Seed bead Mixes

Well Happy New Year! I've already been in the mood to bead like made. This weekend was a Winter snowy mess, so instead of going out and battling the roadways, I stayed in and beaded! We also watched all three of the Lord of the Rings. I love that movie. Can't you tell as two of my dogs are named after the characters (Frodo & Arwen). We try to watch all three every other year & this year it was great as we have our surround sound which made all the scenes enhanced with sound. Saturday I did an indulgence & stopped at Krispy Kreme on my way home from work to buy a dozen of hot delicious donuts. No, I didn't eat the whole dozen, but I put a big dent into it. BTW, I love donuts! I'm giving them up for my resolution for 2010.

Now for some beading! Some of these were done last month/last year. But I hadn't had a chance to get them photographed for blogging. This first piece is made from the beads that I was given for free by Artbeads.com. I want to get more into making bead mixes this year & learning color so this was a good place for me to start. I asked for their Toho Bead Mixes to try. I got 5 bags of the Earth Tone. They came in 8 gram bags. When I opened one bag up, I didn't think this many beads to work with. I'm use to getting tubes of 25 grams at my LBS and wasn't sure if this would be a good deal as the bags sold for $1.50 each online. But I decided to give it a try. So I used the Scottie cab that I made from my vintage button that was crumbling & has now gone to the big Button Heaven in the sky. I wanted to try to do at least one bracelet. I opened another of the 8 gram bag & began to bead. I was surprised at how far those 8 grams went. I completed the whole bracelet with 3 bags, and use a little from the 4th bag. Then I decided to go ahead & make a pair of matching earrings with the rest of the 4th bag. I was able to complete that too with a little extra left. So basically, if I purchased these beads online from Artbeads.com I would have spent a total of $6.00 plus the cost of the ear wires, cab & wool for the bracelet. I realized it really wasn't a bad deal in buying the seed bead mixes. So I recommend that you investigate in their other seed bead mixes. They are a mix too with all sizes and bugle beads. It will also give you a good idea on how to combine different colors to get a pleasing look.

I also got Beverly Ash Gilbert's new book Beaded Colorways. AWESOME! Beverly sent a tube of her seed bead mix with the order, and I made a bracelet with all those beads. It was called Mossy Rock and boy isn't it lovely! If you want to learn to make seed bead mixes like Beverly does then indeed buy this book as she gives a wonderful tutorial on how to make your own mixes and then lots of projects on how to use them. Beverly also has a great blog to give you ideas on color and her photography is great. Am I giving you lots of links to visit Beverly...yes I did! You really should take a peak. I think you'll be obsessed like me.


Disclosure...As a reviewer of products at Artbeads.com, I receive the seed bead mixes above free of charge. I have been asked to review these products and give my honest opinion of the products...positive or negative. I am not being compensated by Artbeads.com for my endorsement as it pertains to the products received and reviewed.