Can't believe the month of June is history, and even though I have my June Bead Journal project done.....I forgot to post it. Sometimes I wonder about myself.....hmmmm...
At any rate - I did do something different this time, though I'm not sure it will turn into any kind of 'theme' for the rest of the year....have to wait and see what comes to mind for this month!
Without further ado......
I love the fabric - the colors of the strips appealed to me, so I didn't want to cover them up with beads....so I decided they'd be a nice 'abstract' landscape for a fantasy bunch of flowers...just drifting away from a bed of dark and light green dagger bead 'grass'. I added the stars, for a starry sky, even though the fabric doesn't suggest night - but I just liked the effect!
Now....what will suggest itself for July? Stay tuned.....
After the creativity prompt series ended - created and run by A Creative Dream, I noticed as I followed her blog, that she does many creative things....and one of them was doodling.
Yep, the same thing we all used (or still) do during classes, at work, at church....whenever we have paper and pencil, and are using ears, but not hands....I know I'm like this (not always.....but a lot of the time). I told myself that one of these days, I was going to try my hand at doing what JC does - making the doodles an artistic creation. So..the thought sat and simmered through the entire year of creativity prompts, until....
I got out one of my ATC cards and decided to see what would happen if I just started doodling. I drew a bunch of curved lines in no particular pattern, and then began filling in the spaces with lines, dots, flowers...whatever. It was kinda fun.....like making a picture that isn't an idea first!
When I was done....I liked it - but it was all so ....black and white. Duh. That's what a pen and paper look like - but then I got out my markers (another of my favorite things that I don't use enough), and added some color. Not a lot....I didn't want to fill it up with color - it was quite busy enough without that!
So now it is done! And the next thing is....what do I do with it? Frame it? Make a card out of it (like that, but I've not made many cards...hmmm), keep it, give it away...
Help me out here, readers! Give me some suggestions....(not including 'good grief, Trish, what were you thinking - I've already done that one).
Here it is in all its glory!
This was fun.....and I just may do it again....even think of a general theme....or not...
...and ahem.....just a tad late - but that's ok!
This time I have something truly new. Some of you may know I have been learning a totally new craft - and it turns out to have (for me) a pretty steep learning curve. But I persevere, and now things are beginning to progress.
What is this craft, you ask? Ah, it is glass bead-making - and by this I mean the torch and the glass rods that one turns into lovely glass beads in the flame. The videos I watch make it look so easy....but in my hands....decidedly not!
There are a few examples of the 'oops' variety of beads on my beadblessed.com site
but since those pictures I have an entire bowl full of them...lol! I love making the beads, and am steadily getting better at it...
I picked out four (three are promised to some very dear people), which I dress up in some gorgeous filigree caps - two shades of blue, lavender, and albaster pink (love that color!), and this is my 'artist's choice' for this month. Sadly, this is also the last of the Creativity prompts from A Creative Dream - I have SO enjoyed trying to make lovely things to fit the wonderful themes June comes up with. I am hoping she finds another variation on this to continue on with the fun.....have to wait and see.
So, here are my 'Remembrance Raindrop' charms....ready for whatever lovely use you want to put them!
Now to go experiment....and see what new things I can come up with! Stay tuned....
I'm just a bit tardy in posting this, but was thrilled to accomplish at least one thing with my May project - got it done in time!
The 'new' thing for this month was to put an edging around a cabochon in the center of my piece. As usual, I made it more difficult than necessary - and chose what I had on hand, which happened to be a rectangle....grrrr. It is a piece I made back when I could afford to 'experiment' with precious metal silver clay...a distant dream these days! It is a little rectangle of fine silver with the word 'wish' stamped in it.
Funny that what runs through my mind when I see that word 'wish' - is my mother saying to me when I was little...'if wishes were horses, beggars would ride'. Guess that was in the back of my mind as each little section of my project was a different bead, a different color, a different pattern....wishing for lots of things...
It also occurred to me that the element I have been 'missing' in all these projects so far is a unifying theme....the 'do something new' just isn't enough....and now that June is here, that's my new goal for the rest of these little works of mine....to find that element to build each one around....be interesting to see what evolves!
At any rate....without further ado....my May project....appropriately titled "Wishes":
Now I'm really looking forward to June.....with a whole new perspective.....woo hoo!
April is long gone, and my BJP April entry remains kind of bare. I had intended to do a lot more with it - but inspiration eluded me, and I didn't want to just do the same 'fill in with beads' that I've already done. Didn't quite fit with the 'do something new' each month that remains my goal.
So....I've decided to leave it as is....I like the background....I like the frame of little flowers...speaks 'spring' to me. And I love the metal butterfly....who is smack dab in the middle of all the flowers....and I think....that is enough.
So...here 'tis....and I DO know what I am going to learn for next (er...rather THIS) month's project! Hoping for more success, and a new skill learned!
More stuff in the works......finding time....hmmm.....stay tuned!
This month's creativity prompt given out by A Creative Dream
was to make a journal page. Whew. Of all the things I do NOT do,
this is a prime example!
But, I decided to make a stab at it....but in a very small way. As
all the projects for my Bead Journal Project are the size of Artist's
Trading Cards, my journal page was going to be the same size - thinking
maybe I'd include it on the wall hanging I'm planning for those.
I did make myself one rule....I would NOT use beads for this - if I was
going to do something different....make it different! So this became
a treasure hunt for things I could use...interesting was was lurking in
some of my drawers and containers....little wire objects that looked like
music notes, some pretty papers for some project I never started....
...and this is what I came up with....
I actually kind of like how it turned out....some of the papers here are
iridescent, but that doesn't show so well in the scan. but overall, the
sentiment is mine....and I'm going with it!
Wow....wonder what the prompt for April is going to be.....!
