I-L-O-V-E-M-O-M. How would you like to spell out your affection to your parents, siblings, relatives, and friends? Certainly, the standard ways of letting them know how much we care are through email and greeting cards will make their day, but it will draw a different form of happiness when your loved one receives a special piece made by you with their names on it.

This can be made possible using alphabet beads. You can come up with varying designs with alphabet beads and customize them to give a personal touch. Whether it's a necklace for your mother bearing her name or it's a bracelet for your dad. The different styles you can create along with other beads will not only spell out their names, it raises your expressiveness to the next level.

The popularity of beads is timeless. Since time immemorial, beads have been used both for self-expression and self-adornment. The craft also never falls short in capturing the interest of every generation. You can go funky or elegant with beads, and alphabet beads are not an exception.

Having an alphabet beads set doesn't need to be expensive, and the variety is endless. For instance, you can purchase straps or chains for bracelets in many forms and types of materials like silicone, satin, metal mesh, suede, flat cord, snake skin, and genuine leather.

The wonderful thing about alphabet sets is they are available in various typefaces as well as types like sterling silver or rhinestones. To add a distinct look to your alphabet jewelry, you can add in spacers, aluminum beads, or glass beads, ceramic beads, and a variety of colors of special pens as decorative for your beads. To complete your piece, string them on necklace cords and close them with clasps.

Aside from being excellent gift ideas, making beaded jewelry with alphabet beads are worthwhile past times for teens who are bursting with creativity. Bead-making helps them create personalized jewelry items, mobile phone straps, belts, bags, the hundreds of others.

In the age the rising popularity of personalized items, using alphabet beads are a great way to express your individuality and sincerity. Here are some online resources where you will find alphabet beads in sterling silver. At Artbeads.com , all the beads are in sterling silver, which are 5.2mm in size and designed with a large hole for easy stringing to make necklaces, bracelets, anklets, virtually any jewelry item. All the letter in the alphabet are available including blanks, heart-shaped or square-shaped beads, or create a combination of both.

Additionally, at Artbeads.com , sterling silver alphabet beads and many other types of beads are available. The beads come in many sizes and fun shapes. Their beads sizes range from 8mm two-hole letter beads, 4.5mm block, 4.5mm rounded block, 5.6mm block, 5.8 rounded block, heart-shaped letter beads, and letter charms.

Spell your love and affection to your loved ones through alphabet beads. Or adorn yourself, the choices are endless and your piece timeless.

Examples of Personalized jewelry sets:

www.flickr.com More photos in Beadwork and Jewelry Making

Crafty Tags: beads, personalized jewelry items

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Bead Jewelry Making, Crafts, Jewelry, Jewelry Making

If you visit a store of Addicted to Rubber Stamps, you would find yourself in the midst of conventional wood- mounts for engraving. There are also other of its kind such as clear badge, foam badge, pre- inked badge, magnetic badge and rolling badge, to enumerate a few. The company also happens to be a distributor of popular brands that are known to manufacture supplies of high grade quality. Examples are Hero Arts, Inkadinkado, Enchanted Ink, Tsukineko, Stampabilities, Ranger Industries and Technique Tuesday, among the others.

Not only is there a huge selection of materials you can purchase, Addicted to Rubber Stamps also has embellishments, patterned paper, card stock and stickers that come from Creating Keepsakes, EK Success, Bazzill Basics Paper, Making Memories, Penny Black, Denami Design, Up Town, Provo Craft, Fiskars, Hampton Art, Marvy Uchida, Ala Happen, Stamps Happen, Inky Antics, Comotion, Words Worth, Magenta, Silver Crow Creations, Son Light, Victorine Originals and many more leading companies that are identified to generate the finest items spotted in the market today.

As a response to expansion, Addicted to Rubber Stamps introduced an affiliate, Addicted to Scrapbooking. The company has a wide range of adhesives, albums, cleaners, paints, pencils, pens, pigments, powders, sheets, beads, confetti, glitter, eyelets, brads, fabrics, gems, charms, trinkets, stones, patches, wires, cords, ribbons, powders, goodies, chalks, dyes, cards, envelopes, tags, bookmarks, papers, needles, overlays, containers, cutters, stationeries, stencils and stickers.

On another note, Addicted to Rubber Stamps also has another associate, Addicted to Craft Kits. If you are devoted to the art, it would be an advantage that you apply yourself to become a member. As soon as you are authorized by the company, you will be receiving various new tools that will be delivered right in your doorstep. Aside from that perk, you will also be qualified to discounted shipping on about any orders you will be adding each month. Does not that sound like an amazing deal?

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Crafts, Rubber Stamping, Scrapbooking

Popularized by hundreds of jewelry and craft stores, the acrylic beads have came out in the market like a special jewelry and art piece. It has been used by thousands of people for jewelry and art purposes, and it's nice to know that just like the rest of the bead materials, the acrylic beads have made great crafts.

The acrylic beads are offered nowadays by a number of craft stores anywhere in the world. The good thing to know about these beading materials is that they are offered inexpensively. Yes, you can find them at pretty reasonable prices. They are noted significantly for their elegance and style, with almost all acrylic beads featuring transparent pieces that glow in different colors and shades. Just like the rest of the beads, they are molded into several shapes, with the most common highlighting simple balls and cubes. The shapes may also range from the basics to the most complicated and delicate forms like skulls, butterflies, and celestial symbols. And being transparent in nature, the acrylic beads are deemed by many beading experts as a great alternative to glass or crystal beads. It is important to note, however, that the acrylic beads tend to break easily if handled improperly.

Get Tons of High Quality Low Priced Beads Online

Wondering where you can find sets of acrylic beads? If yes, then note that these materials are now available anywhere in the world, from small to large jewelry and craft stores. Perhaps the most effective and easiest way of finding them is to go online. Of Course the best place to go is right here at Crafty Places online store

Yes, you heard me right. A number of online stores are now offering acrylic beads for the computer users to consider. The beads offered at these portals come in varying prices though, but they come more affordable than those offered offline. It is for this reason that more and more consumers are now using the Internet for their own product searches.

For high quality and well-designed acrylic beads, you can consider Joann.com for any transparent beads. At this site, you can find beads made of acrylic that are highly faceted. There are some that are shaped in birthstone drops, while others come in plain cuts. Also, each of their beads sets are marketed at affordable prices, allowing even the budgeted customers to take what they really wanted to have.

You can also go directly to Artbeads.com where hundreds of acrylic beads of different shapes and sizes are offered. The beads featured at this site come in a number of colors, with most of them carefully dyed to achieve the best hues. Several reviews also have it that AuntiesBeads.com carries the boldest designs available for beading. This fact is basically what makes AuntiesBeads.com a popular site for beading materials online.

A lot more beading portals are operating out there on the web to help you find the right acrylic beads for your beading projects. If you want to find out more, then go online to the places mentioned above!.

Other Great Resources Include:

Auntie's Beads

BJ Craft Supply

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Arts and Crafts, Bead Jewelry Making, Crafts, Jewelry, Jewelry Making, Jewelry Making Supply

This layout was born from the thoughts in my head as I browsed a catalog.  There was a pair of shoes on the back cover that made me swoon.  But alas, they were priced well outside what I would consider paying for shoes.  And since I had a baby in July, it occurred to me that I wouldn't even be able to wear my cute skirts that would match these shoes until the pregnancy weight comes off.

So to inspire myself to reach my weight loss goal, I made a scrapbook page of the shoes.  This was backwards thinking for me.  I normally scrap what has been or what really happened.  I have never scrapped a wish, a hope, a dream, or a goal.  I think, "What if I don't make it?  Then my failure will be documented for all the world and future generations to see."  But for this one, I swallowed my pride and put myself out there.  Having this page will inspire me.  And if I do fail and don't want to be reminded of it, I just tear up the page and throw it away.  Sure, that sounds really mature, but it gave me enough courage to make the page.

The title, "Goal", is cut from a sheet of letter stickers.  These letters were used on other projects, so I just used the outline that remained.  The effect is a subtle, ghost-like letter.  The shape of each letter is not perfect, making them organic and whimsical (my words for things that are bent, broken, messed-up, and otherwise wrong in some way).

The blue paper behind the catalog page is wrapping paper from one of the baby gifts.  It had a beautiful sheen and texture, so I saved it.  While it would lend itself well to a baby layout, it serves here to remind me why I have this goal.  It's a reminder that my body served me very well in producing a healthy baby boy and I should be grateful for it, no matter what size.

I added some stamped swirls and patterned paper to complete the design.  I wrote the journaling in my own handwriting to enforce the commitment to the goal.  When I make the goal, I can come back to this page and add a photo of myself in the shoes.  It will be a page that stands the test of time.  And hopefully, the lovely page can avoid the trash. 

[tag-tec]scrapbook layout[/tag-tec], [tag-ice]scrapbooking craft[/tag-ice], [tag-self]scrapbooking[/tag-self], [tag-self]scrapbooking craft[/tag-self]

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Arts and Crafts, Crafts, Scrapbooking, Scrapbooking Ideas

What's In Your Scrapbooking Toolkit?: Submitted by Stacy Brunner

Recently, I've heard friends say, "I'd love to start scrapbooking, but I just can't afford it."  What?!  That's preposterous!  Scrapbooking is the thing to do when you don't have much funding.  You make something out of nothing and have a wonderful time doing it.  In making an "industry" out of a "pastime", we have made it inaccessible to the general population.  So with that thought in mind and in thinking through what bare necessities a person needs for an evening crop, I came up with the following list.  You don't need expensive electronic gadgets or the trendiest paper to document your life in pictures.  You just need a couple tools, your photos, and your stories..

Designing
I usually have notepaper all over my house and office desk with ideas for scrapbook pages.  Sometimes I hear a song lyric or a catchy phrase that I'd like to incorporate on a layout.  Or I have a photo that needs a strong layout, so I make little sketches to get an idea of what will work.  And I never scrap without some scratch paper.  Remember in school when you'd scribble the math or your essay answer on another sheet before committing it to the actual test?  Well it's a similar thing in scrapbooking.  I like to free write my journaling before I commit it to the page.  That way, I can read through it a few times and edit if needed.  I can also find out how much space it's going take on the page.

For this kind of brainstorming and design work, you can't go wrong with a good old-fashioned number 2 pencil with a giant eraser.  When my pencil gets lost (I'm a messy scrapper), all production halts because I just can't seem to think without it. 

Cutting
Once I have some well-formed ideas, the cutting begins.  A self-healing mat is a good investment, but not a requirement.  The biggest advantage of the mat is that it outlines my immediate workspace.  It's 12×12 inches that I keep free of clutter.  The lines on the mat are also ideal for making sure you are writing or gluing where you intended.  It's an added bonus that it also keeps the table surface free of knicks and scratches.

A paper trimmer is ideal for trimming photos.  The sliding blade makes straight lines a snap.  Of course, if you don't want to invest in one of these, you can go organic and trim your photos with scissors.  I keep scissors on hand for all sorts things.  Regular size paper scissors are great.  But even better than those are the tiny, sharp scissors for precision cutting.  These scissors just seem to cut on auto-pilot.  They glide around turns and crevices with ease.  My favorite use of the tiny scissors?  Cutting out letters traced from a template.  I'm like a really slow Cricut with those scissors!

The x-acto blade (or craft knife) is another good tool for precision cuts.  This can be used to make cut-outs in patterned paper or to decorate custom chipboard.  You'll want to pair this with the self-healing mat to avoid ruining your tabletop.  The mat generally makes a nice surface for smooth cutting.

You may not realize it, but there are numerous reasons for needing holes in your layouts.  For this, everyone needs a small and medium hole punch.  I use these every time I scrap.  The hand-held hole punch that you used in school to put all your papers in the three-ring binder will work just fine.

For really classy pages with just a small investment, buy a corner rounder.  You can get some really versatile looks by rounding the corners on photos and embellishments.  You  might be surprised all the different uses of this tool.

Pasting
If you're obsessive about archival quality, you may not agree with my choice in adhesive.  I am a big fan of glue.  Glue sticks and liquid glue are my adhesives of choice.  I especially like a liquid tube of glue that has a precision applicator to it.  It works great for applying glue to the tiny cut-out template letters and other slivers of art.

Journaling
Journaling should be a prominent part of your layouts.  Allow yourself to be creative in your journaling by investing in a pen that writes on any surface.  I use a black Zig Vellum Writer.  The fine point is perfect for large areas of text.  Mix the medium tip with the fine to make fun doodles and creative lettering.  I use this pen so much, I buy more than one at a time so I always have a backup.

When you're working on dark colored papers however, you'll want white ink.  The search for the perfect white pen was grueling.  I finally discovered the Sakuro gelly roll pen in white.  It writes with a fine point in an opaque shade of white.  The ink flows from the pen to the page effortlessly creating beautiful journaling on your page.  And really, the black and white pens will take you very far on your scrapbooking journey.

Decorating
Items for decorating may be the most extravagant in your tool kit.  I bought an embossing stylus for its intended purpose, to create embossed images.  Well, I think I have embossed images exactly twice.  But the stylus is so important that when I lost mine recently, I had to replace it.  I use it with the paper trimmer to score folds.  I use it to thread ribbon into small holes.  I like to think of it as my multi-purpose tool.

Tweezers are another item worth their weight in gold.  After cutting out tiny letters or slivers of paper, I can use tweezers to hold the item while I apply glue.  You can also use them to carefully position stickers.

Whether you use rubber stamps in your scrapbook or not, it's handy to have a couple ink pads at least.  The black StazOn ink is great because it dries quickly and sets permanently.  It's also not a very wet and sloppy ink, so you can use it with stamps that have very fine details.  I also keep brown ink on hand for creating distressed looks.  It gives background papers and embellishments dimension to ink the edges a bit.

Now, I challenge all of you to take your tools (the ones you already have around your house) and your creative mind and get busy recording your story.  If you're a beginner, you have permission to use the simplest tools to document your story.  And for those who have mountains of products and tools, I challenge you to set it aside for an evening and get back to the basics.  Grab a stack of photos, some scissors, and a glue stick and put your story on the page in record time.  Maybe in doing this, you'll discover a bit of creativity that you've lost along the way.

What's in your toolkit?

[tag-tec]scrapbooking[/tag-tec], [tag-ice]scrapbooking tools[/tag-ice], [tag-self]scrapbooking ideas[/tag-self], [tag-self]scrapbook layout[/tag-self]

Tags

Scrapbook Journaling, Scrapbook Layouts, Scrapbooking, Scrapbooking Ideas