Hello All !!! A bead newbie has come to the mix!!

Hello Everyone,

My name is Heather and I have been hired by Starman, Inc. as the Business Manager. I'm so excited to be here in this creative environment but I have ZERO bead experience. I have been an artist all of my life, thanks to my grandfather. My usual mediums are drawing, painting, refinishing furniture and home design. With that said, it is safe to assume that I know nothing about beads, the hardware needed or the proper terms. I will explain everything as I go just in case there are newbie's out there as well.

We have decided to revive the blog and have three different levels for everyone to watch - Beginner (me), Intermediate (Lisa) and Advanced (Jennifer)- it should be great fun!!

We will work on different projects and, occasionally, work with the same color pallette for seasonal projects. Another project will have all of us use the same materials and see what we come up with individually. Suggestions are always welcome.

My first bead purchase was a bag of assorted crystals and varying sizes of red firepolish beads. I plan on doing 3-4 in. strands to insert into the Christmas tree for sparkle. I am very traditional in my decoration of a Christmas tree. I always stay with deep reds, gold, some dark green and crystals for sparkle.

My first question to the 'bead guru' (Jennifer) was how to have the ends finished nicely. I thought a 'stopper' (headpin) would be a possibility but it would need to be longer than we carry. Her two ideas were to use a very small bead (seed bead) or string it and then loop it back through. I thought that would leave a string around the bottom so Im not so sure about that. I also contemplated earring tops. We shall see what works better.
I will be bringing in the beads tomorrow to start learning and sharing with all of you.

I hope you join us on our new adventures and enjoy our trip down the beadin' path!

Happy wishes to all of you!

Heather