|






| |
We are the creative design team behind Two Beady Ladies Jewellery Boutique and have the joy of creating beautiful,
unique pieces of jewellery! We were introduced to the art of jewellery
design three years ago and it instantly became our passion.
The jewellery
presented here has all been hand crafted with great
enthusiasm. We are currently incorporating artisan made, one-of-a-kind lampwork beads,
beautiful Swarovski crystals, and semi-precious gemstones into our
pieces. We hope you will enjoy looking through the selection shown, and
be sure to check back often for new items!
The Two Beady Ladies.

How Glass Lampwork Beads Are Made.....
The art of bead making dates back more than 3000 years. Modern glass
bead making comes from Venice, Italy where they used oil lamps (hence,
the name lampwork glass beads) and later natural gas to make wound
beads.
Lampworking involves melting glass on a steel mandrel using a torch's
hot flame. The artist winds the molten glass around the mandrel until
she achieves the desired size and style. She creates interesting swirls
of color by rolling the molten bead in frit (crushed glass in varying
sizes and colours) and then inserting a stringer (a piece of pulled
glass) into the molten bead and twisting.
Once the bead is formed it is placed in a kiln to start the annealing
process, the process of very slowly reducing the temperature of the
glass. Annealing makes glass beads very strong and durable.
The appeal of lampwork jewellery is that each piece is a one-of-a-kind
piece of art! No two beads are identical. If you own lampwork jewellery
you can be sure that no one else has a piece like yours. You own a
unique piece of wearable art!
Tips on Jewellery Care
Storing your silver jewellery in the
open air and humidity for extended periods of time can cause it to
tarnish quickly. Tarnish first appears as a golden hue on your silver then quickly turns to
black. This is a normal process that is caused by oxidization and
moisture from air and believe it or not sunshine. To keep tarnish to a
minimum it is advised that you store your jewellery pieces when not
wearing them.
To reduce tarnish and keep your pieces tarnish free for months at a
time, it is recommended that you keep your silver jewellery in an
air-tight protective bag made of tarnish proof cloth or you can use a
plastic zip lock bag made of Mylar (sandwich bags) or
polyethylene. Be warned that some plastic contains sulfur compounds
which can cause your jewellery to tarnish faster or stain. Never use
polyvinyl plastic bags. We store and ship our jewellery in small zip-lock
bags that are perfect for this.
Silver jewellery, stored properly, can be worn often and with minimal
cleaning required, making it very easy to care for and lots of fun to
wear.
Although your jewellery is scratch resistant it isn't scratch proof, so
we recommend that you store your jewellery so that it isn't rubbing up
against other articles, like in a loose drawer or jewellery box. Also,
when storing remember that exposing it to air promotes tarnishing, so
use the zip lock bags to protect from scratches and tarnish.
Avoid storing your silver jewellery directly on wood surfaces, because
wood usually contains acids that can mar the finish. Oak seems to be the
worst for this. Also, avoid storing your silver with
other metals, like pennies, and rubber, these too cause tarnish and
damage.
Have fun with
your jewellery and remember...
the more you wear
your special pieces, the less they'll tarnish so wear them often!!
Cleaning
Tips For Silver Jewellery
This method can be easily used to clean your silver pieces:
1) Place a small piece of aluminium foil into the bottom of a glass bowl.
2) Set your silver jewellery on top of the aluminium foil.
3) Sprinkle the top of your jewellery lightly with baking soda.
4) Add hot water to the bowl and swirl it around until the jewellery is
clean.
5) Remove the jewellery, rinse thoroughly and dry with a soft cloth.
6) Allow the jewellery to completely air dry before you store it in your
plastic Ziploc bag.
Links:
Bead and Button Magazine
#1 Free Link Exchange Directory On The Web - Link Market
|