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My #1 Choice
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Faceted Bead Art Gazette March 3, 2004 Issue #0005 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After writing my first article, Crystal, Glass or Plastic Faceted Beads - The Choice is Yours (http://www.facetedbeadart.com/plastic_faceted_beads.html), I obtained enough Crystal and Glass beads to do a small rose project. (You can view images at http://www.facetedbeadart.com/rose-images.html.) The first thing I noticed when the beads arrived was that the holes were much smaller. I knew immediately this would be a problem. Later, I realized that the Crystal and Glass beads weighed twice as much as the Plastic beads. The Crystal rose weighed in at 7 oz, Glass at 6 oz and the Plastic at 3oz. This combination is not good when creating FacetedBeadArt, because the beads are meant to be hung with only the string holding them in place. The Crystal and Glass faceted beads' weight held up by a weaker thread (I had to use 4lb test, which is 1/3 the strength.) is not a promising combination. Also, while using the 4lb test monofilament fishing line - it broke! In all my years of using the 12 lb, I have never had it break. And I usually pull very hard to make sure the knot is tight. So, I have concluded that the Plastic faceted beads used with 12 lb test monofilament fishing line will make the best FacetedBeadArt murals and suncatchers. APPEARANCE: As far as appearance goes, I would rate the Crystal as #1, the Plastic faceted beads as #2 and the Glass as #3. The Crystal was slightly smaller than the Plastic and with the AB colors you got rainbow affects. The smaller hole did have one advantage - it showed off the faceted surface better, giving it an edge over the Plastic in appearance. Also, the color tended to be a little darker. The Glass bead were not round, they were more oblong and for me, not as appealing to look at. TOUCH: Here I would rate the Crystal and Plastic as #1 and the Glass as #3. The roundness of the Crystal and Plastic faceted beads is very appealing to the touch. But, the Glass bead I found to be somewhat sharp and not very pleasant to the touch. SO, my final overall choice is... Plastic Faceted Beads They only fall slightly behind Crystal in appearance, otherwise they are the perfect choice for all my large pieces. I hope you enjoy using them as much as I have, Shell, Bead Artist - FacetedBeadArt.com Back Issues... http://www.facetedbeadart.com/back-issues.html New Patterns... http://www.facetedbeadart.com/bead_craft_faceted_pattern.html Instructional eBooks... http://www.facetedbeadart.com/instructions.html TheBeadCoop... www.thebeadcoop.com designer: FacetedBeadArt.com New at FacetedBeadArt.com... http://www.facetedbeadart.com/bead-art-updates.html
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