yes they glow, oh they glow!

These are the new glow-in-the-dark beads from Toho - they absolutely look like silver-lined crystal - but after exposing them to light - especially UV (think bright sunlight or black lights - or your gel nail curing lamp!) - they glow loud and proud! You may have seen the ad with the glowing wedding dress - these are those beads.
We have size 8/0, in Glow Blue and Glow Green, and Size 11/0 in Glow Blue and Glow Green. And yes - they do glow different colours - the green is more intense, however; a brighter glow. If you do want to hand-bead a wedding dress - let us know and we will do a better price for bulk purchases. ;-)








If you are looking for something more organic than glow-in-the-dark beads, we have some more of these lovely wood pendants - you really can't get much more organic than wood!


And for those of you who asked - gallery wire - patterned, flat sterling wire for making bezels and other decorative elements.









 
Speaking of bezels, or things to go in bezels - these new, glass cabochons are really quite lovely - in colours that coordinate with the new trend in organic looking glass. Check them all out!








And last, but certainly not the least of the new items this week - for those of you who have been waiting for the Sizzix leather cutting dies ... they're here! From plain to fancy - and the leather too - if you've been itching to try this latest addition to the Sizzix cut-out line - they're here!



 

Shipping During the Postal Disruption

We still have no idea what will happen on July 2. Will there be a strike? Will there be a lock-out? Will there be a happy resolution? We must but wait and see.

To you in the U.S., this means - de nada. Your shipments will go as usual without any delays for the usual flat rate ($7.95 Cdn, about $6.11 US as I type this - about 9 cents less than last week) - shipped from Buffalo - no customs, duties, border fees or delays.

To everyone in Canada - we have some options.

Option 1 - Effective immediately - to keep the beads flowing - we are pleased to offer couriered shipping - $11.95 per package. Sorry - no free shipping for the duration of the strike. We can not courier to a PO Box - give us a different address please if that is your situation.

Option 2 - not a hurry - the usual flat rate of $7.95, and your order will ship after Canada Post resumes operation. We will hold your order and put it in the mail after we know the mail is moving. We are currently holding these orders - if we put them in the mail and the strike happens - who knows when you will get it. You can also contact us and convert your order to courier shipping if this looks like it will drag out.

You are also welcome to pickup or arrange for your own courier. As always - dropping into the store if you are in the area to pick up your order is an option - you might see something else that you like! Please email us to get a time-line on when it will be ready.

Anyway - I encourage you to check out all the new items here and see what launches your canoe!
Bead Happy!

Resin play!

Who says that everything needs to be serious? Playtime is an essential part of the creativity process. Some may think that it’s a little frivolous, but I believe that it’s the only way to go! I do so love to play!!

I spent a little time on the weekend, experimenting with Ice Resin, Iced Enamels, Iced Enamel Tints, Pebeo Prisme Fantasy paints, nail polish and Ranger Distress Paints. I made some clear resin cabochons earlier in the week, and all I needed to do was embellish them! After spotting a nail polish marbling video, on one of my Facebook groups (sorry, no link!), I decided to try it out on resin (float the nail polish in a bowl of water, and then dip-dunk the resin). Well, suffice to say that my nail polish selection is very thin, so the results were a little under whelming, but I did get some interesting colour on my nails (that’s what happens when you don’t wear gloves). But did that stop me? Not with a good selection of Iced Enamels and a heat gun! Note: not much of the nail polish remains in plain view, but next time I'll try harder!

Then on to Ranger Distress paints and another cabochon! I dabbed a couple of colours on the resin, waited for it to dry, then added Iced Enamels (using a wooden skewer, to apply the Iced Enamel Medium), for a dimensional effect! I liked the effect, and plan to try out some of my other acrylic paints, in the near future.

The third experiment, involved coating a couple of cabochons with Pebeo Fantasy Prisme paints. I quickly realized that the results were not going to be quite what I expected! Most of the paints slid off the rounded cabochons, and the only place the cellular effects showed (the effect these paints are known for), was in the puddles at the bottom of the cabochon. As these paints are solvent based (use these outside, or in a well ventilated room), I had to wait 72 hours for the paint to cure completely, but then I was able to simply cut off the blobs (of course I saved them). I haven’t added the next step yet, but the plan is to tart them up even further. Should I use drips of coloured resin, fire, an additional layer of Distress Paints, Iced Enamels or something else entirely? Who knows, but it will certainly be fun to figure it out! By the way, after I’m satisfied with (&/or finished embellishing) all three sets of experiments, I plan to brush on a thin, finishing coat of resin, to make them shine!

On another of my Facebook groups, someone had the brilliant idea to use up her leftover resin (the bit that’s not large enough to use, but too good to throw away) by dripping it into a seashell, to make a totally unique decoration. Mine isn’t finished yet, and I really wish that I had used either blue or green, but a girl’s got to start somewhere! The blue bead was made from clear resin and a tiny drip of one of Ranger’s new Iced Enamel tints (picked up at Bead & Button, by a very kind friend). Far from a perfect result, as the bead mold is very tiny, but I will keep on trying! The next photo is a classic fail, but that doesn't mean that I'm giving up!! I promise that I'll get it to work one of these days!!!

Encourage and nurture your inner child! Play, experiment and give yourself permission to make a few mistakes. Not all play is productive, but it’s definitely necessary for growth. Besides it’s fun, and we all need more fun in our lives!!

Let's Celebrate with July classes!

We have a lot to celebrate in July starting with our national holiday Canada Day and helping our American neighbours celebrate Independence Day!

Early-month classes include several new projects including Daydreamer Rope, being taught by Pamela Kearns with permission from designer Jill Wiseman. Liz Reynolds is teaching a new introduction to base metal clay and Anne Marie Desaulniers will take you into the bead embroidery world with a new pendant project. Jen Rosen will treat wire-workers with a new brooch project (brooches are so popular now!). As always, we have encore classes you'll love too! Find out more about the class by clicking on the class title; details will open in a new window.

Here are the classes scheduled July 1 - 10:

Friday, July 1
BeadFX will be closed to celebrate our nation's 149th Birthday. We will reopen at 9:00am sharp on Saturday, July 2.

Wednesday, July 6
NEW Introduction to Metal Clay: Red Bronze, White Bronze, Copper
Instructor: Liz Reynolds
11:00am - 5:00pm

Open Bead Night

Facilitator: Bonnie Cottingham

6:00 - 8:00pm

(Bonnie specializes in bead crochet and various seed beading techniques. Feel free to bring your questions!)

Thursday, July 7
Afternoon Bead Tea

Facilitator: Pamela Kearns

1:00 - 3:00pm

(Pam specializes in seed beading and general jewellery-making techniques. Feel free to bring your questions!)

NEW Jill Wiseman's Daydreamer Rope

Instructor: Pamela Kearns

6:00 - 9:00pm

Friday, July 8
NEW Nature's Mood - Bead Embroidered Pendant
Instructor: Anne Marie Desaulniers
5:00 - 9:00pm

Saturday, July 9
NEW Wire-Wrapping: Intermediate Brooch
Instructor: Jen Rosen
11:00am - 3:00pm

Sunday, July 10
Resin: A Mixed Up Media Approach
Instructor: Anne Marie Desaulniers
11:00am - 5:00pm

Jewellery Making 101

Instructor: Pamela Kearns

12:00 - 4:00pm

Click on the class or open session title to see the complete descriptions, including applicable class fees, or go to www.beadfx.com and click on 'Classes'. Follow the links to the July class calendar. Preregistration is required for all classes and open sessions.

InspirationFX: Orbits

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Orbits

by: Dwyn Tomlinson

Here's a fun little pendant - or make two and make earrings - it's not that big!

The centre stone needs to be 8 mm - I used an 8 mm Margarita in Crystal AB. Even though it has a centre hole - I find that it really doesn't show much, due to the sparkliness of it!

The accompanying planets are PP17 Swarovski Chatons, in Blue Zircon, and we have lots of other pretty colours too.

Drop a wee drop of Hypo-tube cement into the centre cup and the surrounding cups, and drop the bead/stones into place. Positioning them is easiest if you use the Crystal Katana, which has lo-tack wax tip. Use the tip to pick up the stones, and then press into the glue. They come off the wax and stick to the glue. 

Easy!

Components

Go to our components list for this project and to buy what you need!
Need some help with some of the techniques? Check our tips page.

Silkys and SuperDuos and Shipping!

Silky Beads - another new player in the arena of shaped, two hole beads for your bead-weaving pleasure! Silky Beads are square beads with two holes on the diagonal. They lend themselves very nicely to being strung in diagonal patterns, as they nestle together very nicely. They are smooth on one side, and have a raised and cut centre on the other - also adding to their design potential. Lots of design ideas out there on the google! We have 17 colours so far - and I'm sure there are more to come!

Also new on the two-hole shaped-bead front - SuperDuos in the new Nebula finish. I'm not entirely sure what makes the Nebula finish - but I can say - the colours are pretty gosh-darn interesting!
By the way - SuperDuos are made by Matubo, who has a gorgeous page of free patterns, if you are looking for a few good ideas!


We have some other interesting new findings and links too - these two strand links are part of the pretty, floral, Nosy-Posy line up.

And these findings are just shapes made out of circles, so you can use them as links, bases, a design element, or hide completely with something beaded over it, or embedded in something else.

Shipping During the Postal Disruption

And now we come to the elephant in the room. Shipping. Canada Post will be in a legal lock out/strike position on July 2. What does this mean to you?

To our beloved customers in the U.S., this means - nothing. Your shipments will go as usual without any delays for the usual flat rate ($7.95 Cdn, about $6.20 US as I type this) - shipped from Buffalo - no customs, duties, border fees or delays.

To all our loyal Canadian customers - this means that we are pleased to offer you some options.

Option 1 - To keep the beads flowing - we are pleased to offer alternate, couriered shipping - at the rate of $11.95 per package. Sorry - no free shipping for the duration of the strike. This option is available starting Monday, June 27th.

Option 2 - not a hurry - the usual flat rate of $7.95, and your order will ship after Canada Post resumes operation. We will hold your order and put it in the mail after we know the mail is moving.

Option 3 - You are welcome to pickup. As always - dropping into the store if you are in the area to pick up your order is an option. Please email us to get a time-line on when it will be ready.

Option 4 - You can also arrange for your own courier company to pick up. Happy to accommodate you - again, please email us for timeline on your order and to make arrangements.

If the disruption ensues - any mail sent after Monday June 27, will get warehoused and we would rather not have packages stuck somewhere. Once the mail starts moving again, it generally goes in reverse order of arrival at the Canada Post warehouse. So to that end, we will not be putting packages into the mail after next Monday. Soooo - if you want to get your order shipped Canada Post - please get it in by this Friday, June 24th, so we can pick it and get it out the door Monday.
 
We're all hoping, of course, that it doesn't come to this - that the parties involved will come to a happy and satisfactory settlement, but, as the saying goes - those who are forewarned are fore-armed, and those who are fore-armed - need more bracelets.

Anyway - I encourage you to check out all the new items here and see what floats your boat!
Bead Happy!