February Piece Finished

Here is my February piece finally finished.  (If you would like to read how this piece started, go can back a couple posts to get up-to-date.)  I had many challenges, and maybe some personal revelations, while creating this one.  As you can see, these are not traditional Valentine's Day colors (much to my little Sara's chagrin).  I was inspired by the colors in the pendant, and after all, I am a little less than traditional in a lot of ways.  I make my own way about things and don't necessarily beat to the same drum.  Well, I did put in some hearts for the traditional Valentine's Day (although in amethyst and copper), but I wanted something a little different to express what my love for my husband and children was like.  I was happy to find a wonderful assortment of elements at Artbeads to embellish with, and I decided to go with flowers.  They start out as little seedlings, they need water and nourishment and attention and then they slowly grow more beautiful each day.  Maybe the large heart pendant is like a sun looking down on the whole thing, shining love over it all.  Or maybe that's a little too corny.  I don't know.  These things all crossed my mind as I was stitching away.

I had 10 amethyst hearts but for some reason I only wanted to use 6 in my design.  Then it dawned on me...as I was making my little fans that look to me like pretty flowering bushes, there are 6 of us in my family, so there is one to represent each of us.  I almost didn't use the antique copper hearts, but at one moment in time they begged to be put on, so I did, but only two.  They are solid, weighted beads...they are not cheap, flimsy little things (I highly recommend them).  And I thought it was like me and Jeff...we are solid in our relationship and very grounded now.  There was a time when we weren't (which is a whole completely different long story), but now we are at a very good, solid place.  And that's what these copper hearts made me think of.

And then there were a series of pathways, each leading in a different direction, but isn't that really how it goes?  And the different little patches surrounding the vines and flowers reminded me of a birds eye view of the landscape.  So, to me this piece represents my family, our love, our paths, our growth, our roots, both at eye level and from up high to look down on the whole picture.  I'm afraid this sounds so silly and sappy, but I'm being honest with all the thoughts that went through my head as I made it.  Sometimes when I look at it, it's all cohesive, and other times I look at it and it seems complicated.  But I guess that's just how life is.

Your comments and feedback are always welcome and appreciated.

Love Blossoms

You can click for a larger view, too.   Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

February Elements

Here are some elements to my February piece.  It's nearing completion, but I didn't want to show the whole thing until it's done.  So you just get to see little bits for now.

Oops...one of my little hearts got twisted.  Just noticed that.  Will have to fix it.  Anyways, I decided to make these little fans using my 8mm amethyst hearts.  I love the facets on them, and I think they make nice reflections.

Then, I wasn't sure if I was going to fit in my antique copper heart beads, but I found a nice little spot for two of them, nestled in a little pathway surrounded by wildflowers.  ha...I just noticed my thread from my needle going through the pic.  Oh well, I never claimed to be a photographer!!!

The last little bit is the quilted heart where the pendant will go.  This is not how it's going to look when it's done.  This is the underlying beaded area that will peek through the cutouts in the pendant.

Now, I have a dilemma.  Remember my cute little flower vines in the previous post?  I'm trying to figure out how to bead around them without over-powering them.  I'm thinking I'm going to use lighter shades of pink tones and just do a simple backstitch around them.  If I put in too much texture or design, I think you won't be able to notice the delicate vines and little flowers.  What do you think?

I should be done in the next couple days...maybe even tomorrow.  We'll see!!!

Disclaimer:  Artbeads.com has supplied me with free products to use and review on my blog.  I am not being compensated in any way for my honest opinions of their products.

February's Love in Progress

Ok, so I thought I'd show you the beginning stages of my February BJP piece.  As usual, it's not coming out as I had it in my head.  The theme, of course, is "love"...but love what?  Originally I had thought about "Showered with Love".  I had in my head to do some kind of cool rain affect, but I just couldn't figure out how.  I think if I was using regular bugle beads it would have worked better.  But it was just not meant to be.  I had already chosen to use the Cat's Eye Rectangular Tubes, and I am happy with that decision...because it IS meant to be.  What I like about the Cat's Eyes is, first of all, they are a little different.  They have the same general look as a bugle, but they are much more substantial.  It just gives a different twist to using standard bugles.  Another thing I like is their finish.  It's very satiny and I think it is really beautiful.  I'm afraid my pic won't do them justice.  And then I also like the fact that all the end edges are smooth, unlike bugles which have sharp edges on the ends that can cut the thread.  There is no need to use seed beads on the ends to protect your thread. 

So I started with the vines and the flowers.  I was very happy with the way they turned out.  I used an odd shade of green trasparent/lined seed bead along with a copper color to twist around to make the vines.  Then I used the Smoked Resin Buttercup Flower in topaz and the Czech Glass Bell Flowers to dress them up.  I also thought the 6mm Glass Hearts made the most adorable little flower buds on the vines! :)  I was thinking of the vines and flowers and how love grows and blossoms...I'm very happy with the way they turned out.  Now, what to do next?  THAT was the problem!!!    (side note:  a funny thing my 8 year old Sara said...she thought the Czech Bell Flowers looked like chocolate chips.  Guess who was hungry for a snack before bed! lol)

I took out some other hearts in amethyst and copper along with the Cat's Eyes and put them down on the fabric in MANY different ways.  And I have to admit, I was beginning to have a lot of anxiety over the whole thing.  (For those of you who don't know, I am bipolar and also have terrible anxiety issues).  Beading has always been my calmness, but last night it was quite the opposite.  I told my husband that my anxiety was getting high.  He asked why and I said I thought because I wanted to do these beads from Artbeads justice and I was worried over it.  He quite simply said that I'm just supposed to have fun with it.  Ok, let's make it a little more simple and a lot less stressful.  So I dumped all the loose beads off the fabric and went back to basics.  First, I am journaling about love.  The love of my husband.  The love of my kids.  The rest of my family and friends.  It is nurtured and watered and fed and then it grows more beautiful each day.  I sat with that feeling for a few minutes.  Then I went back to Robin's basics.  When you don't know what to do next, make a beaded pathway.  I can do that!  Instead of the bugle beads I would normally use, I used the Cat's Eyes to make a curved path.  Then I chose another seed bead in a reddish-purplish color to start making another path under it.  Then I thought it kind of reminded me of a hill, so I decided to make another Cat's Eye hill.  I think what I'll do next is make a few strips of different colors and/or stitches under each one.  That will keep me busy for a little while until the next revelation hits me and I feel what I should do next.  I would say "know" what to do next...but that wouldn't be accurate.  I never "know" what to do!  "Feel" what to do is more accurate for me.

So, here it is...my February piece on Love in progress.  How do you think it's going so far?  (Please ignore the fabric.  It will be covered, and I really don't like it with this project, but it's what I had on hand.)  Also, you can click on it for a larger view.

disclaimer:  Artbeads.com has sent me free products to use and review on my blog.  I am not being compensated in any way for my honest opinions of their products.

Sneaky Peak for February!

I am so excited that I got my Artbeads.com order today!!!  It was like Christmas.  Everything is so beautiful, shiny and sparkly...gotta love that!  So, I decided I'd give you a sneak peak as to what I will be using in my February Bead Journal piece...

First up, I have 6mm Glass Hearts in amethyst and 8mm Crystalized Hearts also in amethyst.  The facets on the crystalized hearts are very cool!  I tried to put them in slightly different positions so you could see how the light reflects off them.  I have a piece that lavender in it, and I thought the amethyst would go nicely. 

I honestly love these two.  The pearlescent finish on the Cat's Eye is wonderful.  Simply luscious!  I was very surprised by the weight of the Antique Copper Celtic Hearts.  They are no flimsy cheap beads, that's for sure!  And I love Celtic designs, so I'm happy to be working with that in my next project.  I'm definitely going to have to get more of this type in the future.

I thought these Czech Glass Large Bell Flowers in amethyst and Matte Smoked Topaz Resin Buttercup Flowers would make a nice addition to all the hearts I've picked out for my Bead Journal Project piece.  (btw, you can click on any of the pics to see a larger view.)

I bought a pendant a few weeks ago for February's piece and now I have all the things I need to go with it.  (I also have seed beads of all sizes and I might decide to use some bugles too). BUT I'm not going to show you the pendant yet.  You have to come back to see that and I'll show my piece as it develops in stages.  I have ideas swirling in my head, but if you do improvisational bead embroidery you know that what you have in your head is not always what comes out on the fabric.  Actually, for me it rarely comes out the way I initially envision it, but at least it gives me a jumping off point.  And, I'm usually happy with the way it turns out in the end.  So I'll get to working on it...come back and see how it goes!

Disclaimer:  Artbeads.com has sent me products for free to review on this blog.  I am not receiving any compensation from them for my honest opinions of their products.