Happy Saturday Everyone

I can't believe its Saturday already and the last weekend of July. The summer sure has gone by quickly as well as being a very hot and humid one for many people across the country. We hope that you are enjoying your summer so far as we have been. We have made a few changes to our blog, we have added some new things and re-arranged other things! Being new to blogging we think it will take a while for us to settle into a blog look that we like - having said that check back often you never know what you might find new here! We have also been busy getting ready the new Members patterns for the month of August! I can't tell you what we have ready, but I can tell you its always exciting for us to get it ready, coming up with new and different things for our Members! We have gotten many emails from our Members saying how much they enjoy the Pattern Club and that they can't wait for the next month to come along as they totally enjoy what we have been designing just for them! If you haven't checked out our Pattern Club lately or if you haven't dropped by the Bead Shak site and you have a few minutes to check us out we would be happy to have you visit with us! You can find us by clicking on the links below: Bead Shak Bead Shak Pattern Club Samples If you have a site that you would like to plug we have the plug board here on our blog plus a new one we have added to the Bead Shak site, all family friendly plugs are welcome on either boards. Bead Shak Plug Board We hope that you have a Happy Saturday! ~Happy Beading~ Jenny and Jan Copyright © 2003-2006 The Bead Shak All Rights Reserved

Sorting Your Beads

When I first started beading I went out to my local craft store and found that my craft store carried a line of pony beads and mini pony beads by this particular company that manufactured these beads. I purchased over the time several bags of different colors as I wanted to build up my bead supply and as I was just getting into doing beaded banners I needed a lot of different colors for these. At the time I sorted them by colors and put them into zip lock bags which are a great secure way to store your beads. Then my craft store added to their stock another company that manufactures beads and I was happy as could be so I went and bought some of these beads as well. I went home opened up and bags and put these new bags of beads into the bags with my other beads, never thinking anything different. When I went to get out my beads to do a beading project I thought oh oh, the beads from one company were not exactly the same as they were from the other company. I noticed that the whites were not quite the same whites, the reds were just a bit different, the sizes of the beads and the shape of them were a bit different and the end result is that these differences would be showing up in my completed bead project. Not the end result that I wanted to see especially since it takes time to do any project. I ended up taking each bag of beads and sorting them into separate bags and marking which company that they came from. I even put on the bag the color number, and any other information I thought would be good to have if I ever needed to get more. Lesson learned, make sure that you keep all your beads separated by company for sure as this will guarantee that your bead project will be uniform in color and size. Having said that, I have also noticed that even from the same company the size and shape can be just slightly different, so when I sit down to do a project I have my beads ready but do watch which ones I choose to string on in the same row, it does make a difference! ~Happy Beading~ Jenny and Jan Copyright © 2003-2006 The Bead Shak All Rights Reserved

Good Day To Bead!

Happy Saturday everyone! Its a rainy day here today, its a day to stay inside and bead with us! Summer is the perfect time to learn a new craft or just to expand on the craft that you already do! We have so much to offer everyone at Bead Shak, for every age and experience level! We have coasters, door hangers, wall hangings, angel series, tissue box covers and so much more. We have something for every Holiday and Event! Click this link to visit our Bead Shak Catalogue of beading patterns! Our Pattern Club is an amazing value on its own! Our Members get a minimum of 10 patterns each month, never less and usually more! That works out to about 60 cents per pattern! Click the link to check out what we have had in the pattern club for previous months! Its the best value on the internet! Bead Shak Pattern Club Samples Our Bead Shak Pattern Club Membership also makes a great gift to give somebody! Its the perfect way to say thanks to Mom, introduce Grandma to a new craft or to your friend to say thanks for being such a great friend! If your interested in giving this as a gift write to us at Bead Shak and we will make arrangements for this great surprise for you! You can contact us here: Sales (Change AT to@ when emailing us) We have free pattern instructions to help you get started, we are always available to help you out with any questions or problems you might encounter. Our graphs are easy to read, there is no costly shipping and handling charges, we have fast and fun projects, our patterns can be done in almost any beads you choose! We have provided Beaders with fun and fantastic bead patterns since 2003! So come and visit with us and don't miss out on all that we have to offer! Have a great weekend! ~Happy Beading~ Jenny and Jan Copyright © 2003-2006 The Bead Shak All Rights Reserved

Beading Ways!

Everyone has their own preferences when it comes to what they use to bead their projects on or on what they sort their beads on. We use something called a lap desk or bean bag table to do our projects on. Its like a little desk that has a solid top and a bean bag bottom and sits on your lap really well. Perfect for beading while your watching tv, or sitting outside on a nice summer day or anywhere, they are that portable. They come in all sizes, shapes and colors. The particular one we use has a zippered pocket on the side so that we can store our scissors, packages of needles, pliers and anything that we might need to bead, it is approximately 19" wide x 15" high and also has a clip to the side of the board perfect for holding our patterns in place or anything that you want to secure to the board. Along the top is an indentation, an excellent place for resting your pens or pencils, needles or anything that you might need to have while your doing a particular project. The one we use and describe above is perfect for all our beading projects and needs but you might decide that you need something larger or smaller, more of a wrap around style or just the board with no clips and pockets. Doing a google search for your area will allow you to find one locally or if you shop on line other stores that offer these as well, a perfect way to see what they look like what is available and to help you decide what you need for your beading style. These are also available through your local craft store, computer store and at some hardware stores as well. ~Happy Beading Everyone~ Jenny and Jan Copyright © 2003-2006 The Bead Shak All Rights Reserved

Visit With Us For The Best Bead Patterns On The Net!

We have added the new patterns for the month of July in our Bead Shak Pattern Club! There is something in the pattern club for everyone of all ages and experience levels! Beading is a great craft to learn for everyone and is very affordable especially when you join our Pattern Club! With the membership to the Pattern Club the cost of the patterns work out to be about 60 cents each! Its a fantastic deal and lots of fun for everyone! Come and check out Samples of what we have had in the Pattern Club in previous months up and to including July! Click this link for the best deal on the net! Pattern Club Samples Have a great day! ~Happy Beading~ Jenny and Jan Copyright © 2003-2006 The Bead Shak All Rights Reserved

New Plug Board

Today we added a plug board to our blog! We hope that you will stop by and plug your family friendly sites! Plug boards are becoming very popular and its a great way to visit other sites and see what others are doing and saying about a variety of topics. We look forward to seeing your plug button on our blog! Have a great day everyone! ~Happy Beading~ Jenny and Jan

Happy 4th of July!

We just wanted to wish everyone a very Happy 4th of July! We hope that you have a very safe and happy holiday with your family and friends! Jenny and Jan

Summer Crafts!

Summer is finally here, the time of year we have all been waiting for! Kids are out of school for the summer, the vacations have been planned to visit with family and friends or just to kick back and watch the world go by! Summer is typically the time we look to crafting where the stop at the local craft store just for a few minutes turns into hours of browsing around all the different crafting sections, thinking how great that would be to learn something new or to add to the stash of the crafts that you already do. This time of year is perfect as well to introduce the kids to new crafts or to add to the ones that they might already do. Crafting is the perfect thing to keep the kids occupied on road trips, or during those Mom I am bored times, that happens periodically throughout the summer! Beading has always been a great summer time craft for kids of all ages to learn or to advance into other types of beading styles and bead types. If you are just starting out in this fun and exciting craft, then a simple and fun key chain would be a great first project. If you are more advanced or want to try something different or new then a small beaded banner or loom project would be a great way to introduce yourself or your kids to this fun craft. A perfect beginner bead key chain project can be found by clicking on this link and then going to our Free Pattern Section and printing out the pattern called: "Beaded Key Chain For Mom" Its a cute and fun project and makes a great gift! While you are there don't forget to check out all our great projects, there is something there for every age and experience levels! Follow the link to a Summer full of beading fun! Happy Summer Crafting Everyone! Jenny and Jan Copyright © 2003-2006 The Bead Shak All Rights Reserved

Happy Canada Day!

Today, July 1st is Canada Day for our Canadian friends! This holiday is celebrated much the same as the 4th of July Holiday in the USA, with picnics, bbq's, family activities and to end the day fireworks displays! Happy Canada Day to everyone, have a fun and safe holiday! Jenny and Jan Bead Shak - www.beadshak.net