Have you ever removed the end of a wire spool and had it go BOING on you? Don't you hate it when that happens! Well, Beadalon have come up with a clever little accessory called a Spool Tamer that will put an end to your unravelling spools. It's simple to use and works really well! This little gadget will make your springing spool struggles a thing of the past, not only with your wire spools, but also beading elastic, beading thread and beading wire. A couple of the clever features of Spool Tamers are that they are elasticized for easy placement around the spool and they are also adjustable so they can be resized to fit most size spools. Let's take a look at one in action. Begin by removing the plastic cuff from the spool, or unhook the end of your stringing material from the notch - take care that the spool doesn't completely unravel, especially if it is wire. Thread the stringing material through the hole in the adjustable plastic buckle, from the inside. Stretch the ......

Have you seen the new Slide Connector Clasp Sets from Beadalon?  These barrel-shaped connectors are a huge timesaver when it comes to finishing stitched beadwork and loom designs because there is no stitching required to secure the design to the clasp. Sound intriguing? Then read on to learn more about them! Slide Connectors come ready to use with a clasp and extension chain already attached. They're available in gold and silver and come in three sizes: 13mm, 20mm and 26mm. I'm working with a 13mm set which will fit a beaded bracelet that I started two years ago - this was just the push I needed to finish it! So let's see how it works.   Looking closely at the fitting you'll notice a slit that runs the entire length of the barrels. At each end is a round disk which acts as a stopper. One end is already closed and the other is ready for you to feed your work into. To use the fitting, insert the last row (or the last two rows for smaller beads) into the slit and begi......

I've been teaching jewellery-making techniques for many years now and one of the things students find most difficult to accomplish is well-formed, secure crimps. The crimping technique takes practice to perfect but once you've got the knack, your jewellery will be strong and will be able to withstand the tug test. Whilst at CHA in January, I came across Xuron who manufacturer jewellery-making tools and they were were kind enough to give me a pair of their crimping pliers to test out. Now this is not just an ordinary crimping tool: Xuron 4 In 1 Crimper Tool crimps 1mm, 2mm and 3mm crimp tubes and in addition, it is also has a chain nose tip to get into very tight spaces. So let's test it out and see how well it performs. The first thing you'll notice is that the crimping station (the notch closest to the handle) is shaped like a "V". This "V" is the feature that sets the 4 in 1 Crimper Tool apart from standard crimping pliers. To use the tool, strin......