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About Erika.
Erika Sandor and the Beadingscool.com
Congratulations on the wonderful website. I love everything about it. The colors, the organization, the speed, and of course the very special corner “noonehastobeadalone”! You have inspired and helped me throughout some difficult times. Everything you do is done with the upmost dedication and warmth I have ever experienced. Thank you from the deepest part of my heart! For anyone reading this: don’t hesitate for a second.... this is the perfect place to supply your needs, to receive superb customer service and customized deliveries, best quality materials, great discounts and special offers, curated boxes, lots of fun games, total support, and an incredible group of beaders that will help, grow and inspire you! And the best part is having Erika as our teacher and mentor!
Our happy beaders said:
When you come Home from work and the goodies are waitingOur happy beaders said:
Look what came! You ladies do a wonderful job of packaging! Thank you. This is going to be fun going thru them. I had forgotten what else I ordered. Its going to be a wonderful surpriseOur happy beaders said:
Look who’s happy!! Btw that GREY Glitter L2Studio is just amazing!!! Opening my Preciosa boxes later...Our happy beaders said:
And they are here! So happy to get post from the webshop.Our happy beaders said:
It's Christmas in February! I had to pick the package at post office and my heart rate accelerated with every step as I was going home still it took some time to have a bit of peace to have a look. It's so lovely! Lenka Gondova, wonderful job with cabs! Erika Sándor, thank you for all the gifts that I will definitely use in my beading and Ivett Godár, thank you for the packing with care and fast shipping I love it!Our happy beaders said:
Dear ladies I won't strain anymore... it's a beautiful sunny day... it's warming up and here are the treasures I received yesterday... I'm excited... ideas are blowing in my head (I also quickly drew something + colors) Thoughts tend to run away Erika's special box is amazingOur happy beaders said:
Today is THE DAY!!! My Advent calendar order has arrived! Now I understand all that about "oh my treasure"! I couldn't resist in December, so now I am full of emotions of joy and happiness! So many-many beautiful things! Seriously, Happy New year to me... and Christmas... and Hanukkah... and Chinese new year... - all them altogether! I was unpacking through the whole evening, and enjoyed every piece! The special now from Erika- OMG, how cool it is! And the gift is so great! Thank you for these materials, inspiration and opportunity! I am on the seventh heaven!!!Our happy beaders said:
Comfort shopping a la LockDown or aka 712 grams compressed happiness! One more package is still on its wayOur happy beaders said:
So many beauties. So little time. Now I can make Asia and Sashiko x 2!! One in pink and one in green. I have no idea what I was thinking when I ordered so many CZ’s! Earrings maybe? Hopefully it will come to me. Thanks Ivett Godárfor your constant tracking updates. And Erika for my free gifts. It was so worth the wait. FedEx for sure next time though. Happy beading ya’ll.Our happy beaders said:
There‘s this special lady, who will celebrate a very special birthday in a few days - me . The early birthday present to myself has already arrived . Beautiful stuff as always. Thanks Erika and Ivett #begoodtoyourselfOur happy beaders said:
Seems I am in a purple mode! Thank you for the careful packing, all the goodies and gifts!!!Our happy beaders said:
I know, I know... I have an issue! This is 5 orders, so thank you so much Ivett for your patience and Erika for the goodies! In case you do another rescue mission, please remind me, that I actually want more, so should triple my amount Thank you for the amazing presents!Our happy beaders said:
This always makes me feel like a little girl at Christmas... Thanks Erika and special thanks to Ivett
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Erika's tip
Use good quality beading thread. It takes long hours, sometimes full days to finish a jewel. It would be a shame if it would get easily damaged because of a low-quality solution, or if it would end up being floppy. My favorite beading thread is Fireline. It’s a braided, pre-waxed cord, and it’s known as the strongest fiber, per diameter, ever created. It’s thin but strong, so you can pass through even the smallest beads several times.
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Erika's tip
Keep separate tools for cutting paper, Fireline and fabric. A thread burner makes it possible to remove the remaining thread by melting it exactly where you would like to, without the risk of damaging your work. Older beading tutorials sometimes recommend using a lighter – please don’t do that!
If you like bead embroidery, I recommend getting a pair of curved nail scissors, dedicated to cutting the Ultra Suede that you use as foundation or backing. The curved tip will allow you cut out small details, but only if you keep using the scissors exclusively for fabric – otherwise they will go blunt.
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Erika's tip
Don’t use more than one wingspan of thread. It might seem that a longer thread will allow you to work faster, as you can avoid having to secure thread ends too often. Unfortunately, the opposite is true, for multiple reasons. Longer thread will easily get tangled, and you’ll spend lots of time trying to untangle it. Even pulling the thread through the beads will take a longer time, and in the meanwhile, it will get thinner and will break easier.
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Erika's tip
Don’t be afraid of using glue in your beadwork. If you invest in a good quality glue that works on glass, metal and fabric, the bond will hold for a very long time. I recommend using E-6000. Since it’s of industrial strength, there are some guidelines that you need to keep on your mind: 1. Use a toothpick when applying glue, instead of touching it with your hands. A dental toothpick is perfect, since it has a flat side that can be used to spread out the glue evenly over a bigger surface. 2. Don’t glue above your beading mat. An accidental drop will damage the fabric of your mat. 3. Always open the window when working with E-6000
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Erika's tip
Check all holes of the multi-hole beads! Since the arrival of the first multi-hole beads on the market (interesting info: the first multi-hole bead was the SuperDuo, designed by Sabine Lippert of Tru-to-bead) we all have the nightmare of discovering that the second (third, fourth) hole of the bead is clogged way later after incorporating it in the design. After numerous inextricable thread passes, several layers of other beads and maybe even finishing off the old thread and starting a new one… Especially if we like to make knots. An easy way to avoid a nasty surprise is to check all holes before using a bead and securing it to your work-in-progress project.
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Erika's tip
Put aside the needle before ripping!
Have you ever sewn through the thread itself while undoing some stitches which didn’t turn out well? If not yet, then believe me that it is not something you want to happen! It creates a nasty knot hidden in a bead and damages the thread. It’s a lot safer to put aside the needle before you start the frog stitch (rip-it, rip-it) to avoid this kind of mishap. However, there’s the voice in the back of the head: “It’s only one stitch, why re-thread the needle? The hole of the bead looks big enough! I went only three times through this bead so far, there’s not a big danger!” What do you think, is it worth to risk it?
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Erika's tip
Don’t force the needle to go through a small hole!
Sometimes pushing the needle a little bit more or pulling it gently with flat nose pliers make it to slide through the hole and you can continue beading. However, sometimes you end up with a broken bead and a ruined project. While working with Peyote stitch and in case of smaller beads it is usually fairly easy to replace the broken bead, sometimes it’s beyond hope to repair. Especially if it is a multi-hole bead with the other hole(s) still attached to the project.
I keep some super-thin needles on hand to solve a situation like this. It’s not comfortable to work with them all the time as they bend and break easily, however, they can save a tricky situation. It’s still a smaller trouble to switch to the thin one for the tricky bead and to switch back to the working needle again, then to start the whole project anew.
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Erika's tip
If you’re a new beader, you’re probably flabbergasted by all the possibilities that the beading world offers these days. Shapes, sizes, colors – literally thousands of possibilities. When you are starting to build up your stash, it might sound reasonable to stick to neutral colors, as it seems easy to combine them. My advice is to choose 2-3 neutrals (for example matt silver, steel and shiny bronze), and for the rest, go for what you really like. “Happy beads” will make beading so much more fun, and without them, you’ll end up with beautiful, elegant jewels, that all look the same.
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