The high school my sister works at is supposed to be having a rummage/craft/bake sale the end of the month, assuming final approval goes through. I am renting a booth. It’s been good motivation to get to work on some things. I just wish I had gotten all my bead stuff reorganized before needing to concentrate on getting projects completed. It takes forever to find some things. There have been positives too though, because I’ll have to look through every case and drawer and then I come across things I hadn’t thought about. I almost have the whole kitchen bench covered with stuff I brought out to work with. Every time I go to get stuff for one thing I think of something else I could do too. My brain has been all over the place!

I keep having to remind myself too that I need to keep a lot of it more simple so I can get more made. I keep wanting to do more time consuming pieces with more detail and skipping over simple stuff. Of course sometimes I manage to even make single strand stuff time consuming. I worked on a necklace/ bracelet set for like 2 hours yesterday because I had a smaller number of pink Swarovski crystals and kept having to change the design to get them spread out enough to use in both. Couldn’t spare enough for earrings so for those I substituted pink seed beads to keep the colors in tune.

I did make it in time to get beaded heart quilt squares done for the 2009 breast cancer quilt.

Here is the link for the completed quilt pages.  They are so cool all put together!

I did 4 squares. I am number 7 on BC097 and numbers 2,3,4 on BC098.

Shanigansbeadshenanigans.comBCQuilts09

My Oma doesn’t have much space in her apartment and is trying to find homes for lots of her knickknacks and collectibles and doesn’t mention much that she needs….so it is really hard to figure out gifts for her.  I made a  peyote pattern for a pocket tissue holder and barely started it a couple months ago before I realized it was going to take awhile to get it done and was more complicated that I realized.  So I put that on hold….that will have to be a Christmas present.

Then came Mother’s Day……what to get the woman who has everything?  For her birthday in April my husband and I had to resort to a cute Snoopy, her favorite candy, and a fun framed photo of me.  So all of the non home made ideas were recently used.   My mind automatically went back to the tissue holder (Oma and I are bonded by horrible allergies)….but there was no way I could get that done in time, so I opted for a full size tissue box cover.

“How is bigger a solution?” you ask?  Well, it wouldn’t be if I did it all in seed bead stitching, so I went with fabric and bead embroidery (I guess you would call it embroidery).  Again, something I’ve never done before and it was a little last minute when I finally figured out how I was going to do it.  But, it was fun and it turned out really well.  As I was doing it, I was thinking of ways it could have been easier….like when I was trying to knot off thread from the inside of the tissue box while in a moving car, but I was working for speed as well as looks so I may have still picked the best way for this particular project.

Here is how it went:

1. Cut plastic count canvas to a little larger than the size of tissue box (the sheets with the medium sized squares….bigger means floppier, not good with a tissue box cover).  This is the base.
2. Sew together base pieces.  I used double thread…..but hind sight says it may have been better if I had used cord or ribbon, something a bit thicker.
3. Cut 1 piece of fabric and fold over base like wrapping paper.  I used a piece of fabric that already had some stitching and sequins on it so that the fabric didn’t look so bare where I didn’t have any bead work.
4. Sew just a little down the sides where the fabric is folded over (it doesn’t need much to stay).  Fold the bottom into the inside of the base and stitch like a hem.
5. Cut an X in the center of the box (where the tissues come out).
6. Use desired beads, buttons, etc. to add designs to cover.  I used buttons, seed beads and some flower and leaf beads.
7. Tuck the corners of the X under the base and stitch beads onto the top of the tissue box (to hide the stitch marks).

It turned out pretty well I think.  I didn’t get a picture….will have to snap some next time I visit.  My Oma really liked it

The hardest part was sewing the beads into this small space that was the inside of the tissue box.  A few times the thread tangled and knotted without me realizing it so I had to cut loops and sew the thread back into the inside.  As mentioned earlier, knotting off end threads was the worst.  I didn’t want to do it on the outside where it would show, and when I was doing the top of the box it was even harder to do working with short thread from the oval opening….but it still worked.  I suppose I could have beaded over the fabric before sewing it onto the base, but it would have been very hard to get everything lined up correctly.  The only other option I could think of was sewing each fabric panel onto each side of the base and then decorating before putting the base together.  That however seemed like it would take longer.  It would definitely have shown the stitching more….and easy count grid or no, I don’t have very great looking stitches so I bypassed that idea very quickly.

I’ll be working on the bead embroidery some more though.  I have always shied away from bead embroidery since I am not a fan of regular embroidery…..but it does offer much more freedom than sticking to peyote and brick stitch, etc.  I am excited for the announcement to go out for the next bead quilt project (Beaders Against Breast Cancer) so I can try some things out (not that I have to have a reason, but it helps a lot).

Believe it or not I’ve been wanting to get some blogging done the last few weeks, but the site has been in transition to a new server.  It’s all back up now so here are some of the pictures I promised:

Attempt at peyote stitch without a patter....result:cartoon flower

These were my attempts at roses for the rose bead quilt project (Beaders Against Breast Cancer).  For two I used patterns, but I was using regular seed beads  and for one piece there were two different sized beads so it was un-even.  I had one turn out really well that I did with all Delicas in a purple and pink rose, but as mentioned I made it into a magnet for my grandma for Christmas.

Later looking at some of the other pieces turned in for the bead quilt, my size issues might have been ok, but I didn’t realize that at the time.  Now I know for future reference that even though the rules say it has to be exact that there is a little bit of leeway.

Well my blogging last year barely started, much less lasted.  I haven’t done much beading yet either aside from a few gifts and requests, and that’s sad because I really love it.  It’s just that like other things I enjoy that require effort (lol) I have to push myself to do them or make the time to do them, but them once I get into it I’m going at it for awhile.

So, I ended up not doing the beading party for the beaders against breast cancer quilt squares last year.  I started working on them and decided it would be too hard to do with non beaders unless they wanted to do the kid made projects, plus I started working on them later than planned and it ended up being harder than I thought.  I did two squares with regular seed beads instead of Delica’s and ugh, I just did not like how un-even everything ended up looking.  I tried to fix them up, but wasn’t sucessful.  I couldn’t send them in because it didn’t make a straight enough square, when sewn in with other quilt pieces there would be gaps and it would look horrible.

It was totally a learning experience.  In addition to that, I also discovered that I really need to double check that I am using the exact same size seed beads, but even that still doesn’t look as good as with Delica beads.  I accquired a couple craft boxes full of strung seed beads that my uncle found at an estate sale.  I had guessed that they were all size 11/0 and didn’t pay too much attention when I started using them with my other 11/0 beads.  Once I got 5 or 6 rows done in the patter though it was obvious.  I had used one kind for the back ground another for the rose petals (the theme was roses) and another for the stem).  The effect of just a little size difference really threw things off, creating something that looked like the middle had shrunk or the type of effect that happens when you accidentally put an iron on shirt in the dryer and it is too hot and partially melts (although that is exagerating a bit I guess).

I didn’t have too many Delica or Treasure beads, but use what I had to make one square and it looked pretty good.  But by the time I got that done it was nearing the deadline and when I rechecked the site for the deadline info I realized I had the date wrong.  I believe it was April 1st and I thought it was April 11th so I had ended up not having enough time to get it attached to the background material and mailed to the location in Alaska.

It was good practice though.  I don’t have a picture of the good one.  I’ll add pictures of the the failed attempts.  I also did one that had a good back ground, but my try at making a 3-D rose just looked like a knotted clump of beads in the end.

I’m getting things together to start working on some bead quilt pieces for the Beaders Against Breast Cancer project I talked about in an earlier post. I know…… my first try is later than I had planned. (We just got moved into our new house!)

Anyway, I was just looking at the shanigansbeadshenanigans.com website and the first thing I see is mention of my birthday “August 22nd”. The woman behind this bead quilt project got it started to honor her mother. What caught my eye was a note next to a pattern saying she created it to honor her mother on what would have been her 80th birthday. So her mom’s birthday is my birthday. Kinda strange…but cool. It’s making me really want to try out the pattern more. Unfortunately it specifically requires Delica beads of which I only have one color and they cost a bit more than regular seed beads of which I have several of. I think I’ll try to figure out a way to use the Pink Delicas that I do have as the flower petals and then use use my 11-0 beads as an overlay to show the shape…..we’ll see if it works out. If that doesn’t work I’ll try something else. If I can remember to stop and take pictures while I’m getting started I’ll post them.

My little sister is getting married in just a few weeks!

Ever since she told me, I had selfish dreams about making her fun wedding jewelry and even told her I’d do it all for free! But when we got to looking into what she wanted to do, it was something kinda simple yet very purty and the prices we were seeing were good enough that it would probably end up a bit cheaper that way (as I’d have to buy whole strands of things instead of just a few beads) so she ended up buying pieces……..or at least those are the reasons I give my self when I feel sad about not getting to make ultra fancy wedding jewelry again like I did for my friend Faedra’s wedding a few years ago.

She and her mother were so awesome. She had an idea of something she wanted me to go off of and the three of us went to the bead store and picked out the components and they paid for everything, plus extra because they were really worried that I wouldn’t have enough. Some of the things were like packages of earrings, etc. which we only needed 3 pair or we ended up with an extra strand or two of some kinds of beads because we changed up the pattern after purchasing. I offered to pay for any materials not used in the wedding jewelry, but her mother turned me down flat. She said any extra was a thank you. I’m still getting to stare at those thank you beads as I haven’t had many requests for that type of jewelry and plus because I always hate to use them, I always like having some kinds of beads just to have them. (I know, I’m crazy) I’ve been drooling at the hopes of having more wedding jewelry to design so I can incorporate some of it or get to buy more and have additional leftover pretties to add to my collection!

Here is the set I did for Faedra. Swarovski Crystal and Swarovski Glass Pearls with Sterling Silver beads and bead caps. The set is made up of: A Two Strand Necklace, Bracelet, Earrings, and veil clip. This was a lot of fun!!! She had seen a piece done leaving open bead wire as a stringing technique and showed it to me and I made up my own design. I have to admit that at first I really had a hard time with it being “ok” to show the stringing material as usually the object is to hide it, but I really love the idea now. I ended up making a similar more simple jewelry set for myself using some of the leftover White Swarovski Glass Pearls, along with some Swarovski Crystals I already had and Man Made Black Onyx. That is now one of my favorite sets of jewelry…..plus, it’s black and white so it goes with almost anything.

This is the set I made for her Bride’s Maids. The earrings on the left were a test run of something more unique, but I decided the simpler ones on the right would be better for the occasion. The Bride’s Maids had a 1 Strand Necklace, Bracelet, and Earrings using the Swarovski Crystal Pearls, Swarovski Crystal, and Gold Filled beads and bead caps along with a very pretty pendant Faedra wanted them to have that they could remove and wear on a simple chain if they wanted after the wedding.

So, know anyone planning a wedding?

Note: Even if you’re not into beading, please click on the links throughout this post and share their information with others.

I don’t always end up reading the articles in my Bead & Button magazine unless I am working on a project that needs special inspiration, or need instruction on how to make something, etc. I don’t know why, really, because I always love what I read…..I guess I just like picture browsing.

That said, I’m learning that I really should be paying attention to what’s written in it. I’ve had the December issue for a few weeks now and just started to pay attention to the titles of the articles and began reading the stories on my lunch break today. The subject of one article in particular was about a project called Bead It Forward, a bead quilting project that when completed will be donated to Bead Artists Against Breast Cancer for their annual auction. The woman behind this project is not only a very talented beader, but also a very driven and caring human being who should be an inspiration to all. Her name is Jeanette Shanigan, and her website is http://shanigansbeadshenanigans.com/index.html . The bead quilt is not only for a great cause, but it looks a lot of fun to make. The link above provides detailed information on the project, rules, patterns, as well as pictures of submissions for this year’s quilts and the quilts from 2007. People are invited to donated 1 1/2 squares of a beaded quilt piece to go towards the finished quilt. Each donator is asked to submit 1 square and pass three fabric pieces out to 3 other beaders to complete. The deadline this year is April 1st, 2008. Of course more than 1 square is welcome. This year’s quilt theme is “Life is beautiful like the rose, but beware of thorns.” so all the quilt pieces are of roses.

I’ve never done a quilt piece before, and generally I am not fond of bead embroidery, but I’ve done things similar and I’m determined to contribute to this cause. I’ve made projects that seem much more complicated, and they have free patterns available for children, so how hard could it be for me? Right? Right! I really want to have a little craft party with people to make a bunch of these, NOW, haha. Unfortunately, that would be a little hard with the holidays coming right up, my sister’s wedding in December, and my husband and I’s move in January. Maybe I’ll be able to get together with a few people sooner, but I plan to do a big party with all the crafty folk I know once we’re settled in our new home. I’m going to look into the other kinds of bead crafts that can be donated, that way we can have fun creating all types of pieces to share. I also want to make a bunch of beads to donate to Beads of Courage, a program that gives beads to children struggling in the fight against cancer a special bead to track each hardship they have overcome.

This weekend I am going to make a visit to the craft/fabric store in search of the specific fabric that is supposed to be used for the base of the quilt piece, white pellon peltex 70 ultra firm stabilizer. I am already learning things from this project because I had no idea there was a specific type of stuff you were supposed to use for this kind of thing. I used stiff felt for the 3D hummingbird I made my grandmother for her birthday earlier this year (I have to go visit and take a picture so I can post it). I wonder what the difference is. I guess I won’t have to wonder long though since “this weekend” starts tomorrow, hehe!

I will post pictures of the quilt pieces I make as I am working on them, and when they’re completed. That way anyone who’s interested can see what the process looks like. This will be interesting considering they’re roses. I usually get stuck even drawing a rose, so I may need to have someone sketch something for me to work off of.

Wish me luck and Bead It Forward!

Haven’t blogged in awhile. I was holding off a bit so things wouldn’t be so old once the Gallery page got fixed up a bit. Thanks to the hubby for getting it all organized. The next step is being able to put additional info about the pieces (i.e. what they’re made) of underneath the pictures, but I’ll be working on that and keeping up the blog.

I honor of the holiday tomorrow here are the Halloween earrings I made a few years ago. They’re fun little ones made out of buttons and seed beads. The Dancing Skeletons are my favorite!

Happy Halloween!!!

It wasn’t until I was about done cleaning out and organizing my bead board case and my “recent” (haha) purchases that it dawned on me… [Read more →]