Magazine inspiration

When the new magazines come in, I always have a flick through and have a look at all the projects that are in the magazine. Usually there is a project that makes me want to run to the stock room and pull the beads straight away. In the most recent issue of Bead and Jewellery magazine (issue 87), the project that did this was Debbie Webster’s Out on the Tiles cuff.

Out on the Tile Cuff, designed by Debbie Webster from Bead and Jewellery magazine issue 87

I had a bit of dithering about colour (people who know me won’t be in the slightest bit surprised to hear that!), but finally decided on a combination of purple and gold with a hint of pink as an accent. I had initially picked two gold beads, one matt and one shiny, but decided that would have made the overall project too gold, so swapped the matt gold for a rose lined crystal. I think that this lifted the overall project and added an extra layer of interest that would have been missing if I had stuck to my original choice.

In the end I decided on:

• CzechMates tiles GL5850 Lilac
• 15-1053 size 15 galvanized gold seed bead
• 15-1524 size 15 sparkling rose lined crystal seed bead
• Rulla Beads GL6361 Frost Gold
• Diamond Beads GL6210 Dark Purple Pearl- these are slightly smaller than a Diamonduo used in the pattern, but still work.
• Magnetic clasp FN120 gold.
• Instead of using size 11 beads to attach the clasp as in the pattern, I used some of the 15-1524 to make the connecting loop.

My final bead selection

My bead selection on my mat…

If you make the bracelet exactly as following the pattern as I did, you will end up with a bracelet that is 6.5 inches/16.5cm long (including the clasp). It is rated by the magazine as having a difficulty of 2/5. 

 

My finished bracelet!

I made this bracelet in around 3 hours, but I have been beading for *(mumble mumble) twenty several don’t want to think about it years*, and I am a reasonably speedy beader. I think that a confident beginner beader could make this bracelet in a couple of evenings or over the course of a lazy Sunday.

 

We are due another magazine delivery soon, so I can’t wait to see what inspires me next! What about you? Have you worked on anything from a magazine recently? Why not show us what you have been doing by tagging us in photos on Instagram (@spellboundbeadco) or sharing them to our Facebook page.

Best wishes,

Vicky x

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Sale Time – ends Saturday at 5pm

We have a little sale to celebrate the sun finally coming out … well, at least the sun was out when we decided to do put a sale on but at the time of writing it is all a little bit damp again outside.  Anyway, a sale to celebrate the sun or a sale to make us feel better in the rain, it’s still a sale and we all love one of those!

When – now to 5pm Saturday June 2nd

What – 15% off selected kits – see them all here

What (2) – extra discounts on discontinued kits – a massive 60% off

How – In the shop, online, or order by phone.  If you’re buying online the discounts will show in your shopping baskets.

and the usual small print – offers apply to in-stock items only.  Discontinued kits are very limited stock, when they’re gone, they’re gone!

News just in!

We now have an Etsy shop!

We have decided that we needed an outlet for short run, small quantity ranges of beads. This will be different to items that we sell on the main website, for instance we currently have some fabulous vintage Swarovski crystal on there, along with some pretty Amber and Sterling Silver butterflies. We have also added some vintage Czech crystal drops and some pretty crystal decorated multi strand clasps, so why not pop over and take a look?

You can find us on Etsy here: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/spellboundbeadco

 

Miniature Mania!

Minature Mania has taken us over here at Spellbound Towers! Julie has been inspired to create a whole family of little critters that you can use either as dinky little ornaments or with the addition of a pair of headpins and ear wires (included in the kits) you can make a pair of earrings that will be the envy of all your friends! If you visited the stand at the NEC show back in March you may have spotted Ellen and Vicky wearing lambs and ducklings in various combinations.

Lets take a look at the whole family. First came Bernard the Dragon, who comes in a fearsome Red or mellower Green option:

Bernard the Dragon Earrings- Red

Bernard the Dragon Earrings- Green

He was soon to be joined by Daphne the Lamb and Penelope the Duckling:

Daphne the Lamb Earrings

Penelope the Duckling Earrings

As you know, we are huge fans of Bunnies at Spellbound HQ, so it was inevitable that there would be some arriving fairly soon: meet Arthur! He is available in White or Black colour options.

Arthur the Bunny- White

Arthur the Bunny- Black and Gold

Next along were Pip the Frog and Gustav the Tortoise

Pip the Frog Earrings

Gustav the Tortoise Earrings

and the latest arrival was just last weekend, namely Montague the Cat:

Montague the Cat Earrings

Montague the Cat Earrings

If animals aren’t your thing but flowers are, we also have the dinky Daffodil earrings available in three colour options: Yellow/Orange, White/Yellow or Yellow which can all be found here

Daffodil Earrings- Yellow/Orange

Daffodil Earrings- White/Yellow

Daffodil Earrings- Yellow/Yellow

There are some more of these in the works, so be sure to keep an eye out on our website for the latest additions to the family- if you want to be sure not to miss out on all the news then why not head over to the website and join our mailing list?

If you like these, you might also like our range of animal themed bookmarks, which you can find here: Bookmark Kits from Spellbound Bead Co

Check back soon for some more new kits and hopefully a feature on Julies design inspiration will be along soon as well.

Vicky x

NEC Show starts today – why not come and do a make and take on the stand?

Today is the first day of the show with the very long name The Creative Craft Show, Fashion, Embroidery and Stitch and Sewing for Pleasure at the Birmingham NEC

The Spellbound team will be down on stand C10 surrounded by lots of beady loveliness, and Vicky will be teaching workshops all through the show.  She is teaching three designs, a brooch, a tasselled bag charm, and a pretty bracelet, classes are about 30-40 minutes long and cost £3 each.  If you’d like to do one just head down to the stand to book your place.

The show runs from today, Thursday March 15 to Sunday March 18.  See you there!

2018 Workshops Now Booking

This year we have a fabulous programme of beading workshops for you to choose from.  Many of them are suitable for complete beginners, whether you have done no beading before, or you would like to try a new aspect of beading that you have never done before.  All of them are a great way of spending a few hours beading with an expert tutor who will help you every step of the way.

In this years programme we also have three full day masterclasses with Julie.  These are quite intense days with lots of technique and design ideas covered and although you need no experience of the subject she is teaching on the day we strongly recommend that anyone attending these days has attended at least one of our other classes before hand or has some beadwork experience.  For the Tassels day some experience with beading with needle and thread would be ideal, and for the other two classes (Floral Jewellery with Wire and Tiaras), some experience of working with simple hand tools – pliers and wire cutters would be good.

All the workshop prices include all the materials you use on the day, and they are all small group workshops (maximum 6 students on Sundays and Mondays, maximum 8 students on Saturdays).

For full details on the workshops see the website, and to book please either phone us on 01543 417650 or call into the shop.

Sunday March 4 – Spiral Rope with Pat 9.30am to 12.30pm £30

Saturday March 10 – Beginners with Ellen 9.30am to midday £25

Monday March 26 – Ravishing Rivolis with Vicky 1.30pm to 4pm £25

Sunday April 8 – Simple Knotting with Pat 9am to 1pm £40

Monday April 9 – Calangute Tassel with Vicky 1.30pm to 4pm £25

Sunday April 15 – Tiaras with Julie 9.45am to 4pm £70

Monday April 30 – Peyote Stitch for Beginners with Ellen 1.30pm to 4pm £25

Sunday May 6 – Beautiful Bag Charms with Pat 10am to midday £20

Saturday May 19th – Beginners with Ellen 9.30am to midday £25

Monday May 14th – Beginners Macrame with Vicky 1.30pm to 4pm £25

Sunday June 3 – Introduction to Twin Beads with Pat 9.30am to midday £25

Monday June 4 – Introduction to Right Angle Weave with Vicky 1.30pm to 4pm £25

Sunday June 10 – Floral Wire Jewellery with Jule 9.45am to 4pm £70

Monday June 11 – Shaped Brick Stitch with Vicky 1.30pm to 4pm £25

Sunday June 17 – Beaded Tassels with Julie 9.45am to 4pm £70

Saturday June 23 – Beginners with Ellen 9.30am to midday £25

Monday June 25 – Fiji Necklace with Vicky 1.30pm to 4pm £25

Sunday July 1 – Floral Tiaras with Pat 9.30am to midday £25

Monday July 9 – Beginner Plus Loops and Linking with Vicky 1.30pm to 4pm £25

Monday July 23 – Daisy Chains with Vicky 1.30pm to 4pm £25

Sunday August 5 – Rosalind Necklace and Bracelet with pat 9.30am to midday £25

Saturday August 18 – Beginners with Ellen 9.30am to midday £25

Sunday September 2 – Bead a Bauble Starry Night with Pat 9.30am to 12.30pm £25

Monday September 3 – Bead a Noel Star with Vicky 1.30pm to 4pm £25

Sunday October 7 – Christmas Decorations with Wire with Pat 9.30am to midday £25

Saturday November 10 – Beginners with Ellen 9.30am to midday £25

Sunday November 11 – Christmas Decorations with Wire with Pat 9.30am to midday £25

Monday December 3 – Bead A Bauble Swags & Tails with Vicky 1.30pm to 4pm £25

Monday December 10 – Stocking Fillers with Vicky 1.30pm to 4pm £25

Deliveries Galore – Delicas and Baubles

Well, that’s the end of the sale for this year, we hope you all managed to bag a bargain.

As always in the weeks of the sale we are not just doing sale things.  At the end of last week we had a huge delivery of Delicas and our very own Elf on the Shelf made sure they were all checked in online for the weekend, and they will be weighed up and in the shop for Tuesday morning.

Why is Robert sitting on a packing table? Do you think he’s hoping we’ll post him out to somewhere warm?

Also on its way – we are due a lorry load of baubles in the next day or two so all colours all sizes are now available to order again and we’ll have the full selection back in the shop by the end of the week.  If you are planning to visit the shop to buy loose baubles it is always worth calling us a couple of days beforehand so we can put your colour selection up for you – we don’t have room to store lots of baubles at the shop and although we have deliveries in from the warehouse a couple of times a week to keep us topped up it is always worth pre-ordering if you are travelling for something in particular.

Clearance Sale Bags – If you are coming to visit the shop this half term week there will still be a table with some fabulous bargains on it, including a host of £1 bargain bags with a 10 for £7 offer on it and some fabulously priced discontinued kits too.  Should you happen to be visiting us this Tuesday, February 13th, why not pop down to the city centre at midday to see a bit of the pancake races and civic parade?

In Other News

Julie has been hard at work designing some of the cutest kits we have seen in a long time – more on those very soon!

All sorts of shiny new beads have just been delivered, fancy facets and some intriguing two hole beads.  All should be ready to sell by the end of this week we hope.

SALE – last few days, extra discounts, ends midnight Sunday

There are only a couple of days to go until the end of our sale and we now have

40% off discontinued kits and jigs

and

60% off selected short bead strings and mixes

as well as

10% off loads of other kits

10% off all sorts of beads tools and findings

and some amazing clearance bargains

AND

if you come along to the shop in Lichfield you can now choose any 10 £1 bargain bags for £7, and in addition to all of the above there is an extra 20% off all the goodies on our sale table.

 

Spellbound Big Annual Sale Now On – up to 50% Off

From now until Midnight February 11th we are having our annual clearance sale and this year it is huge!

Whether you are shopping online or are visiting our shop in Lichfield, Staffordshire there are some fabulous bargains to be had, we have :-

50% off:- 
Selected Bead Mixes
Designer Bead Strings
6mm Chevron Cube Strings

25% off:– Lots of clearance kits – WigJigs – DVDs

10% off:- GL glass beads – Matsuno 15s – Miyuki Cubes
Mixes – Wooden Beads – Ceramics – Plastic and Plated Plastic
Crystals – Tools

10% off:- Lots of Kits

Discounts to all of the above will be added in your shopping basket … and on top of all those bargains we also have …

Clearance – even more bargains are to be had as we have added lots more lines to our clearance section

We put as much of the sale as we can online but there are a lot of one offs that you will only find at the shop including semi-precious and lots of made samples at amazing prices, so why not have a day out in lovely Lichfield?

Upgrade to Mobile Website – spellboundbead.co.uk will be down for about an hour on Monday morning

Our website http://www.spellboundbead.co.uk will be down for about an hour on Monday morning, January 8th, so that the necessary changes can be made to make our new mobile friendly website come to life.

This has been a long time in the building so fingers crossed it will be working most splendidly on small tablets and mobiles from about lunchtime on Monday January 8th.  As with all things techy there will probably be the odd snagging issue but fingers crossed not too many.