My Project Is Done!!! :D

What does this little daisy clip art have to do with my newest project?  Not much, except maybe that I felt like my latest project really "blossomed".  And, hey, I think it's cute.

Ok, on to my project.  I felt so good making this necklace.  That's what I find so gratifying about beading.  I get to be creative, and it makes me feel good.  It's great therapy.  This piece really flowed for me.  I didn't have to think about it...it just came together.  No forcing it, no second guessing it.  You ever have a great project like that?  I hope to have many more because it was so utterly enjoyable.

The centerpiece is a cab by Beth Evans of Bellesanbeaus on Artfire.  She does amazing work.  It turns out this cab was a little bit of a mistake.  I had asked for shades of blue, but she mistakenly sent me shades of green.  And it's a good thing she intuitively knew exactly what I needed better than I know for myself because the green cab is PERFECT!!!  I also used Nicole Campanella's wonderful-to-work-with Beadbacking.  It's so easy to work with when doing bead embroidery.  You don't have to worry about backing your fabric with lacy's or anything else.  You just bead right on it, you can cut around it in the shape you need, and it won't fray or stretch.  And it's acid free.  PERFECT as well!  You can get Nicole's Beadbacking from her Etsy shop, Beadwright.

Another awesome thing is that I used everything from my stash.  The only thing I bought for this project was the clasp.  The little green cabs Beth gifted me.  That was so nice of her!  Again, she intuitively knew what I needed.  I also mixed in some orange, which is not a color I normally work with.  I find it a very difficult color and orange and I don't play well together.  But this week we called a truce, and look how the orange just shines with the green.  I love the orange lucite flowers that rest near the collar bones.  (They're a little higher on my "model" because he's only 11 and a little smaller than a person it was actually meant to be sized for.)  But Matthew was a good sport and jumped right up when I asked him to model for me.  He's kind of funny because he's in his underwear only and he was real paranoid that I didn't show his boobies in the pics. hahaha.  Kids are fun.

I've never made a necklace where I did bead embroidery and had to put the pieces together.  I wasn't sure how to do that.  Then I remembered the wise words from Robin Atkins, the bead embroidery goddess..."Just do it!"  I don't know how other people do it, but my way seemed to work!  Yea!

Enough, enough already!  I know...let's get on with it!  Ok everyone.  Here are the pics.  I realize that this probably won't be everyone's cup of tea, but for me it's just stunning.  And I guess that's what counts.  Matthew doesn't want me to try to sell it, but he reluctantly said I could lol.  Someday it will find the perfect home.

I originally was going to call it Lush Green, but I just had the idea of Greenman in Springtime.  I've always loved the Greenman, so maybe it's fitting that I make a tribute to him.

Greenman in Springtime

Normally I take my photos in the daytime in a nice shady area to get the beautiful natural light, but I was too anxious to wait until tomorrow to show it off.  I also learned how to do a spiral rope for this necklace.  I was pretty happy with it.  It took the 3rd try to get the color combination I was happy with, and I'm pleased with the way it turned out.  You can click on the photos to see a larger view.  Isn't that face cab fabuloso!?! Comments anyone?

3 - 2 - 1 Blast Off!!!

I am very excited to bring you this news.  My very good friend Beth over at Bellesanbeaus Crafts is an enormously talented woman.  I look at her work and wonder how she can do what she does.  She has many talents, but the one I want to tell you about today is her creation of face cabochons.  No two are identical.  The painting and details are wonderful.  They are so unique and interesting, I just love them.  I have to admit that I don't particularly care for face cabs.  I think they're weird.  Maybe even creepy.  But THESE face cabs are so phenomenal that I knew I had to own some.  You want to know the really good news?  Now you can too!!!

Beth has launched her first online store over at Bellesanbeaus Crafts on Artfire!  I think they are a complete steal, too.  You will not find artwork of this nature and caliber anywhere for this price.  I'm not kidding.  Just go to her Artfire shop and see for yourself.  Each one is molded and hand-painted, and you can even tell her your unique specifications so she can create one (or lots!) especially for you.  She even has created one with glitzy glitter, which is a lot of fun.  She will also be opening an Etsy shop, but it isn't done quite yet.

I thought I would include here pics of some that I own and also some pics of ones currently for sale.  Take a look at these beautiful painted ladies!

She calls them Mardi Gras, but I call them Masquerades.  I love the mask and the swirly curly q's.  The eyes themselves have great detail.

The next one she based on the concept of the Greenman.  I love it!!!

The Moon Face is unique and has double dimension to it.

Here are some more recent ones in the past couple weeks...

This last one is the one that has the glitter and sparkle in the paint.  Cool, huh?  So please won't you go visit Beth's new Artfire shop?  These cabs are really awesome with bead embroidery around them.  I'm positive you will be more than happy with what you receive!!!

I Made Something!

It's kind of small and didn't take a terribly long time, but I succeeded in creating something.  What a breakthrough!  :)  The funny thing is, the only thing I used from the stash I bought the other day was the seed beads. lol.  This may not fall into the category of "powerful" or "empowering" by looking at it, but truly it was.  After reading Beth's post on her blog at Bellesanbeaus Crafts regarding her mother "keeping things for good", I was moved to use one of my treasured Painted Ladies that she made.  That to me was very empowering.  I took control of the fear of not doing the cab justice and not being good enough, and just let myself create something with it.  I decided I would not "keep my painted beauties for good".

This is a pin that measures 2 1/4" across and 2 1/2" down on the main oval part.  Side to side including the silver doodads it is 3 3/4" and the loopies on the bottom hang an additional inch.  I hope you can get an idea of the beautiful purples and the different shapes I used from the pics.  I outlined the face with two rows of seed beads in two different colors.  Then the next row I alternated between these luscious and yummy purple balls and fantastic varigated bugle beads.  I added some leaves that are deep purple with hints of blue and green and have a great sheen to them.  The silver doodads were kind of a fun little story.  I had discovered metallite on the Artbeads.com website.  I'm a poor beader and can't really afford true silver and gold so I thought the metallite would be a fun substitution.  (It is!)  Well, I ordered about 10 different shapes in silver and gold and these that you see here were a mistake.  They were off one product code number from the ones I actually ordered.  I called Artbeads about it right away because I didn't like these at all.  They were so big and clunky and I was positive I would never use them.  Well, they said they would mail the correct ones out right away and to just keep these because it wasn't worth the postage to send them back.  Ok, I thought maybe I would find a use for them someday.  And I think they worked perfectly in this project!  So, even if you think you don't like something, just remember that a project one day will scream for just those beads. 

Leaf Masquerade

Is this face not gorgeous, or what???!!!

Another photo color-adjusted slightly differently.

I put this one here so you can see the different dimensions of the beads around the face.

I wanted to say thank you to all of you who lent your support over my last couple of posts.  A lot of you are going through a rough patch as I am, and I want to thank you for your understanding but also know that I am sending hugs and warm thoughts your way, too.

Have a good week and HAPPY CREATING!!!

I love it when the mailman brings me presents!

OMG!  I got the most fantastic presents in the mail today!  A while back my friend and I (Beth from Bellesanbeaus Crafts) decided to make a trade.  She is just getting into beading so I sent her a stash of beads to get going with.  She had quite a few 11/0's from what I understood, so I sent her a lot of 15/0's and some 8/0's, 6/0's and bugles to go with what she already had.  In exchange she was going to send me 3 of her gorgeous painted lady cabs.  But much to my surprise, I got more than I bargained for.  She sent not 3 but 4 of her cabs!  On top of that she sent me a pkg of blue beads, a stunning square cab that I'm guessing is some sort of jasper, and some cylinder beads to go with it.  She said that she thought of me and my cuffs when she saw this square cab.  How thoughtful was that???  Now, I'm going to have fun making a "Beth" cuff.  Take a look at these treasures that she sent to me!

These are the beads to compliment the square cab.  Pretty, aren't they???

The cab is 1 3/16" square and will be just the perfect size for a cuff!  It's gorgeous!

Just take a look at these face cabs!

They all measure about 1 1/2" x 1" and are made of polymer clay then hand-painted.  They are just exquisite.  Please stop by Beth's blog (Bellesanbeaus Crafts) and take a look at the other wonderful things she has done.  She is so very talented!  lol  I just realized there is a blue bead stuck in the eye of the first cab.   I thought I got them all out.  She packed that one in the bag of blue beads and the beads got packed into the eyes of the mask and I had to work at getting them out with a needle.  Oops...missed one! :)  And you can click on any of the pics for a larger view.

THANK YOU BETH!!!