Flashback Monday(1/21)

Originally posted on May 20th, 2009 entitled 'The Making of a Good Cause-Beadware IL' 

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Happy Wednesday everyone and here is the other installment of my The Making of a Good Cause series!

When making a bracelet, the beads are the soul of the piece, but the findings are the heart and body. So you couldn't have a beautiful piece of jewelry without the clasps, crimp beads, or jump rings as its structure.

Which brings me to introduce you to the wonderful company I bought my 13mm Bali Sterling Silver Double Strand Toggle Clasp(pictured to the right below) from, Beadware IL on Ebay! If your not familiar with their store name, you might know them by their Ebay username wooden_flower.

Some information on Beadware IL right from their website:

Beautiful beads from around the world - Swarovski crystals in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, Bali silver beads and findings, Czech glass, Venetian glass, Grade A fiber optic cats eye beads in 30 colors,

vintage lucite, and more!

Free US shipping on purchases of $50 or more

If you want to know more about the technical stuff such as shipping, returns, and whatever else you may question, check their FAQ page here.
When I went in search of the perfect clasp, I knew I had requirements; One, for it to be double stranded and two, it be sterling silver because I wanted this to be a high quality bracelet with nothing but the best materials. Then I wandered upon this toggle clasp and it was beautiful!

Looking through Beadware IL, I can see their description is right on the money! They have a wide variety of stunning

and very affordable beads and findings. I found what I paid for the sterling silver toggle clasp(after shipping) was extremly reasonable. I am very satisfied at how perfectly it went with my bracelet and how easy working with the company was.

With reasonable prices, fast shipping, and 100% positive feedback, you have another place to indulge your jewelry fetish! Lol

Tomorrow we will be featuring an Etsy seller(finally)! And this one is where I got my amazing elephang charm. Don't miss it!

Flashback Monday(1/14)

Originally posted on May 19th, 2009 entitled 'The Making of a Good Cause-24hourgems' 

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I thought I would start out with the beads that I chose for the auction bracelet. The first thing you should know about me is that I love symbolism. It means more to me if I buy something that has meaning to it over something that's just an object-Kind of like buying handmade or vintage as opposed to factory made. Handmade is just more personal and has more of a story then some mass produced cheapy piece of crap you buy from a chain store.

So of course I'm going to put symbolism into my bracelet! And because this is going to the Elephants, I figured I would look up the Elephant totem online and see what some of it's attributes were.

Here is what I found from Lins Domain:

An Elephant totem gives you

ancient wisdom and power to draw upon.

It embodies strength and power.
 

It's very important that I add those qualities to my bracelet because that's who I am. I want to make this bracelet personal and meaningful for the person who buys it.

I did some research and found all of those qualities in one beautiful stone: Lapis Lazuli. I found the perfect Lapis beads at 24hourbeads on Ebay!

A little about the company from their site:

We specialize in beads: Freshwater Pearl, Millefiori Glass, Lampwork Glass, Gemstones, Kyanite, Ruby, Pink Opal, Lava, Turquoise, Bracelet, Pearl Necklace, Biwa Pearl, Tourmaline and much more.
 

I have to say I am extremely satisfied with this company! The beads where beyond stunning(I am debating on making myself something from whats left over), the shipping was fast and easy, and very pleasant to work with in general.

If you take a look at their site, you can find anything in any price range. Speaking of prices, WOW. They are extremely reasonable even before shipping.

All in all, I am very satisfied on my purchase from 24hourbeads and I'm eyeballin a few other lovelies for my collection! Lol

Come back tomorrow for more on The Making of a Good Cause.