Beadalon Blog

See you on Monday for our first giveaway of the year!

While everyone takes a little breather between holidays, the Beadalon Design Team is up to its ears in preparations for the coming year. The new Beadalon catalog will be released at the end of January, with more than 200 new products! That means more new designs to share and lots to do. Here’s a sneak peek: In January, Katie will start the month by taping the next series of the public television show Beads, Baubles and Jewels . Beadalon has proudly sponsored the show since its inception and it is now in its twelfth season! Check your local station for viewing times . We’ll all spend time this month preparing for upcoming workshops by assembling kits and reviewing our BeadMaster presentations. (If you’ve never experienced BeadMaster before, you can click on the link to see a sample. It’s a revolutionary teaching tool!) At the end of January, Margot and Katie will teach workshops at the Craft & Hobby Association Winter Show in Anaheim, California. Fernando will demonstrate

Wishing you a happy holiday and a season of inspiration from the Beadalon Blog Team .

We have 10 days to reach our goal of 500 fans by the end of the year. If we meet our goal, we’ll celebrate by giving away an amazing Artistic Wire variety pack! If you aren’t already a fan, make sure you become one so you’ll be entered in our drawing. Invite your friends! When you become our fan, you can share your pix with our Facebook community. Wendy Manz posted this Artistic Wire creation.

Are you still looking for the perfect necklace to wear to your next holiday party? Try this stylish take on a multiple strand chain from our Design Workshop – your inner diva will thank you! Materials & Tools • Two 30mm crystal silver shade Crystallized elements with Swarovski® • 2 ft gold plated small oval Quick Links chain (340A-310) • 1 ft silver plated small oval quick link chain (340B-310) • One ½ ft silver plated round dash quick links chain (340B-350) • Fifteen Quick Links connectors (326B-414) • Six silver plated pinch bails (327B-024) • Two gold plated pinch bails (327A-024) • Beadstrom semi-flush cutters (202P-015) • Beadstrom chain nose pliers (201P-011) Designer’s tips: You can make this necklace longer or shorter. Just add or subtract the amount of links and use connectors to make the pattern that suits you the most. 1. Remove 3 big gold plated oval links from gold plated oval link chain keeping connector on both sides. Set aside. 2

Two tiny red cardinals perch on a snowy branch suspended from a wire and crystal wrapped handle. This charming ornament is simple to make with a little basic wire wrapping skill and some easy-to-find and use basic craft supplies. Materials 12 6mm crystal ab CRYSTALLIZED™-Swarovski Elements flower beads 1 pewter twig Ornamentea 2 feathered cardinals Nicole™ Mini Tree Treasures Snow-Tex™ DecoArt™ Glass Glitter Shards Krystallos Barbara Trombly's 6” 16 gauge ColourCraft Wire Beadalon® 36” 24 gauge fine German Wire Beadalon® Tools Wire cutters Chain nose pliers Paint Brush or small spatula Instructions 1. Create the handle on twig using 16 or 18 gauge craft wire. Wrap wire around one end of twig three times tightly. Bend into a handle and repeat wrapping process on other side. Use fingers to bend wire gently creating some movement and interest in the shape. Cut off any excess wire. Tuck the wire tails under with chain nose pliers. 2. Wrap 24 gauge

Holiday time is the perfect time to make jewelry – it reduces stress, plus, then you have more jewelry to sell or give as gifts! Make twisted jump rings galore and combine them with Crystallized™ - Swarovski Elements for unique, one-of-a-kind statement jewelry. • Materials & Tools • • Four 17mm Burgundy CRYSTALLIZED™ polygon pendant Article 6015 • Nineteen silver plated 4mm jump rings – 314B-003 • Three gold plated 6mm jump rings – 314A-005 • Twenty-two copper 6mm jump rings – 314P-005 • One oval rhodium plated Upper Clasp with crystal belt – 303W-277 • Four silver plated medium bails – 327B-010 • 4 ft 24 gauge brown ColourCraft® wire – JD24-Brown • 1 ft 24 gauge red ColourCraft® wire – JD24-Red • 1 ft 24 gauge gold ColourCraft® wire – JD24-Gold • ColourCraft® Wire Twister – 228A-100 • Jump ring maker tool – 228A-051 • Flush cutters – 202E-001 • Jump ring opener tool – JTJRT • Instructions • 1. Open one 4mm jump ring and attach to one ring

This year, several people on my holiday gift list are getting jewelry. (Shh…don’t tell!) My mother-in-law likes toggle bracelets and my sister has her eye on a long necklace that she can wear to work. Since they can surely guess they’ll be getting jewelry from me, I like to add a little something extra with the packaging. I’m planning to present each design in a little organza jewelry pouch with a personalized tag. I use an embellished cell phone strap to attach the tag, so the recipient can cut off the paper tag and attach the charm to her phone or media player. If you have a little more time, you could make the whole piece more permanent by using a custom metal or resin name charm. These cute embellished pouches also make fun packages for party favors, stocking stuffers and last-minute gifts. Are you making lots of jewelry gifts this year? Post a comment below, and we’ll randomly select one lucky winner to receive a package of cell phone straps and a selection of organza jew

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Beadalon Acquires Artistic Wire Valley Township, PA (December 1, 2009) – Beadalon, the leading manufacturer of bead stringing wire and jewelry making products, announced today that they acquired Artistic Wire, supplier of permanently colored copper wire and tools. “Artistic Wire is an excellent fit for Beadalon. Artistic Wire is the leading brand of permanently colored wire for jewelry and crafts, and they offer the largest selection of wire with 13 gauges and 55 colors,” said James F. Clark, president of Beadalon. “And Beadalon is the leading manufacturer of bead stringing wire. We have been making wire for 33 years. The two product lines complement one another, and our in-house manufacturing and spooling capability enable us to control quality, speed delivery times, and to engineer and develop new products into the future.” “Beadalon has the marketing, sales, and operations to grow Artistic Wire in ways that we could not. Under their direction, our customers wi