Beadie Critters Galore!

Sorry for the Site Problems

2011-09-11T22:51:00.000-07:00

I'd like to apologize for the beadiecritters.com website being down. It's a domain name registration problem. I have attempted to contact my site sponsor to get that taken care of (it's in his name, so I can't even pay it if I wanted to). I'll continue trying to reach him and hopefully the site will be up soon.

I'm currently recovering from my son's wedding and getting ready to go on a vacation. After I return from my trip, I'll figure out something to do with the site if the domain name problem hasn't been taken care of. I also plan to begin posting patterns on the blog at that point.

Thanks for your patience!

Margo

Harry Potter Mania!

2011-07-14T10:43:00.000-07:00

The final Harry Potter movie is coming out this week. While it's sad to see it end, I'm excited to see what they've done with the exciting events in the end of the book.

In celebration, here are some Harry Potter beadies:

Harry on his broom with the Golden Snitch in hand!

Harry Potter in Gryffindor colors (there are several other variations of outfits for Harry)

Broom

Dudley Dursley

Dumbledore

Fred Weasley (there is a George to match)

Hermione

Mr. Dursley

Ron Weasley

A wand

To find these patterns go to www.beadiecritters.com/Cartoonframe.htm and scroll down.
Hope everyone enjoys these, as well as the final movie!

Where Can I Find Beads?

2011-06-14T18:09:00.000-07:00

If you're interested in making very many of the critters I've posted here on my blog, or the over 1400 patterns on my website, you might be wondering, "Where can I find all these colors of beads?"

A trip to the craft store reveals that there are not very many colors available in the 6x9mm pony beads--maybe 8-10 colors at the most. And if you want 4x7mm mini pony beads, there are even fewer choices. Most stores will have only 1 or 2 colors, or maybe an assortment, if they have anything at all in that size.

So what's a beadie critter fanatic to do?

I did a little poking around today to see what was out there. There are several stores that carry a variety of colors in the regular (6x9mm) pony beads, the mini (4x7mm) pony beads, or both. Here is a listing of just a few:

http://www.bolekscrafts.com/ Bolek's Crafts has the largest selection (70 colors) of pony beads in both regular and mini sizes. Made in the USA, and better quality than the ones you see in stores. Their site is more than a little hokey, and there is no online ordering, but I've gotten my beads from them for years and never had a problem. $.60 for 75 beads, $3.60 for 1000, in the regular size. (To find the pony beads--click on "Click Here to See Our Online Catalog" then scroll down until you see the words "Need Pony Beads?" You'll see the listing for regular-size pony beads there. To get to the mini pony bead listing, look for "More Pony Beads" toward the top of this page.

http://www.makingfriends.com/ has 20 colors of Darice beads in single-color packs of 720 for $2.99, and mixed packs of 1000 for the same price. Only a mixed bag of the mini size. Also has stars, hearts, and magic beads. This site also has more patterns for beadie critters, all free!

http://www.shipwreckbeads.com/catalog/Beads/Plastic-Beads/Pony-Beads/ has over 50 colors of 6x9mm pony beads available, as well as hearts, stars and magic beads (that change color in the sun). You can get a package of 500, 1000, 4000, or 10000 of one color. 500 costs $2.95 and 1000 is $4.35. They have a showroom in Lacey, Washington, where you can go and buy beads and other things, if you live in the area.

http://www.craftsuppliesforless.com/kidscraftsupplies_ponybead.html This site has about 20 colors of what looks like Darice Beads, as well as several color assortments, and magic beads. Most beads are $3.75 for a bag of 720 to 1000. They have larger quantity bags as well.

http://kwikcrafts.com/ Another site with a nice selection of regular-size pony beads, $3.99 for 720 in a single color. A small selection of mini pony beads, in assortment packages.

http://www.ebay.com/ A search for Pony Beads will find several choices. One of them is chellynk2's store where she offers a bag of 100 single-color 6x9mm pony beads for $1.25 (but $1.75 shipping for the first package, $.40 for additional bags on the same order). She has a nice selection of colors and some that Bolek's doesn't have.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/KandyLand?ref=seller_info Kandyland offers some truly unique pony bead colors, including frosted pony beads, in the 6x9mm size. She also has skull, halloween, crown-shaped, and other pony beads. Her prices are a little on the high side, $3-4 for a bag of 100 pony beads, but her unique offerings might make it worth buying a couple of them.

With all that said...I have been thinking about offering small bags of beads from Bolek's (and maybe other locations) on an E-bay or Etsy store. I would have to charge higher prices than Bolek's, because of listing and sales fees, and the value of my time...but what do you think? Would you be interested in buying a small bag of a color you need for a couple of beadie critters, to be able to avoid having to buy them 1000 at a time, and paying a $9 shipping fee for Bolek's?

I'd love to hear from you on this.

Beadie Movie Friday: Aladdin

2011-06-10T18:36:00.000-07:00

This week's featured movie beadies are character's from Disney's Aladdin. This was yet another movie that one of my children was obssessed with in their younger years. All of these characters were designed by me.

Aladdin www.beadiecritters.com/patternpages/beadaladdin1.htm

Jasmine www.beadiecritters.com/patternpages/beadjasmine.htm

Genie www.beadiecritters.com/patternpages/beadgenie.htm

Jafar www.beadiecritters.com/patternpages/beadjafar.htm

The Sultan www.beadiecritters.com/patternpages/beadsultan.htm

The Lamp and Abu the Monkey www.beadiecritters.com/patternpages/beadabulamp.htm

Some of these beadies use colors that you will not be able to find in stores. You can purchase these colors and many more at Bolek's Craft Supplys: http://www.bolekscrafts.com/.

I am thinking seriously about offering small bags of 100 pony beads in the wide variety of colors that Bolek's carries, with only the actual shipping cost rather than the $9 for orders under $100 that Bolek's charges. Would you be interested in buying beads from me so you can make some of these patterns? Post a reply.

Have a great weekend!

Snakes, Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?

2011-06-07T16:43:00.000-07:00

...to quote the line from "Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark." Today's feature is all kinds of snakes!

Snakes are a GREAT beginner beadie project. And you can use all kinds of color combinations to make your creation unique! Make your snakes as long as you'd like.

Cobra www.beadiecritters.com/patternpages/cobra.htm

Coral Snake www.beadiecritters.com/patternpages/beadcoral.htm

Diamond-Back Snake www.beadiecritters.com/patternpages/beaddia.htm

Rattlesnake 3 www.beadiecritters.com/patternpages/beadrattle3.htm

Green and Purple Snake www.beadiecritters.com/patternpages/beadsna.htm

Orange and Green Snake www.beadiecritters.com/patternpages/beadsna2.htm

Happy Beading!

Beadie Movie Friday: Pirates of the Caribbean!

2011-05-20T09:25:00.000-07:00

Pirates of the Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides premiers today. I am a big fan of the movie series and will be seeing this one as soon as all of us have time!

In honor of this premier, I designed beadies to resemble the characters from the movies:

Jack Sparrow: www.beadiecritters.com/patternpages/beadpiratejack.htm
Elizabeth Swann: www.beadiecritters.com/patternpages/beadpirateelizabeth.htm
Will Turner: www.beadiecritters.com/patternpages/beadpiratewillturner.htm

Barbossa: www.beadiecritters.com/patternpages/beadpiratebarbossa.htm
Davy Jones: www.beadiecriters.com/patternpages/beadpiratedavyjones.htm
Angelica: www.beadiecritters.com/patternpages/beadpirateangelica.htm

Hope you enjoy these new beadies!

Looking for a color you can't find in the craft stores? Try Bolek's Craft Supplys! http://www.bolekscrafts.com/ They have 70 colors of pony beads in 2 sizes (6x9mm and 4x7mm). Be sure to tell them you heard of them because of my site!

Movie Beadie Friday: Beauty and the Beast

2011-05-06T14:22:00.000-07:00

On Fridays I will be featuring characters from a movie. Most of the time these will be cartoon movies, as is this one. Today's feature beadies are from Disney's "Beauty and the Beast."

The Beast: www.beadiecritters.com/beadbeast.htm

Belle: www.beadiecritters.com/beadbelle.htm

Mrs. Potts & Chip: www.beadiecritters.com/beadpottschip.htm

Cogsworth: www.beadiecritters.com/beadcogsworth.htm

Lumiere: www.beadiecritters.com/beadlumiere.htm

Beauty and the Beast is one of my daughters' all-time favorite movies. My younger daughter watched it over and over and over again for months, and will still watch it occasionally. It's a definite classic in our house!

Watch the movie while you do the beadies for even more fun!

Sunshiney Day!

2011-05-04T16:47:00.000-07:00

The sun is shining so beautifully today!

Here's a sun beadie critter:

Sun 2: www.beadiecritters.com/beadsun2.htm

How about a bird to celebrate the birds singing so sweetly?

Trio of Birds: www.beadiecritters.com/beadbirds.htm

And a ladybug that you might find while gardening:

Ladybugs: www.beadiecritters.com/beadladybugs.htm

Finally, a snake that you would hope not to find in your garden!

Snake: www.beadiecritters.com/beadsna.htm

Enjoy the sunshine, if it's shining where you are! Take your beads outside to your deck or porch and soak up some rays while you bead!

How About Some May Flowers?

2011-05-02T10:51:00.001-07:00

Spring is finally here in Oregon (maybe--we can never really tell, but the sunny days are occurring more frequently and the rain is more sporadic), so how about some nice flower beadies for your backpack, purse, or keychain?

Here is a nice bunch of flowers:

Orange and Blue Flowers, http://www.beadiecritters.com/beadflowers3.htm

Beaded Daisy, http://www.beadiecritters.com/beaddaisy.htm

Want to make some jewelry? A daisy bracelet would be nice!

Beaded Daisy Bracelet, http://www.beadiecritters.com/beaddaisybracelet.htm

You could make the flowers in any colors you would like to make your own unique creation!

The national pasttime is in full swing. Want to show your support for baseball? Here are two patterns--one for beginners, and one more advanced.

Baseball, http://www.beadiecritters.com/beadbaseball3.htm

3-D Baseball, http://www.beadiecritters.com/bead3dbaseball.htm

For more patterns, go to http://www.beadiecritters.com/ and click on Patterns. Then choose a category. There are lots more flowers, sports, people, cartoon characters, etc!