04/27/2026
A word about materials:
SEED BEADS/BUGLE BEADS:
I mentioned earlier this year that I was switching all my beads and moving away from Czech Glass. As of April, all of the seed beads and bugle beads I use in CSR designs are Miyuki, Miyuki Delica, or Japanese seed beads. These beads are 100% glass, like Czech beads, but they have the added benefit of being uniform in size. They are slightly more expensive than Czech glass seed beads, but the difference price-wise is really negligible.
HOWEVER, there are some BEAD MIXES that I use that DO contain size E beads and seed beads that are Czech glass.
If I use these bead mixes in a project or order, I WILL tell you. That's mainly for transparency, but also because you will be able to see a difference between Japanese and Czech seed beads*.
The only real difference is the fact that Japanese seed beads are uniform in size and Czech seed beads are not. Both are GLASS, not acrylic or plastic.
OTHER BEAD TYPES:
In addition to seed beads, I PRIMARILY use glass, Swarovski crystal, and semi-precious gemstone (SPG) beads, along with semi-precious gemstone chips in CSR designs.
This includes
HOWEVER, there are some designs and types of jewelry in which I include acrylic beads.
Any design that includes the round letter/number beads contains acrylic beads, because that's what ALL varieties (including the metallic, glitter, and glow in the dark varieties) of the letters and number beads are made of.
I also have some star and heart beads that are acrylic, along with some cat's eye effect and some dreamy/cloudy/foggy effect beads that are acrylic.
I have also begun ordering acrylic flower beads along with some glass flower beads.
This is for several reasons:
Number one is simply that there are some BEAUTIFUL beads that are only available in acrylic.
I won't overlook them simply because they aren't glass.
Second is weight, especially in earrings. The glass, crystal, and SPG can be a bit heavy on the ears depending upon how many beads there are in the design.
Finally, I like to use acrylic beads in designs that are made for (or going to) kids. They're a little bit more resilient in case your kiddo (or you) wants to wear their item constantly.
The price difference between the glass and acrylic is negligible.
HOWEVER I have ALWAYS been and will ALWAYS be transparent with my customers about what type of beads are (or will be) used in the pieces they order, especially if/when some of the beads are acrylic, so I wanted to explain that and make sure we're all on the same page.
Hopefully I will have some new stuff to show you soon!
The studio glow up will be coming this summer (🤞🏻), so you may be seeing more pics of old stuff (or I might disappear for a minute) than of new stuff, but once we're done with that I hope to be much more consistently posting new designs! Stay tuned!
😘
~M.
* If you're interested in seeing the difference between the two types of seed bead (individually or as a whole), I'm happy to provide reference pictures.
