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.