storage chest & beads
 

A friend of mine sent me a storage chest that she got from a yard
sale...it was filled with plastic beads, sequins, and a bunch of other
'odds and ends,' including some beads that I can't tell what they're
made of. Some of them are green and others are white with gray lines in
them, kind of like the 'design' in tourquoise. They don't feel like
plastic, they feel more like polished rock chips, but don't know for
sure what they are.

Valerie

The beads which are white with grey matrix are probably the natural form of
Howlite, which is often dyed and passed off as Lapis or Turquoise, depending on
the color. The white w/grey is Howlite's natural color.
Patti

Thanks! Do you think the green ones could possibly be the same thing
dyed green, because they have the same matrix in them.?

Valerie

Beads1947 wrote:
The beads which are white with grey matrix are probably the natural form of
Howlite, which is often dyed and passed off as Lapis or Turquoise, depending on
the color. The white w/grey is Howlite's natural color.
Patti

Roxan, you're really good. I'd never have thought of it -- but you're
absolutely right. Beaded beads. Duh.

Don't throw out those plastic beads, you can do peyote stitch around them.
Roxan


~~
Sooz

Don't throw out those plastic beads, you can do peyote stitch around them.
Roxan
"Valerie2" wrote in message
ink.net...
A friend of mine sent me a storage chest that she got from a yard
sale...it was filled with plastic beads, sequins, and a bunch of other
'odds and ends,' including some beads that I can't tell what they're
made of. Some of them are green and others are white with gray lines in
them, kind of like the 'design' in tourquoise. They don't feel like
plastic, they feel more like polished rock chips, but don't know for
sure what they are.

Valerie

IF I knew how to do peyote stitch! I haven't gotten that far yet! I do
plan on keeping them, though, because I can always use them for
childrens necklaces if nothing else.

Valerie

roxan wrote:
Don't throw out those plastic beads, you can do peyote stitch around them.
Roxan
"Valerie2" wrote in message
ink.net...

A friend of mine sent me a storage chest that she got from a yard
sale...it was filled with plastic beads, sequins, and a bunch of other
'odds and ends,' including some beads that I can't tell what they're
made of. Some of them are green and others are white with gray lines in
them, kind of like the 'design' in tourquoise. They don't feel like
plastic, they feel more like polished rock chips, but don't know for
sure what they are.

Valerie

Thanks! The howlite that's on that site looks like what I got, except
the ones I got are smaller pieces.

Valerie

Kathy N-V wrote:

On Wed, 7 Jul 2004 18:30:15 -0400, Valerie2 wrote
(in message . net):


Some of them are green and others are white with gray lines in
them, kind of like the 'design' in tourquoise. They don't feel like
plastic, they feel more like polished rock chips, but don't know for
sure what they are.


The white is likely "howlite," which is the most common stone of that
description. It's often dyed to make fake turquoise, but the white
is the natural state.

For more info, the nice people at Rings and Things have just added a
gemstone information database:

http://rings-things.com/gemstone/index.html

Just click on the "H," Howlite is about halfway down the page. The
information is concise and fairly well written. (I think that Neil,
the owner, wrote the descriptions. We correspond on occasion, and it
feels like his writing style) It's a good database, not too
technical, and has a little of that "new age" stuff that most people
find so popular.

Congrats on the big trunk of booty - even if a lot of it is not what
you'd like, any senior center or community group would be delighted
to have the things you don't want.

Kathy N-V

Because beading on a glass bead makes it very heavy I like doing it on
plastic beads. When I do peyote on beads I glue a very small strip of
interfacing around the center of the bead, then attach the first row back
stitching to this strip. Then the rest of the peyote goes very easily by
decreasing the stitch with each new row. I hope that makes sense.
Roxan
"Dr. Sooz" wrote in message
...
Roxan, you're really good. I'd never have thought of it -- but you're
absolutely right. Beaded beads. Duh.

Don't throw out those plastic beads, you can do peyote stitch around
them.
Roxan


~~
Sooz

For more info, the nice people at Rings and Things have just added a
gemstone information database:

http://rings-things.com/gemstone/index.html

That's an addition to the Links List right there; thank you. Also on the List:

Amethyst Galleries' Mineral Gallery
http://www.galleries.com/default.htm
"The Mineral Gallery is a constantly growing collection of mineral
descriptions, images, and specimens.......together with several ways of
accessing these descriptions."
~~
Sooz

There are also beaded beads instructions (of various kinds) in this book (which
is **fabulous** overall, Valerie2):

The Art and Elegance of Beadweaving by Carol Wilcox Wells -- $14.95
http://snipurl.com/7m4m

The instructions throughout this book are so dang easy and clear. The beaded
beads are a lot easier than you'd ever dream.

Because beading on a glass bead makes it very heavy I like doing it on
plastic beads. When I do peyote on beads I glue a very small strip of
interfacing around the center of the bead, then attach the first row back
stitching to this strip. Then the rest of the peyote goes very easily by
decreasing the stitch with each new row. I hope that makes sense.


~~
Sooz