Battle of the Patterns: Arthur (PBS show 1996-2022)

 Have you ever seen the PBS cartoon show, Arthur? My younger kids watched it when it was small, and it was quite popular for a while, with books and toys available in stores. It was actually on PBS until just a couple of years ago, I was surprised to find out.

Since Arthur was popular during the heyday of pony bead creations, I have several different versions of patterns for the main characters. Let's have a little vote to see which ones we like better!

Arthur

I have Arthur patterns from three places, two of which are defunct. The one on the left is from Evelyn's Bead Page (Arthur). The second is from Danette's Beadie Buddies Bonanza, and the third is from some patterns you could order from Making Friends years ago.

What do you think of them? I made the two on either side first. Then when starting on the middle one, I noticed that she was calling for a different color bead for Arthur's skin/fur(?), and decided to look more closely at images of Arthur, and settled on tan rather than the medium brown I'd been using. I completely disagreed with her idea that his skin/fur was "goldenrod."

Which one of these beadies do you like best? Left, middle, or right? Which skin/fur color do you think is best?

DW

I have DW patterns from the same three sources. From Evelyn's site (DW), Beady Buddies Bonanza, and Making Friends.

They are all pretty similar. Which one do you like best?

Please comment below to let me know!

Additional Patterns

Making Friends had a Baby Kate pattern (above). Evelyn's site (Baby Kate) and the Beady Buddies site also had patterns for Arthur's baby sister, but I didn't make them all.

My site has had a pattern for Muffy, one of their friends. The sample above uses a tan color that is no longer available.

Evelyn's site also has a Buster pattern.

The old Beady Buddies site had the most complete collection of Arthur patterns, featuring Arthur's parents, and friends Binky, Buster, Emily, and Sue Ellen, as well as Pal, Bionic Bunny, Nadine, and Mary Moo Cow.

Is the Beady Buddies collection missing anyone that you enjoyed from the show?

See my Pinterest board for some of these patterns!

Product Review: Create Your Own Bead Pets Kit

 Today I am reviewing a product that is available in most Walmart ($9.97)and JoAnn ($11.97) stores as well as online on their websites or apps. Amazon has a similar kit on their website, which has more pony beads, and doesn't have the same bead container as the one I'm reviewing.

I was intrigued by this kit because of the bead guide pictured in the lower right of the first picture above. I thought it would be a very helpful thing, and even started envisioning re-doing some of my patterns so that they could be used in that guide as an alternative to the normal method of bead stringing.

I opened the kit and discovered that the beads were packed in individual little plastic bags by color, or sometimes with a few colors in one bag if they all went to one pattern. This made it very easy to put the beads into the storage container. However, there were not enough divided spaces to put each bag into, so several of the bags ended up in the large area that took up half the storage space.

The stiff waxed string was rolled into a bundle that could be tricky to unwind. The lanyard hooks and keyrings were in their own plastic bags.

The instructions were fairly basic, with cord lengths printed on the instruction sheet rather than on each pattern sheet.

The idea with the pattern guide is that you can take the pattern sheets, and put them under the cover of the storage case. Then you can lay out the beads in the ridged areas of the cover, then work the cords through on each side to make your bead pet. They recommend putting the string on a keyring or lanyard hook, then putting that inside the storage container, with the string coming out of the container through a little slot, as shown below.

Then you put the pattern under the cover, close the cover, and line the beads up between the ridged areas of the cover to match the pattern. Then string the cord through the beads.

Problem 1: All the beads are in the storage container, which you can't open once you've put beads on the cover, without messing up all the beads you've just laid out on the cover. So you need to count out all the beads you'll need for each beadie onto the table, before beginning.

Problem 2: There's nothing really holding these beads in place as you place them on the cover, so I spent a lot of time trying to get them to stand up and not move.

Problem 3: It was tricky to string the cord through the beads and have the beads stay in place, as mentioned above.

After completing 1 bead pet, I decided to just go back to doing beadies the way I usually do, by picking the beads out of the storage container just before I put them on the string.

After completing the 3rd bead pet, I decided I really didn't like the stiff waxed string, and decided to use my trusty clear plastic lacing.

The bead "pets" that this kit makes are pictured below (popsicles and pizza slices aren't really pets, right?).

Overall I wouldn't recommend this kit unless you are trying to get just the amount of beads you need to make several bead pets. I did have a few extra beads at the end, but not many.

Winnie the Pooh from Old Site

This week I was inspired by some old patterns I ran across while organizing my craft stuff.

In the late 90s heyday of beadie critters, MakingFriends was a go-to site for well-designed beadies and lots of other general kids' crafts. Over the years this site has evolved and focused on Girl Scout activities, and the site owner also offers another site for free kids' crafts (FreeKidsCrafts), but most of the beadie critters did not make it onto the new site.

The patterns I found today were for an entire set of characters from the old classic Disney cartoon, Winnie the Pooh. I do have some Winnie the Pooh character patterns on my site, but I'm really not that fond of either of the Winnie the Pooh patterns, and I have never had a pattern for Christopher Robin, Owl, Rabbit, or Eeyore. So it was a fun set to make. I hope you enjoy making them too!

Making Christmas Ornaments with Beads

 Today I'm going to talk about other kinds of beads. Specifically, tri beads, starflake beads, and faceted beads. All of these can be used to make some very beautiful and simple ornaments.

My friend hosted an evening where several of us made winter hat ornaments using simple materials of yarn and a small ring cut from a toilet paper tube. It was a fun evening. Her intent was to donate the ornaments to an organization called Operation Ornaments. This organization collects handmade ornaments and distributes them to people who have lost everything in a disaster. This year's contributions are headed to Lahaina, Hawaii, which was devastated by fire in 2023, among other places.

It gave me an idea to see if there were some simple ornaments our church children's group could make for this effort. Of course, I thought of beads. My first idea was tri bead candy canes. I have bunches of these that I hang on our Christmas tree instead of regular candy canes (no one in our house will eat the real ones).

Candy Cane made from Tri Beads

Tri Bead Candy Cane

These are really quite easy to make. You just need tri beads in two colors (red and white, or transparent red and clear, for example), one half of a chenille stem, and a ribbon to make the hanger. For the pictured candy cane we used 20 red beads and 19 clear beads.

Start by making a small bend at one end of the chenille stem to form a thicker bit, to stop the beads from falling off. Then thread beads onto the stem, starting with red and alternating with the white or clear, ending with red. Then bend the remaining chenille stem up to hold the beads on. When adding the ribbon for the hanger, slip it in between two of the beads and it will stay in place easily.

I realized that candy canes might be a little simple to make, and I wanted to have other options, so I looked around on the internet and saw several kits to make bead ornaments. My favorites were wreaths and Christmas trees.

Wreath made from Tri Beads

Wreath made from "starflake" beads and faceted beads

Christmas tree made from "starflake" beads and a couple of pony beads

I didn't want to order kits, though, so I turned to my trusty bead source, Bolek's Craft Supplys. They are the place where I get all my pony beads because they have the best quality beads and have by far the largest selection of colors, especially for the mini pony beads, which is my preferred size to use for making Beadie Critters.

Sure enough, they had the tri beads and the starflake beads (they just call them star beads) in a variety of colors. At the end of this blog post, I will do some price comparisons and calculations.

Tri Bead Wreath

For the tri bead wreath, we used tri beads in green and red, or transparent green and red. You will need 33 green tri beads and 11 red. You will also need a chenille stem. Slide the first red tri bead about 3/4 of the way along the chenille stem (not to the end), then add 3 green tri beads, then a red, and continue in this pattern. 

When you've added the last red bead, check to make sure that the chenille stem left on either end is even. Make your wreath into a circle. Then twist the two ends together like a bread tie, right where the two red beads meet up.

Now you will use the remaining chenille stem to form a bow and twist it so that it stays. Add a ribbon to hang.

You can make these wreaths in different combinations. Online I saw versions with 5 green beads and 1 red bead, one with alternating white/red/green beads, etc.

Wreath made from Tri Beads

Starflake Bead Wreath

I always called these beads "paddlewheel" but it seems that nowadays they are called "star," "starflake," or "sunburst" beads. For the wreath you will need 18 green 18mm starflake beads, and 10 faceted red beads - size can be 6mm or 8mm. The wreath in the picture above uses 6mm. And of course a chenille stem.

Slide 1 red faceted bead about 3/4 of the way along the chenille stem, then add 2 green starflake beads. Repeat 1 red faceted, 2 green starflake until you add the last red faceted bead. 

When you've added the last red bead, check to make sure that the chenille stem left on either end is even. Make your wreath into a circle. Then twist the two ends together like a bread tie, right where the two red beads meet up.

Now you will use the remaining chenille stem to form a bow and twist it so that it stays. Add a ribbon to hang.

Wreath made from "starflake" beads and faceted beads

Bead Christmas Tree

For the Christmas tree, you will need green starflake beads in 3 sizes: 2 25mm, 3 18mm, and 4 12mm. You will also need a brown regular pony bead, and a gold glitter star pony bead, and half of a chenille stem.

Put the brown pony bead on the chenille stem and twist to secure it. Then add, in order, the 25mm starflake beads, the 18mm starflake beads, and the 12mm starflake beads. Finally add the star pony bead. Loop the remaining chenille stem back down to the star as closely as you can, and twist. This will make the hanger for the ornament. You will have extra chenille stem which you will cut off.

Christmas tree made from "starflake" beads and a couple of pony beads

Last week, I had the children in our church group make the candy canes and the wreaths. They enjoyed it so much, and they were so quick at it that they made 65 ornaments in less than an hour!

We wanted to continue to have them make more of these ornaments, so I had to order some more beads from Bolek's. I ordered materials for more Christmas trees, and tri bead and starflake bead wreaths. I also ordered materials for a new ornament, an icicle.

Icicle made from "starflake" beads and faceted beads

Icicle Ornament

For this ornament, we used ice blue or clear starflake beads in 2 sizes: 12mm and 10mm. We also used faceted beads in 3 sizes: 8mm, 6mm, and 4mm, in the same color. You will need 4 of each bead, and half of a chenille stem. I used a silver tinsel chenille stem for this one, but you could also use white.

Start by bending and twisting a small loop on one end of the chenille stem. Later you will put a hanging ribbon through this loop - this is the top of your icicle. Then slide on the 12mm starflake beads, the 10mm starflake beads, and the faceted beads, first the 8mm, then the 6mm, then the 4mm. Bend the chenille stem into a little knot at the end to hold the beads.

For all of these ornaments, I am planning to do some more step-by-step illustrated directions soon.

Comparing Costs

Now for cost. I mentioned earlier that I had found kits of the candy cane, wreath and Christmas tree ornaments. The kits will contain all the materials you need and would be great for a small group to make just a few ornaments, perhaps for gifts for their family. 

This kit that you can order from JoAnn would make 16 of the starflake bead ornaments at a cost of $.82 each. 

Holiday Wreath Ornament Kit

Another kit, from Amazon. With this you could make 30 ornaments. I believe it is intended to make 30 Christmas tree ornaments, but says that you could make other ornaments as well. At 30 ornaments for $18.99, that is $.63 each.

Christmas Beaded Ornament Kit

Another kit from Amazon, that will make 60 ornaments for $14.99, so that is $.25 each.

Christmas Beaded Craft Kit

It used to be that you could find tri beads, starflake beads, and faceted plastic beads at every craft store, but it is becoming more and more rare. I have recently seen red and white tri beads at Hobby Lobby, as well as a package of tri beads with clear, transparent green and transparent red. They also have some simple tri bead kits. You can get a kit to make 24 tri bead candy canes for $2.49 - but they have included some beading wire instead of chenille stems. You can also get a kit to make 12 tri-bead wreaths for $2.49.

Neither Michaels nor JoAnn carry tri beads or starflake beads in store (except that JoAnn has a large bag of assorted colors of tri beads).

So that leaves you with buying kits like the above, sometimes in a store and more often online, or purchasing beads online.

Amazon has small business sellers that sell all kinds of beads. For example, one called "The Crafts Outlet" has green or red transparent tri beads. You can get 1,000 beads for $12.99. They also have green starflake beads in various sizes, in a 100-pack for $7.99 for 10mm and 12mm, or $11.49 for 18mm. They don't have 25mm starflake beads.

Another couple of Amazon sellers, one called "The Beadery," and the other called "BeadTin," offer a larger variety of sizes, and for less money. For example, BeadTin offers 25mm emerald transparent starflake beads in an 80-pack for $3.90. They also have the same color in 18mm starflake beads, a pack of 135 for $2.69. Note that Michaels.com also carries the BeadTin line and the prices are similar.

So with some careful shopping on Amazon, you could acquire all the beads you needed to make a bunch of ornaments.

Now let's look at Bolek's Craft Supplies. This is your one-stop shop for all of the types of beads used in these crafts.

Tri Beads - available in 58 different colors

72 count - $0.80

480 count - $2.50

1,440 count - $5.20

Faceted beads 6mm

72 count - $0.80

480 count - $2.20

1,440 count - $4.20

Faceted beads 8mm

72 count - $0.80

480 count - $3.00

1,440 count - $6.55

Starflake Beads 12mm (they list them as Star Beads)

50 count - $0.80

500 count - $3.30

Starflake Beads 18mm

100 count - $1.70

500 count - $6.00

Starflake Beads 25mm

18 count - $0.90

144 count - $4.00

Regular pony beads (used for the Christmas tree)

75 count - $0.80

1000 count - $4.30

Gold glitter star pony beads (used for the Christmas tree)

144 count - $2.20

Bolek's also carries chenille stems in a bunch of colors, in a pack of 100 for $3.75. Hobby Lobby's price is slight cheaper than this - 140 stems for $2.99. Bolek's doesn't have any tinsel chenille stems, either.

Let's calculate how much it would take us to order the beads, etc. for the same number of Christmas tree ornaments as in the Amazon kit above.

We would need to order:

1 pkg. 72-count brown pony beads ($0.80)

1 pkg. 144-count gold glitter star pony beads ($2.20)

4 pkgs. 18-count 25mm starflake beads (total 72 beads) ($2.70)

1 pkg. 100-count 18mm starflake beads ($1.70)

1 pkg. 144-count 12mm starflake beads ($4.00)

1 pkg. red or green chenille stems (3.75)

For a total of $15.15, which is slightly cheaper than the kit on Amazon.

The catch is, that shipping is $12.50 from Bolek's, unless you order $130 or more. Realistically, it is worth it to get beads from Bolek's if you are ordering enough to make it worth the shipping.

Because we are making so many, I feel it has been worth it to purchase from Bolek's. We will be able to make 520 ornaments at a cost of about $0.25 each, including the shipping fees. But as you can see above, one of the kits from Amazon comes in at about $0.25 per ornament.

Happy Christmas crafting!

In My Taylor Swift Beadie Era

 My daughter really likes Taylor Swift's music, and now she has passed that on to my grandson who is 5 years old. Naturally, the last time I visited them, I had the opportunity to see the Eras concert on Disney Plus and several of her videos. 

I was inspired by all the beautiful outfits Taylor wore in her Eras concert, and designed some Taylor beadies based on those.

These designs are heavily based on Lily's icandream.com doll design template and I am very grateful for the assistance her website provides when I am designing people or cartoon characters. I made all of these patterns using wee pony beads (available from Bolek's Craft Supplys) and plastic lacing.

These patterns will be coming to the website soon, with stringpath drawings, but you can see enough about how most of these are made to be able to do it without a drawing.

A few of the Taylor designs

Lover Era

Fearless Era

Acoustic Interlude, or as my daughter calls it, "Surprise Songs"

Evermore Era

Reputation Era

Speak Now Era

Red Era

folklore Era

1989 Era

Midnights Era