Monday 24 October 2011

HALLOWEEN SKELETON PROJECT

























Due to popular demand ... here are the instructions for
the WIRE SKELETON,
which is an excellent decoration for Halloween!
You could create a hanging mobile with a few of these
suspended at different lengths ... also great for witches
earrings, necklace pendants and hand-bag charms!
Boys will also love these on key rings and belt clips
and great to clip onto the zip of a pencil case!!

So if you're sitting comfortably on your pumpkin,
I will begin:

You will need 0.8mm wire (silver-plated
or coloured), round and flat nosed pliers,
wire cutters and a measuring tape.

























1. To make the 'head' - cut approx. 4" (10cm) or
more if you want it larger. Place the tips of your
round nosed pliers at the end and create a circular
link.




















2. Hold the circular link firmly in your flat nosed pliers
and curl the projecting wire around it to form a tight,
flat spiral, leaving at least 1.5" (3.5cm) projecting.

















3. Place your round nosed pliers by the spiral and curl
the projecting around them, creating a circular link.





















4. Push the projecting wire around the perimeter of
the spiral, leaving just over 1/2" (1cm) protruding.






















5. Use your round nosed pliers to create a second
link opposite the first.



















6. Cut 2" (5cm) of 0.8mm wire and placing your round
nosed pliers at the centre of the length, bring the wire
around the shaft of the pliers until they cross over on each
side.




















7. Using your round nosed pliers, create links at each
end - to make a 'hanger'.

























8. Now, cut 8 x 1" lengths of 0.8mm wire and using
your round nosed pliers, create centralised links at
each end.
























9. Cut 2 x 2" (5cm) and 2 x 3" (7.5cm) lengths
of 0.8mm wire and create spirals with end links
(these will be the hands and feet).
























10. Connect the 'head' spiral made in steps 1-5
to the 'hanger'. Twist the end link of the spiral
90 degrees before attaching.
























11. To form the 'arms': connect 2 of the
double 'eye'pin wires (created in step 8)
to each side of the 'hanger'.
























12. Attach the pair of smaller spirals to each end
link to create the 'hands'.























13. (Hands Up!!). Connect a jump ring to either
side of the hanger links to attach a double
eye-pin horizontally across.
























14. Continue connecting jump rings
and double eye-pins, until you have
a row of 4.
























15. Lastly, attach the 2 remaining double
eye-pins directly to the last links in the
horizontal 'rib' unit, so that they hang
down to form the 'legs' and then connect the
last 2 spirals to the end links, to make the 'feet'.















HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Monday 10 October 2011

BEAD CRAFTY

..................
CHECK
THIS
OUT

...
...............











I've just discovered a new
U.K. BEAD SUPPLIER!!
Their swift service is
impeccable, supported by their promise of:
ORDER BY 2pm ON A WEEKDAY and THEY GUARANTEE to dispatch
on the same day - or ... THEY WILL
REFUND YOU £10!!

"What are they called?"
I hear you cry ...






www.beadcrafty.com
is definitely worth a visit!

Their Home page makes online shopping so easy, with a beautiful hand-picked image selection of beads, so clear and uncluttered. Definitely a case of 'less is more'! And ... to top it all, FREE DELIVERY!



















(Abalone Shell Pendant)

I recently caught up with Steve from BeadCrafty to find out
a little more
about their business ...


WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO SET UP BEADCRAFTY?


The business was set up as we recognise that there is a very large and fast growing jewellery making community. We notice that many bead sites are not offering FREE DAY DELIVERY and SAME DAY DISPATCH and we felt that we could offer something more to our customers. We also wanted to hand-pick a selection of beads (we have about 500) rather than offering a huge (and sometimes daunting) range.























(Key Charm)

DO YOU HAVE ANY FORMAL TRAINING OR EXPERIENCE IN JEWELLERY MAKING OR JEWELLERY SALES FROM A PREVIOUS WORK BACKGROUND?

We have no formal training in creating jewellery but we have many creative people within our company who have various outlets for their creativity, one of which is creating jewellery. This helps us understand our customers and know exactly what they want. Our background is in T-shirts (our managing director started an online T-shirt business while he was a student).



















(Shell Disc Beads)

WHAT IS YOUR BEST SELLING PRODUCT?


Our best selling products are the FIMO FRUIT BEADS - probably because
they look good enough to eat! Our cute BELL BEADS and

PORCELAIN OWL BEADS also sell very well.




















(Fimo 'Apple Slice' Beads)

HOW DO YOU PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS?


We promote the business by visiting craft fairs, writing blog posts to help
give our customers ideas of how to use the products that we sell.




















(Porcelain Owl Bead)

WHAT AMBITIONS AND GOALS DO YOU HAVE FOR BEADCRAFTY

FOR THE FUTURE?


We want to become the number one bead selling site! We want to offer the best customer service, the fastest dispatch time and excellent quality products!! We have a long way to go, but we are dedicated to treating our customers how we like to be treated!























(Bronze Padlock Charm)

********************************************************************************

SOooo ... WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR ? ... GIVE

www.BeadCrafty.com a go - I'm sure you wont be
disappointed!!



















Pink Fimo Flower Beads