BJP final and Out of town

I finally managed to snap a photo of all my BJP pages together. What I didn't manage to do was get the entire thing in focus. I tried so many different settings in all types of light, it just never came out quite like I would have liked.

Each page is approximately 4 inches by 6 inches. Most ended up stuffed with just a tad of fiberfil and all are backed with ultrasuede. To finish them off as a group, I want to add a little beaded loop so I can hang them all together.

On another note - I will be out of town, working in Florida August 17-22. I hope you have a great week!

May BJP (Bead Journal Page)

(clickable for a larger view)

This is the page for May - the final installation of my Bead Journal Project... hard to believe it's been a whole year. I'm happy to end the year on a colorful note. This page represents so much, starting with the back ground fabric - it was one of several beautiful pieces that were gifted to me in a random act of kindness by my friend Kathy over at Kathy's Quilts. I love the colors in all the pieces she sent but really liked the way this one seemed to compliment the felted hearts - aren't they wonderful?

Both of the hearts were made while I was in Kentucky with friends. We were there to celebrate the life of one of our other friends that passed away last December. My dear friend Anne brought a couple of pieces (strands, ropes...what do you call it anyway?) of roving. It is the first opportunity I have had to play with it - the colors she brought were beautiful! She also supplied the needle tool for dry felting. I made the little blue/purple heart using that method.

She pulled off a bigger hunk and added a bit of water to wet felt hers. We had a ball. There were two other friends with us (Bobbie and Sammie) that joined in the fun as well. It was an evening filled with good food, good friends and fond memories of our departed friend. Simply perfect!

The smaller blue heart represents the struggles I've encountered with a loved one over the last few months, the heart break as well as the hope for healing and positive things in the future.

The larger heart represents my time spent in Kentucky at Faith Hill with my friends. The little green heart in the upper left represents Lonnie - our departed friend, how much he'll be missed and the way he brought us all together. The little pearls are for each of my friends - Anne, Bobbie, Sammie, Berlis, George, Wayne and Pam - each special and dear to me in so many ways. The spiral for the cycles of life and change. May it all be for the better!

The past 12 months on the project has taken me through highs and lows, many that came as an unexpected surprise. Some incredibly creative months and others not so much. It's been mostly fun, sometimes hard, but always a great learning experience. I have had a tendency to shy away from dipping too far into the well of my feelings for fear of what I may pull out - knowing these pages are on a stage where there is a greater chance that more people will see them than my comfortable circle of friends. In the last 12 months I have tried my best to dig a little deeper, share a little more and at times it has been challenging - a good challenge though, a healthy challenge to be sure.

I feel so fortunate to have been a part of this project. I have found it to be a valuable learning experience. If/when you get a chance, please take a moment (or an hour) and check out the website created for this special project. You will find images and bios on each of the participants from all over the world as well as information on the next year - yes Robin is doing it again! I have signed up to begin another year of bead work in September.

Now, putting together the 12 months of pages ... I can't really make it into a 'book' as some of my pages are fairly deep. Going back to December where I attached a snowman doll with his carrot nose - wouldn't be conducive to a book as I think of one. Right not I'm leaning in the direction of adding a little beaded loop to the back of each piece which will allow me to hang them in a grouping on a wall.

I hope to have a photo of them all together shortly. Thank you to those that have virtually taken this journey with me and provided feedback and support.

April Bead Journal Project (BJP)

Living inside a scream

click photo for a larger view

"...When all is going well, our world is a small, controlled experience bounded by our daily rituals and activities. When tragedy and suffering come swooping in, they shatter our tiny boundaries and break our world into pieces.

For a time we are living inside a scream where there seems to be no exit, only echoes. The small cares that seemed so important yesterday seem like nothing, and our daily concerns become petty and irrelevant. When we finally reclaim ourselves, as we ultimately do, we are changed. .."

This is from one of my favorite books, "Simple Truths" by Kent Nerburn. This is a small excerpt from the chapter titled 'Tragedy and Suffering'. This book and another by him "Small Graces" have helped me through some dark moments in my life. I am exceedingly grateful for that.

The April page represents a recent time in my life when color disappeared, my thoughts and feelings tended to be black and white or various shades of gray. Not terribly pleasant in my mind, but the beads sure felt good. Creative thoughts began to return and color was coming back. I could hardly wait to start on the page for May with a burst of color.

For the April page I started with a face cab by Monica Magness, and surrounded it with stacks of size 11/0 and 15/0 seeds beads, then added more 15/0 beads when I drew together the top round of beads. Then added a round of sequins anchored with seed beads. Czech glass flower beads were added for the 'crown' and white beads to complete a circle around the sequins. Next added is a round of glass heart beads, reminding me to radiate love in a situation where it doesn't necessarily come easy. Next are white seed beads and then finishing off the circle are drop beads between the hearts and some really neat vintage triangle sew on's at the tip of each heart.

I accented 5 spirals in the back ground with gray charlottes representing my hope for change and growth.

I'm happy to have the page complete and am so very ready to move on to something with happy colors!

March Bead Journal Project (BJP)

Beading through the darkest hour. This is the piece that allowed me to get over the 'hump' of my beading slump. I decided to be gentle with myself and not force it. One of the reasons I hesitated to pick up needle, thread and beads was because I felt I was forcing it.

I generally go for a more bead encrusted look, but was terribly uninspired for March. I was leaning toward an Easter and Spring theme - I had this cute raku chick I wanted to incorporate.

The beautiful material came from a friend of mine (Anne). She made a wonderful tote with the 2 colors of material seen here. The raku chick (how cute is that?) was created by the wonderfully talented Lisa Peters of Lisa Peters Art. If you have not seen her stuff, do yourself a favor and peruse her website or her Flickr photostream. You're in for a treat!

The sun is represented by vintage French sequins and bugle beads.

Next up... fun in July.

February Bead Journal Project (BJP)

Flowers for me (click on the photo to enlarge)

I have never been one that has my heart set on flowers for Valentine's Day, it seems too predictable and anymore - terribly expensive. I would much prefer a handmade card, a handwritten note or poem. I do love flowers though and appreciate them so much more when I am surprised with them on some random day that is not marked by a particular occasion.

Now glass flowers are a whole different story! I would love to receive them any day or for any occasion! So I thought I would make an arrangement for myself for February. I found this pattern in the book "Designer Bead Embroidery" by Kenneth King. I am not one to usually follow a pattern and it proved to be a bit more challenging than the other months where there was no pattern to follow.

With the exception of just a few beads - the flowers are all vintage glass buttons or sew-ons. The lip at the top of the vase/urn is cobalt blue vintage nailheads; the beads that make up the body of the vase are blue size 11/0 true cuts as well as copper lined seed beads. At the bottom of the vase are dark blue montees and the base is made up of more seed beads as well as sequins. The very bottom of the base is another row of cobalt blue nailheads. I finished the page as I have all the others with an ultrasuede backing and a pointed edge stitch.

I admit I have fallen a bit behind with my monthly pages, but not so far behind that I feel any pressure to hurry. I actually finished up this page about a week and a half ago, but it took me some time to get the photos blog ready. Generally I will take approximately 10-20 photos of a piece, load them up to my computer, immediately delete the photos I know I don't like (bad lighting, out of focus, etc.) and hope there are at least 3 left that I think are good enough to post. Then I crop the photos and re-size them. There are only rare occasions in which I use any type of photo manipulation software (like Photoshop) to change color or lighting.

I have begun to pull together a couple of ideas for March, but have 2 other projects I am working on right now. My plan is to start the March page in the next week or so.

Thank goodness for beads!

January BJP - dedicated to my mother

January is the month my mother was born, the page for this month is about her and some of my memories relating to her.


She was a physically beautiful woman. Standing 6 feet tall with naturally curly auburn hair and green eyes. She was also one of the most intelligent people I have ever known. She was 22 when she married my dad who was 20 years her senior, and while he was quite a bit older - no one would have known that by looking at them. I believe they genuinely loved each other, it appeared that way from my perspective anyway.

My mother battled mental illness for as far back as I can remember, having her first 'nervous breakdown' when she was 29 - I was 7. My mom was gone for 2 weeks for that particular episode and at my age, it seemed like an eternity.

It would not be her first 'breakdown' or suicide attempt, there would be several more over the years. She was diagnosed with just about every mental illness you can think of, by as many different doctors. I can only imagine what might have gone through her mind during the dark times. It hurts now to even ponder the possibilities. My dad (and my grandmother) was always there to take care of her and us kids, I realized later in life how hard this must have been for them. Going through it - I never would have known, it was 'normal' for us. Most families in our neighborhood went through trials and tribulations as families. Ours didn't seem any harder or easier than the others.

In my late teens my father had a massive stroke from which he never recovered and eventually passed away about 2 years later. During that time my mother's lucid moments were, sadly, few and far between, there were several suicide attempts and increasingly odd behavior.


She was lost without my dad, he was her rock - her safe place to fall. With that gone, I think life was scary for her. About 6 months after my dad passed away and a few days after she had been released from a mental hospital, my mother shot herself - no 'attempt', this time - she was serious. I imagine she had lost all hope at that point.


Some of my best memories are of her singing and playing the piano. My mom did not read music, but played the piano beautifully (and perfectly) by ear. She also had a wonderful sense of humor when she was lucid (which really was the vast majority of the time).



I jotted down wishes as I beaded this piece...

I wish I (and the doctors) knew more about mental illness back when you were so sick.
I wish I was more compassionate when you were afraid of the dark.
I wish everyone could feel your hopelessness and fear for one minute - may be then, there would be a stronger sense of urgency for answers and options for the mentally ill.
I wish I could go back in time and hug you and tell you that it's okay and I'm okay.
I wish I could give you one day to spend with your grand kids and great grand kids.
I wish I could hear you play the piano and sing one more time.

January 20, 1938 - April 22, 1982

December BJP - Dashing through the snow...

size 15/0 beads

I knew I wanted to attempt something a little different this month with making something more 3-D. I've had this cute little snowman doll form for about a year.

It was created by Ronda Kivett and has the cutest polymer clay eyes and nose. He is about 4 inches tall. If you must have one, Ronda has them for sale again this year, her website linked above in her name.


I looked through my meager fabric stash and knew once I landed on this purple one - I found the background for my page.


size 15/0 beads

Next up - adding snowflakes! I wanted to try making these since the first time I saw them in Bead Creative Art Quilts by Nancy Eha. They were so much fun and so easy to make!


size 15/0 beads

I beaded up the snowflakes, then attached them to the page by sewing through each bead on the snowflake points.


size 11/0 beads


size 11/0 beads

I set the page with attached snowflakes aside and started beading up the front of the snowman.


Once the front side was completed, I laid the form on the page and used a pen to outline (as best I could) where the back of the doll met the journal page - I didn't want to have a big gap between the back of the doll and the page, so I used a bocche stitch (also known as boucle or moss stitch - depending on who you ask) and silver lined white matte beads to fill in that gap all the way around.


Once that was finished - I added the branch stitched arms and tied a purple scarf around his next.

Then I attached the little guy to the page by stitching through the back of the page and the back of the doll at the top and towards the bottom to anchor it as best I could. The base of my page is Pellon Peltex 70 Ultra firm stabilizer and is pretty firm, but I still needed a little extra stability with the weight of the snowman, so I added a piece of poster board to the back before I attached the ultrasuede. It worked out well in the end I think.


Oh I had so much fun with this one. it makes me smile every time I look at it!

November BJP

I recently finished my November page for the Bead Journal Project. It's simple - and for me, says it all. Not just for this time of year, but for all year long.

Fall for me... October BJP

I finished by Beaded Journal Project page for October. I really did not want this one to end, I had such fun beading away on it each evening.



The raku face and leaves beads are by Rama Raku. I was lucky enough to acquire these amazing beads when I stumbled across someone that was selling off their beading inventory. Also included in this piece are Japanese & Czech seed beads; fresh water pearls, Czech pressed glass leaves and Swarovski crystals (3700)

As with the previous pages, it is backed with Ultrasuede and stuffed with just a little bit of fibrefill. It is finished with a pointed edge stitch as found in Jamie Cloud Eakin's "Beading With Cabochons".


I'll have to work on a doll or bracelet or something before I start on my page for November - I want to savor this one for a bit longer.

Bits of October

It's been over a week since my last post, I feel remiss. Every evening and even sometimes during my lunch hour, I have been working on my BJP page. It's been exceedingly enjoyable - I look forward to the end of my work day so I can get out my beads.

It might have something to do with the time of year as well. It's getting colder. We have had temps dip down below freezing and this morning there was quite a bit of frost. I love this time of year for beading. There are fewer outdoor distractions as it gets colder.

I have been exceptionally inspired with the October... maybe it's the colors? I'm not sure. I stayed up way past my bedtime last night, I was/am so close to being finished with the page. Alas I did not finish it, but should be able to get it completed today.

In the meantime, I did take a couple of teaser shots specifically for a friend that has requested a blog update (yes - you in Minnesota - you know who you are). Thanks for the 'gentle' reminder that it had been so long since my last post.

I hope to have pictures taken and up of the completed page by the end of the weekend.

Happy November!

September BJP

I finished my September page - it is dedicated to P E A C E.

I wish... I hope for it each and every day. For my loved ones close by as well as those far away that I don't know personally.

In addition to the glass peace sign cab, there is a glass clock cab and a glass heart. If you are interested in seeing my progress photos and a little more detail on the cabs, you can find that here.

September - BJP

My September page is dedicated to PEACE.

I found this neat glass peace cab on Ebay, the seller indicated it is West German from the 1950's. Also added is a glass clock face cab (also found on Ebay) - it just seemed to me as though they went together. When I bought the pair of clock faces, the seller indicated they were intended for use in cuff links in the 40's. My first thought when I saw them was that one might make a neat face on a beaded doll.

It seemed natural to me that the symbols of time and peace should go together with a glass heart - this is how my page for September started.

I normally attempt to take photos outside for the natural light, this time I decided to take photos at my bead station. I have this wonderful little desk that was made in Louisiana 10-12 years ago. It has two shelves to the left (beneath the plastic bead storage bins) where I store books, buttons threads, glue, etc. There are 2 little cubbie holes (beneath the cigar box) to the right where I store other items. The unit was originally built for and used as a tattoo station in one of the shops owned by my significant other. The wood came by way of Angola (the penitentiary, not the country), the tile top from a rental unit that was once owned by Huey Long. Oh... if only it could talk. the stories it might tell!


Up above my bead station are shelves where I store yet more odds and end. Intermingled are various works of bead art that I have acquired of the last couple of years - either by trade or by purchase. It's organized chaos and one of the happiest places in my world.

When I begin a project I take out a selection of beads that I might use, and as it becomes clear which beads I will not use - I put them back in their place (I'm easily distracted by too many choices) . I take everything out in the evening when I'm ready to begin beading. Once I'm done for the night, I put everything away (in the cigar box to the right) in order to keep a certain curious cat out of the creative process.

August BJP (Bead Journal Project)

I started August with something completely different than what I finished with. I did not like at all where the original idea was going, so much so that I just stopped. I spent a couple of days thinking about this month - what it means to me - now and in years past.

I was looking through my beads, cabs and other embellishments when I came upon these wonderful little brass crowns - I immediately thought of my grandmother (well I thought of my friend Teri too since she is pretty sure she was born into royalty and switched at birth, but wait... that is a whole different story).

Thoughts of my grandmother always conjure up good, warm, loving memories for me. She was born in 1900 and died August 1998 (the same day as Elvis by the way). She was, and is to this day, the most amazing human being I have ever met. She outlived all of her siblings by many years, her husband by 58 years and all three of her children. I do not ever remember seeing her sad.

She was the epitome of goodness and kindness, she would describe herself as a good christian and one of the few I know that honestly fit that description. Never judged, always loved... everyone. Never uttered a cross word or raised her voice - neither was necessary. She never drove a car, she never wore pants - it never occurred to me that she ever would or should do either. She instilled in me the importance to vote, because I could. She told me how much trouble she got into at home when, at the age of 17 she had the audacity to cut her hair short, without her father's permission (what a rebel!). She described how my grandfather courted her before they got married. She talked about her first job as a cashier at the 'moving picture show'.

She stepped in and offered guidance and hope when I lost my parents 6 months apart at the age of 21. It is from her that I have felt and known unconditional love. I miss our conversations and I miss hearing her laugh, but I feel her presence and think of her every day. It is a comfort to me.

I used various vintage items on this piece, in the upper left there is a crystal pendant with a cross - I found it in a grab bag of vintage beads. Other vintage items: the brass crown, the heart which is a crystal cab that had been glued to a shank to make it a button (I cut a small hole through the fabric and pellon to secure the shank - a trick I learned from one of Robyn's books I think) , the beautiful nail heads on her lower body, and the flowers in the lower left are vintage german glass foil back sew-on's.

I added bit of fiberfil before I sewed on the backing so it is very soft - almost like a little pillow.

Below are some WIP photos

Here's the back before attaching the ultrasuede


And here it is after attaching the back


This was before I knew I would be adding wings.



Here's a photo of me and my grandma taken in 1995:

July Bead Journal Project (BJP)

'Justine'

I put the finishing touches on my July page and just took photos. I have been out of town, so I wasn't able to post progress photos as I went - I didn't think it would make a big difference to me, but now that I have done it with June - I find I miss watching the progress. I hope to be able to track my progress in August with photos.

July is dedicated to my granddaughter, her birthday falls in July. I traced her hand, pulled out some purple and yellow beads and went from there, I didn't have a plan in mind but was thrilled to find I had purple leaf beads that looked perfect as fingernails to me.

Here's the back of it finished with ultra suede


This is what it looked like before I added the ultra suede

Bead Journal Project (BJP) - July WIP

I started my July page... attached the fabric to the Pellon, gathered up beads I might use on this page and outlined my granddaughters hand. July will be about her, it is her birthday month. She is excited to see how it will come out. I have not thought out how I might bead it - that will come when I sit at my bead station and start to go through the beads. It will be beaded in shades of purple and yellow, that's all I know at this point.

I'm adding a photo of the back of the piece as it looks before adding the road map of beads to it.

BJP for June completed!

I'm happy to report I have finished my Beaded Journal page for June and am pretty happy with the end result. It was a bit tricky to photograph - I kept getting glare off the picture. There is still a bit of glare in this shot, but it just couldn't be helped.

I ended up trying something a little different with the edge. I wanted something to set it off - maybe look a little like a frame. So rather than doing the usual picot edge, I used a 'pointed edge' technique found in "Beading with Cabochons" by Jamie Cloud Eakin". I have used that edge on a cab before and liked the way it looked - it's a pretty easy stitch and I think it gives a nice finished look to my page.


Next project is another collaboration with a couple friends on a quilt square. I'll post my starting pics of the it in the next couple of days. My portion will be a 4 inch square. I'm excited to get started on it. I'm not sure when I'll start my July page since I have a doll form screaming for beads right now too.

The speed with with I bead is directly related to the stress/pressure I feel (I really should say impose upon myself) from my job, needless to say - it's been an intense couple of weeks.

If I haven't said it recently... thank heaven for beads!!!

BJP - Work in progress 2

I've been trying to bead a little every evening on this project - even if it's only for 30 minutes. I'm not sure how I'll finish it at this point, I can't ever remember beading in red, yellow and orange - it reminds me of sunshine, that's for sure!


I decided to keep my 'pages' in a little box - it's actually a little box that looks like a book. It originally held cards by Marjolein Bastin, I love her work. I forgot I had it and ran across it just before I started this project. My pages fit perfectly inside - so I'm pretty sure it was destined to be - I was at a loss as to how I might bind these pages once I was done with 12 of them, problem solved!

I'm already thinking about my page for July - I want to use purple and it just so happens that Margie Deeb is having a 2007 summer color challenge. I thought that might be fun to enter. Give some thought to joining me.

BJP - Work in progress

Almost a month ago I signed up to participate in the "2007 Bead Journal Project" coordinated by Robin Atkins. The goal is to create a beaded journal page every month for 12 months starting with this month. There are 240 participants in 13 countries, I feel fortunate to be included. If you would like to read more about it - check out the blog set up for the project participants.

I have named my journal... "Consecrate the ordinary", that is a statement that has stayed with me since I first read it, many years ago in a book by one of my favorite authors, Kent Nerburn. Those 3 words say so much. My pages will be just a tad larger than 4 by 6 inches. I am using Pellon Peltex #70 as the stabilizer and have basted the material to it. I will back it with ultrasuede once the beading is done and add a picot or some other decorative edge.

My June page is about T-Ball, my 6 year old grandson, sunshine and nicer weather.


Life is good!