Bead Retreat Projects

Vicki & I attended the Texas Bead Retreat again this year, our 6th year in a row. It is always so much fun and we get so many things accomplished. I was able to finish a bead embroidery necklace, a bracelet with Vicki's help with the directions (Dragon Dance bracelet from May issue of Beadwork magazine) and we took a pendant class. I wish I could find more of the cool face button that I used on the black piece.

 

 

Beaded Flowers

Geri of Bead Crazee in Tyler caught these flowers at one of the 2012 Texas Bead Retreat. I bought the supplies to make more, but didn't get around to making them until the Christmas holidays. I was home alone with the dog and it snowed. We sat in the recliner all day, watching movies and I beaded until I ran out of rivolis to make more.

Latest Necklaces

While shopping at Michaels during the Friends & Family sale, I found these cool rhinestone sliders. I made a couple of necklaces, one with the sliders and other embellishments and the other with sliders and spiders for a subtle "Halloween-style" necklace.

Sliders & spacers on neck wire

Finished necklace with additional embellishments

Spider necklace

Components Bought

Industrial Glam Necklace
     A few months ago I had the honor of being asked to create a piece for Michaels October Jewelry Month Showcase. They wanted me to use Susan Lenart Kazmir's Industrial Chic line as the basis for my piece. I was thrilled to be able to use my friend Susan's pieces, as it fits my style so well. Her new components add a bit of glitter and glam to her usual industrial look.   I let them guide me for the theme of this necklace. I loved the stark contrast of the rhinestones and glitter with the industrial metal edge.I added beads from the Bead Gallery line to complete the necklace in my steampunk style.  I created a piece that is now one of my very favorites - freeform & asymmetrial.
     Here is the supply list and the finished piece on Michaels website for the Industrial Glam Necklace. The instructions are also there, but I've included extra step-out images to help make it easier for you to create your own version.

   

    Use Chain with Glass Beads and Stones for one side of necklace. Measure and cut plain chain to desired length. Attach plain chain to chain with beads and stones. Attach Lobster Clasp to plain chain. Loop on other chain will serve as link.

Condition thread and thread needle. Attach to chain link as show in picture. Randomly string metal plated multi-color round beads and weave in and out of the chain.

 

 

    Once you have a base of metal beads, start incorporating the glass beads.

      Tie off strands and secure with knots when you run out of thread. Start next strand in previous method, securing on chain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Continue building base, and begin adding metal donuts, weaving beads and strands to secure.

 

 

   Start adding charm components, weaving in more metal beads and strands.

    Continue building necklace, constantly holding up to neck in front of mirror to make sure it hangs properly.

    Add keys and other dangling charms by the same method.

Continue adding beads and components until you are pleased with the results.
I left one chain without any embellishment, as I loved the asymmetry that broke up the regular flow of the necklace.

Catching Up & Great Find
     I should truly rename this blog, the Infrequent Blog. I always have the best intentions to blog and I compose witty and pithy posts in my head while I'm driving or working out or other such places where it doesn't get transferred to my actual blog. The truth is when I do have free/spare time, I usually spend it in my studio creating rather than on the computer. With my day job, I spend hours and hours on the computer anyway.

     A couple of weeks ago Michaels had their Friends & Family sale. This is one of the events that I look forward to and take advantage to stock up. Most times when I go to Michaels, I'm running in for specific items that I need and usually in a hurry. During the Friends & Family event, I go up and down every single aisle - after all it is a great sale.

     The advantage of going up and down each aisle and spending time just looking and browsing is that you find things you might not otherwise find. I am an avid beader - I should be familiar with all of our beading products. I'm sure many of you have already seen and bought this product, but it was a new discovery for me. Beadalon Crimp Tube in nice little tubes! I bought the assorted pack, with silver, gold, copper & hematite color crimps. They also had ones that were the same color but various size tubes, plus crimp beads. I hated the previous little plastic bags that the tubes came in because no matter how careful you were to only open them a little bit, those tiny crimp tubes came out of the package and got all over everywhere. These will be perfect to keep in my beading case and always have on hand.

Latest Jewelry Pieces

Seems like if I'm not remodeling the studio or working on stuff for ADAA (or working), then I'm creating beading and making jewelry.  I've been concentrating on bead embroidery (thanks to inspiration from Sherry Serafini's books). Vicki & I are going to Bead & Button this year and maybe I can get to meet her!  Here is the turquoise one in progress and finished. I had beads left over from the white one, so I made a pendant necklace as well.

In The Studio

What a mess - works in progress

Heads on sticks - some are now witches

I've got a really great studio space. It was supposed to be the formal dining room, but we aren't formal dining room type people. I love that it has a big window the looks out onto my front yard and up the road. Lots of the pieces of storage in my studio are recycled and they work great for their new purpose. I also usually have lots of "heads on sticks", heads that I've sculpted waiting on bodies and to be incorported into the latest art doll. I like sculpting the heads best, so there are usually several pots filled with them. The first part of next year I plan on taking out the carpet in the room and covering the floor of my studio by decoupaging book pages on to it. While I have all the furniture out, I'll probably paint the walls. I'm thinking about corking one so it will be a permanent bulletin board and I think I'll cover one section with chicken wire so I'll have a place to hang things without sticking pins or nails into the wall.


Display of finished dolls

More heads on sticks

Supply storage

Wall unit from surplus - bead storage

Tidepool Necklace

My friend, Ellen created small sea creature beads for me for my birthday - an octopus & a few stingrays. While pulling beads to make a necklace out of my treasures, I ran into a polymer clay pendant that I had gotten from my friend, Sherry in a swap. It was the perfect color and design to go in the necklace, but not the right size. I took an exacto knife to the pendant, cut it into three pieces and shaved the edges a bit - perfect! They were exactly what I needed for the necklace. I used 4 different color/toned bead soups in creating the necklace, two turquoise/teal and two in the sandy, neutral colors.

Mini Bead Retreat

Since our friend, Lisa couldn't get into the Texas Bead Retreat back in January, we decided to do our own mini bead retreat. Originally we were going to head to a little town about 45 minutes north of here & stay in a hotel (suite room). Well, plans changed & we wanted to save money, so we had our mini bead retreat at my house (much cheaper & we were able to fix nice meals). We enjoyed beading, great company, good food, wine, music and movies. We're already talking about when we can get together and do another one. I'm so lucky to have such great, like-minded friends. I was able to make/finish 2 pieces at the retreat (I did have the base for the bracelet done in advance, though). The necklace uses Tim Holtz Key Plates & Keys. I've planned on doing a necklace with these for a while (especially after the success of my sprocket gear pieces).  The bracelet combines the new Industrial Chic line (from Susan Lenart Kazmer, available at Michaels) with Tokens typewriter key charms that I bought on clearance at Michaels earlier this year. I really like the steampunk style - it suits me and my eclectic style.

Texas Beader's Retreat

Vicki & I attended our third retreat last month. The retreat sold out so our friend Lisa wasn't able to join us - hopefully next year. The first piece I worked on at the retreat was a beaded purse. The focal piece is a polymer clay face I bought from Kim Cavendar at the polymer clay retreat I attended in September. The purse is made entirely from recycled jeans. The handle is a denim belt from a dress. After I finished the purse, I worked on a bracelet and necklace in autumn hues to match a jacket I made (bought the fabric at the Houston Quilt Show a couple of years ago). The other piece shown is what I did for the challenge - a travel jewely pouch.

Sprocket Gears

As I've mentioned before, I like to use Tim Holtz Sprocket Gears in my jewelry. I've done pieces for myself and for some of my friends for birthday presents. Here are some more examples for your viewing pleasure. I wore my necklace and bracelet to the Texas Beader's Retreat in January and they were a huge hit. I bet you couldn't find any of these gears at any of the area Michaels stores after the retreat.

Again with the Madame Delphine and the bead embroidery, this piece also has dangles from the Forged line by Plaid. The circular peyote chain took longer than the pendant. I like the look and think I'll do more of this type necklace.

I've had the book The Art of Bead Embroidery for several years and have always been meaning to do something similar. I loved the whole concept of this book & why not? I know embroidery and have done it (though not so much recently and nowhere near as good as my Nana or Aunt) and I love to bead. I finally got brave enough to start my first piece & of course, me being me, I started with a necklace. I began the necklace on the flight to EDAC back in July, worked on it on the plane, at night at the conference and then a few weeks after I got home. I never keep track of how long a beaded piece takes me - I usually work on them in the evenings when I watch TV or other times, such as flights, waiting in a doctor's office, etc. My first piece was done from a necklace that I did several years ago when I was just getting started with free-form peyote. At the time I thought it was fabulous, but as I've grown I didn't like the piece as well and hadn't worn it in a long time. So I took it apart and used it to create this necklace. It reminds me of a forest stream. Once I did the necklace, I had to do a bracelet to match. I did this one on a metal cuff form that I got when I went to Rhode Island a few years ago.

Lisa & I started a tradition (though not required) last year when we exchanged handmade gifts prior to attending the Enchanted Doll Artist Convention. She made me a fabulous handmade book that I use to chronical my EDAC journey and I made her a traveling tool case.

This year our dear friend Vicki is joining us (for more fun!) and I made the three of us purses to carry. They have polymer clay faces with beading around the faces, done on rayon batik. We'll be able to carry our wallets, cell phones, room key & lipstick in these lightweight bags.

I got the idea to do us traveling sewing kits for our pins, needles, etc. I found some canvas fabric and drew the faces (just like I did the shoes) and colored them with Prismacolor markers. I then used heavy duty iron on interfacing and backed them with felt. I sewed bias binding around them & added ribbon to tie them.

I also found some great luggage tags at Michaels and personalized them for us with our images.

We are all very excited about attending the conference next month! More about it later.

I found some really cool sprocket gears by Tim Holtz at Michaels. When Vicki & I were at the Grapevine Bead Show in May, I saw some beads
that just begged to be made into jewelry combined with those sprockets. Here is the necklace & bracelet I made. I used a freeform peyote & right angle weave to create the pieces.