Fa la la la LPA...

It has been a Lisa Peters Art kind of season in my house of late. I worked on a couple of pins/pendants to help with a fundraiser benefiting shelter animals (see post "For the love of animals") in November.

After those were completed and sent off, I worked up a couple of pieces to send back to Lisa - a ring using one of her wonderful little flower cabs and a poodle brooch/pendant.



The tiny flower cab has a hole in the middle, I started this one by anchoring the cab to a small piece of Nicole's Bead Backing with a 6mm Swarovski margarita crystal bead and a 15/0 seed bead.



I use a small about of E6000 to secure the edges of the cab to the bead backing material and added size 3mm Swarovski bicones in between each of the flower petals



Green seed beads were added around the outside of the cab and crystals



I used gray Ultrasuede to back the piece, first cutting a small hole it in it to fit the pad on the ring blank through. I add a tiny dab of E6000 to the pad of the ring blank and attach it to the back of the beaded flower cab, then let dry. The ring blank is adjustable, so it can fit a wide range of sizes.



Once dry, I whip stitched the Ultrasuede to the bead backing on the cab using blue charlottes.



And there you have it... a pretty little ring - perfect for every day or a special occasion!



How about a little poodle cab pin/pendant with a heart??? Double win! Some time ago, Lisa sent me two of these cute little poodles, (click on any of the images to see a larger, more detailed view). I glued it down to bead backing and started by adding vintage sequins around the outside. The sequins are anchored by dark red seed beads, then outlined by those same pretty red beads.



The poodle is edged with cream colored seed beads with a dangle of red seed beads, a couple of cream colored seed beads, a red garnet heart, then finished with a beautiful heart bead by Lisa Peters.



It is backed with tan Ultrasuede and has a brass pinback with bail so it can be worn at a pendant or a pin/brooch.



Lastly, Amy at Bead & Glass Boutique had a Facebook contest using LPA components. Each participant was sent a kit. We were instructed to used most of the kit and any thing from our own stash we wanted to add. I received a beautiful cab with a faint leaf pattern on it.



In addition to the cab, there were these beautiful tubular beads in a turquoise color and square glass beads in a reddish color. To the kit I added turquoise/raku colored seed beads and vintage dark gold seed beads salvaged from an old beaded cap found in an antique store.



Also added - size 8/0 gold seed beads, size 15/0 gold seeds beads used in the bezel and in the edging and 6mm topaz Swarovski margarita beads used in the dangle. There are 5 size 3mm Swarovski bicones in the bezel for a little extra sparkle (two in the top corner and three in the bottom). The edge is something new to me. It is called Side Petal Edge and found in Dimensional Bead Embroidery by Jamie Cloud Eakin - a fabulous book by the way and one I highly recommend you add to your collection if you enjoy bead embroidery.



Tan Ultrasuede is used as the backing with a pin back including bail for use as a pendant.



Not sure yet what all the new year will bring me in the way of beading inspiration, but I'm hopeful it will be a creative year filled with lots of projects!

A choker and a ring...

My older grand daughter recently requested a choker, she dug through my stash of small cabs and found just what she wanted, then requested beads in blue, silver and black.

The cab is one I was lucky enough to snag after my visit with the Beads of Courage boxes.



The choker is about 1 1/2 wide at it's widest point and 13 inches long.



There are glass seed beads in several sizes, Swarovski margarita crystals in black and vintage sequins.



It is backed with blue Ultrasuede and the clasp is a vintage Swarovski sew on.



I have wanted to try my hand at making a ring for some time now and recently I was gifted with this small raku cab by Marianne Kasparian aka MAKUstudio.



It is surrounded by glass pearls



It was mounted on an adjustable ring blank



And backed with black Ultrasuede



It was donated to a Northern Indiana business for a fund raising auction.

Photos are clickable for a larger view

Bead and Button show...

I wish I was going - I have yet to attend a bead show - any bead show. I do, however have a couple of brooches that will attend the show this year in June.

Lisa Peters sent me a couple of her beautiful Raku cabs to bead up for the show. Because of their size, these are NOT for the shy or timid!



I am always inspired by Lisa's work, I can't help it. I mean, really - have you looked at her stuff? As amazing as her photos are of her creations, the pieces are always so much more striking in person.

This first one is almost 3 inches all (not counting the fringe) and about 2 1/2 inches wide. I used Czech and Japanese seed beads in sizes 8/0 to 15/0. I also used some size 11/0 triangle beads, man I love those!



I did not want to make them too much bigger, so I limited the beaded rows around the outside edge to a minimum. For the fringe (and some real sparkle!) I added Swarovski cube and margarita beads in Jonquil. Then finished it off with a standard pin back and yellow Ultrasuede.




The red/black one is a little bit smaller - isn't that cab amazing??? I used the same size seed beads on this one as well as some small black vintage nailheads for the outer most row and Smoke colored 4mm Swarovski bicones around the outside edge.



On this one I added a pin back with a bail and red Ultrasuede. It is 3 inches around including the outside edge.

I took photos of the entire process as I worked on the first cab. I use a little E6000 glue to add the cab to purple stiffened felt. Once I complete the beading, I cut the felt close to the edge of the beading - leaving enough room to stitch the layers together.



I add some fray stop to the stitching on the back and while that is drying I cut a piece of poster board a bit smaller than the Pellon. Next I measure out and mark where the pin back will end up on the Ultrasuede. I cut little holes or slits in the Ultrasuede. Next I put the layers together, the cab is face down, a little glue on the back of that, then the poster board.



I work the pin back through the holes/slits in the Ultrasuede and add a little glue to the pin back as well as the poster board and sandwich it all together. I allow a bit of time for the glue to dry, then begin my edge stitch that holds it all together. Once that is complete, I count my edge beads to determine what kind of decoration I will add to the edges or if I will add fringe. Often times the bead count on the edges will dictate the stitches around the outside edges.

Wonderful books I refer to for bead embroidery and cabs:

Beading with Cabochons by Jamie Cloud Eakin

and

The Art of Bead Embroidery by Heidi Kummli and Sherry Serafini

Hearts!

I finished up a few more brooches. The first one is a button by ... well, I can't remember how it came into my possession. I don't know if I bought it or if it was gifted to me - horrible I know.

It is embellished with many Swarovski crystals, from the little Margarita beads anchored through the front holes to the points all around the outside edge. Making it quite sparkly.



If you recognize it - by all means, let me know, I'd like to give credit to it's creator. The dimensions on the finished piece is about 2 inches by 2 inches.



Next up is a wonderful brownish raku spiral heart shank button by Lisa Peters



I did my best to get a photo of the backside before I started beading. You'll have to click to enlarge it and even then, I'm not sure if you can see the shank with the thread stitched through it to help anchor it to the base. The shank is also bent sideways for a smoother finish on the back.



The peyote stitched bezel is comprised of size 11/0 triangle beads. The last/innermost row is made of the same brown beads that are used in the scallop around the outside edge. The pearls are sewn on individually, then it is finished with a scalloped edge found in 'Beading with Cabochons' by Jamie Cloud Eakin. Once I got going on this one I had a hard time stopping, making this one a bit bigger (3 inches by 3 inches) than the others.



Last one for this post is a little turquoise beauty, it's a cab by Lisa Peters - I've been on a roll with her stuff lately. With this being a cabochon, I glued it down to the foundation, then used a stacked stitch of one size 8/0 bead, 2 size 11/0 beads and topped with a size 15/0 bead. Once all the stacked stitches are in place I added more of the size 15/0 beads in the top row and pulled it tight.



It is finished with a pointed edge stitch and 3 little dangles with various seed beads and 4mm Swarovski crystals.

All of these are contenders for the One World One Heart giveaway. I'm not sure yet how many or which will end up in the giveaway next week, so check back then if you're interested.

Face feedback - thank you!

For each one of you that responded to my face questions... thank you! I appreciate it. There is an artist that was looking for feedback, likes, dislikes as she is looking at possibly creating faces in the future as well as other parts we can use in our dolls or other creations. I like to know what others are doing or are looking for in faces and should any other artists stop in and read the post and responses - they might find it useful.

I also wanted to draw your attention a couple of places to buy some neat stuff.

The first is one is a favorite artist that creates amazing raku pieces. Her name is Lisa Peters and for those that remember my March BJP page - she is the one that created the cute little chick I incorporated into that page.

She is having a end of summer sale in her Esty store - I keep going back to see if there is anything I must have, but I get stuck because there is so much I'd like to call mine! If you like raku or have a fondness for nicely created ceramic pieces, you really should take a look.

The next one is Unusual Goods Beadshop. I originally found them through Ebay, but now they have a storefront on the web. Lots of vintage stuff - nailheads (in many different colors, shapes and sizes), beads and sequins, everything I have received from them has been wonderful. I just placed an order through their website and anxiously await the arrival of that package.

I have no affiliation with either of these shops, I just like their stuff! That's all I have for now. I hope you're having a great last weekend of summer for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere anyway!

Latest fun purchase

Oh how I love Raku fired pieces! Since my October Bead Journal Project page I have been on a quest for more of it and as luck would have it I found some wonderful stuff! My search led me to an exceptional artist - Lisa Peters of Lisa Peters Art. I found her on Etsy and recently ordered and received several items, a few of which are pictured here. Check out her website - not only does she create some amazing pieces in clay, her photography is outstanding.



They are beautiful! These are pictures I snapped - click on the photos for an enlarged view.



Some are flat backs, some have shanks. All are beautiful. I can hardly wait to incorporate one of these wonderful little works of art into my beading.

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.