My Current Beadworks And More Blah Blah Blah

Days seem to pass by so fast lately despite the awful weather. WHY?... simply because I was terribly busy doing bead embroidery. It's almost 2 decades now since the last time I did encrusted beading so I thought free-style designs should be my focus. Way back then, I did bead embroidery on wedding gowns in which I tend to focus on the design or pattern of lace fabrics. And at times, I draw patterns on plain fabrics such as shantung, satin, or velvet. Like counted thread embroidery, bead embroidery is very rewarding once the project is completed. As you all know by now, INSTANT GRATIFICATION is very important to me! It's also the main reason why I made these necklaces... I challenged myself to finish one pendant a day, which I think is pretty much doable, but ended up spending two days (working on and off) on the big ones. Lots of hours were spent deciding what colors and materials will collaborate best. I'm planning to make a series of 12... and after damaging 3 beading needles, here's the first 4 in the series:

First 4 in the Series of 12

Techniques: Encrusted Beading, Caged Cabochons

Stitches: Moss, Lazy, Seed, Fringe, Peyote

Common Materials: Coordinating Background Fabric,

Skirtex (as Stabilizer), Stranded Wire, Nylon Cord

Main Color: Green and Blue

Materials: Glass Beads, Gold Charms, Shell Button Cabochon,

Fire Polished Stones

Main Color: Black and Red

Materials: Glass Beads, Shell, Magnetic Hematite for Chain,

Fire-Polished Stones, Enamelled Charm for Cabochon

Main Color: Mauve and Gold

Materials: Glass Beads, Red with Gold Button for Cabochon

PEARLY SHELL

Main Color: Brown and Ecru

Materials: Glass Beads, MOP Chips, Heart Shell Button for Cabochon

The last piece was finalized last night and is my favorite. When I showed it to DH this afternoon, he said it's one of the prettiest thing he has ever seen. How cool was that? LOL Whenever I finish a project, I normally show it to DH and would ask his opinion. He would usually answer me, "I'll pay you a dollar for that." or "I'll give you a dime for that piece.", the latter being the worst of course and I then devote more time examining the piece. So imagine my surprise when he answered diffently today. When I finished the first piece early last week, I asked him if he knows anybody who would wear it, his answer was, "Yes Honey, Tyra Banks would wear it." LOL Frankly, I'm now thinking of making a special piece for Tyra as I love her dearly, and is one of my fave TV host.

Ok, as for the third piece, obviously it's a lot smaller compare to others as I planned to give it an extra character with its chain. I'm so glad DH noticed it right away. I put the closure in front and one side of the chain is doubled, while the single one has heavy and bigger beads on it. In short, the chain was also free-style.

Here's my backward reporting of last week. DH didn't make it home on Monday (January 12th) til mid-afternoon as the plower only did our road around 2PM. He had to check-out at the hotel before noon, dropped by at supermarket then went straight at MIL's house knowing our road's not done yet. MIL was busy reorganizing her stuffs and doing stash reduction so here goes some vintage craft books for me. Most of them are quilting pattern booklets with small projects. Thanks MOM!

Various Craft Books from MIL - January 12, 2009

Prior to starting my first beading project last weekend, I sorted out some buttons and big charms from my collection. The following two photos are my future cabochons on encrusted beading. I thought it would be better to make my life easier by selecting these right away so I don't have to deal with thousands of buttons whenever I need a cabochon piece. You do know that I collect buttons, right? LOL

Various Cabochons: Buttons from my Personal Collection

Various Cabochons: Charms from 80's Earrings (Retro)

Once again, due to terrible weather, DH didn't make it to work on Tuesday and Wednesday. Thank goodness he grabbed some groceries on Monday, otherwise we'll be stuck with what we have in the fridge. Including his regular day-offs, he ended up with 5 non-working days. But once again, he had to check-in at the hotel yesterday so he can make it to work. I packed 2 sets of uniforms just in case he won't make it home today. He left around 1PM yesterday and all the while I thought he'll gonna spend the day today at the hotel too. But he decided to check-out noontime, and surprise me with a dozen of roses plus a matching card of course, and lots of Arby's sandwiches. There's our lunch and supper! YAY Thanks Hon! Muaahhhhz!

A Dozen of Roses from Honey

Well everybody, I can see myself beading again tonight as I started a smaller version of the PEARLY SHELL earlier. It's already 50% done so I'm hoping to finish it before I go to bed later. Life so precious to waste your time simply sitting and watching TV, why not grab a needlework project? If you don't know what or where to start, drop me a line and I'll guide you through! I would love to see you rewarded with something you completed with your own bare hands.