Bead Journal Project for June, 2009. Bead embroidery on three fabrics. Sometimes when life gets too busy and stressful, I forget about my ongoing need to stay in touch with the river, the internal life of the soul, the spiritual flow, the source of love, wisdom and peace. This whole month, I hardly touched the river at all. When finally I felt the dryness, I knew I needed to make myself a visual reminder.
I love these fun flowers. I have seen them all over blogland! I love all the different ways that people have come up with using them! Here’s how I did mine. First I cut out a bunch of circles from this sheer fabric I found at JoAnn’s. (I hate to say this… but I…
Here are some photos of the owl buttons I have been making for my shop on Not on the high street.com since last year, I have started making them in batches like these, so I can keep better hold on how many I have. These are the buttons that have just been made so they are still soft at this stage. Once fired I coat half of them in the teal glaze or the moss green glaze you see below. The white buttons are left unglazed, the others either have a teal glaze or a moss green colour fired onto them.
Yes, there are white ones too! My loopy French knots, glass beads, couching and embroidery. 3” square, 5” framed SOLD www.chursinoff.com/kirsten/
In the corner of my studio is a basket of random odds & ends with no home, like a junk drawer. While cleaning this morning, I decided that today's challenge will be to use some of that junk to make miniature things for a doll house sized living room (I love anything miniature). The couch is actually from a doll house, and the little dog is a Monopoly piece. Putting the miniatures together was ridiculously easy and made a bit more room in my junk basket. Here's what I used: Four robin's egg blue golf tees stand as legs for this mini end table. Because they are from a yard sale, I don't know anything about the company that stamped its phone number on them. Ten Scrabble pieces glued to cardboard create a wooden tabletop. If you want a tiny dining table, this could be made with twenty five pieces instead of ten. A tiny plastic cherub figurine adhered to a button forms the base for this lamp. The shade is blue paper cut from a shopping bag with lace wrapped around a juice bottle lid. To prevent the lamp shade from covering the figurine's face, two little beads are glued to its head adding height. Vintage lamps remind me of my Grandma Patterson's beautiful old house in Oxford. The rooms were filled with treasures like this. This acorn topped mini lantern was put together using two buttons as the base. Two segments of wire bent into a U shape and glued in the acorn top produce the frame. White Perler beads beads give the effect of mini candles. This lantern only had space for one. To make the little lantern more elegant, it is crowned with a pearl sewing pin snipped short and pushed into the top. Natural sea shells in a pretty bowl look nice in any room. The base of my teeny bowl is an ivory colored tie tack (I think that's what it is, anyway) and a large matching button. I collected the little shells in Florida a few years ago during spring break. All of the items have been sitting around for months, nothing was purchased for this. The challenge of using whats on hand is a fun creative exercise. Try it for yourself and post your pictures of the miniatures you come up with!
textile artist photography and mixed media - Carolyn Saxby Textile Art St Ives Cornwall
Recently I followed a pattern to make an item that other people had also made. When I had finished making my piece, I noticed how my item looked in comparison to the ones made by others. What were the differences in mine to the others? Tension, tension, tension How do you get good tension? It is all in the way you hold your thread when beading. I notice with beginners they have a tendency to sit the work on their bead mat, place the bead on their needle with their left hand and then pull the thread through the beads. There is absolutely no tension kept on the work at all. I immediately tell them to pick it up and I show them how to hold the work, hold the tension and pick up beads with the needle. I hold the needle in my right hand and the work between my thumb and index finger in my left hand with the thread placed over the index finger. The image shows how the thread is draped over my index finger and the middle finger is holding that in place and keeping the thread firm. As I place new beads and pull the thread through the work my middle finger lifts up then comes back down to my index finger to hold the tension in the thread. Not keeping that tension makes your work loose. Sometimes I want a very firm tension so I give the thread a good tug and the middle finger lifts and drops into play to hold that tension in place. It becomes all automatic like machine parts doing their job. Drawbacks in too tight a tension There are beaders who are unbelievably tight in their tension, how they do that is beyond me. I often wonder if the thread is hurting their hands. The difficulty with super-tight tension is * you have problems getting the needle through the beads as there is no room for movement * your work can end up looking stiff and not move nor curve how you want. * too stiff causes threads, or beads, to break and the work may come undone. Personally, I achieve good tension by sewing my work twice. It is just what I do. I found early in bead-weaving that with sewing twice: * beads sit better * you can see the bead pattern * the work feels better * less chance my work gets pulled out of shape if I snag my thread * added strength to my creations, they won’t fall apart * an overall better look and presentation of the finished product. To the right is an image of two right angle weaves. One has been sewn once each step and one has been sewn twice each step. Both are an 8 rows wide x 4 rows high RAW. Just by looking at the samples it is clear which sample has been sewn twice. You can see the lay of the beads very ordered and firmly in place. If you were embellishing the twice sewn sample you would know exactly which beads to embellish into as the pattern is obvious. Less risk of your work going out-of-shape because everything is firmly in place and has two threads keeping it that way. But it goes further than that, picking these samples up and comparing the feel you notice the twice sewn sample is more substantial and how the once sewn sample is floppy/flimsy. If you were a customer buying, I am sure you would take the one that felt stronger and the most substantial. Exceptions to the to rule If I am making a spiral rope, a peyote band, netting etc I don't sew these twice so there are exceptions. Recently Mikki Ferrugiaro posted her video on her rolled peyote edges bangle. In this video Mikki shows how soft tension is necessary when doing her pattern for her bangles. Click on the link to see her sew with a loose tension and get the idea. Also take note on how Mikki holds her work and thread. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzRugKDRahk Another time you need soft tension is with fringing. Fringing needs to swing and sway in the jewellery design so a soft tension is required. I have found FireLine too hard for a soft fringe and I recommend Nymo for fringing as it is much softer. I am sure there are other products but not being much of a fringing person I have not tried them. I do not wish to give the idea that tight/firm tension is the 'rule' for beading but rather a 'guide'. Learning how to do all types of tensions and knowing when to use them is important. Often the tension relates to the design. For instance when sculpting with beads multiple sewings and tight tension is definitely required. I urge you to experiment with tensions to discover what works for you, along with seeing how your finished items appear with a firm tension. If your fingers have difficulty holding the thread firmly then get into the habit of sewing twice. Also, I urge you to know when to use the varying tension types to achieve the look you desire in your work. When you have these skills and know what works for you, then be surprised at how much better your work looks and feels. The difference in your finished creations will also be noticed by others. Happy Beading.
Can you stand ANOTHER chalk paint testimonial? I've read them all! I soak up all of the tips from seasoned chalk paint aficionados! We all know that this paint is a little pricey and I wanted to know EVERYTHING about it before I plunked down that kind of cash. Well, how lucky was I to WIN a can of chalk paint! Kim from Truly Tattered and Debbie from 'Round the Coop (fantabulous blogs and I INSIST you visit them ASAP) co-sponsored a giveaway and I was the winner, winner, chicken dinner! The day I received the paint I IMMEDIATELY grabbed my paint brush, my super ugly brass lamp, my paint can opener and I was off and running to the workshop to make some chalk paint magic. Well, imagine my surprise to discover that chalk paint is worth every penny of that high price because my 'ready to be thrown in the garage sale box' lamp turned into 'why was I looking for a new lamp when the one I already have is beautiful' lamp! My button shade (remember when I posted about that?) now looks even better on a lamp that is worthy of the shade's uniqueness. The paint color is Country Grey. From studying all the tips and instructions, this is how I painted the lamp. I just wiped the lamp down with a baby wipe (great tip BTW). I barely dipped my paint brush into the paint because I didn't want to waste a single drop. It covers very nicely but I've NEVER painted anything that didn't need a second coat so a second coat I did paint. I found that the chalk paint dries VERY quickly (maybe because I was working in 95 degree heat!) so this project didn't take me long at all. I then lightly sanded the lamp (oh, my gosh does this distress wonderfully and yes, it is a little messy). Working in small sections, I used a brush (again dipping very little) to apply clear wax and immediately brushed on (dipping even LESS) some dark wax and wiped off (again with the baby wipes) the amount of dark wax until I was satisfied. When I was finished with the whole lamp, I applied a light coat of clear wax and buffed to a shine. And voila! I think my lamp turned out as beautiful as the painted tin that Debbie also sent! I have jumped on the chalk paint bandwagon and I'm NEVER getting off! I was so in love with the results of my lamp, I drug my grandmother's vanity out to the workshop and continued chalk painting away! Yup, lovin it! Here are a couple of other observations from an unskilled but going to get better painter -- The dark wax is VERY dark. Use VERY sparingly! The wax also dries VERY quickly so wipe off what you don't want immediately! Don't try to clear wax the whole thing and then go back to apply the dark wax. Works much better when working in sections. One of those fancy schmancy round brushes would be ideal! I found that my cheap, flat bristle brush was more or less ruined trying to get into the details of the wood and I didn't have that many details on either piece. I'm sure there is a sure fire way to clean the wax brushes but needless to say, the brushes I used will only be used for wax from now on. I can't stress enough how little of the paint needs to be on the brush to get good coverage. After 2 coats on the lamp and 2 coats on the vanity, I probably didn't use more than 3/4" of the paint. The wax is the trick to make any piece look and feel like a professional did it. All of the furniture I have previously painted with latex paint will be getting a coat of clear wax in the future. If you have hesitated about chalk paint and couldn't quite believe how wonderful every one says it is, I encourage you to bite the bullet, buy some and try it for yourself. It just so happens that you can get it from Debbie! Just my opinion, but all of blogdom can't be all wrong, right? Now, go out and paint something pretty! ps - since this is kinda white, I'm linking to Faded Charm's White Wednesday
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Re-Scape Inspired Recycling, Apex, NC. 1,109,153 likes · 71,868 talking about this. Rescape is Inspired Recycling! Hi! I'm Brenda, bringing you recycling inspiration from the simple to the sublime!...
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I’m getting ready for Christmas season, how about you? I’m drinking hot cocoa, watching Hallmark Christmas movies… I’ve even started humming some Christmas carols around the house! (Yes, I’m one of th
Beaded all over with light ivory artificial pearls, this dreamy tulle wedding cape ALMETA creates an elegantly layered effect, bring dimension and romance to your bridal look. It is a perfect bridal cover up for elegant minimalist wedding. Details: - 100% nylon beaded tulle (artificial pearls) - white colour - centre front, neck, shoulders and centre back seams beading (silver glass seed beads) - button front closure - centre back godet - center back length is approx. 2.5 m (98.4 in) - dry clean only, cool iron reverse side only, handle garment with care Any irregularities in fabric, beading or embroidery are the result of the creation process and are integral to the beauty of this item. Price for bridal cape only. VLADA dress, MARIA corset and ELLA skirt are not included.
Our beautiful pair of embroidered panels by Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh, wife of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, have returned from their exhibition tour of Japan. The exhibition, entitled Klint’s Golden Rider and Vienna: Celebraring the 150th Anniversary of Klimt’s Birth, has been travelling around various galleries and museums in Japan since late 2012. Since the Aichi […]
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I told you ladies that I was going to wait until I finished the nursery name artwork for above Baby Girl’s crib before I spilled the beans on what we chose for her name. Now that the artwork is done…
Welding Plastics: LED Flower: I decided to write a small series of Instructables to show that there are a lot of things you can make out of plastic bottles and how easy the plastic welding process is. As I mentioned in my previous Instructable, I found welding plastics quite enj…
