A New Start in Beading

After a number of month's hiatus, I've returned to beading on a more or less regular basis.  I haven't been idle; I've worked on other art projects and developed a new bead technique of my own.  I also made a beaded cuff for my Aunt for Christmas.  I'll show you some of the work I did on that in a future post.


This is my newest project, a 1/2 inch bangle bracelet with a molded Czech glass button as the centerpiece.  This is a first for me, as I have never done a piece where the center cabochon stuck out from the edges of the bangle.  I'm a little nervous about it but I think it will turn out ok.

After a long hiatus, I also plan to put some pieces up on Etsy again, under my shop DancingHandDesigns.  I'll have some links there and some photos of pieces available next time around.  See you soon!

Haven't seen me in awhile, have you?

Sorry I've been gone so long.  I am an uncommitted blogger, much to my shame.  I thought I'd share something I came across some time ago and found delightful.  Check out this flickr pic from spider lily.  Great colors and composition.  Makes me want to go buy some beads!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Next Year I'll Do the Whole Tree

In December, I posted pics of the bracelet I made for my sister for Christmas. (She really seemed to like it, by the way).  Here is a photo of the leaf brooch I made for my mother for Christmas.  I traced a real oak leaf (it was tiny) onto ultrasuede, beaded the middle vein with back stitch, and then filled in along the vein with picot stitch in a variety of colors.  I then finished the lobes of the leaf with more backstitch, in a variety of colors.  The hardest part was finishing the piece, because I had to stitch the edging beads in some tight places between the lobes of the leaf.  I feel pretty good about the outcome, and Mom loves it.

Bead Journal Project - January's done!

This is my first year participating in the Bead Journal Project, a group challenge for beaders that consists of a few simple guidelines.  The basics are: make a piece for each month of the year; choose the same size and shape for each piece; each piece must have some beads on it.  Outside of those guidelines, anything goes.  This year, there are over 300 participants from around the world.

My first piece for the year is called January Melt.  It's a 4 inch square of batik cotton.  I used glass seed beads and some small flower beads (and a fish!).  The work went pretty smoothly and I enjoyed doing it.  I think this will be a good project for me.  I tend to lack discipline in my artwork, so this will impose a few easy rules that might help me in that regard.

A Treasure Hunt at the Trove

There's a wonderful fabric and bead store in Cincinnati, Ohio that is going out of business.  St. Theresa Textile Trove is a delightful nook that seems to have been around forever.  You can get some of the most unusual beads, buttons, and fabrics from around the world there.  It is about an hour's drive from my home, so a friend and I made a trip down there yesterday to say goodbye and take advantage of the deeply discounted treasures there.

I caught lots of fish (10, count 'em):

I found some really nice milagros:

And also four very nice buttons:

Of course, there had to be at least one silly over-sized charm and a whole mess of other beads, cabochons, and other trinkets:

 

It was a fun day.