Most people find it very confusing and complicated when buying beads. However, it is not entirely their fault as there are over thousands on materials, colors, shape, sizes and prices to choose from and this could be confusing. Most times, it is possible for people to purchase the wrong ones because of their lack of knowledge of sizes especially in millimeters or even purchase more than needed which turn out to become waste. However, a little knowledge will save the day.
Buying By Size
There are seed beads which are mostly found in Chinese, Japanese or Czechs ranging from 1mm to 3mm in size. The Chinese and Japanese ones come in different colors and are more uniform when compared to the Czech ones which are mostly round. Note that they are naturally small and you should not expect them to be larger and they can be tricky to make.
For uniformity of holes, it is advisable to buy large beads due to the fact that they are sold in strands and this means that you will have them better hung in necklace better than the small ones. The larger ones can also be sold loose and this is good especially for large projects. Apart from that, they are over 14mm making it heavy and you should put that in mind when fixing the cost for shipping.
Buying By Materials
It is important to know what you are buying. Effort should be made to first look out for books on minerals and gemstones or search online before purchasing. Note that the comparison of beads can be done as to their treatment. For example, some enrichment will be perfectly acceptable and that include heating the stone in order to boast its color, dying of pearls, jade and coral is normal.
Pearls are normally cultured and this means that they are 100% natural but get farmed with the help of a person. However, with the exception of faux and plastic pearls which are perfectly round, it is expected that you will find some irregular shapes, sizes as well as grooving in these types of pearls.
Metal beads can be found in all shapes and sizes like square, round, copper, gold and silver. The popular ones include liquid gold and liquid silver, tiny tubes of metal that are strung beautifully together with drape.
Quantity to Buy
It is sometimes a problem knowing the quantity of beads to buy. Purchasing below what is needed may stall the project while purchasing many may become waste of money. Once you have figured out the quantity to buy, it is important to buy all at once else you may not find the same batch again at a later time.
The author is a freelance writer that focuses on jewelry making niche. She has a lot of experience in making home craft jewelry with different sizes of beads. In this article, she tries to explain how to gather resources for making craft jewelry.
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