My Own Design/Christmas Cheer

I've been working hard this season preparing Christmas gifts for a few of my closest relatives. I have yet another doily in the works; this time mostly of my own design. The season must be having an impact on my psyche, because it's definitely taken on a wintry, snowflake like feel than the previous designs. The primary colors are my usual pearl white (semi-transparent), cobalt blue (opaque), and rainbow blue (transparent with pearlized finished). I've also added a hint of gold that gives it an almost elegant finish at the center of the piece. It's all done in 8's. Unfortunately, it appears that one of the beads (the cobalt, I think) may be a little off in size, so I'm seeing some ruffling. Hopefully, that will disappear (it usually does) as the piece continues to grow.

In addition, I have some earrings and a necklace in the works. With only one more week before Christmas I am feeling the crunch. Ugh... Time to start burning the midnight oil!

Jupiter's Moons

I just finished one of my rare stringing projects. I was inspired by a project I saw in the December 2007 Beadwork magazine called "Geisha Necklace". Its flat coin pearls reminded me of some flat glass beads I had picked up not too long ago at Hobby Lobby. They are a wonderful swirl of yellow and orange that reminded me of storms of Jupiter. It was one of those "clicking" moments where suddenly disparate beads (that had been bought for previously unfinished projects) instantly belong together. I had some wonderful 4mm fire bicones (yellow turns to orange), an assortment of pewter spacer beads, onyx polished chips, onyx rondelles, and a large lava medallion. It turned out really cool! It reminded me of the lava flows around Hawaii's volcano or the explosive nature of Jupiter's moon, Io, so I named it "Jupiter's Moons".

Doilies Revamped

Over the last few months I have rediscovered the wonderful world of doilies through beadweaving. The inspiration was a couple of different doilies that appeared in Bead & Button magazine this year that I just fell in love with and have been working diligently on. I have altered the original pattern of the one that appeared in the June '07 addition from the simple black and turquoise pattern to a more traditional looking floral dish type pattern. I've done a couple of these now and gotten rave reviews, but keep forgetting to take pictures before I give them to their new owner. Finally I have a picture of one in progress. I have significantly altered this one from the original color pattern, so I am very pleased with its results. The piece shown below is about half way done. I'll post more pictures in time (promise!).

Be a Beader

You know, I've never been much of a bead stringer. I love beads. I love what you can do with beads. But I've never been much good at simply stringing a bunch of beads together and calling it a finished piece. For me, it needs to be much more complex than that to be truly satisfying.


I am a beadweaver at heart. What really attracts me are methods that creates beautifully detailed images out of seemingly simple processes. Circular netting, right angle weave, brick stitch, square stitch, peyote stitch....I could go on and on. These are processes that take a great deal longer than simply stringing beads together, but are immensely satisfying when completed. There is simply nothing to rival the feel of a sheet of woven glass beads as it passes over your skin. It's absolutely magical! Place it in sunlight and it dances like water.


My current project has been a pair of beaded doilies that appeared in the February 2007 and June 2007 of Bead & Button magazine. The patterns were developed by Meghana Kamat and are done in circular netting. (Check out her website at beadsymphony.com) Her work is absolutely stunning if only for the intricate patterns they create (her color choices don't always thrill me). I have completed one doily closely based on the June doily (but in different colors) and am currently working on another doily loosely based on the February doily. (Same pattern but will reveal a completely different interpretation.) I will post the images of each shortly.


I highly recommend Bead & Button and BeadStyle magazines as sources of inspiration. Particularly Bead & Button, as it tends to have more intricately detailed work in it. You can also find some great ideas on their website at beadandbutton.com.

The Art of Zen Beading

I'm going to jump on the bandwagon here and call this particular stream of thought "The Art of Zen Beading". I have been working on a "butterfly" bowl for my mother's birthday during my lunch/dinner hour (I work second shift at the moment) out in my car (standard size Buick with bench seats, lots of room to spread out in) for about the last two weeks. I have decided that I really enjoy being outside while I bead, in the fresh air and sunlight, with no distractions. You can really focus and I feel like I get so much more done than when I am at home (a cramped trailer with more junk in it than I care to think about). I experience the same sort of freedom when I go to my parents and bead on their back porch (unfortunately, they live an hour away, so I only get to do this once a month, if I am lucky). The colors are so much more clear and you get a real feel for what works and what doesn't. It's soooooo much more relaxing when you take a hobby, such as beading, outdoors! I have to admit, I'm hooked!

And so it begins....

This is my first time blogging, so bear with me. I've been wanting to do something like this for a while now but as many of us busy worker bees know, time is not always on our side. Hopefully, as I become more comfortable with this medium, you will begin to see and learn new things about beading that will keep you coming back. Here's to beading the future beautifully!