Bead embroidery (part 2)

Hi everyone!
 

After some information about the teaching materials I used to get started on bead embroidery (which you can find here), I want to share with you my first experiments.

The first piece I wanted to make was a native-inspired pendant, starting from a carnelian cabochon. I glued it to the Lacy’s Stiff Stuff and started my adventure. 

Many beads later, I was at the third round when, suddenly, I heard something falling on the floor…it was the cabochon!…yes, I screamed: the glue didn’t hold up and now I could not glue it anymore, because the first round was framing it too tightly…I screamed again…then I remembered what I should do:

• Breathe
• Keep calm
• Start over from a new piece of Lacy’s Stiff Stuff
• Don’t throw the old piece away!

So, that’s what I did. I started and finished my piece adding all the necessary fringes and embellishments and then I went back to the broken one. 

I started thinking, and thinking…I was almost losing my hope, when I suddenly had an idea: I filled the center with seed beads and small lucite flowers, added a border…and, voilà…I had a new pendant! Now I have two pieces and I created something I would have never made if it wasn’t for my mistake! :-) 

Here are both my  creations…enjoy!

P.s. If you don’t want to miss any crafty project, remember to follow the blog by clicking on the “join this site” button in the right column ;-)

Bead embroidery (part 1)

Hi everyone!

Today I want to share with you my experience with bead embroidery. I am quite new to this technique: I only made two pendants up to now and, I have to confess, I was quite intimidated by it when looking at pieces from other artists. A few good readings and videos later, however, everything looked quite clear…and after a couple of inevitable but very educational mistakes (wow…I sound so calm about them now!), I was ready to turn my first design into an actual creation…so, let’s start! 

First of all, I think videos are the best way to understand and learn in a very intuitive way…and if they are free it’s even better!...so here you can find a series of instructional videos from Beadaholique completely devoted to bead embroidery, giving amazing step by step instructions and advice. Now, if you feel totally confident, you can already start making your own creations! 

I however believe a couple of additional references can be extremely useful to get more insights and confidence. The first of them is a book: Beading with Cabochons by Jamie Cloud Eakin. Besides presenting some amazing (and incredibly inspiring) pictures of completed pieces, it also features six chapters which are dense of useful information on tools, materials, edges, attachment methods, bezel stitches and how to create original designs. Instructions are clear, complete and easy to understand. 

Since I believe in always hearing at least two points of view (besides loving craft books), I also purchased The Art of Bead Embroidery by Heidi Kummli and Sherry Serafini. This is also a nice reference, but I find it a bit more confusing for the beginner, as the choices of the two authors are reported separately and, while pictures are still beautiful and inspiring, instructions are a bit less complete. I would still advice to buy both books, but if I had to pick only one, my choice would be the first. 

I also recently purchased one more book: Dimensional Bead Embroidery by Jamie Cloud Eakins. I am not sure I really needed it, but after reading her Beading with Cabochons, I just couldn’t stop my hand from clicking on “buy” when the new one was released! While I didn’t have much time to go through it, I can say that chapters are laid out quite similarly to her first book and pictures are still amazing. I will hopefully soon be able to read it and write a more complete review. 

I would also like to point out that many other books on the topic are available, and they might be as valid as the ones I talked about in this post. What I am saying is just that, for a beginner, the ones I mentioned are of great help and a source of inspiration which will allow you to confidently move your first steps in the fantastic world of bead embroidery!

Here you can see my first completed creation and here you can find out more about my first practical experiments with this technique. Now, I would love to hear about yours too: which books do you think are the most inspiring? Do you have any favorite material/stitch/fringe technique? Share them in the comments! 

…and have a beautiful day full of creativity!

P.s. If you don’t want to miss any crafty project, remember to follow the blog by clicking on the “join this site” button in the right column ;-)

Native flowers

Hi everyone! 

The sun of this days has, once again, inspired a spring-looking necklace :-) . This time I decided to experiment with a technique that is quite new for me: bead embroidery. I read a couple of very good books on the topic and here you can see a more detailed post about this experience to find out everything, but now, back to the piece! 

I made this native-American inspired necklace for the January 2013 Beadaholique contest “January Gems” (you can see all the finalists here) starting from a 18x13mm carnelian cabochon. After attaching it to a Lacy’s Stiff Stuff base, I embroidered the circular motif using size 11/0 Czech seed beads, 15/0 Japanese rocailles and size B Nymo thread. I then finished sewing and Ultra Suede backing and fringes made of seed beads, round bamboo coral and 4mm fire-polished beads.  

To add a final spring touch, I decorated the pendant with Lucite flowers and made a pair of matching earrings. 

I hope you like them, and I wish you a great day full of creativity!

P.s. If you don’t want to miss any crafty project, remember to follow the blog by clicking on the “join this site” button in the right column ;-)