If you can’t bead ‘em, join ‘em

Lisa Ferguson

Thursday, Jan. 30, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

Get your glue guns ready!

The latest doodads for home crafters to stencil, stitch, stamp, stain, embroider, emboss, etch, melt and mold are coming soon to a hobby store near you.

Such was the stuff on display at the Hobby Industry Association trade show, which recently wrapped up a four-day run at the Sands Expo and Convention Center.

About 1,000 exhibitors hawked their artsy wares at the show, which was closed to the public.

Hidden among the gallons of fabric paint, miles of yarn and forests of silk flowers were several products sure to be hit with creative do-it-yourselfers.

Anything having to do with home decorating is hot, evident by booth after booth of country-inspired collectibles, picture frames and wall-paint kits.

"I think it's been a trend for a couple of years," says Ann Wilson, editor of Country Samplers Decorating Ideas magazine, who also attended the show.

"The home is becoming more important. People are coming home and they're staying there and they're making it a place they enjoy staying in," she says, noting that home gardening "has been a big thing, too."

What surprises Wilson the most? The variety of wall treatments on the market. "It's getting a little more sophisticated." Folks are using wall-stencil painting kits to create custom murals in their homes.

"It's not just chickens and rabbits and bunnies anymore," she says.

Also big in home decor are beads. These days, they come in all shapes, sizes and colors.

The Beadery Craft Products, based in Rhode Island, distributes their bead kits to craft and discount stores throughout the country -- glittered beads, neon beads, elephant-shaped beads, Halloween beads ($5.50-$13).

The company's gold and silver "metalized," faux precious stone, mirrored and pearlized beads are perfect for adorning lampshades and decorative pillows, says the company's advertising coordinator, Stephen McDonald.

"People who like working with beads are finding more ways of using them," he says.

Including securing them to their photo albums, which have been elevated to works of art in recent years.

Long gone are the days of haphazardly putting snapshots on the sticky pages of cheap three-ring binders. Now, photos are lovingly placed on acid-free paper in handmade, customized "memory albums" that can cost up to $500 to create.

Memory Makers Magazine devotes its pages to the craft, called "scrapbooking."

"What you're putting your photos in is going to preserve them," explains the magazine's president, Ron Gerbrandt.

"If you're going to spend $80 to $100 on (buying film and developing) photographs, you'd better be doing something with them that is of quality."

That includes spiffing up the album's pages with a theme enhanced by decorative paper and cut-out designs and stickers.

"It's more than just a craft and a hobby," Gerbrandt assures. The idea is to get people to "establish it as a part of your heritage ... (and) make it an heirloom."