what do you do with a paper bead?

Well, make jewelery, of course! I have a tendancy to let my bead rest in a bowl, jar or box, but did need to make some samples for a class I'm going to be teaching at BeadFX, in Toronto. I'm not sure when it will appear on the schedule, but if you're interested, mark January 26th on your calendar (but call in December/January to reserve your space). I've been away from bead stringing for a while, but have been lusting after one or two necklaces that I've seen on the internet (and in the shops). The black/green necklace & bracelet are a study in simple elegance, while the green one with the chain and charms is my first attempt at a funky, mixed media necklace! And then there's the green bracelet. How did that come about? Could there be two sides of me? Shocking, I know, but that's the truth. How else could a creative type like myself work in finance for all those years? As intuitive as I am, that old self still nags me to be a little more organized. Sometimes I listen, and sometimes I don't! The black/green beads called out for the black Swarovski Pearls and silver accent beads (thanks Pam, for helping me with that decision). The chains were re-cycled from thrift or rummage sale finds and the large silver circles were plucked from the stash. The green necklace presented quite a problem. I was initially leaning towards a long string of beads, separated by tarnished brass rounds. I made it and hated it!! Way too much green! Then I had a brainwave and decided to make a charm necklace, using only a few of the beads. I included wire wrapped beads, a tarnished brass spiral, thrift store chain and a resin paper leaf. My wire wrapping is a little rusty, but you get the picture. Rustic and out there! Perhaps a little deranged, but I like it! Then I had another dilemma. The rest of the green beads were sitting on my worktable, giving me the stink eye! Gulp! What to do, what to do? A cuff!!! Of course a cuff was the solution. Luckily, I had just enough beads left. Ladder stitch with Fireline thread, embellished with size 11 seed beads on Nymo. I'm happy and the beads stopped giving me the evil eye!! Whew!!! Take that you greenies! Still a few black/green beads left, so perhaps I should make some earrings. Either that, or another charm necklace. No green beads, but I do have a nice set of denim coloured ones that are just waiting to be dipped in their final coating. Not this week, but perhaps next!

So, what do you think of my latest obsession? Of course, they're not the only things that I've been working on. I finished my latest BJP leaf and have temporarily solved the how to hang dilemma for my dominos. I say "temporarily" because there's definitely more than one way to hang those 'suckas' so keep tuned! Photography of beads on the black background, by Deborah Milton.

beads and a paper bowl

I'm developing an intuitive bead embroidery class, so thought that I could combine it with my totally neglected 2013 BJP series. I loved the process and the original intent, but life and work got in the way this year. Now that I've been gifted with more time (I'm no longer working), I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to dust off my original plan. I wanted to make 12 leaves of the same size and shape and turn them into a necklace. Well, now I've got a new plan! The necklace would have been weighty, just a bit distracting and impractical to wear. Now I'm more attracted to the idea of making different leaf shapes and turning them into individual pendants (that I'm more likely to wear). I'm not sure how many I will make, so will only commit to the last three of the 2013 series. I don't want to work backwards, so I say onwards and upwards!! The backing is Lacey's Stiff Stuff and the piece contains a lovely stone cabochon (some type of turquoise), a mix of beads, crystals and pearls, old jewelry findings, button, watch parts and a copper spring (that I wound myself on a very small knitting needle). This leaf is 1 1/2" wide and 3 1/2" long, so you can see that I could not go as wild as I like to with my embellishments. Stitches used are back , peyote, stacked, flower and bocce/boucle. I'm very happy to be back in the game again and cannot wait to start my second leaf. I have not had any journal type thoughts yet, but if I continue for a while, I'm sure that the leaves will start whispering.

Now on to the second part. I made another bowl a couple of weeks ago, but never got around to posting. It's made from Gelli Printed tissue paper, teabags (on the inside) and skeleton leaves (craft store ones). The tissue was too thin and left the bowl a little unstable, so I needed to strengthen it with varnish. I'm not sure that I like the shiny look, but I do like the bowl and love the marks that were made with the Gelli print. In addition, I find the colour scheme to be quite soothing.

The chicken is in the pot and the sun is shining. I think it's time to play for a while........