Book review: Beaded lace snowflake ornaments by Sandra D.Halpenny

Title: Beaded lace snowflake ornaments 

Author: Sandra D. Halpenny 
Rating: 9/10 
Number of pages: 88 
Subject: Beaded snowflakes 
Level: intermediate 
Main techniques: Circular netting 

Beaded lace snowflake ornaments is a  very detailed and specific book. It mainly is a pattern paperback, with a small introduction on materials and techniques (7 pages), followed by 14 beautiful snowflakes (see more snowflake ideas here).

Each project is clearly illustrated with extremely precise drawings. They are so intuitive that I almost didn’t read the written instructions while stitching. Sandra D. Halpenny did an amazing job in making every step crystal clear and in creating an incredible variety on such a narrow topic.

The only downside of the book is represented by pictures of the finished items, which are not very good quality. Furthermore, there are not many  tips on how to use the creations or change effects by using different bead sizes and finishes (but you can find some in the next paragraphs :-) ). However, as I said earlier, this is mainly a pattern book and it does an excellent job at fulfilling this purpose.

I must point out that the text can be quite pricey, if you don’t find it on sale. If you are interested in few patterns, though,  you can purchase them individually on the author’s website here and then create a large amount of different looks by changing color, size and finishes of beads.

In the pictures below, you can see some examples: on the top left, snowflake #2 was made with size 11/0 Ornela Czech transparent and silver-lined beads. On the top right I used slightly larger silver lined and white beads with a pearl finish, together with Swarovski crystals and Czech firepolished 4mm beads to bring to life snowflake #4. On the bottom left, with the same beads (except for the crystals), I made snowflakes #7, while the last one (snowflake #12) was created with the same seed beads of the first, adding some 4mm firepolished beads.

Once you finish, you can use the snowflakes to make cute holiday and winter decorations: from Christmas tree ornaments, to gift cards and boxes embellishments; from festive earrings to icy wreaths…let your creativity fly!

…and have a wonderful day! 

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 ;-)