For those new to jewelry making, the seemingly simple task of selecting beading wire can quickly turn into an overwhelming experience. With so many types, sizes, and manufacturers, how can you find the right one? The tips that follow offer general guidelines (not rules), and are meant to help those new to beading avoid trial-and-error frustrations.
First Things First: Understanding Beading Wire Measurements
To make an informed decision, the first thing you need to do is familiarize yourself with beading wire terminology and how it applies to measurements and durability:
Beading wire diameter
Wire diameter determines the overall strength of the beading wire. The smaller the number, the wider the diameter and more durable the wire. Wire diameter will also determine what types of beads will fit on the wire. Measurements are typically given as a fraction of an inch.
Strand number
Beading wire is actually a cable composed of multiple strands. The more strands in the wire, the more flexible it is. The smaller the number of strands, the stiffer the wire will remain. For example, 19-strand wire is more flexible than 7-strand. This is a classic more = better scenario. More flexible wire feels higher quality, whereas less flexible wire will be prone to kinking. The tradeoff is in the expense.
Pound test strength or “break”
This number is sometimes displayed on beading wire, denoting weight tests surrounding the maximum pounds of pressure beading wire can take before breaking. The higher the number the stronger the wire.
Tips for Selecting Beading Wire by Design
Considering these aspects of your project can help you determine the best beading wire:
What diameter are bead holes? How small/large are the beads?
Small, lightweight beads, such as sterling silver beads and Bali beads, work well with .010-0.15-inch wire.
Light to medium crystal and stone beads work well with medium diameter 0.15-0.21-inch wire.
Heavy beads are best with heavier 0.24-0.36-inch wire.
What’s your budget (or your client’s)?
Affordable & durable for gifts, crafts: 7-strand.
Middle-of-the-road: 14-19-strand.
Higher-end jewelry for sale: 19-49-strand.
Will you be using oversized beads or large crystals?
Large, heavy beads and multifaceted crystals such as Swarovski crystal beads and Swarovski crystal pendants are best strung on beading wire with a pound test strength of 26-40-pounds.
Necklace style:
The more strands, the more wire will drape. Seven-strand wire holds its shape; whereas 49-strand is supple like string, allowing for elegant draping. Here is a general rule of thumb you can use while choosing the number of strands for your beading wire:
Stiff, choker-style: 7-strand.
Artful drape/movement: 19-49-strand.
Unsure: 19-strand.
Visibility of the wire.
If beading wire will show between beads, carefully consider the color of beading wire. Bead wire now comes in an array of colors and finishes. Carefully chosen, your wire color can showcase or enhance your bead colors.
Looking for high quality beading wire and beading supplies? Shop the wide selection of quality jewelry making supplies at Crystal Findings today.
Leftover beads? These simple and unique beading projects can help you utilize your ever-growing collection of beading odds and ends.
10 Great Beading Projects for Leftover Beads
Beaded Earrings
Because it takes relatively few beads to make earrings, earring projects are a great way to put leftover beads to good use, especially sparkly statement pieces like Shamballa beads. As an added bonus, these make great last-minute gifts for family and friends.
Beaded Bookmark
Make a pretty beaded wax linen twin bookmark from odd beads for yourself or the avid reader in your life. This simple project takes only about 10-minutes, making them a fantastic project for children or any potential new jewelry makers in your life.
Burlap Curtain Tie-Backs or Napkin Rings
Spruce up your curtains or dining room table with stretchy strings of your leftover beads. Have a little extra time and quite a few extra beads? Add a beaded fringe to your drapes or make a full beaded curtain for budding bohemians.
Wine Glass Beaded Charms
Enjoy a glass of wine while making charms for your stemware. Wine glass beaded charms are a great way to mark glasses. Make color variations from leftover beads for dinner parties, or put those alphabet beads to good use for your next family gathering.
Beaded Barrettes
A few bobby pins and a bit of glue and you can turn just a few leftover beads into a fun hair accessory for children or friends and minutes.
Beaded Insects
Dresser or desk less than inspiring? Top it off with a conversation piece. Create your own beaded spider or dragonfly. A quick Google will have you on your way to a unique beaded centerpiece in no time.
Beaded Wind Chime or Sun Catcher
Artfully arrange your assortment of leftover stone beads into a unique and sparkling sun catcher or set of wind chimes for your yard.
Beaded Candleholder
Drape fringes of beads surrounding a mason jar or string and glue beads around a simple glass votive or pillar candle holder to make a colorful home accent piece.
Holiday Ornaments
Your imagination is the limit for turning your leftover beads into a fun or stunning holiday ornament. Shape with craft wire, create a wrap, or simply glue to a frosted glass ball.
Beaded Art Lose the wire and string and grab a tube of glue, turning your leftover beads into art atop a photo frame, mirror, or into a collage. A fun project with or without the kids for the artistically inclined.
Out of ideas? We’ve got more than a few. Shop the wide selection of wholesale beads and jewelry supplies at Crystal Findings, or peruse our blog for inspiration today.
Love jewelry making but wish you could find a way to cut the cost of beading supplies? You may be surprised to discover you don’t have to be a large retailer to purchase wholesale beads and jewelry making supplies. Most wholesalers have many customers who buy in small quantities. Even crafters and hobbyists can purchase beads at wholesale prices from Crystal Findings.
Why Should You Buy Wholesale Beads?
Wider Variety, Lower Prices
Buying beads in bulk from a wholesaler, rather than a retailer, will give you access to a greater variety of high-quality beads at a much lower price. And if you think this means millions of the same boring beads, think again. You can purchase beads wholesale in variety packs, ensuring a variety of colors, textures, and styles, sizes or choose your own in quantity or by the piece for special projects.
Shopping & Delivery Convenience
Save time and shop from the comfort of your home. Purchasing your beading supplies online from Crystal Findings gives you access to a wider variety of beads than your area craft store, allowing you to create beautiful, unique projects without trekking to a multitude of stores. Once you place your order, items ship quickly to your door, ensuring you don’t have to wait for your bead and gemstone orders to trickle in before you can finally begin your project. With wholesale beading supplies, you can start your project anytime, or stock your shelves for future projects throughout the year.
Tired of the Same Old Craft Store Fare?
Shop our fantastic variety of interesting and unique wholesale beads and find something new and exciting:
Our semi-precious stone beads come in a variety of colors, adding a unique, earthy feel to your jewelry designs. Use them alone, alternating colors and shapes, or pair with your favorite accent pieces such as Bali beads and gold-filled and silver charms.
Shamballa Beads
Shimmery and colorful, disco-ball-like Shamballa beads make a stunning addition in any jewelry design.
Cloisonné Beads
Pair the colorful art of our Cloisonné beads with your favorite gold or silver beads and findings.
Tips for Gaining Additional Savings When Shopping Wholesale Beads
Purchase Larger Orders, Less Frequently
Rather than spending a few dollars here and there, make a list of what you need and wait. The larger the quantity of beads you purchase, the more you save.
Get a Tax ID
If you’re a jewelry making aficionado, an inexpensive business license and tax ID can help you save on the cost of retail taxes.
Shop Only Trusted Websites
Shop only online wholesalers with a trusted reputation who you know will be around to handle any customer service needs.
Treat yourself to a little something new and exciting. Shop the wide variety of affordable wholesale beads and jewelry supplies at Crystal Findings today.
Already sweating summer boredom? Whether you are a parent or activities instructor, summer break is the perfect time to try a few fun jewelry making projects with your kids. Easy and inexpensive, jewelry projects help kids develop their fine motor skills and creativity and leave them with a unique memento of the summer season.
Inspire Your Child’s Creativity with these Kids Jewelry-Making Favorites:
We offer a variety of colorful and unique beads that children love for making necklaces and bracelets. Choose from some of the kid-friendly favorites below, complementing them with our wide assortment of gold-filled and sterling silver beads and findings…
It’s easy for kids to get creative with a mix of alphabet beads and colorful spacers. We offer a wide assortment of alphabet bead options, sold by the letter.
A-Z alphabet bracelet or necklace for younger kids, placing colorful round beads between each letter.
Name bracelet.
Friendship bracelets: “BFFS FOREVER.” Or “X O X O.”
‘Positive message’ bracelets, such as, “BE HAPPY,” “DREAM BIG,” “THANKFUL,” “SMILE,” AND “U R AWESOME.”
Alternate colorful semi precious stones in a vibrant pattern of each child’s favorite colors, stringing on a stretch cord for an easy fit. Add in fun accent pieces such as Bali beads or gold-filled and silver charms with a jump ring to make a statement.
Colorful yet sophisticated, Cloisonné are favored by older girls, adorned with beautifully painted imagery with metallic accents perfect for pairing with gold and silver beads and findings.
The perfect way to add both color and texture to a jewelry design, smooth, shimmery cat’s eye beads make kids of all ages ‘ooh’ and ‘ahhh.’ Alternate bold colors of stones of the same shape, or mix shapes to stunning effect.
Don’t Miss Out on these Other Fun Bead Styles
Providing an assortment of beads allows each child to showcase their own unique personality through their jewelry making creativity.
From simple shapes to flashy designs to liven up any creation.
While the day away, creating a new tradition. Discover the fun of jewelry making with your kids. Shop the wide selection of inspiring options at Crystal Findings today.
Synonymous with quality and luxury since 1892, the Swarovski brand name is well-known in the jewelry market. These jewels, neither a crystal nor a gem, are actually a form of glass. With such a seemingly simple composition, what makes Swarovski crystal beads and pendants more expensive?
A Painstaking Attention to Detail
Much more than meets the eye, Swarovski crystals are anything but simply made. Like true diamonds, the quality of materials used in the creation of Swarovski crystals as well as the Austrian company’s highly-specialized cutting practices lend to the cost of the crystals. Their creation is a long and complicated process. To create crystals with a higher refraction index than true crystal, precision manufacturing is essential. This results in a stone with looks close to those of diamonds.
The Swarovski Manufacturing Process
To achieve the sparkle you love, the creation of Swarovski crystals begins with a secret lead glass crystal recipe featuring a blend of quartz, sand, minerals, and about 32% lead, which helps maximize refraction in the crystals. The clearer the crystal, the more difficult to produce. Purity of material is key. After creation, they are precision-cut with a patented electric cutting machine. Accurate and consistent, the cutting process adds as many as 100 facets to each crystal which mirror and bend light in various directions, providing a higher refraction index in the crystals. After this complex cutting process, the crystals are then polished to perfection and ready for sale with custom jewelry making supplies. Coatings may also be added during this process to refract light in different color spectrums.
A Step Above the Competition
Because Swarovski crystals are man and machine made, the quality of crystals is far more consistent than is seen in naturally occurring gem stone beads and crystals. Crystals with imperfections such as bubbles, scratches, and lackluster shine and brilliance will not meet Swarovski quality standards. Premium, genuine Swarovski crystals should be identical, showcasing unsurpassed consistency of design to meet Swarovski’s high manufacturing standards:
Each Swarovski crystal should be identical in size and cut, a key sign of Swarovski’s precise workmanship and authenticity.
Crystals should have zero bubbles.
Crystals should be clear and brilliant, with no oily sheen, dullness, or surface scratches.
The shine of each crystal should be diamond-like.
The facets of each crystal should meet and point upwards.
Colored crystals should be identical in tone.
Crystals are sold loose (only Swarovski pearls are sold strung together).
Crystals should be sought from a Swarovski authorized retailer.
Make a statement, adding a touch of brilliance and luxury to your upcoming jewelry making project. Shop the world-renowned Swarovski line. An authorized retailer, pair the sparkling perfection of Swarovski crystals to our vast array of premium wholesale beads and jewelry supplies. Shop Crystal Findings today.
Swarovski crystals beads and pendants have a well-earned reputation for their luxurious good looks, making them a popular choice in jewelry making. Unfortunately, this popularity comes at a cost in the form of subpar, unlicensed, imitation products. To protect your business’ reputation with beautiful, premium, lasting jewelry, we’ve put together these tips to ensure you get the Swarovski crystal beads and pendants you’re paying for.
How to Make Sure You’re Purchasing True Swarovski Crystal
Real Swarovski crystal beads are crystal clear, machine-cut, absolutely identical, and produced to the highest quality standards. To avoid disappointment, look for these features of a true Swarovski crystal:
Look for clarity.
Like a diamond, Swarovski crystals should be brilliantly clear and bubble and blemish-free. The special proprietary formulation and manufacturing process the company uses are a secret, and cannot be duplicated by imitators. Bubbles immediately indicate a fake, as these stones would never pass Swarovski’s rigorous production demands and quality control procedures.
Inspect surface luster.
The surface of Swarovski crystals should be crystal clear, with no swirl marks, oily sheen, or blemishes. Imitators often have scratches, swirl marks, a cloudy or oily sheen, and other imperfections.
Confirm a uniform cut. Swarovski crystal pendants and beads are machine cut. Each crystal should be identical and each crystal should share the same precise height, width, slope dimensions and color(s). The complicated and precise cuts of Swarovski crystals are a technological feat, with light refraction first calculated by computer, then simulated in 3-D, and later optimized and converted for precise cutting on complex and technologically advanced Swarovski machinery.
Check the direction of facets.
All facets and junctures on Swarovski crystals will point up, meeting at a single, precise point, similar to the facets on a diamond. The facets of imitators will not meet in a perfect point.
Expect superior sparkle.
The special glass formulation used in Swarovski crystals will outshine all beads of lesser quality. This can be easily confirmed with a side-by-side comparison to known Swarovski crystals.
On arrival, inspect your crystals.
Look for signature Swarovski packaging. Bulk purchases from a jewelry-making supplies wholesaler should arrive in clearly branded, sealed envelopes. The latest packaging includes a sparkling silver Swarovski hologram. When you open the envelope, make sure your crystals are not strung. Only Swarovski pearls are delivered this way.
Buy from an authorized reseller.
Carrying hundreds of colors, shapes, and sizes that are hard to find elsewhere, including vintage items, we have hundreds of items now at special prices, on sale & clearance.
Don’t fall for imitators. Safeguard the future of your jewelry and your brand reputation. Shop the wide variety of certified Swarovski crystals and beading supplies at Crystal Findings today.
