Notice the reference to a tool called an XRF gun that can be used to test metals for cadmium and lead - and costs about $35,000 to $50,000. At that price, it's definitely not something most small resellers can afford.

What do you think? Should suppliers be held accountable for the safety of their metal goods, or is that asking too much? Is it even possible to hold international manufacturers accountable for the safety of their products? If not, or until then, should we shun Chinese made components entirely?

Photo Crushed Metal by tanakawho on Flickr.

Cadmium?! The last time I dealt with cadmium, I was performing environmental health audits for manufacturing facilities at a military installation. I honestly had no idea cadmium would be used to make jewelry components.

According to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Organization (OSHA):

Cadmium is an extremely toxic metal commonly found in industrial workplaces, particularly where any ore is being processed or smelted. Due to its low permissible exposure limit (PEL), overexposures may occur even in situations where trace quantities of cadmium are found in the parent ore or smelter dust. . . . Cadmium is also present in the manufacture of some types of batteries. Cadmium emits a characteristic brown fume (CdO) upon heating. . . .

The Associated Press reports that cadmium is also "shiny, strong and malleable at low temperatures . . . . [a]nd it's cheap." That apparently explains why some Chinese manufacturers are using it.

To date Walmart and Claires have pulled jewelry inventory that may be affected. We'll see if any other retailers follow suit.

Should handmade jewelry crafters be concerned about this? I don't know for sure. But I suspect you can protect yourself by using simple common sense:

• Only purchase raw materials from reputable suppliers.
• Understand that the material referred to as "base metal" or "pot metal" is always potentially suspect because it is an alloy (mixture) of different types of cheap metals in varying proportions; it typically requires a lab test to confirm exactly what's in it.
  
• If a component is labeled as being made from base metal, ask the supplier whether it has been lab tested for cadmium, lead, or other toxic materials -- or simply avoid buying base metal altogether.
  
• Avoid purchasing large, odd lots of metal components from unfamiliar suppliers on eBay or other marketplace sites.

Now that's it's been identified, this crazy use of cadmium should start to get under control. But it makes you wonder what they'll try to throw at us next.

Here are some fun ones to consider:

Flex Your Creativity Beading Design Contest sponsored by Softflex. (Stay tuned for their announcement of this year's entry dates.)

Halstead Bead Business Development Grant. This is a serious contest for artists with a plan to turn their hobby into a business.

Bead Arts Awards by Step-by-Step Beads/Beadwork magazine.

Treasures of Toho Contest. Sign up for this one at your local bead store.

Rings & Things Your Designs Rock Contest by the popular supplier Rings & Things.

Fire Mountain Gems annual contests - and they have a few!

Beading Daily's Bead Star contest, modeled after popular contest reality shows.

Use the Muse contest, where you're asked to create a design using a preselected set of materials.

Just don't forget what I said about keeping your life in balance if you decide to tackle one of these. Choose a contest that suits your skill level and style, and set a schedule for yourself for planning, design, completion, finishing touches, and submission. And have a good time!

What did I do wrong? A little research hints that my main mistake was failing to stop beading . . . for hours on end.

Here are some tips I've gleaned from the experts to help us beaders keep wrist problems under control:

• Force yourself to stop and take a five or ten minute break once every half hour.

• If pain or numbness starts to develop, allow yourself to quit beading for the day. (That is, don't push yourself too hard.)

• Keep your wrists warm while you work, to help increase blood flow.

Photo of Ocean Wrist Warmers  by ingermaaike2.

• Don't use the same stitch hour after hour and day after day.  Try switching among a few different projects, using different stitches, rather than focusing on a single project (and stitch) at a time. Different stitches require different wrist and hand movements, and switching reduces repetition.

• Incorporate gentle wrist and hand strengthening exercises into your workout or yoga routine. Stronger muscles supposedly help prevent carpel tunnel symptoms.

Okay, lesson learned. But what if it's too late and you do become officially, unmistakably injured? Here's some popular advice:

• Take a recommended dose of an anti-inflammatory drug, such as aspirin or ibuprofen to help reduce  swelling.

• Use an ice pack, or switch between cold and hot packs, early on when swelling is at its worst.

• Especially early on, rest the hand and wrist as completely as possible.

• Optionally wear a rigid wrist splint to keep your wrist straight. This can help especially at night, but don't go overboard; some studies suggest that muscles may atrophy and become too weak if you wear a splint for a long time.

• Gradually start some gentle hand and wrist exercises to restrengthen your muscles. If carpel tunnel or repetitive stress is a big problem, consider visiting a physical therapist who can show you which exercises work best and how to progress with them over time.

Have more tips, or a repetetive injury experience to share?

This post contains an affiliate link to Amazon.com.

In addition to stained glass supplies, Delphi carries collage and ephemera jewelry making supplies like these:

 Memory glass for soldered and collage jewelry.

Mini-Ephemera clip art and CD for collage jewelry.

  Simply Soldered creative art kit and . . .

Simply Soldered book to help you get started.

Copper foil for soldering over glass edges.

Lead-free solder.

If you'd like to give collage jewelry a try, be sure to use one of these coupons to save money on your first order:

Theoretically, there's no real difference between "antiqued" and "darkened" brass. After all, the point of darkening is to give metal an aged look. But when it comes to shopping for components, these labels can hint at different things.

"Antiqued" is used most often when design details are accented by black, or near-black, darkening. These pieces are typically sealed to preserve their coloring. Here's an example (although this charm is actually plated base metal, not solid brass):

Notice the very-dark details, and the yellow/gold tone of the unaccented areas.

"Darkened" brass is sometimes used to describe a lighter and more-even darkening. You see this with Vintaj components, which also have a softer, less shiny finish than most "antiqued" components (Vintaj pieces are solid brass):

A note about solid brass components: They can be compromised if exposed to prolonged moisture. I've had some filigree pieces develop green verdigris, which has an interesting look but is also potentially toxic. (It should be coated with sealant to keep it from rubbing against skin.)

So where to find these antiqued and darkened brass components? Here are some online resources:

Vintaj - This is Vintaj's own site. They sell only bulk/wholesale here, but offer tutorials and design ideas to everyone.

Fusion Beads - Carries Vintaj components with no minimum order requirement.

Etsy - Great for finding destashes, small lots, and hard-to-find brass (and plated) beads and components.

Beadaholique - Also carries Vintaj with no minimum order requirement.

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This post contains affiliate links to Amazon.com and Artbeads.com.

What are cultured pearls?

Cultured pearls are grown in mollusks that live in either saltwater  or freshwater. Cultured saltwater pearls are made by placing spherical irritants -- typically pieces of shell -- into the tissues of sea oysters. This process results in pearls that are very round and have a beautiful translucent glow, called luster.

Read more about the different types of pearls used in jewelry making.

How is the Galatea Mercy Pearl different?

In these patented pearls, real gemstone beads are used as the irritants that encourage nacre to form within mollusks. The artist carves down through the nacre to reveal the gemstone within.

In the photo above, what looks like a blue layer is actually a round turquoise bead. This example also features an embedded diamond, another of Galatea's specialties.

According to Galatea, this is the first time in history that cultured pearls have been successfully grown with gemstone centers:

In 2005, Huynh began setting up a pearl farm in his native Viet Nam to harvest the Mercy Pearl in the country’s coastal waters. The oysters are first enucleated with perfectly round gemstone beads such as turquoise, amethyst, garnet, citrine and opal and left to grow for almost a year to obtain its luxurious nacre or exterior coating.

So far, it looks like Galatea Mercy Pearls are primarily being used in settings. We'll have to wait and see whether they turn up in any luxurious strung designs.

Related Beadjewelry.net posts:

• Pearl terms and shapes
• How to knot between beads (e.g., pearls)
• Book review: Create Jewelry ~ Pearls

If you'd like to participate in the 2010 Your Designs Rock Contest, now's the time to start planning your entry. This popular event is sponsored by Rings & Things, a big supplier of beads and jewelry making components. But entries aren't limited to jewelry designs -- you're free to submit a wall hanging, sculpture, item of decor, or just about anything else you can think of, as long as a majority of its components were purchased from Rings & Things.

About ordering from Rings & Things

Rings & Things is a wholesale supplier in the sense that it has a total minimum order requirement of $25, and charges a $4 processing fee on orders between $25 and $50. However, anyone can shop there. You can order through their Web site, by phone, by regular mail, or by fax. You can also purchase their catalog, or request one for free with your first $50 order.

Contest prizes

This year's Grand Prize is $750 in Rings & Things credit. There will also be a First Prize of $150 credit in each of five categories, and Honorable Mentions will each receive $75 credits. As an added perk, some winning entries may be featured in future issues of the Rings & Things catalog and promotions, with credit given to the artist -- which means potential exposure to an audience of about one million people.

Entry categories

Here they are:

• Glass and crystal
• Mostly metal
• Found objects and miscellaneous
• Gemstones
• Metal clay

Deadlines and more helpful info

Entries will be accepted between January 1, 2010, and
February 28, 2010 (<---That's your deadline).

All the info you need to participate is available on the Rings & Things website. Here are the most helpful links:

Main contest description page

Contest guidelines

FAQs

Previous winners

Have fun with this one, and good luck!

It's a difficult concept for us beaders to grasp, but the makers of FabuLeash claim to have invented a patent-pending technology that makes it work.

Most FabuLeashes are made with acrylic beads, but there's also a limited "Haute Collection FabuLeash, made with Crystallized by Swarovski elements."

Oh my.

The leashes are supposedly strong enough to handle 50 pounds of pull force -- much less than any of my dogs exerts, but I don't think my dogs are the target market for dainty jeweled leashes. ;) There's no word yet on how thick the stringing material is, or what it's made of.

If the creator of FabuLeash really has invented a bead stringing material strong enough to be a dog leash, I wonder if they realize its market potential in the jewelry making field?

Would you consider using it, and what would you use it for?

To learn more about the standard varieties of stringing material available to jewelry makers, see Chapter 3 of TYV Jewelry Making & Beading or Chapter 2 of Beading Quick Tips.

Photo credit: MisterBisson on Flickr

Those mistakes were corrected, and Etsy took the additional step of hiring a search engine optimization (SEO) firm to review its overall search engine strategy.

One of the issues identified by the firm relates to how Etsy creates links to your shop. Until this week, shop URLs were configured as "302 redirects," which search engines interpret as temporary, rather than permanent, pages. 

That was a problem because it kept search engines from recognizing all of your shop's inbound links -- the sites that link to your shop. And that number affects your search engine ranking, called PageRank on Google.

The correction should, over time, give your shop's ranking a better chance of improvement. Of course, you still need quality inbound links to your shop. But be careful -- links from sites that the search engines define as "link farms" can actually lower your ranking.

When you do provide your link to other sites, be sure to use the new URL format of http://www.etsy.com/shop/username.

If you have questions about the change, check out Etsy's FAQs here.