my bead links

welcome! here you’ll find everything i purchase as a full time small business owner. since i buy from so many shops, i have placed a ✰ by my most favorite and frequent purchases. i hope you have as much fun discovering these beautiful beads as i do. if you have any tips, recommendations or things that you would like to see me add to this page, please reach out on one of my socials :)

overwhelmed by so much to choose from?

with my customizable bead soup, you can get a little of everything! put together for your specific preferences. use code “ BUGBEADPARTY “ for 10% off your first purchase of bead soup to get you started.

click here

bead links

local stores-

• micheal’s- micheal’s is really only worth it if they’re having a sale, and even then only the 50% off is justifiable to me. if they have something that i can find on etsy, i’ll buy it there, because it will always be so much cheaper. it is on okay place to start if you don’t have a collection yet. they do have a few beads that i still have not been able to find on Etsy in my hours of searching, so unfortunately i do sometimes have to shop there.

• hobby lobby- hobby lobby is always having a 50% off sale so if you’re wanting some in person shopping, this is a great place to start. unfortunately i feel like their selection doesn’t compare to micheal’s but they can’t beat their prices (etsy just might tho)

from amazon-

brown mushroom beads

pink mushroom beads

gold metal ladybug beads

silver lady bug beads

etsy shops-

(basic filler beads)-

• beadrhapsody ✰

• Ny6designJewelry

• CrystalsandBFF✰

• uncommonbeads

czech shapes (leaves,stars,flowers, etc.)-

• beadrhapsody ✰

• houseofgemsinc

• raggedydollgems

• gloriousglassbeads

• supplybeads

• bluedragonbeadstudio✰

• mayahoney

• nloiscrafts✰

• sparklingsistersjs

• oliverstar

• sandsodalime✰ - hand blown custom beads

• mywifesstash

• beadsfromczech

• artisticsass

• luv4dixie✰ - findings & beads

• jennysgemshop

• onlinebeads✰

• toastedcoconut✰

• beadsparade

• funkyprettybeads✰

• baubleshopbeads

• morebeads4you

• pasttopresentsupply

• lanabeads2

• sarapaanbeads

• gardenofbeadinsale

• luckyspotshop

• designingsisters - ladybugs & pearls

*for bulk beadrhapsody: picardcezchbeads

*for cheaper crystalsandBFF: crystalsandbeadsforfriends

quick links to my favorite beads

• pink swirl beads

• brown swirl beads

• amber & green leaves

• stars

• pink lilys

• purple tulips

• lily bells

• green picasso fire polished

• metal dragonflies

• caterpillars

bead hauls & where they came from

1 4

charms & pendants

• guerrillacharm

• charmingmaggie

• nicoledebruin

• charmsfinding

• JazzyJcharms

• NUOMIhandmade

• mandT2007Supply

• lorettasbeads

• irisflowersupply - rose pendants

metal findings

• eye pins, head pins & jump rings: luv4dixie

• crimp beads: missvalsfindings

• chain & lobster clasps: jewelrytoolbox

• earring backs: sweetbeeinspires

• beading wire: craft store or amazon

jewelry making supplies

• my pliers set

• one step looper - this is good if you’re not working with stainless steel. if you are, this is horrible and do not waste your time getting used to it because it will always break on you

• necklace stand

• bead board

• bead boxes

• if you plan on working with lots of seed beads you might find the bead spinner helpful. i used this a lot in the start of my business.

how to make jewelry

picking a color palette-

i get a lot of my inspo from Pinterest! from saving pretty pictures that have bright bold colors, flower bouquets or actual color palettes. if you want to see my inspo, checkout my boards “BUGJOGALAS” and “jewelry inspo” on Pinterest ↓↓↓

my pinterest

string necklaces -

to make single strand necklaces, you’ll need:

  • bead wire
  • crimp beads
  • endings (clasps & extender chain)
  • crimp covers are optional !
  • beads 
  • pair of pliers

to make a strung necklace you simply cut a piece of string a bit longer than desired length. add a crimp bead to the string and then one of your endings. take one end of the string and thread it through the crimp bead. adjust to where there is just a small amount of the end you threaded through. take pliers and crimp the bead. after adding your beads, repeat the crimping process to close the necklace. some people like the look of crimp bead covers and add those over the crimp beads. 

chain style necklaces-

to make “chain style” necklaces you’ll need

  • eyepins 
  • headpins
  • jump rings
  • endings (clasps & extender chain)
  • beads
  • one step looper or cutting pliers
  • preferably 2 pairs of pliers

i start by putting all the beads i want on the base of the necklace on eye pins. put your bead on eye pin and this is where you can use a one step looper. if you don’t have the one step looper, you’ll need a pair of pliers that cut wire to trim the eye pin. you’ll then make your own loop and close it with pliers. after i have all my beads on eye pins i start linking everything together with jump rings. i use two pliers to open the jump rings and close them after putting the beads on. you can also use one pair of pliers and a “ jump ring opener tool “ which is essentially a ring that helps with this process. one comes in the pliers set i have linked above in jewelry tools. you can also buy just one alone for $7-$20 on amazon, micheal’s or hobby lobby. i personally don’t like using the ring but i know others love it. after you’ve attached all your beads to jump rings and now have a chain, add your endings with a jump ring. to attach dangles, put beads on headpins and repeat the looping process for eyepins, and then attach to your jump rings. 

of course, you can add chain and anything else however you’d like with jump rings or the base of your necklace.

other-

once you know how to make those too types of necklaces, you can pretty much do everything else following the same few steps!

the business side

supplies

• bubble mailers

• baggies

• necklace & earring cards ( you can get earring backs from any craft store )

• thermal printer

• business / thank you cards

how i started my business

choosing what to sell on-

i started off selling my jewelry on etsy! etsy is a great starting point for your business as they don’t charge a monthly payment and is easy to set up. having your own domain is great too! the plus side of this is the customization, however there is usually a monthly fee. on the flip side, the fees are usually lower than on etsy. i know some businesses have started on depop or just paying through apps like venmo. i personally have never tried either so my recommendation would be starting off on etsy and then seeing what works for you!

making sales-

unfortunately when you start your business you become a social media manager & content creator as well. in my experience, videos bring in new people while photo posts keep your followers interested. i grew my instagram by starting out posting everyday switching from photo to reel. what has worked for me is following short instagram reel trends and posting photo slide shows on tiktok. consistency is key!!

shipping orders-

all you need is a few packaging supplies and your selling platform! i also will sometimes use pirate ship on rare occasions, this would be useful if you go the route of taking payment through apps like venmo. when i first started my business, to me shipping was a little intimidating. from my experience etsy and shopify make it super easy to ship out your orders. if you plan on sticking with your business, i recommend your first investment being a label printer. i spent way too many hours throwing hands with my regular printer trying to get orders out.