Care Tips for Sterling Silver European Charm Beads, Bracelets, Necklaces:

All sterling silver will eventually oxidize and tarnish unless it has been finished with a protective layer. The good news is if it does tarnish, you can still restore its luster with proper polishing. The easiest way to clean silver is with a clean soft cloth. You can also prevent silver from tarnishing by just storing it away after each usage. Even a simple zip-lock bag will be adequate. The goal is to keep all the air and light from tarnishing the silver.

Just like gold, sterling silver is a very soft metal. You can scratch it just by rubbing it too vigorously. Also, never use a tissue. Paper or tissues have wood fibers which can cause tiny scratches on the surface of your sterling silver jewelry. If you don’t regularly clean your silver pieces, the dirt residue can also scratch the surface as well.

When cleaning sterling silver jewelry, we recommend you use soft 100% cotton clothing or even a flannel cloth. For hard to reach areas, you can use a soft bristle brush.

Chlorine and even vinegar can damage your silver jewelry, so don’t forget to take off your fine sterling silver jewlery when swimming, bathing, showering and even routine household chores involving water.

Care Tips for Silver Plated European Charm Beads, Bracelets, Necklaces:

Unlike sterling silver, silver plated jewelry will eventually wear in due time. Proper cleaning, maintenance, and storage are critical for extending its useful life. Some silver plated jewelry will last longer than others depending on the thickness of its layer.

We also do not recommend using ultrasonic cleaners. Although this will remove dirt from hard to reach areas, it may also cause the glue from the stones to come loose.

1. Store in a sealed plastic zip-lock bag to prevent air contact.

2. Daily cleaning : Select a plain white toothpaste without the special whitening options (DO NOT USE GEL).

Take a soft, dampened cloth (old t-shirt scraps work just fine) or a damp sponge and put some toothpaste on it. An old soft toothbrush can also be used to help you get into the intricate details of some of your charm beads. Gently rub over the silver in straight, back-and-forth motions. Alternatively, you can wet the silver piece and gently apply the toothpaste directly to the surface which you can then wet again and proceed to polish. In any case, be very gentle.

3. Do not wear silver jewelry while wearing other precious metals in order to avoid collision, deformation or abrasion.

4. Keep it dry and do not wear when swimming, bathing or showering. Keep away from chlorine and sea water. Our tap water is loaded with chlorine so even when doing the dishes or washing your hands, avoid as much contact with water as possible.

5. Daily wiping with a jewelry polishing cloth (available at Bed, Bath & Beyond or other similar stores) to maintain the luster is recommended.

If you want to take more vigorous action, try either of these:

Aluminum Foil Method
1. Take an aluminum plate or cover a deep dish or small pot with aluminum foil.
2. Place your silver-plated pieces on top of the aluminum foil as noted above in #1.
3. Boil enough water in a separate pot to eventually cover the jewelry on the aluminum foil/plate.
4. Liberally sprinkle baking soda over the charms, beads or chains in the aluminum pot being sure to cover the entire surface of the tarnished pieces.
5. Carefully pour the hot water into the first dish, making sure the silver is completely submerged. Even though this is a common household product, it is best to stand back from leaning directly over the pot as there is a slight chemical reaction. Even though there are no detectable fumes, it is best not to breathe it in.
6. The tarnish should immediately start to come off. If the silver is heavily tarnished, sprinkle more baking soda on the items, reheat the water and repeat the process as often as necessary until the tarnish has been removed.
7. Rinse with clear water and gently dry the items with a clean cotton cloth.

Baking Soda Method
1. Combine baking soda and a small amount of warm water into a paste. Do this in a cup.
2. Place the baking soda paste solution onto a damp hand towel.
3. Rub the silver-plated pieces until the tarnish is gone.
4. Rinse the excess baking soda off with warm water.

I have searched the internet and other sources available to me. I believe that the tips I have included have been reviewed as being safe as long as the directions are followed carefully. However, I do not guaranty any of these methods.

If I can tie a lariat, so can you!

I confess!  I have had these lariats in stock for at least six months and to date have only created one design with them.   Well, all that just changed when I ran out of excuses not to play with something that turned out to be so simple!  I know you will have fun with it too!

Since a picture is worth a thousand words, here is a pictorial essay on creating fabulous looks with your Pandora-style beads for a price tag you will love!


Let's begin:

1.   Choose a lariat.  This one is black and 100 cm long.  It also comes in five other fabulous colors.   Fold it in half.

Black Lariat, 100 cm (shown folded in half)

Turquoise

Brown

Hot Pink

Purple

Mint Green

2.  Slide a bead on as shown above.

3.  Add a few more.  Include some spacers if you like.  Make it colorful.  Glass beads, even just a few,  add pizazz!

4.  Tie the knot.  It's a simple double knot.  Adjust it so that it fits the desired length on your neck.  Make sure it is tied tight enough not to slip open.  It might take a few tugs, but believe me, this is NOT rocket science.

5.  Here ya go!  Double-knotted and ready to wear!!  

LARIATS ARE $10.00 EACH
GLASS BEADS ARE $8.00 EACH
GOLD SPACER BEADS ARE $3.50 EACH

Beads and Dangles featured in ProStores blog

Beads and Dangles is delighted to have been featured in ProStores  e-Commerce Blog.   ProStores is an e-Bay company with a huge presence all over the internet.

Wouldn't you like to schedule a Girls Night Out beading party?

Economic Downturn? Have a Party!

Marji Bitterman of web store Beads and Dangles has a product that does well in a challenging economy.  She sells popular beads and charms created in the style of European brands Pandora, Biagi, and Chamilia, but at the fraction of the cost. 

She has no brick and mortar, so she reaches out to the local market at what she calls “girls night out parties.”  “We go over with all the beads and give everyone a beading tray.  After a couple bottles of wine, people go home with their own creations.”  The host gets 15 percent of gross sales either in bead credit or as a check to their favorite charity.

“It’s a wonderful way to connect locally," says Marji.  "We get a lot of online customers through those venues.” 

Find out in future posts how Beads and Dangles use their products to help them provide value during the downturn.

    

The Fashionista is back!

I added some fabulous themed beads to the website, so this necklace has the Buddha in the center. The gift box nearby reminds me how precious a gift every day is and the teapot represents my love for tea.  Keeping all the silver-plated beads in place, I just popped in the orange/yellow glass beads and the green foil beads to match this fun and very casual tee shirt!

Another Look for the Frugal Fashionista

Another hot sticky day has dawned in Sarasota, FL but the sun is shining, the sky is blue and sometime today a thunderstorm might roll in.  It's all good - this is our Paradise in a little spot on the globe!

This is the outfit I wore yesterday:  Lilly Pulitzer capri pants (which I might add I bought for next to nothing at Off Fifth at the Ellenton outlet mall a while ago) and the Ralph Lauren top (also purchased in Ellenton at the Polo Factory outlet store).  

The fabulous colors in these two pieces necessitated a swap of 4 beads.  I chose the raspberry cat eye beads (SCG8002) and 2 of my favorite glass beads in cyan and pink (SCG109).

Tomorrow's outfit is to be determined because all my beads are now packed for an event we are doing.  I promise to be back soon with an update!

Make it a GREAT DAY wherever you are!

Frugal Fashionista

This is the beginning of a series that will track the evolution of a Pandora style Beads and Dangles' necklace.  I actually laughed out loud when I titled the blog today because the last attribute I would ever think of giving myself is "fashionista".  But, I am pretty darned good at designing necklaces and bracelets using the beads from my collection and I want to share how easy it is to start with something basic and re-invent it each day with a minimal investment.

Day 1
Start with a 40 cm or 45 cm Pandora style silver plated necklace ($ 12.00)
Add approximately 6 Silver plated metal beads, Enamel beads, or
    Jeweled beads at $5.00 each ($ 30.00)
Add 2 Spacer beads at $3.00 each ($6.00)
Add 5 Glass beads (or three is you prefer) at $8.00 each ($ 40.00)
Pop 2 Clips ($5.00 each) on the center threads to keep everything in the center ($ 10.00)

Your necklace is all set.  You have a gorgeous Pandora style necklace for less than $100 and remember, you can always start with fewer metal beads or substitute some of them for the $3.00 spacers!


Day 2
Here comes the fun part.  Open the clip at one end to slip off the beads.  I just lay them out in order on the table.  What colors are YOU wearing today?  On this day, I wore a flowered skirt and a gold tank top.  Here is what I created by just changing a few glass beads.

I kept the pearl bead in the center (which you won't be seeing for a while because it was just sold to a customer who "had to have it" and it was the last one I had). I removed 4 glass         beads and replaced them with 2 green cut glass beads and 2 blue cut glass beads.




Total cost to change 4 glass beads is $32.00.
                      

















Day 3

I am working at home today and just slipped into a fun but colorful tee shirt with a pair of jeans.  A simple exchange of just the 2 blue cut glass beads today created this fabulous, color-coordinated fashion statement for the low cost of $16.00 using the yellow-orange-white glass beads.

Check back soon to see how easy and affordable it is to create entirely new looks with your Pandora style beads.  Think about traveling this summer with just one necklace and a tiny pouch of glass beads in a variety of colors to match all your outfits.

Beads and Dangles Gets a "Facelift"

I am so excited to share the new look for Beads and Dangles.  I have loved the clean, streamlined quality to my website since the day it launched.  It was what attracted me to the ProStores templates in the first place (in addition to the price I paid to create it myself which was just my time invested in a challenging but fun project).  Oh, I guess I should mention that  ProStores has tech support 24/7 and I spent many hours on the phone with their people guiding me through my innumerable questions.  Sometimes FREE isn't worth the price, but I have been very proud of this website since Day One!

But then I longed for something more, just a little bit more colorful and "girly-girl".  So I was led to Kelly, an adorable local gal who has more talent in graphic design and web creation than I could have asked for.  Along came the musical and colorful splash page, the fabulous "lady" that adorns my banner, and ultimately, we tweaked some of the basic colors of the borders provided by ProStores.

The newest changes that went live last night came about after Nisey, my friend from Nisey's Beads, told me that many people found "splash pages" to be cute but cumbersome.  The consensus was to get to the shopping pages ASAP.  So, Kelly came up with some ideas and in just a few hours of programming, we agreed on the current version.

I LOVE IT!!!  This is my BLOG and as my husband often says, "Everyone is entitled to my opinion".   But, I would love and welcome your comments.  Maybe together we can keep Kelly even busier than she already is.  The next "tweak" could be your suggestion!

Coming back to Beads and Dangles

No, I never really left Beads and Dangles, but at times I did feel like I just could not make it my main focus.  Three months ago I was asked to be the Volunteer Coordinator for the Sarasota Open, a men's professional USTA tennis tournament that would take place over 8 days in May. Gathering teams of volunteers and organizing them is certainly something I have done many times for my favorite organization, Caring for Children Charities.  It is a 501 C3 that has operated for the past 20 years in Sarasota as the Florida Winefest & Auction.  It has given away more than $7,000,000 to children at risk in our community during that time period.

Since this very same charity was named the primary recipient of revenues generated by the Open, I knew that I would be accepting this volunteer position.  What I did not know was how much time it would take.  I was basically starting from ground zero and building a huge team of volunteers (literally as many as I could get).  Three months later, the event is now over and it was a huge success for me personally!  I rallied over 425 volunteers, most of whom surprised and delighted me by taking multiple shifts, day after day.

What a wonderful group of volunteers came to work, watch great tennis and have a fabulous time!  I was so blessed by all of them.  When the event was ending, we were hugging and kissing goodbyes with promises from most to return next year.  I guess everyone is assuming I will once again accept this position.  I think they are probably correct in that assumption.  Our needs to support children at risk in Sarasota and Manatee Counties has not diminished, but the incoming funds to deliver to them has definitely dwindled with the tough economy.  How could I not participate???  Besides, I have a team that was second to none, and if a huge percentage commits to return, my job is almost done!  (yeah, right! - but at least it's a great start!!).

So now it is back to full concentration on Beads and Dangles!  I have so many events booked for June already.  The first one is next Thursday, June 3 for the Women's Business Fair at the Florida Bank's University Office.  It is being held from 3 PM to 7 PM.

A sterling silver order just arrived yesterday and is already featured in the New Beads section.  The 25% Celebratory Storewide Sale is still going on and will end on May 31st.   I am beginning to think about June's promotion.   Another order will be placed soon for some great metal beads, most of which are new to the collection!

Yes, it's good to be back even though I really never left!!!!

Prices going up at Pandora but PRICES ARE GOING DOWN AT BEADS AND DANGLES!!

I just did a little undercover, investigative reporting because I knew Pandora had announced a price increase effective March 1st, but I didn't know how much.  I found out just now how big the price increases are going to be and here's the scoop.  A $25.00 sterling silver bead at a Pandora store will be going up between $5 and $15!  You could be paying up to $40 for that one little bead!  Their glass beads will now be $35.00!  Ours are currently $7.00!!

I am committed to bringing in fabulous new sterling silver beads both with and without stones for a whole lot less than $40.  Imagine getting a selection of sterling silver beads at prices that may be from 30%-50% lower than Pandora's and be equally as beautiful!!

Back to blogging!

It's hard to believe that more than one month has passed since my last entry.  I had been in NYC then and shortly after returning, somehow managed to get some weird upper respiratory infection that affected every cell in my body from my throat to the top of my head during the next 3+ weeks.  I am thrilled to report I have returned to the world of the living and am 100% back to normal.

Pandora style beads - so many things to catch up with.......new beads that actually came in two weeks ago and more to come in the next two weeks, plus fabulous weekly specials starting tomorrow.  I have selected 14 beads from the Sterling Silver collection and marked them 50%-60% off.  

Key Chain Accessories are here and more are coming in the next two weeks!  The single key chain can be customized for just about any school or organization's colors.

"Charms for Charities" Girls Night Out Beading Parties are being introduced to give hostesses of these fabulous soirees an opportunity to earn money that they can donate to their charity of choice - just by inviting a group of friends to a beading party.  No beading experience is required because our beads just slide on and off a chain!

Hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day.  Thanks to all my customers, new and old, who took advantage of the great Valentine's Weekly Specials!

Bead District - NYC

Since we were in the NYC area visiting our kids and grandson, I took the opportunity to go through the "Beads District" on Saturday.  Besides temperatures in the twenties and a fairly steady strong "breeze" making it feel even colder, I braved the elements to try to locate some great finds to add to the collection of Beads and Dangles.  I was prepared with a list I had made weeks before our trip and had some willing accomplices - husband Stew, stepson Drew and his adorable wife, Britton.

I am sorry to have to say that my efforts were in vain.  The little that I found was of such poor quality and so ridiculously overpriced that I literally left the stores shaking my head and wondering who would actually buy these beads?!  The glass beads had double cores (which means the whole center section of the bead was essentially exposed) and the little metal that was used on the double core was merely an alloy.  Some shopkeepers said it was nickel, one of the most highly allergic metals that could possibly be used.  None were even offered in silver plate and even if they had been, I wouldn't have wanted them anyway.

Almost 100% of the glass beads in Beads and Dangles collection is 925 sterling silver single core and the 925 is certified by being stamped inside the core.  When a single core is used you can see that the sterling silver goes all the way through from one side of the bead to the other!

I am committed to providing the highest quality Pandora style beads and will double and re-double my efforts to do so.  In a slightly twisted way it was good for me to see so many inferior beads to know how proud I can be of our collection!

Weekly Specials - A Crowd Pleaser For Sure!

The Weekly Specials Category is now live and chock full of fabulous beads at deep discounts!
As promised, I have pulled beads from almost every category and discounted them at 40%-50% off the regular price.  This first group of beads contains 10 items, all of which have been great sellers.

This first Weekly Special will run through January 12, 2010.  On the 13th I will post at least ten new beads to be featured in this category.  Remember, these beads will stay at these prices only until the end of the designated sale period OR until they sell out.  If you see a bead you love at these prices, grab it now.  I can promise you it won't be back at that price for a long time because I have so many other beads that I want to entice you with!

New Beads are arriving on Monday and will be posted to that new category by the end of the day.