How to Use Lacy's Stiff Stuff™

Size

Available in 11x8-1/2 inch sheets with a 0.75mm thickness, it is easy to cut to the size or shape of your jewelry designs. Since it is as rigid as cardboard (but is still flexible enough to bend), shapes can have cutouts or thin strips without worrying about ripping.

You can also customize it to any size project by gluing it together. On a Teflon® sheet, add E6000® Jewelry and Craft Adhesive to one edge and press aligned edges together, taking care not to overlap. Once the glue has dried—approximately 24-72 hours--, hide the seam with beads or other materials.

Color

This beading base comes standard in white, but that doesn't mean you're limited to this color. Some jewelry designers allow it to show as part of their design, while others hide it with beads. Permanent markers or Gilders Paste® also work to disguise the white surfaces.

You can also use dyes to get just the hue and saturation you want:

• Cover surfaces first to avoid staining. While wearing gloves, use a popsicle stick to mix ½ ounce dye* and a teaspoon of iodized salt per 16 ounces of very hot water in a heat-resistant glass container.
• Let your Lacy's Stiff Stuff soak for a few seconds for a light pastel or up to an hour for deeper, richer tones.
• Rinse the dyed piece first in warm, then in cool water, until it runs clean. Pat away excess water and allow to air dry. Once it has finished air drying, it will be ready to go for any project you have in mind.

*With any dye, read the manufacturer's instructions first.

Design

Now for the fun part, time to get creative! Draw on, trace through or apply iron-on transfers directly to the material as a guide or design element. Direct bead embroidery is a favorite project for Lacy's Stiff Stuff, as needles glide effortlessly through it. And while seed beads are a favorite embellishment, jewelry artists also use it as a backing for cabochons, cupchain and flat back rhinestones.

The material is durable, as well, so much so that you can connect other Lacy's Stiff Stuff pieces with chain and also add dangling beaded strands to the mix. If you want to embellish an otherwise un-beadable material, like metal or glass, simply glue a beaded section of Lacy's Stiff Stuff onto the surface.