The Whole "KIT" 'n kaboodle

I'm holding off on any bead embroidery projects until I get my order of Nicole's BeadBacking.  From what I hear, its some pretty fantastic stuff.  So in the meantime, I was scrounging around the studio and came across 2 kits gathering dust.

The first one is a simple bracelet kit from Mzuribeads featuring those awesome handmade paper beads.  I'm not a 'stringer' kind of girl, so I  tried to embelish the beads.

Neither attempt was any good, and I was getting annoyed.   Simple stringing it is then.

Next I came across another one of those fan-tab-u-lous Toho Ring Kits that I got at Artbeads.com.  I have said it before and I will say it again:  I LOVE these kits!  So organized, clear illustrations, gorgeous beads and takes just a bit over an hour to put together. 

Just look at the focal bead!  Just beauty-full.

Sunlight brings out some gorgeous turquoise green hues

You can see how domed the ring is - just loaded with beads!

A Family Portrait....

Psst,  my ring family will soon be expanding.  I just ordered another kit!

Links to the goodies:

  Beadbacking -- Beadwright

Paper beads -- Mzuribeads

Ring Kit -- Artbeads.com

Bead Happy and Often

January BJP

I decided to make my Bead Journal Project pieces 2 3/4" circles.  Ok.  Great. 

Now time to choose a "theme."  Not that choosing a theme is a requirement of the Project, I just thought it might help keep me on track.  I happened to be digging for change one day and pulled out the Montana state quarter.  Hmm,  I wonder how many states I've been to.  Well, looky there--I've been to 12 states.  Sweet.  There's my theme!  Ok. Great.

Now what would I do with 12 circles at the end of the year?  Hang them like a banner?  Sew them together like a quilt ? No I didn't like either of those ideas.  And then it hit me -- I'll make them into magnets and stick them on my fridge.  Functional beadwork.  You know I'm all about that.  Ok. Great.  Let's get started.

I put all the quarters into a little jar and chose one at random.  Florida.  Ah, nice to think about being in Florida when it's winter in Western New York.

Although I've been to Disney World twice and to Sarasota with my parents, that's not what I think about when I think of Florida.  Instead I think about when I 'worked' in Miami for a summer as the adminstrative trainer for the company I worked for at the time.  I find that to be really weird; but for whatever reason, Miami is what came to mind when I looked at that quarter.  Not the family vacations, but work.  Really?  Gosh, that's weird.

It was in the early 1990s right at the time when South Beach was just beginning its rebirth.  So many boarded up huge hotels, with a few reclaimed places scattered about.  It was a neat place to be.  I have great memories of the people I traveled with and those that I got to know who worked in the office.  I remember the week after I finished up down there, Hurricane Andrew came to town and destroyed our office.  It was hard to believe. 

Oh for heaven's sake, girl, show the beads already!  Sorry about all that blabbering on......

I thought I was going to peyote stitch the coin on, but I realized the beads would cover up too much of the coin, so I just glued it down. 

As usual, you will see elements of 3 and 5 throughout the piece (symbolic of my 3 daughters and myself being 1 of 3 sisters and coming from a family of 5 and now being a family of 5).

Most obvious are the 3 leaves and the 3 waves, but let's take a closer look:

a stack of 3 flower sequins



3 little turqouise rounds

a little net of 3 triangles



3 Swarovski Bicones along the base of the coin

  Just a small bit with 5 elements:

5 sequin bugle stacks surrounded by 5 pink and orange bugle paths
and if you look really close, 5 baby stacks in front of the bugle stacks

Here's a side view to get an idea of the texture. 

And here's the back.

I split the edge colors to represent the sunset over the ocean.  I stuffed it with just a bit of polyfill to try and fill out the edges (you can see the impressions of the 2 round magnets).  My biggest concern would be if the magnets would be strong enough to keep it from sliding down the fridge - they are :)

I'm really looking foward to this year long journey of reflecting on where my life has taken me and I want to thank you for coming along for the ride!

Bead Happy and Often.

Here's hoping 2011 will be filled with creativity and inspiration!

I personally am hoping for that and lots more, but I most hope to keep my attitude sunny and positive.  Lately I've been letting myself get dragged down into this pit of ~b l a h~.  That thick, sticky, hard-to-shake, motivation-creativity-sucking feeling of not wanting to do anything but sit on the couch and watch reality tv shows (my personal guilty pleasure).  And even with all the support and caring and encouragement you guys send my way, I realize no one but me is going to be able to turn that attitude around.  That's the only resolution I'm making this year - positive attitude. 

I made two small beaded gifts this year:

A picture frame ornament for my niece Ashlee and her husband Adam.

I choose the red/black/white theme specifically because those were the colors of their wedding (this past August).

And an embellished drink coaster for my mom.  Every year I give my mom something 'bird related'. 

I had the perfect fabric in my stash (not that you can see very much of it in the finished project!). 

And I choose my colors based on the chickadee.

I thought encasing the coaster with these stacks rather than a peyote stitch would be quicker.  Not sure if it was.

I was so committed to using these beautiful potato pearls I had gotten at Artbeads ages ago, that even though their holes were so dinky tiny I had to use a long size 12 needle, I stuck with it.  Believe me, I wanted to swap out different beads.  Trying to bead through poster board, pellon, and the fabric with that long flimsy needle was a pain!  So tedious. 

Speaking of being committed.....no, silly, not in that way!  I haven't been shoved into the rubber room (yet).  I finished my first Bead Journal Project piece for January.  I don't have any pics yet  It was too dark tonight to take any, but as long as my computer continues to behave, I will post those up real soon!  In the meantime here's the colors I used (except the loose beads - those didn't make the cut).

Big Hugs to everyone - thank you for saying all the right things when I need it most! 

Bead Happy and Often!