Supplier Sales Saturday

Welcome back to the weekly post on supplier sales! If you know of a supplier that has great sales or coupons that I'm not mentioning, please comment below and I'll be sure to check them out.

A great sale on "handcrafted ceramic 'critters,' beads and bottle pendants!" at Rings & Things that unfortunately, for the purposes of my Saturday Supplier Sales posting, ends tomorrow - check their 5-day sale link twice monthly on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays to get to the sale early! Also, being subscribed to the newsletter guarantees the info will be in your in-box without you having to remember to go to the site!

Via Soft Flex Girl: 20% off sale on Soft Flex Wire at Fusion Beads

Artbeads Neck Knack sale "save 20% on a wide selection of necklaces and bracelets...Take advantage of this sale by entering coupon code SCW20P-NKS at checkout...sale ends at 9am (PDT) on Thursday, October 1, 2009." and Weekly Specials items through Thursday (9am) 10/1/09 (PDT). Plus there's a coupon: "Save 5% on orders of $30 or more when you use coupon code SCW5P-30 at checkout. Coupon expires at 9am (PDT) on Thursday, October 1, 2009.Only one coupon may be used per order."

At Lima Beads there's usually one Fresh Pick they've chosen to put all the beads in it on sale - usually for one day only. Today's is Cowgirl Up with some lovely beads at 20% off.

Visit Alpha Stamps "On Sale" page frequently to see what their deals are. Today I note they have Tim Holtz acrylic charms on sale - imagine the possibilities: "Clear tags in 4 shapes (circles, ovals, squares and rectangles) with nicely rounded edges. And you get 4 sizes of each of the 4 shapes. The largest of the pieces is 1-3/4" tall. Glue over paper and/or tint with inks."

Not a sale, but available for purchase is Margie Deeb's Fall/Winter 2009 Color Report for Bead and Jewelry Designers. She identifies beads/crystals by color name/number that match the palette and gives great color combo suggestions. The report is in PDF and costs $9.95. Well worth the price.

Sorry this is a short (and late!) post today - was out at a meet up of various online acquaintances last night rather far from home and got back too late to write this up, as I usually do, to schedule for my 6 am posting.

I will have Weekly Wanderings up on time tomorrow - so I hope you return to see what's been going on out in the Beadosphere this week!

Image at top of page from Graphics Fairy

Tuesday Tidbits - My Workspace - Almost Done

Well, I took Friday and Monday off so I'd have a 4-day weekend to get organized, take pictures of my work that's ready for Art Fire, and maybe even make a thing or two if I had time left over. On Friday my DH surprised me by also taking the day off and treating me to a movie I told him I'd like to see (The Informant with Matt Damon and Scott Bakula).

Thus, a big chunk of Friday was unavailable. It turned out to be more than just the movie time, unfortunately, as the hot dogs or popcorn I had at the theatre didn't agree with me very well and I didn't feel up to much work the rest of the day.

Saturday was very productive, though, and I did the bulk of the clean up then. Here's a shot of my worktable (it's 6' long by 3' wide). Down to the far right is a little wheeled shelf unit that has my polymer clay toaster oven (still unused, alas) sitting on it, under a Bead Buddy lap desk and another Bead Buddy 'briefcase' that's great for traveling with beading stuff. I've got lots of various kinds of bead storage containers, desktop drawers, etc., crammed full of beady bits. I just ordered a Beadalon beading station and a table top work bench from Great Craft Works (who also had the Beadalon square knot links I've been wanting!) so I can get my beading wire and tools better organized.

for a clearer, larger picture, please click!

The boxes at the bottom left side of the table, just past the Ott lamp, are my 'sorting' boxes - bits and beads and stuff that needs to be sorted back into their proper places. That's what most of Saturday was about. As a result of my re-sorting and consolidating I freed up five or six of the divided plastic storage boxes and got a lot of stuff out of bags and box lids into proper bins. The boxes on the table hold the metal beads, bead caps, findings and components I've managed to collect. Several of them also have Swarovski, since there's no more shelf space and I don't want to mix them in the other bins by color and mix them up with the other glass.

Here's the stuff further along the wall to the right of the table. The bins in the bookshelf are beads sorted by color. That pink bit at the bottom right of the picture is a nifty cushion thing from Bead and Button Show 2009 on-line souvenir sale, called a Krafters Komfycush that I've got on my worktable chair. It has handy pocketed flaps that hang over the side of the chair and a seat cushion. The whole thing folds up into a tote with a shoulder strap. I thought it'd be handy for conventions and other shows whether I'm selling or just sitting in a seminar/panel discussion.

for a clearer, larger picture, please click!

And here's a bit further to the right - this is the hutch that still hasn't been worked on yet. When I first started beading it was my work surface. Eventually I had to get some carts with drawers to hold my beads, then after a while I needed two more. And all the shelves in the hutch were full of bead bins. Finally I bought the long table and moved stuff over to it. No way I'm going to pan further around the room - it's still a work in progress and there's still a lot of clutter over thataway. The wall is rather short as that side of the room has the sliding glass doors to the back patio in it.

for a clearer, larger picture, please click!

The other 180° of the room has my printer, computer desk and bookshelf. It's a major mess that's next on the list of things to do. Someday. When I'm not busy beading or blogging about beading.

That's the Tueday Tidbit. See you tomorrow when I go back to sharing about some new pieces I've done post-cleaning frenzy.

P.S. - can you see the one Star Trek item I've got in my beading area? Tell me in the comments if you can and know what it is.

Arrg - There Be Swashbuckling Supplier Sales Here Matey!

Ahoy! It be Talk Like a Pirate Day, maties! I know me hearties wouldst be availin' the'selves smartly to this booty, 'er they be deemed scurvy scallywags. Be not a landlubber and avast ye over to these wi' a wannion and save some o' yer dubloons. (you can look up the translation for that at "Pirate Speak")

And "L'shanah tovah!" to any Jewish readers celebrating Rosh Hashanah today.

Artbeads 20% off awareness items - coupon code SCW20P-AIS at checkout. Sale ends at 9am (PDT) on Thursday, September 24, 2009.

The Beadin' Path: Use coupon code STNFALL1 for $5 off any $50+ order, use coupon code STNFALL2 for $20 off any $150+ order, use coupon code STNFALL3 for $50 off any order of $250 or more.

Consumer Crafts "Hot Buys" 50% off or more.

Dreamtime Creations Close-out Sale - Swarovski butterfly beads at $2.99 per dozen, vintage Swarovski ribbed wheels at 19 cents each.

Follow Blue Buddha Boutique on Twitter and find their Twitter coupon for 10% off new niobium sizes! Valid through 9/25

Halstead Bead clearance items - they had a great coupon code this week for newsletter subscribers

Rings & Things limited edition specials (like these skull and crossbones gemstone pendants - be ready for next year's Talk Like a Pirate Day)

Soft Flex September Sale - 30 styles of crimps on sale 25% off + lots more great deals!

Happy Shopping! Don't forget tomorrow's Weekly Wandering Around the Beadosphere - there's been some great blogging to share this week.

Friday Pick - October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month - "Create for a Cause"

Instead of my usual (when I do one) Friday Pick, I thought I'd share a 'pre-made' pick, instead. Yes, it's a bit lazy of me in a way, but it's for a good cause and, as they say, "why re-invent the wheel"?

So today's pick comes directly from the Rings & Things newsletter which has been coming out in a "news flash" version recently. It's a short, topical email and doesn't come so often that you feel spammed (like some of the almost daily clothing store emails I get in return for having foolishly bought my daughter something trendy on-line, from some not to be named stores *cough delias, urban outfitter, abercrombie cough*).

If you aren't already getting the Rings & Things newsletter, I recommend them - you can see 'back issues' and also subscribe, by clicking here. Anyway, I asked if it would be ok to just copy and paste their newsletter copy here as my Friday Pick and they said ok.

The only edit to their copy that I've added is the link to the official Breast Cancer Awareness Month site. I'm 52 now and just this year had my first mammogram. There's no history of breast cancer in my family (skin cancer, yes) but I still should have had one sooner. With the new digital mammography being used at my provider, the exam was a lot less annoying than I had assumed from what I'd heard about x-ray mammography.

Create For A Cause!

Make designs that look great and send a message of hope and support! Cause ribbon jewelry components honor, commemorate and celebrate loved ones while also raising awareness of cancer, military service, autism and more. Our awareness color chartlists colors associated with over 120 causes, to help you plan your designs. ... And remember, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.


Cause Ribbon Beads, Charms & More

Pink Components For Breast Cancer Awareness Month:

Pink CRYSTALLIZEDTM Beads Pink Glass Beads Pink CRYSTALLIZEDTM Pearls Pink Freshwater Pearls Rose Quartz Gemstones Cherry "Quartz" Gemstones Chokers, Cording & Beading Wire More Pink Jewelry Findings Click here for jewelry inspirations (Rings & Rhings graphics and text used with permission)

Please visit again tomorrow for Supplier Sales Saturday - there are some good ones to share!

Supplier Sales Saturday

Sales & Specials

Artbeads "Buy More, Save More" coupon good through the 17th or choose their "Go wild with the Crazy for CRYSTALLIZED™" Sale to save 15% on a wide selection of crystal beads and components from CRYSTALLIZED™ - Swarovski Elements by entering SCW15P-CFC at checkout. Many of these items are in limited quantities. Sale ends at 9am (PDT) on Tuesday, September 22, 2009. Please note that only one coupon can be used per order. Sign up for their newsletter to get in on newsletter exclusive savings.

Rings & Things 5-day sale through tomorrow: 20% Off Steel Cable Chokers available in 4 sizes (15", 16", 18" & 20") to suit your needs. Color-coated 18" steel chokers with screw clasps. Sign up for their newsletter to get earlier notice or just be sure to visit the site on Wednesdays when the 5-day sales usually begin.

The Beadin' Path has fresh vintage Lucite available including great colors for Fall, and you can use this coupon code, FALLUC to save $5 when you spend $50 or more.

Other Supplier Info:

I recently got an invitation to become a friend on Facebook to Halstead Beads. I'm going to check them out more thoroughly soon, but thought I'd mention that you can sign up for their newsletter and weekly coupons, too. They are a wholesale site with a minimum $100 order required.

Maybe you ignore the stuff in the sidebar, but I hope you glance over now and then - if so, you may have noticed that I've recently added Blue Buddha Boutique to my list of suppliers. I'll be posting an interview with Rebeca Mojic, owner of Blue Buddha Boutique, in the very near future. My personal jewelry making plans include a lot more maille and their site has been very helpful - including some free tutorials and lots of other very helpful information.

See you tomorrow for another pleasant tour of the Beadosphere!

Image at top of page from Graphics Fairy