Types of Beads
Have you ever gone into the jewelry aisle of your craft store and just stare at all of the beads and wonder to yourself, "what have I gotten myself into?" Yes? Of course you have! It can be quite overwhelming, especially if you don't go in with a plan. There are thousands of beads in different shapes, sizes and colors! This blog post is to help you understand the different types of beads you will find and what they are used for. This will hopefully help you the next time you go shopping!
The first type of beads I want to talk about are crystals. These are beautiful bicone beads that shine the colors of the rainbow when the light is directly on them. Most jewelry stores carry Swarovski crystal beads or some sort of Czech crystals. These are the most common that I've seen. I LOVE to use crystals to add a little sparkle to my creations. They can be pretty expensive, but purchasing them in bulk through an online dealer you can usually save a ton! You can always tell if they are real if they feel like glass. TIP: Tap the crystal against your teeth to feel if it's plastic or glass.
These are charms! Charms are a super cute and easy way to add a little extra to your design. Whether you use them on a bracelet, bookmark, wine glass charms, car rear view mirror charms, or just put them on an earring, they can be super adorable! Charms come in so many designs and sizes, so have fun with them! You can also step it up a notch and buy them in sterling silver or gold!
These are cylinder glass beads. If you remember from geometry class the top of the cylinder is a circle. They are basically tubes. They can be short or tall, wide or skinny. I love to use these in necklaces or lanyards because they can take up a lot of space, so I don't have to use as many beads in one piece.
These are sphere shaped glass beads. They look like tiny marbles. They can be anywhere from a tiny 4mm to a large 14mm or larger! Due to their wide range in sizes they can be used in almost anything you want to make!
These are bicone shaped beads. They are basically two cones put on top of one another! Again, these come in a wide range of sizes making them perfect to put in any piece!
Also, the beads don't have to be glass beads to be cylinder, round, bicone, etc. Some beads come in these shapes that are made of plastic, metal, gemstones, crystals and more!
These are pearls! They are very beautiful and can be used to add a little shine to your piece or you can make an entire piece using only pearls. You can buy the real deal at an expensive price or opt for less expensive versions, such as fresh water pearls or glass pearls. Swarovski makes a line of beautiful glass pearls in addition to their crystals! I recommend getting glass over plastic pearls because they tend to have better quality and the paint does not chip off as easily as it does on the plastic versions.
These are probably my favorite due to their name- Briolette beads. They look like little tear drops and add super cute dangles to any necklace or earring you make! Again, these come in different sizes so you can use multiple small briolettes or one large one in the middle of a necklace to be used as the focal point. They make plastic, glass and crystal versions of these. So choose the type you want, again I recommend the glass or crystal versions as they are better quality.
These are examples of PLASTIC beads made to look like crystals or glass beads. You can tell that they are not as shiny and just look fake. They usually are not made very well and you can see lines on them from the factory that they were made in. The paint chips off easily and they are not meant to last. These are fun for little kids to play with, but not for professional pieces of jewelry.
These are E-beads, they are very small and used as spacers between larger beads. I love adding those clear E-beads in most of my pieces for extra shine! They are only about 4mm big.
If you thought E-beads were small, I introduce you to seed beads! These tiny beads are only 2mm big. Again, they can be used as spacers between beads. I don't use these as often as I use E-beads, but some people love them! It's just your personal preference.
These are bugle beads. I used to use them all the time because of how cheap they are, but now I do not have a clue as to what to do with them. They are small tubes or cylinder-shaped beads. I personally don't like to use them, but if you have a purpose for them, go for it!
The photos show beads that I like to call accent beads. They are small metal beads that I like to put in my jewelry to add more sparkle! They can also be used as spacers too. You can get them in any type of metal. I recommend sterling silver if you want to make a very professional piece, but for every day pieces I like to use whatever I can find on sale!
Lastly, we have pendants. These are the perfect pieces to use as a focal point to a necklace or to put on earrings. They come in various sizes and styles. You can use metal, gemstones, briolettes, large crystals and so much more as your pendant! They look beautiful on a beaded necklace or on a simple chain!
I hope this blog helped you on your next journey to the craft store! There are hundreds of more beads, but I felt that these are the most common types that you would encounter. Good luck on your search! Stay tuned for more tips from The Beach Bird Boutique.
As always, please take a look at my Etsy shop:
and visit our facebook page for GIVEAWAYS and updates:
Artistically Yours,
Brianna
A.K.A. Beach Bird
I would love your advise, I have a chandelier with orange transparent beads on it, much like the blue faceted ones pictured above. I would like them to be red. Is there a type of paint or glaze that I can use to enhance their color to make them look more of an orange based red hue instead?
ReplyDeleteThank You!
Hi Meghann. Thanks for your question. I'm not sure what would work best to paint your beads. You wantbto make sure you buy something that wont dry tacky and won't flake off. I would recommend going to your local craft store and ask an employee in the paints and glaze section!
ReplyDelete