I have been busily teaching myself bead weaving and discovered I like it more than any other beading technique I have learned so far.  I copied this necklace from a Bead and Button Magazine book with great success.  As you can see I made two versions of it, one for my daughter - a red one, and one for my friend - the black and silver one. shown below  Both were for their holiday parties this year.  What I liked about it was its elegance and how simple it was to make.

I started working with beads and a needle and thread for my bookmarks.  I wanted a tassel at the end of the bookmark that wouldn't come apart easily.  I have since discovered that I really enjoy the process.  I have always been content working with a needle and thread.  I love to quilt and cross-stitch.  This has added a new element to the needle and thread.  I have also been combining cross-stitch and beading by adding beads to my cross-stitch, mostly for my stockings right now but I am making a key chain for my son for Christmas.  What guy wants cross-stitch on his key chain.  I am planning on keeping the colours muted and the design simple.  Possibly, only his initials.

I custom made the necklaces to suit each person, their colour choices and length.  It added to the quality of the product but also the price.  One was definitely more expensive to make than the other.  When doing custom orders, this should always be considered when pricing. Changes in length can add more to your material costs and the length of time it takes you to make the item.  Offering custom orders is worth the extra effort as customer satisfaction is higher.  You also get another collaborator. I would not have selected the colours that my daughter did but it really worked for her.

Last week was my big week for sales.  I had three through one site and two custom orders.  One of the custom orders was the black and silver necklace, the other was a Christmas Stocking.  Click here to see the stocking on my iCraft site https://icraft.ca/member_product_detail.php?fmRecKey=28730&fmReturnBack=https%3A%2F%2Ficraft.ca%2Fmember_products.php  It was all enough to keep me busy along with work.

I have also had a request for a private quilting lesson and asked to see if I can finish some partially made jewellery.  Looks like I am going to be a busy crafter.

With the holiday season upon us, I am going to take the time to make for my family and friends.  I am dismayed to say I haven't even sent out my Christmas cards.  They go in the mail on Monday but I don't think they will be delivered on time.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy Holiday Season


Happy Crafing
CraftyLady Liz