Alternative to Lacy's Stiff Stuff Beading Foundation?

I came across some Friendly Felt made by the Kunin Group and thought I would try it for foundation to see if it holds up as well as Lacy's Stiff Stuff.

I will be updating this post as I go through the process so you might want to check back throughout the day and evening hours.

Lacy's has been my go-to foundation for bead embroidery and while it is very dependable allowing me to bead right up to the edge it can get costly (6-pack of 5X8.5 inches runs around $14.00). The Friendly Felt is made in the USA from 100% post consumer recycled plastic bottles and runs around $10.99 for (12) 9X12 inch sheets. It also comes in a variety of colors while Lacy's comes in only white. I have dyed Lacy's before and was not really too happy with the results I obtained but then I only tried once. I have not yet attempted to dye the Friendly Felt.

Kunin Friendly Felt has the same stiff feeling as Lacy's but I am wondering if it will hold up as well. I have sewn into it very close to the edge and tried to pull the thread out towards the edge and it resisted very well and did not pull through. I used E6000 to attach my cabochon as always and it adhered nicely with no apparent damage to the felt. So far, so good.

Now onto the beading portion.

The threads are remaining nice and tight and the felt is quite easy to bead through.



The felt is holding up very well and is maintaining the stiffness needed for beading. The only thing I wonder about is the thickness when beading together with my backing which is ultasuede. We'll see!

Saving Money on Jewelry Making Supplies

There are a couple of things I try to do when buying supplies for my jewelry business. Free or low cost shipping! Not only do I want to save my own money, but also I want to be able to extend that price break to my customers. One thing though, I don’t ever want to sacrifice quality.

There are times items are less costly with one supplier than another but after I compute cost with shipping I am actually paying more per item.

After comparing prices, which takes a great deal of time, there are a few suppliers I use regularly who offer free shipping over a specific amount. I am not talking about thousands of dollars, a $10 or $25 minimum so it is not like I have to keep my list going forever before I make my purchase. I don’t have thousands of dollars at my disposal most months so I don’t use the $1,000.00 minimums or the 200-item minimum to get the best price.

There is one very large supplier out of California I used to use for gems and pearls but the quality had gone downhill and the cost had gone up so much I had to find others. I want to use high-grade materials in my creations. I don’t want to spend my time creating beautiful designs and then use inferior supplies.

So which suppliers do I use now? Well, there are several depending on what I am looking for.

If it is pearls, gemstones or gemstone chips on my mind I check out Artbeads.com and Beadin Path. The quality is very good and they both offer free shipping if your order is over $10 and $25 respectively. I do not think I have EVER spent less than $25.00 when buying jewelry making supplies! If you want it quicker there are other options but I prefer the free shipping.

If I am looking for copper I go right to Accessories Susan. Not only are her prices really good but her materials or lead safe and nickel free. She also has free shipping and with no minimum!

Any glass I buy I usually go right to the artisan. I did a blog a month or two ago about what some companies refer to as ‘Artisan created’. Careful here, most of it is not created by an Artisan as we think of it. My personal favorites are Generations Lampwork and Rufus and Roxy (free shipping $25+), both found on Etsy. Generations does charge shipping but it is nominal. They are both wonderful with special orders. Seed beads in bulk is something I have yet to find free shipping for so if anyone knows of anyone, please let me know. I buy most of my seed beads from Caravan Beads in Portland, Maine. If I am just looking for a tube or 2 then Beadin Path has a good selection but Caravan is definitely my go-to place for Delica beads. Caravan also has delicious pearls.

Although Gemphora is a little costly and they do charge shipping, they have wonderful great quality gems that I have trouble finding elsewhere like Kyanite, Fluorite, and Labradorite. I always get the $5.00 donation pearls when I shop with them. They pick them so it is a surprise each time I receive an order. I have never been disappointed.

I get most of my findings and Swarovski at Artbeads.com.

I hope this helps you find some better prices for your supplies. Let’s face it, we all enjoy saving some money when we can and I enjoy begin able to create pieces without having to worry about the end price.

Do you have any favorite suppliers?


I was not paid or compensated by anyone for this blog post