The 6th Photo

My good friend, Nicole, invited me to participate in a fun little game called 'The 6th Photo'.

I have to show the 6th photo that I ever posted here on my blog, and critique it...what would I do differently, how could I improve it, etc, etc.

*gulp*

Here goes:

Eek, it's my first EVER attempt at bead embroidery!  Little did I know, that this piece was the catalyst for an enduring love affair with the technique.  I created this piece, 'Phoenician Scarab', for a 'Phoenician' challenge on the Beading Forum.


What would I do differently if I had my time again with this piece?  I would use better quality seed beads!  I have rarely worn this necklace, but the cheap silver-lined gold seed beads are looking rather ugly now.  The silver lining is turning black!  Lesson learnt, and now I only use the best quality Czech and Japanese seed beads ;-)  Aside from the cheap seed beads, I'm still rather happy with the design.  It's bright and bold...just my style!


Thanks for the trip down memory lane, Nicole!  Feel free to play along and critique your own sixth blog photo...make sure you leave a comment so I can come and take a look!


Thanks for looking, and be well!

Wind Dancer

When I was researching the humble hummingbird for this piece, I came across many stories of love and romance associated with these 'flying jewels'. One story I found particularly touching was an Apache myth about a young warrior named Wind Dancer. He could not hear, but he sang enchanting, wordless songs which brought fine weather and good health to those who heard him.

One day, he came across a young woman called Bright Rain who was being attacked by wolves. He rescued her and they fell in love. Shortly afterwards, Wind Dancer was attempting to rescue someone else and was tragically killed :(

His death heralded a terrible, bitter Winter which threatened the lives of many. The bitterly cold weather only ceased when Bright Rain started taking long solitary walks. Tribal elders discovered that her beloved Wind Dancer had been reborn in the form of a hummingbird, and appeared to her in fields of spring flowers. He would whisper magical secrets in her ear, and this brought her peace and joy.

After reading this touching story, Wind Dancer seemed an appropriate name for this piece. I'm always a sucker for a good lurve story :)

Hummingbird detail:

Fabric backing:

Clasp detail:

As you can see, after all my umming and arring, I went with a very simple clasp. Anything more would have been too OTT (over the top), me thinks.

So, one UFO (UnFinished Object) bites the dust...now onto the next one. Stay tuned!

Progress

The going is slow on my hummingbird collar, but I'm pleased to report that all I have left to complete is the clasp. And therein lies my dilemma...I have no idea what sort of clasp this piece *needs*. A bead-embroidered clasp? An S-clasp or toggle clasp? A bead-woven clasp? Any suggestions gratefully accepted!

Suggestions for boys names are also being accepted ;-) LOL

Here is the collar with the completed fringe:

And a close-up of the fringe:

I thought I would try a vertical, rather than horizontal, picot edge on this collar. Mostly to hide the foundation from showing through in a couple of places. I'm fairly happy with the result.

Hummingbird update

Just a quickie from me today.

I'm sitting here dripping in sweat from the heat and humidity, and my bun-in-the-oven is trying to kick me off the computer...from the inside. Cheeky little monkey is going to be a footballer, me thinks. Or a karate champion?

Anyway, I digress. Here are my latest happy snaps of the hummingbird collar in progress. It is still a long way off being finished, but I'm making progress as quickly as a fat, sweaty pregnant woman can. The backing is done and I've started work on the fringe.


And the backing...I was rather pleased to find this fabric with it's blue swirls being so similar to the swirls on the front of the collar. I think it works. Not so sure about the royal blue edging beads, but can I be bothered re-doing them? Nah. I figure they'll grow on me. Maybe...


Waddya think?

The Evolution of a Collar

Since I have made a pact with the lovely Sharon of Mana Moon Studios to catch and finish some UFO's (that is, Unfinished Objects...not alien spaceships), I thought I would post some photos as proof I am keeping my word ;-)

Here is how this collar has evolved over the last six months. Yes, you read correctly. It has been a work-in-progress for THAT long!

*hangs head in shame*

It all starts with inspiration, and a sketch. Not necessarily in that order. And not always with a sketch. In this case, I sketched first THEN looked for inspiration. Weird? Perhaps, but that's just how I roll.

My initial sketch

The end result is, quite often, absolutely nothing like my original idea. This piece is no different, as you will see. I wasn't sure if I wanted to bead hummingbirds or butterflies. After finding this gorgeous pic of a ruby-throated hummingbird, my mind was made up.

Inspiration (photo courtesy of http://www.gypsywind.com/)

I beaded one hummingbird and then, as so often happens when I begin beading, I decided to change my initial idea of three hummingbirds encircling the neck. Instead, my vision changed to a solitary hummingbird nestled amongst a garden of brightly hued blossoms.

The completed hummingbird

Well, I beaded flower after flower, and NOTHING worked. You can't even begin to imagine the amount of unpicking I had to endure.

*insert image of me ripping my hair out by the roots*

Most of my floral pieces are dimensional. However, dimensional flowers would engulf and overpower my 'flat' hummingbird. And flat flowers just wouldn't work. Or should I say, I couldn't make them work.

My 'work station'...a trusty 'ol Stable Table with a folded baby's swaddle cloth as a 'bead mat' to prevent beads rolling around. Yeah no expense spared, I went all out ;-)

So I gave up on the flower idea and decided I would create a simple background upon which my solitary hummingbird would take centre stage. As the background would also be 'flat', I wanted to create patterns which would create the illusion of movement and provide visual interest, without overpowering my hummingbird. Swirls were the solution.

Am I sick of blue beads yet...?

I tried many different colours and finishes of seed beads before I settled on the gorgeous transparent sky-blue beads sent to me by the very generous Nicole Campanella. It was rather fateful that these delicious seedies made their way into my life when they did...I think they compliment my hummingbird rather well.

So this is where I'm at. Swirls and swirls of blue beads.

I'm unsure how the finished collar will look, what fabric/backing will suit the collar, what style of clasp I will use, what kind of fringe (if any) will be required to compliment the piece, etc, etc. So many questions, so few answers. Trial and error is a large part of my beadwork. I rarely bead a piece from start to finish with a completed vision in my mind. I make things up as I go along. I like to live on the edge ;-) Heh.

Stay tuned for more progress photos!

Ivory & Lemon Pendant

Wearing jewellery is somewhat of a luxury for me these days.

My 15 month old daughter believes it's her duty to liberate me of any adornments. She has the strength of The Incredible Hulk, so my poor jewellery doesn't stand a chance. It's easier to just not wear jewellery anymore than try to grapple with her to pry my precious pieces from her powerful paws.

Being as I'm so adornment-deprived, I'll take any excuse to dress up and wear jewellery!

Our third wedding anniversary last month was the perfect excuse to wear one of my original creations as we were baby-free for a few hours. I'd started this pendant eons ago, and never got around to finishing it. Story of my beady-life, really. I had a particular outfit in mind when I chose this colourway, and it just so happened that I was wearing said outfit to dinner. Bingo, time to finish a UFO! (That is Unfinished Object, not alien spaceship, btw).

It is a bead-embroidered pendant, with a sprinkling of assorted beads and polymer clay roses created by my supremely talented Mum :) I had planned on hanging the pendant from a matching spiral rope, but time got the better of me (doesn't it always?), so I hung it from a simple strand of glass pearls which I'd had lying around collecting dust since my days of working in an office.

The waitress in the restaurant kept staring at my chest whenever she walked past our table. Either she really liked my pendant, or she really liked my cleavage. We'll never know.

Paradise in Purple (Heather's Garden)

I can finally post some photos of my latest creation. It was a hush-hush project, a Christmas present for my wonderful Mum :) And as she's my biggest fan, she's a frequent visitor to my blog (Hi Mum!) and I didn't want to spoil the surprise before Christmas.

So here it is...Paradise in Purple (Heather's Garden):

It is a bead embroidered choker-style necklace. Many, many hours work. It probably didn't help that I changed my mind at least three times during the process about what I was making...it started as a collar, then became a pendant, and ended up being a choker in it's final manifestation. Nooo, I'm not indecisive...maybe...

It includes some flowers made with simple fringing, a scattering of peyote leaves, and many different types of beads...and even a few... *gasp* ...sequins! I can hear almost hear the beading purists hissing at that admission. I'm not a bead snob, I use whatever works. So bite me!

I wanted to add something to the ends of the ribbon...they looked rather sad in their unadorned state. A jumble of mauve seed beads did the trick. I'm pleased with their berry-like appearance.

I used cotton fabric for the backing as I think it adds something special to the piece. Why shouldn't the back look as good as the front! As recommended by the lovely and always knowledgeable Bianca, rather than gluing the fabric straight to a felt backing (as I did in 'Hope Has a Place'), I used a layer of fusible interfacing between the fabric and the felt. It worked a treat! The finish is much nicer and fraying is not a concern as the edges of the fabric were first folded over and ironed flat. I just love the mind-boggling range of beautiful fabrics available, so it's a thrill that I can use them to good effect in my bead embroidery creations.



I'm pleased to report that Mum loves her new necklace. So much so that she's going to eat, sleep and shower whilst wearing it :)

Hope Has A Place

Here is my latest work...a pendant for Fiona, a friend of my Mum.

Fiona and I have never met, however she was kind enough to donate to me (through Mum) a number of beautiful necklaces which she no longer wears, with the hope that I could re-purpose the beads. These beautiful necklaces contain such treasures as Labradorite and Lapis. I'm saving these special beads for a special project.

Fiona is battling breast cancer...so I wanted to make a necklace both to thank her for her amazing generosity, and to empower her during her ongoing battle. I bought a beautiful Sodalite cabochon a few weeks ago and when I read up on the stone's properties, discovered that it promotes inner peace and belief in oneself. It was a perfect match!

Driving home one day and thinking of the pendant, Enya suddenly came on my iPod singing 'Hope Has A Place'. It seemed a fitting title for Fiona's pendant.



Pendant detail:



Back of pendant:



I've been wanting to try a fabric backing on my bead embroidered pieces, so Fiona's pendant was my first effort. I'm quite happy with the result and look forward to experimenting with this idea further. The beautiful patterns add a nice touch to the pendant, I think. Something different to the norm anyhow...which is always a good thing.

Celtic Twilight

The 'Tuatha De Danann' are an ancient race of Gods and Goddesses who feature in Celtic mythology. They are also this week's YOJ theme on the Beading Forum :D

Being of Celtic/Scottish descent, and a long-time lover of anything mythological and archaic, I couldn't pass up the chance to make something with a distinctly Celtic flavour.

And 'Celtic Twilight' is what I came up with:








I was particularly inspired by Brigid (pronounced 'Breet'), one of the more well-known of the Tuatha De Danann. She is considered a Celtic Triple Goddess, and I wanted to represent the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone into my piece...hence the three glass drops. The Celtic knotwork is a design which I found and modified to suit my design, and it hangs from an antique copper chain.

Sunflowers

Here is my latest and greatest.

Entitled 'Sunflowers', it was inspired by the sunflowers series of paintings by the master, Van Gogh. And predictably, it was made for another YOJ challenge on the Beading Forum...yes I know, I know, I'm an addict!

I started the large sunflower on Wednesday night, and the entire necklace was finished by Sunday morning. How's that for efficiency! Well, I haven't been getting much sleep lately with a teething 10 month old terror, so I figure I should make the most of my late nights by doing something constructive.

At this point, I'd like to thank my ever-supportive husband for putting up with my beading madness over the last few days. This necklace was BEGGING to be made, and it would still be a work in progress if it weren't for him. Thanks darling! *mwah*











I'm toying with the notion of entering it in the Bead & Gem Show Competition this year. However, as I only started beading earlier this year, I've never even been to the Sydney show and have no idea what the level of competition is like. Anyway, I may just try my luck...

Dracula's Tango

And finally, hot off the press, we come to my very latest completed piece...for yet another Beading Forum challenge (*Hello, my name is Belinda. I am a Beading Forum addict. It has been 2 days since I made a piece for a Beading Forum challenge...*)

This is without doubt the largest and most time consuming project I have tackled thus far. This little beauty clocked up at least 25 hours of work...mostly late nights while my munchkin was sleeping.

It was made using bead embroidery techniques...countless black seedies, a few red ones, black bicones, red glass drops (which have an uncanny resemblance to blood *mwahahah*) and *gasp* a couple of sequins for added bling.

As always, I wanted to avoid the usual cliches (bats, coffins, crosses, etc) and make something worthy of one of Dracula's innocent young conquests.

Embarrassingly, the name is inspired by a REALLY bad 80's song. I have no idea how that song found it's way onto my iPod...honest!











I'm quietly chuffed with this collar. Now if only I could wrangle a romantic dinner with my gorgeous hubby so I can wear it out...

Rambling Rose

My lovely mother made some beautiful polymer clay flowers at my request...

Her flair for clay play goes back to the 90's, when she used to create gorgeous brooches from polymer clay and bread-dough. You wouldn't guess that she hadn't made anything for about 15 years. As you can see, she's still got it!

I call this creation "Rambling Rose". It was my first attempt at making a spiral rope...it's a brilliant little stitch which works up satisfyingly fast.

I have worn this necklace often and it always elicits lovely comments (which I happily pass on to Mum...after all, it is a joint creation!)

Phoenician Scarab

Another Beading Forum challenge, another chance to learn a new technique.

This time it was bead embroidery.

I had some ceramic scarab beetles which I'd bought as a teenager...they seemed appropriate for the theme, so I dug them out and used them as the basis for my necklace. I knew I'd been keeping them for a reason *light bulb moment* I sewed one onto a piece of stiff felt and away I went.

Again, I had no real plan of attack when I started stitching...it's another piece which evolved of it's own accord. Can it be called 'designing' when you make something up as you go along? That's a loaded question...will file it away for a rainy day.

I fell head-over-heels for bead embroidery because of this piece. And it is still one of my favourite techniques. It almost feels like cheating though because it seems so easy compared to some off-loom techniques. Cheating or not, it is grrrrreat.

Here's my Phoenician Scarab:



And a close-up shot of the main pendant:



And a photo of the back of the pendant: