Beading Q And A: Jewelry Making Ideas (8/26/2011)

BeadGal answers:

Depends on what kind of stones and how they are arranged but I’ve seen them sell for around 5-10 dollars. It depends on who you are marketing them to.

BeadGal answers:

I love Fire Mountain Gems for their huge selection, great prices, and assortability. Also, Rio Grande is good too. Both give you discounts the more you order.

BeadGal answers:

That depends on what kind of “semi-precious stones” you have in mind (I assume you mean actual beads-with-holes too, not just stones). They come in various sizes, qualities, shapes, etc., both online and at various craft or other stores.

One way to get them more cheaply is to buy old jewelry at thrift stores and garage or estate sales, then take them apart for the beads (and findings, etc).

And if you’re thinking of wood beads, one trick is to buy those old car seat pads made of hundreds of those beads, then take it apart and use the beads.

Another thing to consider though is that most any kinds of semi-precious stones can be created quite convincingly with polymer clay–using various techniques and sometimes a bit of other materials.
Some of the possibilities would be turquoise, jade, amber, coral, pearl, abalone, ivory, and more… As well as “stone” and rock of all kinds, wood, leather, metals, etc. The “faux” clay can be shaped into beads, chips, or even little sculpts, etc, before hardening.

If you’re interested in lessons/examples/etc, check out these polymer clay pages:

http://glassattic.com/polymer/Faux–many.htm
http://glassattic.com/polymer/faux-ivory.htm
http://glassattic.com/polymer/faux–turquoise_wood.htm
http://glassattic.com/polymer/inclusions.htm

BeadGal answers: