My Creative Space

My creative space has been a little inactive over the past few weeks. I don't know why I am lacking so much motivation in the bead department - let's just put it down to it being Winter here in Australia and the fact that my lounge is very cosy at this time of the year!

The first is the dreaded cab I recently spoke of which I have unpicked around 7 or 8 times...

ok I lost count around the 5th time...

but it seems to be coming together now.

As previously mentioned it is a beautiful polymer cabochon made by Rachele of Rachele's Originals.

I had a bit of trouble finding the right colours to match the beautiful cabochon which is a mixture of shimmery metallic green and copper.

The other BIG issue I had with this piece was believe it or not the second row of beads. I created a peyote bezel using delica beads and it seemed no matter what beads I used for the next row they just didn't seem to sit right.

I tried size 6/0, size 8/0, cube beads, triangular beads, hex beads ... until in the end I went back to the 6/0's in a matte brown and was finally happy with them...phewww!

Unfortunately I have been carrying this piece around in my beading bag for the past few weeks and now some of the metallic coating is starting to wear off but it kind of adds to the rustic metallic look to the piece.

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The second is from Marcia DeCoster's beautiful book, "Beaded Opulence ", and is a stunning piece called
"Whitby".

The piece is created using 15/0 and 11/0 seed beads as well as 3mm Swarovski bicones and stitched in right angle weave (RAW).

The design is actually a pair of earrings but I have decided to create just the one piece using it as a pendant and will string it with some Swarovski rondelles as well as some beaded beads using Swarovski bicones.

Watch this space!

A wedding anniversary and a few buttons

Last weekend Alan and I celebrated our

♥ 11 year wedding anniversary ♥ 

Here is Alan and I on our wedding day in August 1999 with my gorgeous friend of 25 years, Kristen.

And here is one of the nicest recent photos I have of Alan and I together, all frocked up! 

 It was taken at a friend's wedding back in 2008 in which I was Maid of Honor. 

I don't think we have changed too much... 

...perhaps just a little older and wiser!

♥ Happy Anniversary Alan ♥

(even if I am a week late in posting it here)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To celebrate our anniversary we went out for breakfast and then visited the Paddington Antique Centre. 

I hadn't been there in ages...gosh in at least around 7 or 8 years... but the memories of why I used to love going there came flooding back... 

OMG the jewelery!

So many gorgeous antique pieces in gold, rose gold, silver, diamonds... you name it they have it! 

The workmanship in the pieces is just exquisite.

One thing however I never paid much attention to when I used to visit this antique store many, many years ago was the buttons and boy do they now have a nice assortment!

So in celebration of our anniversary I treated myself to a few buttons which I plan on using within my beading.

The first are gorgeous art deco buttons. They have a delicate gold inlay and are in perfect condition.

The next is a set of 5 buttons. 

These ones are made of plastic with a metal centre but I couldn't go past them as I think they could look quite nice with some malachite.

And lastly some Czech glass buttons. 

They were really hard to photograph as they are so shiny and shimmery but they are black and gold and incredibly regal looking. 

I only bought two of these beauties but am thinking I should have bought a few more so I can create a necklace made using around 6 of these buttons beaded up!

Have you rediscovered something you used to love doing or looking at but haven't done in years?

Another Winner!

I just had to share this beautiful necklace made by
Kriszta of Mano gyongyekszerek.

Kriszta was another of the winners of my recent cabochon giveaway and she won the cabochons below.

I absolutely love the piece she has created. 

I think she has matched the beads in the necklace perfectly to the colours in the cabochon.

I really do enjoy seeing how people use my cabochons and also being able to share and promote the work of fellow beaders.

If you haven't visited Kriszta's blog be sure to pop on over and say hello!

Check out this giveaway!

Maria Grimes 

is celebrating her 8th year as a lampwork artist 

and to celebrate she is treating us to a 

giveaway!

Be sure to check out her blog 

here 

to enter...

♥

Beader's Guide or Color Palette

I am in a colour conundrum ...

I am in the process of deciding on a few new beading books to buy and decided I should explore and expand my knowledge of

COLOUR

I have been looking at two books by the Queen of Colour,

Margie Deeb

and am undecided as to which one to buy.

The Beader's Guide to Colour

or

The Beader's Color Palette?

Does anyone own either of these books and if so which one would you recommend, if not both.

I have to admit I have never been one to buy ''theory'' style beading books so this is a big leap for me!

What can I say I love lots of pretty pictures that I can drool over.

Any comments on the above two books would be greatly appreciated! 

By jove I think I like it!

I think I have finally come up with a colourway for my beaded cab I have been complaining about that I actually...wait for it... like. OMG!

I am now doing the edge row and have promised myself not to unpick it again!

Sticking the beaded piece to the Ultrasuede is usually a good indicator I am happy with the beads and colours I have chosen and yep... the Ultrasuede has been glued in place!

HOORAY!

Watch this space for the finished piece!

How do you store your seed beads?

I've been thinking of getting one of these bead tube towers ever since I saw them advertised in one of the beading magazines ages ago.

It seems like a pretty neat way to store your seed beads but I have to wonder if it will be one of those things I ''just had to have'' and then don't end up using... like my bead spinner!

At the moment I have my beads stored in their tubes hanging in a jewellery organiser kind of like this one.

I currently have 3 of these organisers in use having

*one for cubes, hex beads and drops

* one for size 15 and size 6/8 seed beads

and

*the third for size 11 seed beads

This system works pretty well as I have them hanging on my built in wardrobe doors so the beads are easy to see (I am only  using one side of the organiser) and as they are sorted in sizes I can easily see what colours I have in each size.

After seeing a few people's bead set up I bought myself a set of these drawers and was planning on sorting my beads into colour rather than by size and colour.

I have to admit that I haven't transfered my beads into this trolley yet. The thought of mixing all my bead sizes together kind of frightens me.

I like being able to find my beads by size AND colour.

If I know I am only going to use size 11's in a particular piece then I can just look at all of my 11's sitting together in each of their colour ranges.

Soooo I guess what I am trying to figure out is what is the best way to sort my seed beads?

By size only?

OR

By colour only ... mixing all seed bead sizes and types together?

How do you store your seed beads? Have you bought a bead tube tower and if so do you like it?

I'd love to hear how you store your seed beads and if that way works well for you.

Make that another 2

All I am going to say is that in addition to the 4 in below's post I had another 2 tonight...

GRRR!!!!


This is the lovely cab I am working with...

... a gorgeous polymer clay cabochon made by Rachele of Rachele's Originals.

I don't know why I am having so much trouble matching beads to this cab as it is one very nice cab!

Are you an unpicker?

Seriously...how many more times do you think I can unpick this current piece I am working on?

I reckon a good 3 or 4 at least.

I am beading around a poly clay cabochon and I am only on  my second row of beads but have unpicked this second row 4 times now and I am still not happy.

I have used size 6 seed beads, 1.8mm cubes, 3mm cubes, size 11 seed beads and have now used hex beads which I am happy with...for the time being!

I'd share a picture of my work in progress but it's likely to change again!

What is the record for unpicking beads in one piece for you?

Safe and Sound

I am happy to report that the two pieces I entered in the Royal Queensland Show are now back in my possession and safe and sound.

I got my black bust back which I was worried I was going to lose as they were displaying another entrant's piece on it.

 I asked them about this and they assured me that my piece was displayed on my bust...ummm hello I think I know my own bust and can distinguish between a large black one and a small red velvet one (ok that is beginning to sound a wee bit suss but you get the picture)... but then did say to me
''well we would have only displayed it on that one if it looked better''.

I will admit that at taht point I used my creative licence to tell them that I thought it looked awful ...oops!

Anyhooo I have it back now and none of my pieces were damaged.

Sooooo I guess you could say

Loving this song by Katie Herzig

Ohh how I love this song. It makes me smile every time I listen to it. The lyrics "my dolly's got the flu, boo hoo, boo hoo, hoo hoo" makes me giggle every time!

If you haven't discovered Katie Herzig then be sure to check her out.

Another song of hers that just makes me smile from ear to ear is "Hey Na Na" so hop on over to YouTube, Itunes or Google and check her out...

...and be sure to let me know if she makes you smile too... I bet she does!

♥

Summer Daze

This is my latest piece created as part of the
Artbeads Design Partner Blogging Program 

with the latest theme being 

"Summertime"

I have named my piece 

Summer Daze

The piece is made using one of my own glass fused cabochons I made depicting the 

sand, the ocean, the sun and the sky.

The piece has been stitched with a selection of seed beads, gorgeous Czech fire polished beads. 

Check out the adorable sterling silver fish clasp... how cute is that fish!

It is currently Winter here in Australia so it was nice to have the opportunity to create a summery piece during these cold months!

♥

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Disclosure: I am a reviewer of Artbeads.com products and a participant of its blogging program. I received all the components free of charge. This post reflects my honest opinion and Artbeads.com is not compensating me for my endorsement as it pertains to the products received and reviewed.

Cherry Pie

I just had to share this beautiful necklace, Cherry Pie, made by Jana of Stories of the Secret Garden.

Jana was one of the winners of my recent Cab Giveaway a few months ago winning the cabs below.

I was absolutely busting to see what she was going to create with the cabs as her pieces are just stunning and I was blown away by this stunning piece. 

I love how she has included the blue beads to bring out the very discrete splash of blue in the cab.

If you haven't checked out Jana's blog be sure to pop on over and say hello. 

Or better still check out her Etsy shop where this beauty is for sale!

Thanks Jana... 

I am happy to have found you!

♥

A match made in heaven

I recently bought these gorgeous etched raku baby beads and raku eggs 

from the beautiful 

Kelley of Kelley's Bead Studio.

Can you believe how wonderfully well they match my glass fused cabochon I made.

Ohhhh  I can't wait to put this piece together!

Be sure to visit Kelley's blog or better still... 

pop on over to her Etsy store 

....but be sure to leave a few beads for me!

♥

Wednesday Wisdom

Take a photo of your piece before and after fusing it in the kiln

When doing any kind of glass fusing I find it very handy to take before and after photos of my pieces. 

I have made quite a few pieces which I have, without tooting my own horn too much, been very happy with and have wanted to create a complete set of the same cab. 

Nothing is more frustrating than being happy with a piece you have created, wanting to make another one just the same only to forget what frits you used and how you positioned the frit and/or glass.

Simple pieces aren't too much of a problem if it's just a matter of sprinkling on the frit but if you are building up a piece with glass or trying to create a mosaic effect then this idea comes in very handy.

Here are some before and after shots of some easy cabs I made. 

I'd show you some pics of my more creative pieces but that'd just be giving away my secrets!

~~~

- Citrus Zing cabs before going in the kiln -

- Citrus Zing cabs after -

Be sure to check out Life, Craftiness and Everything Else for more 

Wednesday  Wisdom.

In the mean time here are a few more of the cabs I have made in the past. 

What do you think?

♥

My beading at the Royal Queensland Show

We visited the Royal Queensland Show (EKKA) on Saturday to check out my two pieces I had entered in the Creative Art & Craft competition. 

A friend who had also entered had already told me that the winners had been announced on the show's website so I already knew that my pieces had received 

2nd (Treasures of the North Sea) and 4th (Fingal Frolics).

However when we arrived my pieces were displayed with Fingal Frolics coming second and Treasures of the North Sea receiving a Highly Commended. I am not sure which is correct but I'll happily take both!

So here are my pieces on display. 

Sorry about the picture quality but it was difficult to get a decent photo through the glass cabinet. 

For some reason they had taken my Treasures of the North Sea piece off my black bust and displayed it on someone else's red bust... and then placed someone else's piece on my black bust (which you can see behind Fingal Frolics)...ahhh who knows! 

I just hope I get my black bust back as it's the only one I own!!

Wednesday Wisdom

I recently came across this great blog, Life, Craftiness and Everything Else, who have just started a weekly thready called "Wednesday Wisdom".

What is Wednesday Wisdom?

A way for fellow Etsy sellers / crafters / bloggers / entrepeneurs (and anyone else who cares to join in!) to share the wisdom that they have collected in their creative adventures.

Short and simple; easy and quick to write and to remember.

Helpful, but not necessarily "new information" to absolutely everyone who reads it: It WILL help someone, you can be sure!

 

~~~~

 

I think this is a fantastic idea so here is my
Wednesday Wisdom
for this week.

 

E6000

 

 

 

Do you use E6000 glue?

As I do a lot of bead embroidery using cabochons I use E6000 to attach my cabochons to my felt and then my ultrasuede to the back of my piece.

 

One problem I have always had with using this particular glue is that it dries out rather quickly. It doesn't actually dry out to the point where it becomes solid - it just becomes very rubbery which makes it hard to squeeze out of the tube and also difficult to spread.

 

If you've used this product you will know that it's pretty smelly so I tend to plan my projects in advance so I can glue 5 or 6 cabochons at a time and avoid having to use the glue several times. Because of this my glue can sit for a few months before it is used again.

 

To prevent your glue from going rubbery, when you get your new tube, place some Vaseline (petroleum jelly) or Paw Paw Cream around the top of the tube.

   

   

 

This will act as a lubricant and will prevent any glue sticking to the sides of the top of the tube or inside the tube cap and creates a perfect seal which won't allow any air to get into the tube.

 

EASY!!

 

I tried this with my latest tube of E6000 and so far it's working a treat!

Lovely Lori's lucite giveaway

Have you ever worked with lucite? I have to admit this is one type of bead I have never owned but have always wanted.

Lori of Pretty Things is currently running a giveaway where you can win a gorgeous bundle of goodies including some lucite beads.

Pop on over to enter her giveaway and be sure to tell her I sent you!

Good luck!
♥

Procrastination with a capital P...

Are you a procrastinator?

I'd like to think that there is a little procrastination ''quality'' in all of us. Unfortunately some of us prostastinate a little more than others and I will admit that I am one of those people.

I don't know if the cold, winter weather is a contributing factor but lately I have been so unomotivated in many aspects of my life.

I have only been beading once or twice a week where as normally I would bead every day including on my lunch break at work.

I have no motivation to exercise or do anything active and as a result have put on enough weight to make me feel down and lazy.

I have a list of things I need to do around the house and promise myself every Friday night that "this weekend I will get this done" but come Monday evening when my 3 day weekend ends I become frustrated with myself that I yet again have not achieved the things I had set out to achieve over the weekend.

Is anyone else feeling like this at the moment or is it just me who needs a good kick up the butt?

It's EKKA time

The Royal Queensland Show or as us locals like to call it "the EKKA" commences this Wednesday 5 August which means in a few days time I will be able to find out whether my two pieces I entered into the Creative Art & Craft section have achieved a placing and therefore receive a little ribbon or certificate.

For those of you that may not have seen my previous post about entering the competition here are the two pieces I have entered.

~~~~

Treasures of the North Sea

Fingal Frolics

The entries were judged the week of 5 July and as of yet I am not aware whether my pieces made it into the final stages of judging or have received a placing so we will be heading to the EKKA some time this weekend.

I think I am in for an expensive day out at the show though with the entry fee costing around $25 per adult... thankfully Spencer is still FREE!!

Add to that the rides that Spencer will want to go on, the countless sideshow alley games he will want to play  not to mention the 20 million show bags I can already see he will want.

They have a website with all the show bags, their contents and the prices listed so I can already see how many $$$ I will be spending!

I can remember visiting the show as a kid in Newcastle and nagging my mum for lots of show bags. I remember she would always let me buy two - one themed one and food one. Of course I always pursuaded her to buy me an extra bag.

I'd always choose a Cadbury bag and a Bertie Beetle bag (because they were always the cheapest so I used to think that perhaps because of that I could get an extra bag).

I remember one year I got the coolest Wonder Woman show bag that had these awesome arm bands as well as a mask and a cute little name plate for above my bed. Boy did I think I was pretty cool that summer dressed as Wonder Woman!

I think for nostalgia sake I will buy myself a Bertie Beetle bag at a bargain price of around $5!