January - Bead Journal Project

This year I decided to join in on the Bead Journal Project
and stretch my skills and imagination, trying something a little different. This promises to be a fun thing - to create a new project each month - one that incorporates beading in it.

I decided to make my 'journal' be a collection of little fabric covered canvasses the size of Artists Trading Cards. Not too big that I can't finish in a month's time (along with everything else in my life...lol), but big enough to try out a new technique...new beads...new sizes....the possibilities are endless!

This first month was easy - as far as being 'new'. Everything about it is new to me. I have never done bead embroidery - ever. Trying to create a scene with beads - new. Trying to make the beads stay where I put them - new. But FUN!

My little canvas this month represents a new year.....the focal points are the sun's rays in white spreading out from the corner, each ending with a clear or yellow crystal bead....I saw them as chasing away the white seed bead snowflakes that float on the right side on my canvas....and below is the snow-covered land, creadted with white and light blue seed beads. New project, new beginnings, new year, new blessings and promises to come....that's what I see when I look at it!

Here it is......

Size-wise, these are a little bigger than a business card - and I am so pleased with my first foray into this new medium!
Can't wait to try out the new thing I have in mind for February!

January Creativity Prompt

Wow...how time flies! Could not believe how long it's been since I last posted. Have to correct that...

I missed the December creativity prompt - not because I didn't actually try to do something for it....more that what I did just didn't measure up - even to my sometimes low - standards. I didn't want to put smething out here that I ended up not liking.

But...now it's a new year, and a new prompt from the Creative Dreamer Blog
The January prompt was very appropriate - "WHITE" - sure fit for around here with all the unusual snow and wintery stuff that's been going on.

So...I started to play around with white beads....and crystals....thinking in a 'snow and ice' mode....gave up on seed beads, and went back to my favorite Delicas...and thought...hmmm....beaded beads! So that's what came about. I made a small peyote stitch tube to make a thin tube bead....and the 4mm crystal bicones snugged right up to the ends like they were made for each other. Then I thought...I need a shorter, chubbier beaded bead...and that turned out really well....just right for the 6mm round crystal beads I had. Just had to add a little more sparkle by adding a dangle of all crystals....and the three shapes and combinations came together beautifully, I think!

So...without further ado.....here are my January White Earrings!


I am really pleased with them.....winter white without the cold!

Red!

This month the 'creativity prompt' from A Creative Dream was "RED". Simple....just a word....but what to do with this?

'Twas a busy month....and by the time I got seriously thinking about this, the month was nearly over...but I decided to try. I had found instructions to make a beaded bead ( I LOVE beaded beads!) out of Swarovski crystal beads.....and had to try it. This would be perfect for my 'red' entry....

I worked and worked.....and failed and failed....funny how the stuff I really, really want to learn is only done so by LOTS of trial and error....mostly error! Of course, some of it was not having the proper supplies....first try I used beading wire - granted, it was very flexible....but too heavy, and I didn't like the result. Ok....on to beading thread....this I could color coordinate....but this time, I think it was too light, and would NOT make a nice tight bead. Sigh....

Off to Wal-Mart....and the sporting goods aisle....needed to actually get some fishline. The video I watched to learn the technique (right-angle weave) used 10-lb fishline. Have no idea what that meant....but all the 10 lb fishline at Walmart was colored....green, blue, red....who knew? So - I settled for 8 lb line that was clear.....and what a bargain this stuff is! I got 700 yards of fishline for $2.50! That is a LOT of fishline!

But....would it work? Yes! Yes! Took some getting used to....and a magnifying glass....being clear is a detriment to finding and getting the ends through the crystal beads...lol! But, I persevered....and got them made! YAY! Now.....to turn this pretty little orbs into earrings....easy, right? Not so much....as the center of the bead is essentially hollow - a regular headpin had to be placed very carefully, so it doesn't pull right through....but oh, how pretty they were! I have since tried other methods of attaching the crystal beads...and am quite enchanted by all the possibilities.....

My photography has a LOT to learn...but I was doing this in laughable circumstances, which I will never tell about....but scanning made the orbs flat....not good. So....here are the earrings.....please forgive the photos....hope to get better than this quickly!

and.....

This was such fun....and opened up a whole new area of creativity for me....and that's what it's all about, right?

Can't wait for the December prompt!!

This Is Just So Cool!!

I found this really cool website.....to make word "clouds" - and I just had to share it. The website is called Wordle and you can either make up your own - or as I'm going to show you - I put in the address of my blog here....and it made one for me from the text on the blog!

I didn't care for the colors they had available....but you can make a custom palette...then do a "print screen' and paste it into a graphics editing program (Paint, Paint Shop Pro, Photoshop) and edit it......til it's all ready to put up:

Is that not just the neatest thing?!
Ok....I'll go quietly now....

Now I Can Show the Prize!

A while back I posted about my tiny pearl beads - and what to do with them - here's the post -
and I did have a winner.....my dear friend Barbara. She decided that she wanted girly - pink earrings for her prize - which I made and sent to her.

She really liked them, and is going to give them as a gift....somehow I love that idea too! I didn't want to put them on here until she had received them. Now, she has, and I can now show you what I made....

The bugle beads for these were the prettiest shade of raspberry pink, and the seed beads a pale pastel pink. The 'fringe' beads were a frosted iridescent pinky-lavender, and set the earrings off just right! I was very pleased with them, and think they made a nice prize!


While I was playing around with seed beads....which seem really large compared to the Delica beads I usually use, I decided to try my hand and a stitch I hadn't tried in a long time - the daisy chain stitch. For each motif, I used a different color seed bead - and the color bead that was in the center of the 'daisy' was the same one used for the next flower. I like the pastel effect....

I deliberately made this necklace short....I wanted it to be a 'choker' style necklace - being right up around your neck shows off the tiny flowers, and it is so light, you hardly know you have it on! I did make a ring to match - but trying to scan it on my finger - one hand in the scanner, the other on the keyboard....ah....doesn't work so well...

Now trying out some variations on a theme.....single color flowers - or making two strands of them...longer and twined around each other, with maybe a pretty focal bead...hmmm....
stay tuned!

Just Under the Deadline....

I knew kind of what I wanted to do for this month's challenge from the A Creative Dreamer blog. The creative prompt was "Transitions"....which basically is moving from one state to another.

So...I had some drawings, long on my fridge, drawn by my youngest granddaughters...one age 10, one age 6. They were each so like the child-artist that created them that I wanted to find a way to keep them forever. I decided that the transition would be from paper art to a lovely piece of beautiful jewelry.

The beginning.....the drawings themselves:

The above drawing was from the older of the granddaughters - when she was learning to use the computer. She created this wonderful colorful design, which I have always loved!

This one created by the younger granddaugher-artist, is more pastel, but equally beautiful - and she even put "Grama" in the design. A treasure indeed!

I took the designs, shrunk them WAY down - til they were just over an inch high and wide. I placed pretty twisted silver links over them, glued them down, and then filled the interior with glaze. It didn't turn out as 'raised' as I would have liked, but still made the designs even more vivid.

I colored the backs of the paper, then glued the two drawings, with the circle links together, to make a two-sided pendant. I then took a needle tool and made a hole just large enough for a sterling silver jumpring - and viola! Ready to put on a chain, ribbon, leather....whatever I decide to complete the look for the mood I'm in when I wear it.

This is the one side.....the ruler is there so you can see the actual size....


And this is the other side - I don't think that either side is the "front" or "back" - they are equally lovely and will be such a joy to wear!

I think the "Transition" went really, really well!!

Milestones....

Couple of these going on this week! Both of them are also unintended consequences (I think) from the Lymphoma that was conquered (thank YOU God!) last month....so now I have a running start on the rest of my life!

The health milestone was the repair (yesterday) of a small but very painful hernia that dates back to a surgery years ago, and brought to the painful forefront by my swollen spleen earlier this year. Thankfully, this was taken care of in record time, and although it is still sore, I know it's just a blip on my radar this week, and I'll be back to total health by next week! God has blessed me so much getting me through every single health problem this year, that I know there is smooth sailing ahead!

The other milestone was more of a 'crafty' one, and one that brings me much renewed joy! All through the sessions of chemotherapy, one of the 'unintended consequences' of that was the persistent 'tingly' feeling in my feet and fingertips. The feet....is ignorable and is slowly improving, but the fingertip thing....oooh, that was a problem. I love working with tiny beads...the tinier the better. Seed beads to me are on the large end! I love Delica beads, and we are talking very small.....and I have now purchased my first tube of size 15 beads...the very smallest of all.

And, why, do you ask? Because .....joy oh joy.....the tingling has dissipated (again thank YOU God!), and now I can feel the little beads as I pick them up, and I can hold on to them, and again created little 'pretties' with them. I cannot even tell you how this just filled me with happiness! So....my test for myself was to make a couple of my little 'hope-levopes', just to see if I could...these are made with Delica beads in a peyote stitch, and in the end, there is a tiny envelope, just big enough to tuck a Bible verse into, or other tiny treasures. They are meant to be the 'focal' bead on a necklace - haven't gotten to that part yet, but wanted to share this 'milestone' with you!

Here is the first one.....made with white and grey beads....the white ones have a 'rainbow' finish on them, and the grey ones are a matte finish. This doesn't come through as well as I wish in the pictures, but the contrast in texture is very pleasing to me....I ended it with a 4 mm black diamond Swarovski crystal bicone bead....a bit of sparkly to close the envelope!

I will be attaching it to a chain (still working on the design of that), but it will hang from a corner....I like things on the diagonal!

This shows the 'hope-velope' opened up, so you can see the relative size...one can slip a dime in there with just a bit of room left over!

The second photo shows this little beaded pretty in the closed position - the weight of the little crystal bead keeps the flap closed, as well as the natural way the bead pattern falls - it folds naturally on the horizontal.

Once this one was made, I thought...hmmmm.. want to make it a little smaller! So, using less beads, and going to a random mix of four different shades and finishes of purple beads, this one was so pleasing to my eye! I love the mixture of colors - all in the same palette - in this random stripey pattern. This time I used a 'purple velvet' crystal bead as the closure, and this will be the first on to be put on a chain....a dime will not quite fit in this little guy, but Bible verses are always the right size!

Such a joy to be back working with these little beads....! More to come.....stay tuned!