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!

Fun loving Free Spirit...

Free Spirit is the last doll in the Trash It Out doll swap. Sending her off was bittersweet, sweet that she is going home after several months of travel, bitter because I'll miss looking forward to my visits with these amazing creations.

Six of us participated, myself and five incredible artists including our host - Monica Magness of GirlGoneThreadWild. This was an amazing experience, educational, emotional and above all else... FUN!



Free Spirit arrived pretty much complete by my definition. I made some jewelry for her and her companion to wear and deliver to her owner.



I started with a two small clay cabs, a rectangle with "LIVE" on it and a cute little heart. I acquired these pieces as a participant of The Best Little Bead Box earlier this year. I believe they were created by Fired and Fused.



In my rush to get her packed up and ready to head home, I neglected to take measurements of the pendant. I will guess it's about 3 inches around. Not including the loop that attaches it to a neck wire.



I used fresh water pearls, Swarovski jet bicones, vintage sequins, glass hearts and seed beads in various sizes.



It is backed with rose colored Ultrasuede.



I made the heart into a small brooch/pin. It also has several sizes of seed beads and is backed with the same rose colored Ultrasuede.



One thing I forgot to take photos of was her journal. The journals that accompany each of these dolls are entire separate, detailed amazing works of art. I'm sorry I did not take a photo of the journal that goes with Free Spirit.



Next blog post will be about my doll and her arrival home. I have not yet opened her carriage (the box in which she has traveled all over the US), but will do that in the next day or two. I want to have the time to savor every moment of the experience.

Reminder - all photos are clickable for a larger view.

Latest beading...

All photos are clickable for a larger view

I am not sure if it is the cold weather or the gloomier skies here, but I have been drawn towards brighter beads recently, specifically pink and yellow.



I do not consider myself a huge fan of pink... the color - not the singer. I AM a fan of the singer.

I was digging around for stuff to bead and was drawn to these. The first is a real flower set in resin. It was sold as a necklace strung on a cheap black cord. I bought several of these - many of them have real bugs inside - beetles, spiders and scorpions. Some even glow in the dark, really kind of cool.



I thought this one might be nice as a fob. It fits in the palm of my hand and I can see it dangling from a multitude of things. I will not be keeping this one though - it will be given away, stayed tuned for details on that in a couple of weeks.



It seems I never go too long without beading with one of Jen Martin's faces. I enjoy working with her little works of art, they are consistently well crafted and painted to perfection in vibrant colors. I am always inspired by her faces.



This one is no exception - such a happy face! It is polymer clay and screams sunshine and spring to me. I have embellished it with green Swarovski crystals, yellow charlottes and green Czech pressed glass leaves with pink size 15/0 beads whip stitched around the edge.



It is finished off with sunny yellow Ultra suede and a pin back with bail that allows it to be worn as a pendant or brooch.

A few notes on the method I use to finish my pieces. After the beading is complete, I measure and cut out a piece of poster board to help stabilize the piece.



Next, I glue the poster board to the back of the beaded piece and measure out a piece of Ultrasuede for the backing.



If it is going to be a pin, I measure where I need to make small cuts to allow the pin back to come through the Ultrasuede backing. I add glue to the pin back and the poster board that is exposed and then add the Ultrasuede - picture a sandwich and the poster board is the "meat". Next I secure the two pieces together by beading the edge. The face is whip stitched, the fob it is more of a brick stitch with an added picot stitch on top of that.

On a roll...

Seems I am on a bit of a roll with beading lately and it feels pretty good! I finished up the kitty face for the collaboration piece mentioned in my last post. I just basically colored it with beads.



Laurel Burch fabrics are so colorful and fun. I am very excited to see the whole finished piece once my friends add their magic.



In addition to finishing the face I beaded up this little pin/pendant for a fund raising auction at work. I started with a 25mm glass cab with this star (star fish? sand dollar?) pattern encased in the glass.



I added these pretty size 11/0 mottled purple beads in the bezel topped with transparent size 15/0 purple beads. There are size 8/0 silver lined beads around the outside and on the edge.



Because it was really hard to capture this without glare, I took several shots at different angles.



I backed it with a light purple Ultrasuede and added a pin back with bail.



For the auction I added the hand dyed purple satin ribbon that was included in my Use the Muse II kit. It matched the cab perfectly - I love it when things work out that way!

Next up... my very own tiara. I ordered a kit from Nancy Eha for her Embellished Tiara challenge after seeing it posted on Dulcey's blog. The theme ... All about the sparkle. How could I resist.

After that or in the meantime, I MUST take the time to learn/practice RAW (right angle weave). I should know that basics (at a minimum) prior to the Bead Retreat in Lake Tahoe (see the class titled "Queen Anne's Lace").

In between all the beading, I'm spending as much time as possible with family. The newest addition is growing so fast. Changing so much each time I see her. Here's a photo I took last weekend - she's is just over 3 months old now and ever the cutie!