The Paper Bead Boutique

Good Evening Paper Bead Friends! Hope you are all having a great start to your weekend! Caitlyn and I went paper shopping today and was thrilled to find some great new paper for my beads! Be looking for those in my Etsy shop soon!
What I have on my mind lately is “Small Business”! I am still reflecting on last year and what I want to do differently. I know that for me, social media plays a bit part in marketing since I don’t have a lot of extra dollars to spend on advertising…
So what works for you? What type of small business do you have and what business tips can you pass along to help me and others better our online small businesses? Since I do still work outside the home, my time is limited for my small business as I am trying to juggle my job, my Etsy shop and most importantly, my Family!
I’d love to hear your thoughts! I’d love to give them a try and pass them along to others! Don’t be afraid to leave me a comment or stop by http://www.ThePaperBeadBoutique.etsy.com and let me know what you think…
Until next time, Happy Beading!

Good Morning Paper Bead Friends!
As most of you may know, my little yorkie Max, has surgery last week to repair the ACL he tore in his left knee. This is a picture of him taken on Saturday just inside the doorway of my inside craft room.
He seems to be doing well as of this morning…But time will tell as the day goes on as I just removed his pain patch and I am a bit concerned how that will affect him. I have a collar I am suppost to put on him if he licks or bites at his incision and that has also been a challenge. We begin his physical therapy on Thursday and that will continue for 90 days. A long process but something that he needs. All because he was excited to see him Mommy and jumped off the bed that was to high for him…
I know this has nothing to do with Paper Beading but he is my little guy and spends a great deal of time with me where ever I am crafting! Until next time, Happy Beading!

Good Evening Paper Bead Friends!
Hope you’re all having a great weekend and are all ready for the Seahawks win tomorrow in the playoff game!
Several of my online friends have recently inquired about how I seal and dry my beads! So I felt it was time to show you a few pics and explain my bead drying process!

I always use rubber gloves when I seal my beads as I have found it really saves on my hands and keeps them from getting so messy! I just use regular art supply paint brushes to brush my glaze on. You can even pick these paint brushes up at the dollar store! So I brush my glaze on one by one. I now use Triple Thick Glaze which leaves a very high glossy finish. I usually stack anywhere from 2 to 4 beads on a toothpick at one time, paint them and then remove them one by one and transfer them to a dry toothpick for the drying process.

I then allow them to dry for several hours and sometimes even overnight, depending on what I have going on!
Once dry, I remove them one by one and check the insides of each bead to unsure the paper hasn’t torn on the inside. If it has, I just run a glaze covered toothpick down the middle to reseal the inside! And that’s it!
That’s my process! I’m sure there are easier and quicker ways of doing it but I guess I call it quality control! It’s what insures for me that my beads are of the highest quality I can make!

Until next time, Happy Beading!

Good Morning Paper Bead Friends!
Well I shared with you at the end of 2014 that I would be bringing some new things into my Etsy Shop and here is another one of those items! What is so funny to me is when I opened my Etsy Shop, I told myself I wasn’t going to get into the jewelry business as I just didn’t feel like I would have the time, nor the interest! WOW! That couldn’t be farther from the truth! I really have enjoyed making the jewelry pieces that I’ve made and want to continue to add more to my offering!
This is my first pair of earrings I’ve made and I think I did ok…What do you think? They match a beautiful new memory wire bracelet I am going to be listing this week! Be sure to stop by and see all my paper bead jewelry at http://www.thepaperbeadboutique.etsy.com!
Be watching for a new line of paper bead earrings coming soon! Until next time, Happy Beading!

Good Evening Paper Bead Friends!
Just wanted to share a picture with you of my daughter Caitlyn (on the left) and our Australian exchange student (on the right) showing their Seahawk Pride! Kayla has been with us since last Saturday night and will stay til Wednesday, when she will return home to Australia with her group! We have enjoyed her company so much and will miss her terribly when she returns home! She and Caitlyn are so much alike, it’s crazy! Both quiet and shy! She loves sports and wanted to see an American Football game while she was here so what better game to see than our 1st playoff game tomorrow night on our home field in Seattle??? I only wish we could watch the game live and in person but not possible to get tickets so watching on TV will have to do! As you can see, she’s sportin’ her Russell Wilson shirt ready to support our Seahawks! Until next time, Happy Beading! And…
GO HAWKS!!!