We've moved our blog to Wordpress!

From today, our lovely Little Bead Shop blog has moved to Wordpress!

Come and visit us at http://thelittlebeadshop.wordpress.com/

Love,

The girls from the Little Bead Shop x

Right-Angle Weave Bangle: Saturday 30th April 11am - 2pm: £15

Our favourite guest instructor Rebecca Anderson is coming back to The Little Bead Shop to teach you how to make these beautiful, colourful bangles!

These stunning bangles are made using right-angle weave, an amazingly versatile jewellery making technique that requires no more than a needle and thread and some beautiful seed beads in the colours of your choice!

This class is suitable for beginners. Some experience of working with seed beads would be helpful, but is not essential as you will be given full support on the day. And don't worry if you don't get your bangle finished in the class - you'll be given full, detailed instructions to take home with you!

This wonderful class costs £15 which includes tuition, all threads, and any findings required but excludes the cost of your seed beads which you can select on the day!

We're expecting this class to fill up fast so pop in to see us, visit our website or give us a ring on 0131 228 5058 to book a place!

Love,

The girls from The Little Bead Shop x

Beautiful Czech Bead Give Away!

Spring has well and truly sprung at The Little Bead Shop and to celebrate, we're going to give away a fantastic bead goody bag worth £5 made up of our favourite, stunning Czech glass beads!

To enter, just tell us what your favourite thing is about spring! The lucky winner will be chosen at random at 5pm on Monday 11 April.

Good luck!

Love,

The girls at The Little Bead Shop x

Easter Holiday fun at The Little Bead Shop - New children's class timetable!

It's almost the Easter Holidays - HURRAH! The schools are off from 4 - 21 April and, if you're looking for something to keep your wee ones occupied, look no further!

The Little Bead Shop will be running a special series of classes just for Easter including this fabulous daisy chain (above), caterpillars, charm bracelets and memory wire bracelets!

All of these classes cost £12 ALL INCLUSIVE.

So, without further ado, here is our fantastic Easter holiday timetable!

Friday 8 April 12pm - 2pm Daisy chains!
£12 all inclusive
Suitable for children 8 years +

Spring really has sprung with these adorable daisy chain necklaces! All the beads you need, as well as loan of tools are included in the price of this class and at the end of your two hours, you'll come away with a finished necklace!

Saturday 9 April 12pm - 2pm Wrapped wire loop charm bracelet
£12 all inclusive!
Suitable for children 8 years +

Learn how to make wrapped wire loops to make this gorgeous charm bracelet using beads from our extra special bead bowl! Tuition, all materials and loan of tools is included in the cost of this class.

Monday 11 April 12pm-2pm CATERPILLARS!
£12 all inclusive
Suitable for children 8 years +

Ok doke, this class gets capital letters because it's one of our favourites! For £12 we'll give you all the beads, materials and loan of tools to make these beautiful beady caterpillars! This class is always popular with little girls and the bigger girls who work here too - and we always have great fun working out if they're boys or girls and what to name them... :D

Saturday 16 April 12pm - 2pm Memory wire bracelet
£12 all inclusive
Suitable for children 8 years +

Another Little Bead Shop favourite class! In this class, we'll show you how to make this lovely colourful bracelet - just perfect for summer :) As with all the others, the cost of this class includes all materials and loan of tools.

If you would like to book your child into any of these fantastic Easter classes, please pop in to see us, visit our website or call us on 0131 228 5058!

Love,

The girls at The Little Bead Shop xxx

Mother's Day at The Little Bead Shop

It's mother's day next Sunday (3rd April) - did you remember?

We're going to be running some special "make a present for mum" classes next week - we'll keep you posted! But remember, you can pop in to make a special pressie for your mum and use the lovely little craft table at the front of the shop at any time and, the best bit is... it's totally FREE of charge!

We'll also give you a loan of tools, again, totally FREE! All you need to pay for is your beads and materials you use to make your creation!

So make sure you pop in to see us before next Sunday!

Love,

The girls at The Little Bead Shop x

Stunning Czech Dagger Bead Bracelet: Sunday 20 March: 1pm - 4pm

We're very excited to bring you this fantastic new class where you can learn how to make this beautiful Czech dagger bead and swarovski crystal bracelet.

Designed by The Little Bead Shop's taleneted owner, Gil Baird, this class is exclusive to our premises.

The dagger beads give this striking bracelet an amazing texture which allows it to drape softly around your wrist.

The bracelet is made by bead weaving but if you're new to this jewellery making technique, have no fear! We will be there to help you at every step.

You will be given full instructions for you to take home as you may not finish the bracelet in the three hours allotted to the class.

The class is suitable for beginners and costs £40 which includes tuition, all threads, findings AND your beads.

To book your place please pop in to see us, visit our website or call us on 0131 228 5058!

Love,

The Girls at The Little Bead Shop x

Merry Christmas!

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.

We're all full of the Christmas spirit (not to mention a fair few mince pies....) and, before we get ready to shut the shop for Christmas, we'd like to send an extra special Merry Christmas! to all of our lovely customers.

We'll be be back open from 12pm - 3pm on 28th, 29th and 30th December, before returning to business as usual on 3 January 2011 where we'll be back with a whole load of brand new beading and metal clay classes!

Wishing you all a fantastic Christmas and exciting start to 2011!

Love,

The girls from the Little Bead Shop xxx

Stuck for ideas for Christmas pressies?

Are you stuck for ideas for Christmas pressies for your nearest and dearest? Well, the Little Bead Shop might be able to help you out!

We offer gift vouchers, for any amount, which are redeemable against everything in our lovely little shop, as well as all our classes, including metal clay!

A perfect present for the handmade craft enthusiasts in your life. And, even better, there's no expiry date so the vouchers can be used at the most suitable time for you!

For more information. pop in to see us, visit our website or call us on 0131 228 5058 :)

Love,

The girls at the Little Bead Shop x

Beady Stocking Fillers!

Christmas is fast approaching and if you're looking for a crafty stocking filler for someone special, we might just have the answer!

We've got a lovely range of beady goodie bags in the shop just for Christmas - perfect for keeping big kids and wee kids alike occupied for an hour or two.

We've also got a whole range of craft kits coming soon, so we'll keep you posted!

Love,

The girls at The Little Bead Shop x

Festive Frolics at the Little Bead Shop: Monday 8 November

We've all got festive fever down at the Little bead shop and, with that in mind, would like to invite you to our extra special Christmas present making classes!

Come along for mulled wine, mince pies and some festive frolics where we'll show you how to make earrings, necklaces and bracelets as Christmas presents for your nearest and dearest.

Our Christmas classes will be on Monday 8 November 6pm-9pm (cost £25) and Sunday 12 December 1pm-4pm (cost £45). Both classes exclude the cost of your beads.

We look forward to seeing you for some festive cheer!

Love,

The girls from the Little Bead Shop x

New Class! Stunning Swarovski Crystal Bracelet: Thursday 16 September 1pm - 3pm

Being a bead shop, there's nothing we like more than a being able to bring a bit of sparkle to our customers, and you don't get much sparklier than this stunning swarovski crystal bracelet.

Here we will teach you the bead weaving techniques to make this beautiful bracelet. Once you know this technique, the sky's the limit!

The class runs from 1pm-3pm on Thursday 16 September and is suitable for beginners.

Cost £15 excluding cost of beads.

Pop in to see us, visit our website or call us on 0131 228 50508 to book your place!

Love,

The girls at the Little Bead Shop

New Class: Funky Wire Work Necklace: Tuesday 2 November 6.30 - 8.30pm

We've all gone a bit wire crazy over at the Little Bead Shop these days, so we thought we'd share the love with this brand new wire work class!

In this lesson you will learn to combine wire loops with beads to create this fun and striking necklace.

The class runs from 6.30 - 8.30pm and is suitable for beginners.

Cost: £15 excluding beads.

Please pop in to see us, visit our website or call us on 0131 228 5058 to book your place!

Love,

The girls at the Little Bead Shop x

New Class! Wire Crochet Necklace: Saturday 23 October 1pm-3pm

Have you always wanted to know how to make beautiful crochet necklaces but weren't sure where to start? Well, this could be the class for you!

In this brand new class we will teach you how to make this gorgeous beaded wire crochet necklace. Suitable for beginners, no experience in crocheting is necessary.

The class is on Saturday 23 October and will run from 1pm-3pm.

Cost: £15 and includes findings and loan of tools.

Please note, beads are not included.

Pop in to see us, visit our website or call us on 0131 228 5058 to book your place!

Love,

The girls at the Little Bead Shop x

Just for Father's Day - Silver Fingerprint Jewellery 10% Discount Special Offer!

We all know it's Father's day this Sunday and the girls at the Little Bead Shop are delighted to tell you that, just for this weekend, we are offering a fantastic 10% discount on silver fingerprint jewellery!

By using a combination of traditional silversmithing techniques and Art Clay Silver (often referred to as metal clay) we can capture a fingerprint directly into fine silver. What better gift for a dad than his child's fingerprint cast into a beautiful pair of cuff links or a charm for a necklace? It makes a perfect, truly personal gift.

Pushed for time? If you pop in before 2pm on Saturday you can get your beautiful personalised gift the very same day!

Arranging your silver fingerprint jewellery is easy - just pop in to see us or call us on 0131 228 5058 and tell us your requirements.

Love,

The girls at the Little Bead Shop

Beginners Bead Stringing - Monday 31 May

At the Little Bead Shop, we know that there's nothing more satisfying than the first time you make a piece of jewellery, apart from of course having someone compliment you on something you've made yourself!

The easiest way to learn how to make jewellery is to start making it - and once you've mastered a few basic techniques, the sky's the limit!

We're pleased to be able to tell you that we are running a Beginners Bead Stringing Class on Monday 31 May 6.30-8.30 pm. Perfect for beginners, this class will teach you the basics from how to use crimps and tigertail, different types of threads and when to use them as well as teaching you about the different types of finishes available.

By the end of the class you will have made a beautiful necklace or bracelet of your own design and leave with the techniques to make the kind of jewellery you've always wanted to!

The class runs from 6.30-8.30pm and costs £15 which includes findings, excludes beads.

For more information, please pop in to see us, give us a call on 0131 228 5058 or visit our website .

Love,

The girls at the Little Bead Shop x

Parties at the Little Bead Shop

We love a good party at the Little Bead Shop. Yesterday we had a little girl's beading party in the shop and I thought I'd share some of the pictures with you!

This is one of several beautiful pieces made by the birthday girl herself!

Parties can be held in our shop, where they are fully supervised, or in your on home. We hold parties for children ages six and up and each party project is decided on after discussion with you and your child. We're also happy to advise you on the most appropriate projects for your child's age if you're unsure.

As well as leaving with a piece of jewellery that they made at the party, everyone also gets a complimentary beady goody bag!

Please call in to see us, give us a ring on 0131 228 5058, or visit our website for more information.

Love,

the girls at the Little Bead Shop x

Dazzling czech glass dagger beads: some design ideas

We've been having a bit of a love affair with czech glass dagger beads as of late and thought we'd share some of our designs with you to get you inspired!

So, why do we love dagger beads so much? Well, not only are they beautiful (the colours really are amazing so pop in and see our displays to get the full idea!) their unusual shape adds a really interesting dimension to your jewellery designs which you just don't get with round beads.

Not only that, but they can also add a lot of movement to your jewellery, which is particularly eye-catching in necklaces and bracelets. So, what's not to love?

We hope this post has given you some ideas about how to use dagger beads and we'd love to see some of your designs so send them to us!

Love,

the girls at the Little Bead Shop x

An update on our lovely new shop

Well, what a week it's been. We've moved, we're merrily unpacking and are all totally in love with our fantastic new shop!

We've still got a fair bit of reorganising to do (and shelves to put up!) but we're all feeling rather impressed by how much we've got done in such a short space of time.

If you would like to see some pics of how the decorating is going, have a look at our pictures on Facebook

We've been running our classes as normal throughout (you may have seen us sitting at our lovely new beading table in the shop window if you've been strolling through Bruntsfield lately), and I just had to share this beautiful tiara that one of our students made at the weekend!

New dates for our tiara workshops will soon be on our website so we'll keep you posted!

Love,

the girls from the Little Bead Shop x

PS. As alway happens during any move, something has to go wrong, and unfortunately we've been having some problems with our phone line this week. We're hoping to get this sorted out asap, but if you would like to speak to us, you can reach us in the mean time on 07593768127 or email us via our website.

The fabulous new shop is officially open!

Well folks, after a long hard week of packing and painting, the Little Bead Shop is now open for business at the new shop at 120 Bruntsfield Place!

Not only does our new shop boast some rather stunning chandeliers, but we now have a dedicated classroom. Details of all our new classes will be coming soon so watch our website for more information.

Remember to stop by and say hello!

Love, the girls at the Little Bead Shop x

Big news update: New shop opening 21 April!

Hello everyone!

We can now confirm that as of 21 April, the Little Bead Shop will have moved a few doors along the street to 120 Bruntsfield Place, currently the premises of Cafe Crepe!

Those of you who have popped in to see us already know that we're already packing up and getting things organised for the move. Although we are possibly just a little bit messier than normal (ahem), everything is business as usual.

We'll keep you all posted on how the move is going :)

Love,

the girls at the Little Bead Shop x