Buying a specialist product like Miyuki Delicas is perhaps best done online. For me, living literally in the middle of nowhere in regional Western Australia, it is a necessity as I’m the closest thing we have to a bead shop and I don’t stock Miyuki Delicas (yet!).

When you shop online, you can browse to your heart’s content and do it during hours that suit you. Selecting a large batch of colours online is fun and can take ages as you are free to chop and change your mind as often...

Inspirational bead art websites abound on the Internet. Sherri Serafini's site is one of them. Her work makes your jaw drop. Click on her and prepare to be amazed! http://www.serafinibeadedjewelry.com/

I'm currently obsessed with setting Swarovski Rivolis in peyote stitch Delica bezels. I am happy to report that (1) I actually got it right this weekend (see below for details on how to do this without attending a class) and (2) this astonishing technique is still a hot trend in the USA. Laura McCabe and her peers have used this technique extensively in their work in the past but it is going to be taught at the Bead and Button show starting at the end of this month. it looks like the latest B...

I felt somewhat frustrated over the weekend after my dismal failed attempt to make a Delica flower freestyle and without a pattern. In hindsight I realise my attempt was somewhat ambitious as the skill level required for that sort of endeavour is high. I decided to abandon my beads for a while and do some research instead.

My wanderings led me to an astonishingly brilliant bead artist by the name of Karen Paust and I discovered some of the most spectacular beaded flowers I have ever seen. See...