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CraftBits - Free craft projects

The place creative people visit!

The best things in life are free, and you sure can find this at CraftBits. If you're looking for free craft ideas, projects, and craft competitions with cool prizes, head to CraftBits to find all these awesome goods.

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Benjamin Crafts - Perth, Western Australia

Benjamin Crafts

With shops in Perth and online, there is no other jewellery craft supplier who can deliver more, faster, and cheaper. Our online shop alone stocks more than 4000 items. From beads, findings, precious metals, chain plated, pendants, to silver clay, set stones, couture, seed beads, they are available online or in-stores. Jewellery making classes are also available, please visit the website for more information.

It was twenty years ago that Michael started "Armani Boyd" in a spare room of his home selling Swarovski Crystal to Wholesale Customers. In 1999 his son Benjamin was born which not only signaled a change in lifestyle for him, but also a change in business towards Retail and hence a new business name.

Today, we still supply Crystals to some of the original Customers but have also grown to sell internationally. Our focus is on Beads, Findings and anything else associated with the Fashion Jewellery Industry. We try to avoid plastic beads as much as possible and have a reputation for supplying quality products such as Swarovski & Beadalon.

Opening hours:
Monday-Friday: 9.30am-5pm
Saturday: 10am-4pm
Closed on public holidays

868 Beaufort Street, Inglewood, WA 6052. Ph: 08 9370 2132. visit

Country Lane Designs

Check out our wonderful range of Country Lane Designs and Busy Bee Button stitcheries in our online shop. We also supply quilt patches and labels, fabrics, prim wares, buttons, craft books. A selection of handmade items such as dolls and bags are also available.

Go to Country Lane Designs website.

What's Hot

For The Young and The Young @ Heart

Do you craft? - A web survey
Youth@craft.design, an online forum for young and emerging craftspeople, students, professional makers, and designers, is conducting an online survey on craft and design. The survey is open to anybody who are young or young @ heart. While you're there, why not view the gallery of works by the young Australian craftspeople and students. Inspirations for all.

Polka Dot Girls - Stitchery Book polkadot

"Laughter with friends keeps you in stitches..."

Who could resist this. Polka Dot Girls celebrates friendship by incorporating beautiful stitchery patterns into patchwork quilt in the distinctive Bronwyn Hayes style. 8 block patterns in 34 pages of instructions, including a coloured card of the finished quilt. Make a quilt, or simply frame each block, each pattern will delight all stitcheries lovers alike.

National Craft Mapping Project woolbaa

A report on the current status of the Australian craft and design industry. The report addresses the fine balance between makers' needs and infrastructure support provided by service organisations to ensure growth of the industry. It identifies the needs of Australian craftspeople, mapped from emerging practices through to established and senior artists and is relevant to both the the craftspeople and service providers.

You can order a hardcopy for $5, or download the free copy here

Fresh Hope Patterns - New Product

quilting patterns for a good cause

Fresh Hope is a program which rehabilitates mothers and their children who have suffered from drug and alcohol abuse.

Fresh Hope Patterns is a unique concept instigated to aid in raising funds, not only to help in the daily running of Fresh Hope, but hopefully to contribute to its expansion. Due to the generosity of many people, Fresh Hope Patterns have become a reality. Nearly every part of the production has been achieved with voluntary help so that the majority of profits from the sale of each pattern go towards keeping the vision of Fresh Hope alive.

The public may purchase any pattern of their liking through one on the retail outlets listed in the Fresh Hope website (opens on another page).

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Or planning a craft event? Let us know! Share the news with other fellow crafters. Contact us

Bead Design, An Enjoyable Pastime Or Business?

By K. Snow

article5 If you are the creative type who loves working with arts and crafts and are interested in making some money while doing something you enjoy, then you should consider taking up bead designing as a career. Not only can beads be used to design jewelry for classy formal parties and beach wear but they can also be used for designs on apparel and shoes. This increases the scope and possibility of developing further.

To start with, you could buy your first set of beads from a craft store round the corner. The good thing is that beads are relatively inexpensive as a raw material. Even though the choice might seem endless to start with, you may soon start to feel the need for more elaborate and up-to-date materials. Since the craft store does not specialize in beads, it has many other items to store in its inventory; there will be a limited amount of bead materials available.

You next stop in the search of more and better bead materials could be the online bead stores. These websites provide a plethora of options for the beads specialist and it will definitely be some time till you need to look for other options.

article5

If you are looking at making bead designs for a considerable amount of time and not planning to give it up as a fad, then you should build and maintain a relationship with the online store since you will need to do a lot of shopping from there. Remember to check the store's reputation before parting with any money; do a quick search online to see how others have been served by them.

Once you have figured the trick of sourcing the beads and your raw material parcel has arrived, you can now let your imagination flow and create designs for various items that can be adorned with beads. Skirt tops, long skirts, jewelry, head gear, handkerchiefs, spectacle chains and the list goes on. Unleash your creativity and discover that you can produce delicate designs to go well with a business dinner or bold designs using large, colorful beads for a beach party. Once you get comfortable with the bead options that are available, you may want to mix and match your designs with other related material like shells, buttons and the like.

The designs done, you can use the wonderful medium called the Internet to sell the designs you have created to other apparel manufacturers and even to end consumers.

For a collection of articles about arts and crafts offering tips and insights visit http://craft-tips.com

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Bead Design, An Enjoyable Pastime Or Business?

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