Showing posts with label chains. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chains. Show all posts

Friday, May 10, 2013

Oh What a Tangled Mess


For crafters storage is forever a bane.  How to stash our treasured supplies and not end up looking like the perfect candidate for a future episode of "Hoarders: Buried Alive" ? 

Over time I've discovered that what works for one does not always work for the many so I post this tidbit keeping in mind that  some may already know, some may not care but perhaps a soul or two will experience an "Ah hah !" moment and find it helpful.
Beading cable comes in neat little plastic spools, some of those spools also come with a plastic C-shaped sleeve that snaps over the coiled cable and prevents it from unwinding.  These were just too precious for me to toss and I've been using them to spool such things as leather,  rubber or fabric cording on, preventing them from ending up like a bowl of tossed spaghetti . 


 
Recently I found myself fussing with a length of fine 14 k gold filled chain, it wouldn't stay coiled on the old cable spool.  In desperation and one of those moments of inspirations, I grabbed one of those little plastic bobbins that one uses in Kumihimo work.  Wrapping the delicate chain around the inside center of the bobbin,  I left  a tiny bit of the free end hanging over the outside rim and then snapped the top dome firmly down over it.  Worked like a charm and the bobbin took up far less space in my storage drawer than the old cable spool did.  These bobbins come in 2 sizes,  a small 1 7/8" and a large 2 1/2" bobbin, both are perfect for securing and storing  things like smaller chains, cords, floss, threads and beading cables.  They could possibly be  used to spool up other things such as narrow ribbons and trims or ????  

These Bobbins are available through many sources but I purchased mine through Artbeads  one of my favorite sites for beading supplies as their shipping rate is fantastic (purchase $10 worth of merchandise and it ships free) they do not require you to purchase a minimum amount like $75 or $150 and I can purchase the amount I really need instead of in bulk quantities  (like a kilo of size 15/0 seeds - I have a whole half quart jar full of a bulk buy of tiny seeds beads - used them once in a project and doubt that I'll live long enough to use them all).

Monday, March 21, 2011

Trouble getting from Dream to Reality

Have you ever had an idea but had trouble turning it into reality? 
photo above...elbow deep in a project (idea) that is giving me fits.

I know what I'd like to do but lately my beads seem to be fighting me and I'm getting rather frustrated.  First I couldn't find chain that I could afford  liked, so I decided to make the jumprings and put one together myself.  Using 20 gauge wire I began coiling and cutting away.   Now I'm finding that the jumprings are not staying closed as the beads that I'm adding are too heavy for this application.  Oh bother !

Photo above...The small section that I've done but it's not working out.  Right now I'm having trouble with my homemade jumprings as they keep opening up with the weight of these beads.  As you can see it is going to be a black and white theme with a marvelous Venetian glass bead as a focal pendant.

Photo below...Using some of these black and white beads -

photos below...Maybe a sprinkling of crystals -

Photo below...and a splash of these jet black hearts with an AB finish  -
photo below...Then, just for fun maybe I'll throw in a couple of these?
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