Well, it was the beads pictured below – I was browsing in a bric a brac/antiques shop in Edinburgh and I came across them in a basket. I absolutely fell in love with them (I still do) and even though I had no idea what to do with them I had to buy them

They cost me £8 which given that they turned out to be vintage and pretty much unique was a bit of a steal! I’ve had them 7 years and they’ve been strung, taken to bits and restrung several times.

I’ve also found that almost every beader I’ve spoken to has beads in their stash which were too pretty to leave in the shop and they had to buy them even though they quite often don’t get used (although they do get taken out and admired frequently).

Tell us about the beads that got you started in the comments

Beads That Make Us Go Ooooh

Chain nose or snipe nose pliers are pointed flat nose pliers. Use for gripping and tucking in wire ends. Chain nosed Pliers are ideal for flattening crimps and getting into tight corners to close crimps or bend wire.

Make sure your pliers are not too large – but strong enough to be able to bend and flatten wire without bending the pliers (as will happen with cheap tools)

Flat Nose pliers have broad flat jaws. Use for holding material and creating angular bends.

We love Czech Glass!

Our Czech supplier has really come up trumps this month and made us a lovely range of sparkly Fire Polished round beads in 12 colours and 5 different sizes. Each of our colours comes on a six inch strand and is available in 3mm, 4mm, 6mm, 8mm and 10mm – prices start at just £0.80 per strand.

They have also made some lovely Fire Polished large hole chunky rondelle beads which would fit on pandora style bracelets, or why not string them on to ribbon for a pretty, feminine look.

30% Off These Beads

To celebrate these new ranges, we’re offering 30% off these beads for 1 week only. From now until midnight on 15/06/2011 you can buy any of our round fire polished beads and large hole beads and the discount will automatically be applied for you. No codes, muss or fuss.

Happy Beading!

Claire

To enter,  just leave a comment with your full name at the bottom of the post and we’ll randomly pick a winner on Monday 7th March.

Freshwater Biwa Pearl Beads