Bead Journal Project for May (2010)...

My plan for the 2010 Bead Journal Project was to make a bouquet of monochromatic flowers. That lasted for the first four months. After completing the first 2 flowers I was questioning my monochromatic color choice, the thought of doing that month after month made it a bit boring for me. I broke down for the fifth month and dove into some color.



This one started with a circular metal center with lots of holes, it is not flat. I added an 11/0 bead to each hole which helped anchor the metal piece to the backing. Then added a row of size 15/0 beads outside the metal disc. Next I added 5 Swarovski glass sequins anchored with a size 15/0 yellow bead. More blue and yellow beads were added to fill in the petals.



It was backed with yellow-gold Ultrasuede and whip stitched together with size 15/0 blue beads.

Seven more flower to go to complete my bouquet and the project for 2010. I will continue to post these as I finish them, but first I must get to some other projects!

Bead Journal Project for April (2010)...

Seems there is just never enough time to post all the beady and creative things going on. Many exciting things going on here, not the least of which is seeing signs of spring - finally! It seems warmer weather has been threatening for quite some time, but it has not quite taken hold. I am hopeful that will change this weekend.

One post that I have been meaning to get up is about the Bead Journal Project. I have participated in this project since it was started by Robin Atkins and have enjoyed it very much. I have learned much about myself and about my beading from my participation. I signed up to participate this year even though I had not finished the project for last year. It has since become clear to me that I am not able to make the time to participate this year. A clear indication of that is posting the photo from the last project one year late. And even though I am late for last year, my plan is to finish up the project for 2010. I think that with several other projects will keep me plenty busy through the end of the year.

April in this part of the country usually means spring and lots of rain. To me - that translates to gray. I like the color of gray in beads much better than a gray colored sky.



This flower started with a vintage faceted glass cab as the center and worked my out from there with light gray around the cab and hematite colored beads for the petals. These photos look a bit fuzzy to me, I'm not sure what happened with my focus this time around.

I finished it off with soft gray Ultrasuede and a pin back.

Bead Journal Project for March...

With all the excitement of the latest Beading For A Cure project, I almost forgot to post photos of my March brooch - I am calling this one Erin. I am not sure if you remember from earlier posts, but my plan is to bead this flower shape for all 12 months using one (and only one) color for each month.

This one started with a big vintage Swarovski margarita bead as the focal in the middle and is surrounded by size 8/0 beads with a size 11/0 as the stopper. Outside of that are sequins secured by drop beads.

Then lots and lost of transparent and matte finished beads to complete the flower. The back is a dark green Ultrasuede.



Now to start April. We hit 70 degrees today and I could not be happier about it! It is supposed to be even warmer tomorrow. Now to see what color this all motivates me to use for this month.

Bead Journal Project for February...

My second flower in the series is "Rose". The focal point in this one is a wonderful tiny ceramic shank button created by Lisa Peters. I poked a hole in the stiff felt backing and poked the shank through, then sewed it down. Once I am satisfied it is secured, I bend the metal shank to one side to it lays flat.



Then comes the beads - the glorious beads! I started with little glass hearts, my nod to the month of valentines. There are some Swarovski bicones for sparkle, and because there never really is enough sparkle, I added lots and lots of charlottes.



Some red Ultrasuede, a pin back and it's finished! The finished brooch measures about 2 1/2 inches around. All photos are clickable for a larger view - especially that second one, you can almost climb in the beads on that one.

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed your visit.

BJP 2010, first month...

The Bead Journal Project started another round for 2010 and I signed up for my third year. This time, I am happy to say, I started right on time. I wanted to do something different this round. The last 2 rounds I made pieces that hang on the wall, I wanted something I could wear and decided to go with pins. My second thought was that I did not want to do a standard round, oval or square shape (one of the only rules of the BJP is each piece should be the same shape/size), and I have been feeling like it will never warm up around here - that all led me to flowers.

I also thought I would explore monochromatic pieces, choosing a different color each month. I have almost finished my February piece and so far so good on the monochromatic plan. We shall see if I can stick to that for all twelve months without the pieces becoming boring or me becoming bored with it. I added a second photo here of the front with a little different lighting.



This is the piece for January, I named this one Lily and she is just over 2 1/2 inches around. The face is carved bone, the beads are Japanese and Czech. There are also freshwater pearls and sequins for some texture. This is actually the second version, I was just about complete with the first version, but I didn't like it at all. I did not have the outside edge defined enough and it ended up looking more like an amoeba (or something that swims in a petri dish) than a flower. So it was back to the drawing board for a more defined version of a flower, then cutting a new template.



A big thank you to J, my SO for bringing my vision to life (as well as eliminating my frustration) by drawing a perfect little flower to my specs.

The entire piece is backed with white Ultrasuede, and has a piece of poster board sandwiched between the beaded piece and the Ultrasuede for a little added stability.



*all photos are clickable for a larger view*

I had this grand plan that I would make 12 of these brooches, then as a base - a place to keep/display them, I would fashion some sort of felted flower pot on fabric so each would have its own place when not being worn - I have not completely worked through that idea so am not sure yet what will be in a year as I finish up my last flower. I have lots to learn about felting and sewing before I see that vision come to life.