Archive: December ’09 on The Blog

Hi, happy beaders! I have a quick announcement… the annual Lima Beads Gift Giveaway is winding down, and there are only 3 more days to get a free gift with every order! So hurry and place your order by midnight (US eastern time) on December 31, and remember to choose your free gift. We’ve got a wide variety of gifts to choose from–and we added even more last Thursday, so check them out and choose YOUR gift!

Here’s to the last week of 2009! We know that 2010 is going to bring new challenges and opportunities. We want to make the most of it with you! Be sure to sign up for our e-mail list if you’re not already… we may or may not have a fun little announcement this week!

Without further ado, here’s a wrap-up of the inspiring work our customers have been up to!

New Pickers for November

Our Fresh Picks section keeps growing and growing… here’s a list of the newest pickers from November. Feeling inspired? It’s easy to design your own!

• Shawn l
• Pam E aka funky tulip
• Janz Joolz
• Peace Love Hollybeads
• Lynette O
• tiny chick aka kelsey
• Lorri G
• JulzJewlz
• Thissideofgaudy
• Cathy d
• Nicki - Taylored Designs
• LizzCreations
• Reina
• Regina
• A Regina
• Cattywumpuss
• Carla d

Top 15 Favorited Picks

1. Uluru Ayers Rock by Breezy Chick aka Bree
2. Brass Menagerie by Chicky ChaCha
3. his eyes by M mccallister mrs chick
4. A Winter Iris by Cotopaxi Chickie Sue
5. Orange Delight by Anita QoG Funny Chick
6. Septaria Sensations by Luv2bead - Little Chick
7. Snow Falling on Cedars by J Yee smart chick
8. Roast Chestnut by Chicky Zee aka Alice
9. walk on the beach by Shelly m
10. Silvery Red by FaeryGoth Chick
11. Winter Winds - MPS by Smoky Rose
12. Grapevine by Cuban Queen Crazy Chick
13. Simon, Do Something! by Little Round Chick

I love the combination of subtle and calm fresh picks with the zippy ones with splashes of color such as chartreuse, orange, red, and purple. Great work choosing less obvious stones for your picks – septaria, Mexican painting stone, agua nueva agate, Monaco agate, … I could keep going on and on…

Top 15 Favorited Design Gallery Pieces

1. Broken Glass by Luv2bead - Little Chick
2. For the Love of Dragons by Nicki - Taylored Designs
3. The Beauty of Septaria by Wemai Coffee Chick
4. Pearly Dewdrops by Starsparkle Spiral Chick
5. two autumn improvisations by doktordesigns
6. Crowned Jewel by Wickwire Jewelry
7. In Love with Amazonite by Froggy Chick aka Wendy F
8. All the leaves are brown by Brenda H
9. The Bronze Age by K H
10. Blue Sky Chalcedony ring by Jewelrybyirina
11. Ocean Jasper by Little Round Chick
12. Sandy Waters by Gemme Designs
13. Mediterranean Sea by Dutchy Madelon
14. opal spirals by Jeannes Gems - Gem Chick

There seems to be quite a bit of crossover in colors and themes used in Fresh Picks and Design Gallery pieces this time around. I’m not sure if it’s just a coincidence or if they are inspiring each other. I hope it’s the latter.

There was a lot of beautiful wire-work this past month. Personally, I do so much stringing with some basic wire wrapping (when Payton is napping and the little boy in my belly isn’t kicking me… really, it’s the “perfect storm”) that it’s nice to see interesting styles like the What a Whopper Cuff Bracelet and the Blue Sky Chalcedony ring. But it doesn’t stop there… all of the designs posted in the Design Gallery have been wonderful, and I’m pretty sure tons of people have been inspired by the pieces they get to see. We talk to customers all the time on the phone who mention it!

If you haven’t picked up a copy of Bead Star 2009 yet, you should Check Out our ad towards the front to see who was featured. I wish we could have fit everyone… You are all great!

The Lima Beads holiday parties are always fun, but this year’s gathering ended with a challenge. I won’t say who, but somebody suggested a “Dance-Off” between the office staff and the distribution team.

We would have laid down some cardboard and settled it the old fashioned way but nobody wanted to get hurt. Instead, we decided that each team would create a dancing elf video on ElfYourself.com and let you vote on which team wins.

Watch the videos and cast your vote below. Which team of dancing elves do you think wins the First Annual Lima Beads Holiday Dance-Off?

The Jingle Bell Jammers

Ho Ho Do-Si-Do

They say good news comes in threes. They couldn’t be more right! Imagine our surprise not too long ago when we found out that not one, not two, but THREE Lima Beads babies are due in the spring.

Andrew’s wife Elizabeth, Matt’s wife Deidra, and Ali are expecting little Limas on March 27th, March 30th, and April 11th respectively. And guess what? They’re all boys!

The newborns will be the first for Matt and Andrew, and of course Payton is excited about having a baby brother. So far, everything is looking good and we are all excited as can be. Stay tuned for more updates and if you have any boy name ideas, we’re all ears.

Also, if you want any beads, make sure you get them before the 3rd week of March. Things are going to get crazy around here!

Lima Beads is a big believer in giving back to the communities that we inhabit. It’s never been a better time to contribute to worthy organizations that help others in need.

We are supporting the following 5 charities in 2009 by donating a portion of our profits based on your votes. This does not increase the cost of your order because the donations are taken from our profits. To select a charity, all you have to do is remember to choose one in the menu on the bottom of your shopping bag. We’ll take care of the rest!

Next to each name is the percentage of “votes” each has received so far. It’s not too late to help these wonderful organizations by choosing your favorite the next time you place an order.

C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital (Ann Arbor, MI) – 29%
Every day, University of Michigan scientists are developing the next generation of therapies for children…and Mott patients are among the first to benefit from these discoveries.

Food Gatherers (Ann Arbor, MI) – 13%
Works to reduce food waste through the rescue and distribution of perishable and non perishable food; coordinating with other hunger relief providers; educating the public about hunger; and developing new food resources.

Hope Clinic (Ypsilanti, MI) – 8%
Offers medical care and dental care to the uninsured, plus a variety of social services to minister to the whole person.

Sasha Farm (Manchester, MI) – 23%
Provides a safe and secure environment, lifetime care and medical treatment for unwanted, neglected, misused, and abused farmed and domestic animals, as well as fostering through education a better understanding of these animals.

Women Thrive (Worldwide) – 27%
Develops, shapes, and advocates for policies that foster economic opportunity for women living in poverty.

To see more details about each charity and links to their websites, visit our Lima Gives Back page.

Charities for 2010

We will select 5 new charities for 2010 in January. Look for a blog post from Ali next month about choosing the new recipients.

Thanks for helping us improve the lives of others!

It’s officially “the holiday season” and a lot of us will no doubt be eating a lot of leftovers. This post is about a different kind of leftovers – leftover beads.

My definition of leftovers is (a) beads that are remaining after a planned project has been completed, or (b) components that didn’t get used or are from an item that is broken or lost. I never seem to use all of the beads I buy for making a birthday or Christmas gift, I always seem to lose one earring out of the pair and I also have a habit of buying funky pieces that don’t end up getting used. All of that is about to change…. I hope.

Here are some great ideas (I think) that I have come up with so that these treasures don’t go to waste:

• Share your beads with friends or a group.
• Create a simple (or difficult depending on the recipient’s experience) project and put together a homemade bead kit to give as a present.
• Make a funky/unexpected piece of jewelry – throw everything leftover in a baggie, shake it up and start stringing.
• Make a charm bracelet out of those lone earrings. I recommend a heavier duty chain, like the Tiffany chain bracelets that were so popular when I was in college. Also, I would go with an antique finish on the chain, with all of the different metals and stones that could be in your lost earrings you probably don’t want to use a chain that will look shiny and new when the earrings or other parts probably don’t.
• Make bead chain.  If you are familiar with rosaries, then you know what I am talking about. A couple different ways this could be done:

1. Just use your leftover beads along with a decent gauge wire (not too thin or your chain will break). If the beads won’t fit on the wire, I would recommend not using them in the piece rather than using a thin wire that could potentially break on you.
2. Use a combination of your leftover beads as described above, but instead of linking each bead together using wire, add in leftover bits of chain in random or consistent lengths in between the beads.  This will add great movement and interest to the strand.

How do you use leftover beads? What would you think of an easy way to swap beads & supplies online?