Anita's Beads Open 7 Days

Anita's Beads will be open 7 days a week from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. through New Years Day.

Take advantage of our Holiday Sales:

All Jewelry 10% Off

All Toad Hollow Minerals 50% Off

(Sale Ends Sunday January 1, 2012 at 5 p.m.)

After the holidays we will revert back to regular Winter Hours: Open 10-5; Closed Tue. & Wed.

Rayon/Cotton Color Chart - Kumihimo

Available colors include:

A - Antique Gold
B - Gold
C - Camel
D - Medium Brown
E - Silver

F - Dark Green
G - Apple Green
H - Mint Green
I - Dark Olive
J - Turquoise [not pictured]
K - Avocado

L - Williamsburg Blue
M - Navy Blue
N - Royal Blue
O - Teal
P - Gallant Blue

Q - Purple
R - Lavender
S - Plum
T - Mauve
U - Shocking Pink

V - Wine
W - Red
X - Rust
Y - Peach
Z - Luggage

aa - Black [not pictured]
bb - White [not pictured]
cc - Ivory [not pictured]
dd - Coffee [not pictured]
ee - Dark Gray [not pictured]

Our high quality 1mm Rayon/Cotton cord is made in USA. Purchase by the yard, by the 70-yard spool, or by the package. Each package contains four 3-yard lengths (in your choice of up to four colors) to make a 24-inch 8-cord round Kumihimo braid.

Place your order by telephone at 603-522-6529. Visa and Mastercard are accepted. Email Anita to request a Kumihimo Supply Price List.

Advanced Kumihimo Sundays

Two Advanced Kumihimo Drop-In classes have been scheduled: Sunday December 11th and Sunday December 18th beginning at 9:30 am. Stop by Anita's Beads and learn how to do Japanese braiding with beads. A $25. fee includes instruction and all materials to make a kumihimo braided bracelet using S-Lon cord decorated with size 8/0 Japanese seed beads.

You will receive: 1 mini kumihimo braiding disc, 1 spool of S-Lon cord in the color of your choice (there are 50 different colors to choose from), one 22 gram tube of Miyuki size 8/0 seed beads, a set of 8 bobbins, findings (barrel endings, jump rings and a toggle clasp), and a tube of glue to attach the endings to your completed braid.

You should be familiar with the basic creation of the 8-strand round braid before learning how to create a braid decorated with seed beads. Beginners should attend our Beginning Kumihimo Drop-In class to start.

This invitation to learn beaded braiding is also extended to those who have recently purchased kumihimo materials at Anita's Beads. You are welcome to join us. Contact Anita at 603-522-6529 for more information.

Beginning Kumihimo Saturdays

Three Beginning Kumihimo Drop-In classes have been scheduled: Saturday December 10th, Saturday December 17th, and Saturday December 31st beginning at 9:30 am. Stop by Anita's Beads and learn how to do Japanese braiding. A $25. fee includes instruction and all materials to make a 24-inch round braid from 1mm Rayon/Cotton ("rat-tail") cord.

You will receive: 1 large round braiding disc, 12 yards of Rayon/Cotton cord in the color(s) of your choice (there are 30 different colors to choose from), a set of 8 bobbins, findings (barrel endings, jump rings and a toggle clasp), and a tube of glue to attach the endings to your completed braid.

Once you become familiar with the basic creation of the 8-strand round braid, learn how to create a braid decorated with seed beads. We will be covering this technique in our Advanced Kumihimo Drop-In classes.

This invitation to learn basic 8-cord braiding is also extended to those who have recently purchased kumihimo materials at Anita's Beads. You are welcome to join us. Contact Anita at 603-522-6529 for more information.

Back To Normal

The roofing project is finished and things are back to normal at Anita's Beads. We've been demonstrating Kumihimo or Japanese braiding to everyone who comes in. Once our next order of supplies arrives we will begin the Saturday morning drop-in classes again.

We will post more information as soon as Mr. UPS pays us a visit!

Repairs!

Anita's Beads is getting a new roof and will be closed on Friday October 21st. There will be additional closures until the project is completed so call ahead and check status before you come out. The phone number is 603-522-6529.

We will be open regular hours (10-5) on Saturday Oct. 22nd and Sunday Oct. 23rd.

Kumihimo Class Saturday and Sunday

Bobbins and other kumihimo supplies are in! Drop in at Anita's Beads Saturday or Sunday morning at 9 a.m. and join us for a beginning kumihimo class. A materials fee of $25. will cover all of the tools and supplies that you will need to make a 20 to 24 inch necklace braid. Our sample above illustrates only one of many color combinations that you can choose from. In addition to your braid, you take with you a set of eight bobbins, Zap Jewelry Gel, and Kumihimo disc for future braiding projects.

Kumihimo is a popular form of Japanese braiding. We will be making a basic 8-strand braid to introduce this ancient craft. Hope you can join us. Contact Anita at 603-522-6529 for more information.

History of Alphabet Beads

This morning I discovered this image of an Infant Identification Kit manufactured by Deknatel.

And then I found Deknatel's advertisement in The Modern Hospital magazine from June 1922. I'm wondering what's up with all of those little blue beads. There should be pink ones for the little girls, don't you think?

New Kumihimo Books

We've added Karen DeSousa's latest book, Braiding with Beads On the Kumihimo Disc. It is the third in her popular series which also includes Necklaces Braided On the Kumihimo Disc, and More Necklaces Braided On the Kumihimo Disc.

Also on our shelf is Braiding for Beaders; Second Edition by Anne Dilker. Here she is on Youtube giving a Kumihimo demonstration.

New Kumihimo Discs

A shipment of Kumihimo supplies has arrived! Three sizes of braiding discs are now in stock: round, mini round, and square (for flat braids).

The mini round is perfect for braiding thinner cords, like our new Tex-400 cord. About twice the thickness of S-Lon, Tex-400 comes in 35 yard spools and is available in 24 colors. It is thin enough for stringing Czech beads.

Stop in and see my latest modification of the Illusion Necklace strung on Tex-400 cord. I've done an 8-strand version which transitions into Kumihimo braided cord ends around a center of beads. Kits will be available soon!

Online Color Challenge

I want to share this great color acuity test. Perfect score is zero. Low is 99. My score was 16. I'm off to try again! (Color matching wheel available at Anita's Beads).

Some improvement on the second try. My score was 11.

Kumihimo Braiding

I was introduced to Kumihimo, the art of Japanese braiding, over a year ago by a friend from South Africa. The idea took some time to incubate but a few weeks ago I decided to order the necessary supplies and finally try it for myself.

Now I am totally hooked! I started with 1mm cotton/rayon cord (usually referred to as "rat tail" cord) in two tones of green plus coffee and gold to make the basic round 8-cord braid. In the photos above you can see that my first braid is slightly irregular. For my next braid I used green only, dark green (6 cords) and chartreuse (2 cords), and then made one with coffee (6 cords) accented with gold (2 cords).

After that I needed more colors of course so I increased my selection to the twenty shown below. I made a 2-tone blue braid, followed by a teal version. I have a few more color combinations to explore before I branch out into cords of different thickness and texture. The addition of beads will allow endless modification as well!

As soon as I receive a back-ordered shipment of supplies, I will be offering Saturday morning Kumihimo classes. Stay tuned for the notification here, as well as future posts on Kumihimo books and findings.

New Metal Beads and Bead Caps

Check out our new shipment of metal beads and bead caps. I especially like the stars and the spirals! All are available in your choice of antique silver, gold, or antique copper in 8-inch strands. Another favorite is the new large oval cone end which are available in pack of two. Below is a sample with the antique silver finish.

August Illusion Necklace Classes

If you have been thinking about learning to make our cool Czech Glass Illusion Necklaces, you have two opportunities in August. Classes have been scheduled for Saturday August 6th and Saturday August 13th from 9-10 am. Bring a friend and save. The regular fee of $15. per person is reduced to $12. each for you and a friend. Call Anita at 603-522-6529 or send an email to make a reservation for either class.