Wedding Beading Ideas  

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Bead Crafts You Can Assign to Troublesome Individuals

Since beading is fun and relaxing, and wedding planning is only intermittently fun and rarely relaxing, it will be beneficial to your health and sanity to continue your beading activities. In fact, crafts like beading and basketry have been used for decades to help focus and calm the mentally ill, so this might be just the perfect time to introduce your friends and family to the craft.

Bead Embroidery for Stationery

How about setting hyperactive fraternal twins Dick and Peter to embroidering your thank yous with teensy tiny delicious 24 karet plated 15/0 charlottes, along with some sweet tiny color crystals, too? We have these available, but we don't have them all photographed or on the web page yet. When we do have, they'll be listed in our Glam Glass section.

However, we do have a picture of some great stuff to use as a backing for this kind of work. It's a stiff backing appropriately called Lacy's Stiff Stuff, a name that presents tempting pun possibilities for a site like this, but that would be in bad taste and we're not even going to go there. Lacy's Stiff Stuff is great for any kind of stitching, which you can easily combine with glue work on the same surface. It's also less than a millimeter thick, so it won't be too thick to then glue as an embellishment to your stationery. Yet it stays stiff, even if it gets wet, so you can use dyes and paints on it as well. You can also iron on transfers. When you're finished, just trim around it. You can design very creative centers and stations for necklaces with this stuff. It comes one 8.5 x 11 inch notebook-size sheet at a time for $7.60 each or three for $20.00. One sheet will take care of quite a lot of monogram-size designs. Try it. You'll love it! Okay, here come the enlightening picture:

One sheet of Lacy's stiff stuff, $7.60.

Three sheets of Lacy's stiff stuff, $20.00.

Ideas for an Elegant Table

Crystal Application to Table Cloths.

First there's the possibility of adding a crystal bead here and there to the tablecloth. We plan to carry Swarovski crystal, the best in the world, in both Montees, a pre-set faceted stone that has two holes through the back to allow for lots of stringing or easy embroidery applications, and regular crystals of varying shapes. Flat- back crystals can be applied with glue. Perhaps initials created with Lacy's Stiff Stuff? Once again, our crystals are not on the website yet, but when they are they'll be located in the Glass section.

Draping Beads for a Sumptuous Look.

And then there's the antique look of simply draping beads from every urn and column possible. For this you'd probably need glass pearls or beads and uh... yeah, our glass section is still closed.

Beaded Mosaic

Another fabulous application of seed beads for favors or decor is the ancient art of applying mosaic to dishes or other vessels. The results from this technique can be extraordinary. And it's so much fun. This is traditionally done with wax, but we've got something a little better than regular wax. It's called Beadswax, and it's been improved so that it won't expel beads over time as it dries, as beeswax eventually will. You soften it, apply it by brush or press on by hand, and apply the beads. That's it. One two ounce package is enough to cover 2 or 3 small bowls or a pretty large centerpiece.

One package of Beadswax, $19.00.

Three packages of Beadswax, $49.00.

The thing about wax is, it's combustible. If you try to melt it over direct heat, in an oven, or in a microwave, it will blow up and send you to the hospital with 3rd degree burns, and when you return your house will be burnt down, your wedding will be called off, and your life as you know it will be over.

So don't do that!

The only safe way to melt wax is over a double boiler, stirring it and watching it the whole time. Take it off the moment it is softened adequately or liquified.

Most candlemakers seem to be able to pursue their craft without suffering too many noticable scars, so we recommend you do a little reading about candlemaking before you take up this art.

Pearl and Crystal Sprinkles

Now this is simple, and is a very lovely alternative or addition to confetti in decorating a table. Tiny pearls and crystal together are so pretty.

Caution! They do inevitably attract little hands.
So they're best for an event that won't include babies and real little kids.

Later, gather them up and make a necklace. (If the some of the guests haven't already thought of that.) And yes, it's affordable. When our Glam Glass section is open, you'll see for yourself that crystals can be quite reasonable. As for pearls, we have a fabulous special for brides. Right here:

100 Strands of 4mm White Light Pearls for $150.00

With these beautiful little dollops of light, you'll have enough to drape and sprinkle, and plenty left to make necklaces for all your bridesmaids and attendants. You can twist 3-12 strands for a wonderful signature look. No need to knot, either. One or two strands makes a sweet necklace for your flower girl, too. Heck, do all of that and make a couple necklaces to sell, as well.

We're going to give you a very short version of our freshwater pearl lecture here. We think every woman should have a hoard of freshwater pearls to use at will, or just to sit on and guard like a dragon. Why? Here are the top ten reasons.

Veritable Chinese explosion of pearls.
Political climate may not last.
Competitive economic market may not last.
Environmental climate may not last.
Plentiful selection.
Varied and innovative shapes.
Only way they could be cheaper is if they were dropped from airplanes.
Unlike some current saltwater pearls, they have very deep nacre.
Will last several lifetimes.
Beautiful!

In other words, don't disrespect your freshwater pearls just because they don't cost a lot. That's part of their charm. Be grateful for it. Give them the love they deserve.

What's more, for a just a small extra charge, we can dye them to suit your color scheme. Yes, on a bead-hunting trip we got a little tipsy with a Chinese pearl grower and she let slip a few secrets about how to get color into pearls. This dye will be will not rub off, will be more or less permanent, although it may fade over the years, which will stil leave you with a pretty pearl. But the color has to be pastel, since deep colors in pearls require cultivated in-shell dyeing, and we need the bathtub for other purposes.

For more photos and info, click on the photo of the pearls or here.

These pearls are available on our Gemstone Index Page in smaller quantities, but you can only get the 100 Pearl Strand Bridal Special for $150 on this very page, below:

Let a Hundred Pearl Strands Add Glory to My Wedding!
Buy the Hundred Pearl Bridal special now!

If you need more pearls, or a different shape, let us know and we'll see what we can do for you.

One bride had a different take on this idea. She was married in some South Sea island in a small ceremony and when she returned she chose a tropical-themed reception. Among the tiny starfishes and shells she strew on the table, she added some of our very large pearls, loose, snuggled in an oyster shell here and there.

It was pretty cool, but we thought the wet sand was going a little too far.

Okay. You're doing fine. Take a deep breath. In the next section, we're going to tackle...

Continue to Page Three of the Wedding Section.




 
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