Odds & Ends

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Random Tidbits

• I got the door hanger for my daughter's room mapped out on graph paper a few days ago and had hoped to start stringing it the same day. My girl had other plans for me, though. She cooed and played for a while, then made it clear she wanted to be held. What can I say? I'm a sucker for the little cutie pie. But stringing seed beads with a newborn on my lap is just not doable.

• Craft stores in our area have really cut back on their supply. My mom has been looking for some beads to finish the projects she's been working on and hasn't been able to find them locally anymore. The next time I'm at Mom's house, I'll go online to Fire Mountain Gems, Thunderbird Supply or Fusion Beads to see if any of them has what she needs.

• Off and on, I've struggled with an idea for a stretchy bracelet for kids. I've completed a few with a ladder stitch, but getting the string through the beads more than once was tough, even with the thinnest stretchy string I could find. My most recent attempt was on a loom, but I think binding will be even more difficult than it was with ladder stitch bracelets. I think I'm going to check a few places to see if thinner stretchy string exists. Or maybe I'll buy bigger beads before I make the next one.

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