Beading Babes ~ Project 3 reveal

Welcome to Project 3 of Beading Babes!

 This month two projects were chosen

-

Runway of Pearls by Barbara Falkowitz

and

Ravishing Rosettes by Smadar Grossman.

It appears that both of these pieces presented us with many hurdles and proved to be quite a challenge for most of us.

In saying that, I am so pleased to see that we all persisted with the pieces with a few of us completing both projects.

Well done!

So without furtherado here are the finished pieces!

~*~*~

Runway of Pearls by Barbara Falkowitz

(Beadwork - December 2011/January 2012 - page 54)

Therese of Therese's Treasures

Tanya of A Work in Progress

 Amy of Amybeads

Christine of There and Back Again Studios

Siggi of Zora-Zauber

And here is what I created.

My piece was stitched using 2mm fire polished beads instead of the triangle beads. I've made mine reversable by using silver beads on one side and matte grey beads on the other.

I created a peyote toggle clasp which also acts as a feature of the bracelet.

Final Verdict

Overall I liked the design of Runway Pearls but like most RAW pieces I create I found the stitching a little repetitive...but the bonus of RAW is that it works up pretty fast. This is such a versatile piece and as you can see by how different it looks in the various colourways, not to mention using different beads, I think it's a great pattern!

~*~*~

Ravishing Rosettes by Smadar Grossman

(Bead and Button - December 2011 - page 38)

Therese of Therese's Treasures

Tanya of A Work in Progress

Vimala of of The Bead Diaries

Kristen of My Bead Journey

Ginger of Lilmummylikes

Siggi of Zora-Zauber

Christine of There and Back Again Studios

And here is what I created.

My piece has been stitched using matte red and turquoise beads along with galvanised silver beads.

I was originally going to create a peyote toggle for this bracelet too but a) I misjudged the length of the bracelet and therefore the addition of the toggle was going to make it too long and b) I felt that the fancy toggle would have distracted the eye from the lovely rosettes.

Final Verdict

As you all know I really struggled with this piece. I found it very repetitive, I struggled to understand the pattern and had to unpick it several times. With most repetitive pieces I find I usually don't have to continue looking at the pattern but with this one I continued to refer to the steps until it was finished.

But I am glad I persisted with it as I hate to give up on anything, especially a challenging beading piece, and I think the end result was well worth the frustration.

Overall I really love Ravishing Rosettes.

It's such a beautiful design but for me it was really tough going and a piece I probably won't attempt again...ok maybe I will, you know, just to see if I can improve on this one!

~*~*~

Once again thank you so much for being a part of Beading Babes.

I look forward to seeing you all in Project 4 so watch this space as I will be posting up the project choices in the next few days!

Happy Beading!

 ♥

-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Copyright Disclaimer

All patterns used within this group will be purchased by the beader and will not be copied.

All credit will be given to the designer.

A pendant...not Wheely earrings

I bought this tutorial, Wheel Earrings, recently from Ellad2 

I had every intention to make both earrings... until I started stitching!

This is one very time consuming pattern consisting of Right Angle Weave (RAW) with a little peyote at the end. The earring is solid but is built up with beads not a ring inside.

I think this one "earring" took me close to 3 hours to make so definitely not a quick piece.

I had to laugh, as at the end of the pattern Ella writes, 

"maybe after all  what you have done till now, you will wish to wear only one".... 

I wish I had've read that line first!!!

I decided I didn't really want to spend another 3 hours making another earring, and in addition to the time, I found this was a little too chunky for my liking. 

So a pendant it has become and I LOVE it!

I already had this RAW necklace I had made a few years ago which I think compliments it perfectly.

I've attached a large enough ring so the pendant is interchangeable.

The pattern is relatively easy to follow with only one or two areas that had me a little confused but common sense prevailed and I continued on.

I really do love this design. I think the pendant would make a nice gift for someone and because it only uses size 15/0, 11/0 and 8/0 seed beads you will nearly always have beads on hand to make this as a last minute gift...well allow a few hours not a minute!!

I might just be tempted to make another one in a different colour!

♥

ARUBA BLUE BRACELET...

Well my bracelets aren't blue but they are Aruba!

The design, Aruba Blue Bracelet, is by Ellad2. 
A simple but gorgeous bracelet stitched in RAW (right angle weave).

The silver and black bracelet was my first attempt.
This bracelet is such a joy to stitch and so quick and easy that I couldn't resist making another one in  pink... all for myself!

Of course the black and silver is all mine too!
I do love to spoil myself!

I reckon you can whip up one of these bracelets in around 2 hours or less...
 I haven't actually timed myself yet but they are super duper quick which makes them all the more desirable!

The tutorial is well written, easy to follow with fantastic step-by-step photos.

I have to admit I'm a fan of photos over diagrams when it comes to tutorials... it certainly makes following the instructions a  lot easier and I feel it adds that extra personal touch.

If you haven't checked out Ellad2's Etsy store then drop in and have a looksee.

I've purchased around 10 of her patterns and if the others are as easy as this one then I reckon I just might have struck gold!

♥ 

I think that switch has just been flicked!

Marice of La Bella Joya recently wrote a very interesting article on the different levels of creativity. If you haven't read Marcie's post be sure to click HERE - it is definitely worth reading.

Her article got me thinking. I'm always doubting my creative abilities and find myself constantly comparing myself to other bead artists.

Even though many people have told me this is unhealthy I continue to make the comparison. I think it's just human nature to doubt our abilities and compare ourselves to others...right?

But what I have been trying to tell myself is that the artists and designers I compare myself to may have been beading for a lot longer than me.
I started beading in 2003 but only ventured into bead embroidery in 2008 and bead weaving in 2009...so I guess you could consider me a bit of a novice in the latter two areas. 

I also try to tell myself that those I compare myself to may spend more time beading than me.
I only get to bead for around 2 hours a day and that is usually for about half an hour on my lunch break and then in the evenings, late at night.

Throughout Marcie's post she shared photos of some of her earlier pieces reflecting on where she started as a beader and how her beading has developed over the years.

I then reflected on just how far my beading has come since 2003 and that perhaps looking back at my earlier work, as she did, may just be the the flick of the switch I need to make that light bulb light up in my head
and say
''look how far you have come Karyn, stop doubting your abilities".

So with that thought in mind join me on my beading journey...
...so far.

~~~~

My first stringing piece

Gosh I remember how excited I was that I actually made a necklace!
Created with seed beads and Czech glass bugs!

I literally caught the beading bug after this piece!

~~~

And then I developed a love of seed beads and cabochons.

My beaded cabochon, completed in October 2008

The tiger's eye cabochon is a whopping  40mm long - didn't really start with a small one did I?

Instead of gluing the cab to stiff stuff or felt I actually glued it to a leather scrap...not suede... leather!
Don't do this!
The thread was so hard to pull through the leather that at times I needed to use a small pair of pliers. Needless to say I have never used leather again so let this be a lesson learned!

~~~

As I was spending more time with seed beads I found myself paying more attention to bead woven pieces so I made a conscious effort to learn some new stitches.

~~~

My first attempt at Brick Stitch

My first attempt at St Petersburg

and St Petersburg using cube beads

My first attempt at Right Angle Weave (RAW)

 

My first piece using Spiral weave

Tubular Herringbone 

I still haven't tried regular Herringbone!

I also tried my hand at some new techniques.

~~

Using a loom

Adding a fringe
as well as a peyote bezel edge and using drop beads for the edging

  

My first attempt at a peyote toggle

Peyote tubular beads as well as Right Angle Weave round beaded beads.

~~~

And some bead embroidery pieces using lots and lots of seed beads!

This piece was stitched using size 15/0 seed beads. What was I thinking!

This piece included glass fused cabochons made by myself, the largest cab made by my husband!

And last but not least my very first attempt at polymer clay and steampunk!

~~~

What a great journey this has been for me.

Looking back at some of my earlier pieces really has made realise how far I have come.

A great reminder that no matter what your skill level is  

there will always be something to learn.

Focus on how far you have come... not how far you have to go.

Did you hear that click?

I think that switch has just been flicked!

♥