If you are beading on a budget, you are not alone. With the rising gas prices and the current state of the economy, saving money is something all of us have in common. So we would like to take a few moments to offer some ideas on how you can save money and still create your beautiful jewelry designs.
One way to save money is to keep an eye out for cost-effective substitute products. For instance, instead of sterling silver, try using silver plate or pewter. Instead of a beading board, use one of those cotton ribbed placemats with a ruler handy. It can be just as effective as a beading board. You can even try using seed beads as spacers instead of crystal or sterling silver. If you want the look of Swarovski Crystal, Czech Glass can be used as a substitute and will compliment your lightweight pieces.
If you do not wish to invest in storage containers for your beads, there are many household items you can use instead. For example, pill boxes, those Sunday through Saturday ones are great to organize your smaller beads. Some people use sauce trays, those Asian-type plates for separating bead colors, especially for seed beads during a project. Even Altoid cans or little Sucret boxes are great for small beads. To get even more creative, you can use the metal CD cases and glue a piece of a bead mat down to one side and travel with your bead work on the airplane. Just be careful going through the metal detector. Also, using fingernail clippers as a nipper tool or scissors is helpful because you can use them when you travel too.
Stay away from: Cheap lampwork beads. They usually end up breaking so no matter how tempted you get, don’t fall for cheap knockoffs. In fact, when it comes to glass beads altogether, it would be wise to steer clear of those cheap beads you find at craft stores such as Michael’s. They skip the annealing process, making the beads more susceptible to breakage. Also, try to stay away from inexpensive beading wire that may not be as good a quality to use in stringing. 19-strand & 49-strand are the best and most reliable as far as beading wire goes.
For some cost-effective project ideas, check out our Projects Under $15 category. Here is a new project addition. Another budget project will be included in ”Part II”, so stay tuned.
Mixed Shape Drop Beaded Bracelet - $11.41 to make
