#lincraft

Sharing this off my Insta from Lincraft. For the next time someone insults you on your Yarn stash...

Oh Yeah...

[image description: two silver clip rings sitting on a red watermelon slice pillow along with seven peach silicone beads, shaped like a sphere that has been pressed down on top and bottom. Two sets of three beads are threaded onto the rings, forming a bead ring; a last bead sits between the rings, centre hole facing the camera. A few flecks of dust cling to the peach silicone.]

DIY Silicone Bead Rings

Folks have probably seen the silicone bead rings @stimtastic is now selling, so I thought I’d make my own. These are best for fidgeting rather than chewing because the ring I used isn’t stainless steel (and tarnishes when exposed to water or glue, as I discovered when making chain fidgets) but if you just like the feel of silicone for fidgeting, these were super affordable to make. Unlike regular bead rings (using plastic, metal or glass beads) these are silent when rolled over my desk or hand.

Riot Art and Craft currently has strings of silicone beads on clearance sale for $2 AUD. Because I’m a member, I got them reduced even further--$1.40. Your local store may not have these left (mine only had a couple of strings) and not all the beads available have holes big enough for easy threading onto a ring. I found these 2 cm flattened circle beads to be the best, with holes 3.5 mm across; some smaller round sphere beads I also bought don’t fit on any of my clip rings.

(For other chew-safe bead options, I’d look to Etsy. If you don’t wish to chew on them, eBay has heaps of different beads for very low prices. Buying mixed lots from either means you can get different colours!)

The 50 mm clip rings come from Daiso ($2.80 AUD for five) and I use them because they clip open very easily (meaning I’m not hurting my hands trying to use pliers). I can get proper split rings from Lincraft, which I recommend for folks wanting something more durable, but they’re more expensive and far more difficult to thread. I already had the above from making my own ring fidgets and bead rings!

[image description: two photos taken on a red watermelon slice pillow background of a small plastic tub of green floam. The tub is round and made from a slightly opaque clear plastic; a sticker sits on the lid reading “Lincraft Foam Putty” in purple text against a white cloud over a photo of various coloured polystyrene beads. First photo shows the tub with lid, still sealed; second photo shows the putty--a bright dark green filled with tiny white polystyrene beads--spread over tub and lid.]

Foam Putty (Floam) - Lincraft, $2 AUD for 35 grams.

No online listing is available, as normal for Lincraft.

Lincraft has both floam and air-dry clay available in a wide range of bright colours for inexpensive prices, and I really like that this floam comes in a sturdy plastic easy-to-open tub. Seriously, the colour choices are fabulous. Red, blue, two kinds of purples, orange. Lots of lovely, bright colours.

The container is fantastic: the lid peels off easily while having a tight, non-leaking seal, while the tub part of the container is made from a thick, sturdy plastic. I’m pretty sure that it’d take determination and intent to break this, making it ideal for stim-bag or backpack use. I wouldn’t worry about this cracking or leaking.

Unfortunately, I can’t recommend the floam inside. It’s meant for crafting--moulding into shapes and allowing to harden--over stimming. It’s exceptionally sticky, meaning there’s no chance of the foam balls getting anywhere and every chance of having five hundred green slime shreds stuck to my fingernails, knuckles and palms. The problem, though, is that it’s getting stickier with every successive usage: the first few times I used it, I could work the stickiness out, which is common with slime--it needs a little kneading to come together. Now I can work it for half an hour and it gets no less sticky, and there’s more and more shreds of slime stuck to my hands afterwards. Nor do the shreds easily come off--trying to pluck them off with a small wad of the floam just leaves more bits on my hands.

[image description: two photos, on a red watermelon slice pillow background, of bead rings and the metal-lined glass beads used to make them. First photo shows a white cardboard package with nine metal-lined beads threaded on a white ribbon attached to the package. Black text at the top of the cardboard reads “Lincraft” and “9 metal lined beads”. The beads are in shades of blues and greens, and include two opaque sea blue beads, two translucent aqua beads with faceted sides, two opalescent white beads, a translucent blue bead with whtie spots, and two narrow silver beads set with dark blue gems. Second photo shows two smaller bead rings made from two silver clip rings--threaded with a white, green and blue bead each--and a larger silver clip ring threaded with six different metal-lined beads--blue/white striped, pink/white, green, white-with-pink-flower, yellow-with-orange-flower and blue/white striped.]

Metal Lined Beads - Lincraft, $9 AUD.

I’m posting this more as an FYI for Aussies who can’t afford to buy bead rings from international vendors. Lincraft now sells the beads used to make them, in packages of nine for $9 AUD.

Lincraft also sells standard large split rings in a variety of sizes, prices starting from $2.50 AUD for one up to around $3-$5 AUD for a multipack. but I found it easier to use these clip rings I already had. The large (50mm) rings come from Daiso ($2.58 AUD for five) and the smaller (30mm) rings came from a local dollar shop ($2 AUD for ten). They don’t look as nice, but they’re easier for me to thread as they open up, and the hinge makes them easier for me to hold.

Depending on the size of the ring, you could make one large and one small from this lot, or three smaller ones. (I did the latter.) It’s not a cheap purchase, but because I already had the rings, it’s more affordable for me than buying online. Plus you can choose from a wide range of colour options!

[image description: a red and blue mermaid sequin pillow sitting on a mottled blue and white night-sky quilt cover, showing black silhouettes of tree branches against the stars. The pillow is a square shape with red sequins on one side and blue on the other, brushed so a blue letter “H” is visible against the red. A round mauve cardboard swing tag reads “Lincraft Reversible Sequin Cushion 40 x 40 cm”.]

Mermaid Sequin Cushion - Lincraft.

Dimensions: 40 x 40 cm.

As this was a gift, I don’t know the price. I’ve seen these pillows in various stores now--K-Mart, The Reject Shop, many dollar shops--priced anywhere between $10-$15 AUD. No online listing is available.

I want to give this a quick review, even though most of us are well aware of mermaid sequin pillows by now. I was given this one because of the bright colours, the red-backed-by-blue. I do love the red sequins, and the blue matches my bedspread.

The best thing about this pillow is the velvet-feeling backing fabric--it is soft and stimmy in its own right, and also very comfortable to sit against if you wish to use this pillow as a pillow. I wish my K-Mart pillows had this feature rather than the cheap fabric used, as the back of each pillow doesn’t feel very nice to touch.

The worst thing about this pillow is the sequins. They are sparsely sewn onto the pillow case, meaning there’s a lot of gaps where the white backing fabric shows through. They also don’t turn smoothly at all, and while it’s hard to see in the camera because of the flash, the flipped-over sequins won’t flatten all the way down. It’s even worse when you go from blue to red. It is also impossible to turn the sequins all the way over to one colour--the pillow is studded with broken sequins and those that are sewn on in such a way that they won’t flip over. If you stim by wanting to get smooth, unbroken stretches flipping from one colour to the next, I don’t recommend this pillow.

Breakaway Clasp Set - eBay, $8 AUD for a set of 30.

Price includes shipping within Australia.

I ordered a complete set of the silicone feather necklace pendants (which I’ll post about tomorrow) that didn’t come pre-strung on cords. I’d used up all my clasps and needed more for those and my scented bottle necklaces, so I went to eBay. There’s actually a lot of different BIN listings, but it’s somewhat difficult to determine best value versus affordability, as there’s listings at $1 USD each, five for $3 USD, etc. The higher-cost listings are cheaper in terms of cost per item, but they also require a greater initial outlay.

For me, the best value listing that provided lots of different colours for not too expensive a total price was from Aussie seller The Little Craft House AUS, at $8 AUD for thirty clasps (just over twenty-six cents per clasp, shipping inclusive). I suspect this won’t be the case for non Australians, so if you’re after breakaway clasps for replacement/custom cords or DIY stim jewellery, I’ll direct you to this eBay search.

The best part about this listing is the mix of colours. The clasps are available in pink, mint, gold, silver, white and black, and you get five of each colour, all packaged in clear ziplock bags. They clip together firmly and require moderate pressure, like all clasps, to pull apart. Like all the other clasps I’ve handled, they thread best on fine to standard/2 mm rattail/silky cord. I tried to thread them on thicker cord, but the 2 mm rattail is as thick as they will take.

The seller shipped my order three days after purchasing and they arrived two days after shipping, which is standard for Australia Post (if you’re in urban areas). The seller is based in Perth, so WA stimmers should get even quicker delivery.

I’m really happy with these--I’ve already used most of these clasps. I love the colours, especially the silver, mint and pink clasps. It’s a great way of making chewellery that little bit more unique with a custom cord, especially if you want a necklace to better match an outfit. I gave my feather pendants cords and clasps that match the colour of each feather instead of the standard black cords, and they look fabulous.

I’ve been getting my rattail/silky/nylon cord from Lincraft, but eBay sells 10 yard lengths in a variety of colours, starting at $0.78 USD. “2 mm nylon cord” or “2 mm rattail cord” got me the best search results.

For folks wanting to see the pink and mint clasps used on a necklace, they’ll be featured in tomorrow’s post showing my feather pendant set.

Image description under read more cut: