Using crimping pliers, use the larger hole, closest to the hand, to flatten the crimp. Then grip the crimp *sideways* with the hole closest to the end of the tool and squeeze in the opposite direction on the crimp.
Using 1 inch by 4 inch lumber, cut two pieces 4 inches long and one 12 inches long. Nail the small pieces to the ends of the long one. Attach combs to the small pieces (teeth up) and put a small nail or screw in the ends of the loom to anchor warp threads.
Make a loop in one end, add an odd bead from a mix, and then loop the other end. When enough have been collected, open the loops and attach them to each other to make a multi-color necklace.
Bent tweezers help in the placement of a knot; straight, pointy tweezers help with undoing a knot; surgical tweezers that clamp keep the last bead of a necklace from falling off before the piece is finished.
Antiquing bone: Bone can be antiqued in hot tea or coffee, or sautéed in oil. We prefer the rich, golden color the sautéing method produces, but the smell of oil will stay with the beads. The tea or coffee method can produce gray areas where the bone is not entirely white. Do your own testing to determine the look that you prefer.
Turn a pear-shaped (3 dimensional) filigree bead up-side-down, pull out the head pin and turn it around, put in an eyepin, add a filigree cube bead as a dangle from the small end of the pear and you have a Hot Air Balloon earring!
This wonderful project was contributed by Pamela Pillsbury-Coca
TEABALL: Find an old metal teaball at the swapmeet or granny's attic and clean it up with steel wool. The older the teaball the more holes it is likely to have, and thus the more interesting when done.
Spraypaint it inside and out. Keep top and bottom separate for all work. If it is a latch kind; just keep it open while working.
Start stitching beads on it. All over it. Freeform or neat rows. Monochrome or colored. Whatever your taste. Cover it as fully as your heart desires.
When happy with it, start fringing the bottom. Make dozens of fringes. Cover rim or edges of top & bottom of teaball with ribbon, or ribbon decorated with beads, or beads on wire. Glue in place. Let dry and then fill with potpourri.
Hang in a window or from a lamp. Makes a wonderful gift that will be treasured forever. Use your own taste - anything from tiny antique glass beads to large plastic ones. Make it whatever you like. Happy beading!
The Bead Fairy posted the following note on rec.crafts.beads : "I got some Asian carved bone beads a few months ago. They have a very strong, unpleasant smell. I had to quarantine them because the smell was passing on to my other beads. Has anyone had this problem before? Would a "bath" solve it? I don't want to damage the beads, but I can't wear them like that!"
Dan Heck (dash33@nr.infi.net ) is a specialist on the subject. He says: [...] "I have been collecting and preparing scientific bone specimens for over 10 years and I believe that some of my experience may be helpful to those who may have problems with funky-smelling bone beads."
"It is correct that residual unsaturated fats and oils in the bone matrix are the source of the unpleasant smell, assuming that the bone is clean of protein. These fats become rancid on exposure to air and light and smell pretty bad."
"One must de-fat/degrease bones to remove the unsaturated fats that go rancid over time. Strong detergent solutions will help, but to really get all the oils out, I recommend washing/soaking them in an organic solvent bath. Paint thinner will work and is cheap, but it has some slow-to-evaporate constituents and has a somewhat persistent odor. I think most people here would be most satisfied with lacquer thinner from most any large hardware or automotive store. It's a powerful solvent which evaporates rapidly and leaves no residue or odor. It will remove most paints, but I bet that the typical stained patterns on beads would be unaffected (test first, of course-I haven't needed to clean/defat beads before). Lacquer thinner is quite flammable and volatile, so better bathe the beads in a covered bowl outside, NOT INSIDE THE HOUSE. It'll do a nice job of defatting your skin, as well, so try to minimize contact. Acetone would probably work great, as well. Soak and stir occasionally for a couple of hours, rinse with a little clean solvent if you have enough, and spread them to dry in the sun for a couple hours until the solvent odor is gone. "
"I think everyone should avoid putting bone into any sort of acid medium, including vinegar (acetic acid), lemon juice (citric acid), tomato juice, etc. The mineral structure of bone is attacked by acids and will be weakened or even dissolved entirely as the calcium compounds are leached away. Remember the chicken bone-in-vinegar experiment from junior high? The bone will become flexible and weak enough to bend like rubber. Hypochlorite bleach (Clorox and the like) will certainly bleach a bone clean, but you'll have a sterile looking, chalky white product and will lose any applied decorations made with organic dyes. Bleach also attacks the bone matrix. If you don't wash it out THOROUGHLY, the bone will turn to crumbly chalk over the next 1-3 years. I found this out the hard way years ago."
"One posting suggested hydrogen peroxide to bleach bone. This is what I would recommend, as well, as long as you want a white or near-white bone in the end.. The 3% drugstore solution is too weak it do much good. Most people will have difficulty obtaining the 20-30% scientific/industrial peroxide solutions, but I have a suggestion: Try a beauty/hairdressers' supply house for the 20-30-40% hair bleaching solutions. The consumer hair products aren't as strong. These are formulated in a creamy consistency to cling to hair evenly, and this makes them work well on irregular bone surfaces, too. I had to try several "Sales only to licensed hairdressers" suppliers before finding one that would sell to me cash and carry. Perhaps those of you who may be acquainted with a hairdresser could get some help from them on getting the hair preparations. "[...]
Last Updated: 24 October 2000