Cheeky Chips & Moonstone Beads For May
26th April 2020
Hope you’re all surviving the crisis. It’s tough. Stay safe! We’re hoping bead fairs will resume Mid-June – for bookings so far, click 2020 Bead Fairs.
The new MrBead shop will soon be live. A fast hassle-free shopping experience, with much new inspiring content and features. Hundreds of articles and over 120 categories re-written. It will even be easy to order beads on your smartphone too.
Content:
Lockdown Loopys
Cheeky Chips!
New Beads Here
Magical Moonstone For May
2020 Bead Fairs
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15% Off Anything From MrBead
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Lockdown Loopys
Don’t tell anyone, but MiMi and I were on the beach last Sunday. I’d like to say ‘to collect stones to drill for beads’, but this isn’t true. We went for fun.
Before you take to the keyboard and tell me to stay inside, I have to remind of a change of UK rules. The allowed distance to travel to exercise has been extended from 2 kms of your home – to as far as you drive, as long as the time exercising is more than the actual travel time.
Winterton-On-Sea is only half-an-hour from Norwich, and we only saw a few distant couples as we walked along the sand and heathland for over a couple of hours. Where we usually exercise along the Marriotts Way, a disused railway track in Norwich, there are hundreds puffing along as they dodge a continuous stream of racing cyclists.
I hope we all get masks soon. In many countries it’s against the law to go out without one. We’ve just received a batch of masks and gloves ready for our next bead fair visitors, but who knows when that will be! We’re long overdue some positive news, rather than roll out the death toll every evening like the football results.
Cheeky Chips!
Chips are a fun and an inexpensive way to make jewellery. With a huge range of beads, usually in double-length strings – an affordable way to use semi-precious stones. Ideal for simple bracelets, necklaces or earrings.
Bracelets can be quickly made by using elastic string allowing for expansion so they will fit everyone. Or chips can easily be threaded on thin bangle wire for a more steady effect.
Chips are sold in much longer strands than other types of beads – usually 32-inches long, so if you only want them for bracelets, you don’t need so many strands.
They’re also the cheapest way to purchase the stone – so allowing those on a budget to use semi-precious beads they could not otherwise afford. Chips come in all sorts of sizes, coloures and shapes.
Being natural, almost all have irregular sizes and shapes. If you plan on using a strand of chips to make a necklace, you will need to restring them – as they come on a temporary string without any hook or clasp. It’s a good idea to use a tray or table when working with chips as their tiny size make them easy to loose. Have fun!
We have extra-long strings of chip beads from only £1.99. These are a real bargain as most bead sellers charge more for this length and the prices at source have gone up!
See all our Chip Beads at MrBead.co.uk or MrBead.com
New Beads Here
We just collected 30 boxes of over 700 kgms of new beads from Felixstowe. Beads we brought in China in January, six-weeks late. Many large, chunky semi precious.
As there’s no bead fairs to sell them at, we’ll be putting more online, in the new MrBead shop shortly to become live. Keep an eye on the What’s New section.
Magical Moonstone: May’s Gemstone
Moonstone is nature’s treasure with a sensuous and seductive charm. Its characteristic feature is its magical play of light. The stone is translucent, and softens the light shining through it to give a pearly moon-like glow which appears different whenever the stone changes position.
Years ago, it was thought to be brought upon by the moon’s phases. This shimmering affect is caused by light being refracted inside the stone.
Colours
Moonstone comes in colourless, white, grey, and subtle yellow, but always has a blue or white sheen. Rainbow moonstone is colourless with a blue sheen and a rainbow-like array of colours.
Moonstone folklore
Much mystery surrounds this stone. In India it’s considered sacred to lovers, and is also known as a “dream stone” bringing beautiful dreams.
In Arab countries women sew moonstone into their garment as a symbol of fertility. It was also believed to be protective to seafarers, who have used it since ancient times. During full-moon, moonstone is very powerful for reconciling love – and as the moon decreases, is said to allow one to foretell the future.
A feminine stone for female issues and the inner-child, but also used by men who want to reach their feminine side. Moonstone brings confidence, calms the emotions, and aids spirituality, intuition, and clairvoyance.
Also thought to protect against fever, fluid-retention and urinary problems. Its soft shine supports the emotional and dreamy side of a person. Wearing moonstone will also increase your sensitivity for others.
Natural moonstone
Classical moonstone from Sri Lanka shimmers pale blue and is expensive. Moonstone from India has a cloud-like plays of light on beige, brown or green, backgrounds – and some have a cat’s eye or a multi-rayed star.
Uncut moonstone is dull and lacks the play of light. This is brought out by the cutter’s skills, who must locate the stone’s axis. Classical moonstones are always cut as cabochons.
Value
The more intense the colour, size and transparency, the more valuable is the gem. Top quality fine blue moonstone shows an incredible “three-dimensional” depth of colour, which you will see clearly only when tilting. These are rare and expensive. Brighter coloured Indian moonstone is cheaper, so is opalite moonstone.
Opalite moonstone
Opalite moonstone is most common today. This is a synthetic stone with even more blue shimmer than genuine moonstone, that’s only been around recently.
Against a light background, it appears milky white, shimmering golden faint lilac-blue and other colours. Against a darker background, it changes to a bright icy blue with the highlights altering to intense oranges and reds. The stone practically glows on its own, and demands attention by outshining all around.
Opalite moonstone adds a romantic feminine allure to your jewellery, always looking refreshingly cool – ideal for summer. Its pastel glow is soft and captivating, complimenting other light-coloured stones like lilac amethyst, blue chalcedony, and rose quartz.
It also loves to compete with wild bright colours like reds and turquoise. This flamboyance makes opalite ideal to wear during a night out on the town.
Looking after moonstone
All moonstone is fragile and should be handled carefully. However, a jeweller can polish a dulled moonstone back to its original glory.
We have over 48 different opalite moonstones – to see all click MrBead.com or MrBead.co.uk
15-Years of MrBead Newsletters
2005 to 2020 
The MrBead Newsletter started April 2005, so April 2020 is the 15th full year of publication. To see the past newsletters click here. I hope some of these will inspire you to make more jewellery.
To see all the original old newsletters click here.
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15% Off Anything From MrBead
To get the discount off anything in our online stores, Key MOON at checkout now, as offer ends Friday 1st May 2020. Use at MrBead.co.uk or MrBead.com, but can’t be used with any other discount.
Early 2020 Bead Fairs
All shows cancelled until at least the end of May. We hope to start again with Norwich Bead Fair on Sunday 14th June and Sunday 5th July at Cornish Bead Fair.
Shows booked this year, click 2020 Bead Fairs.
See our beads at MrBead.co.uk or MrBead.com
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