Bead Embroidery

This is my first attempt at bead embroidery. The large circle on the right is a Mandala done in Peyote stitch. Mandala's are said to have healing powers and at the time, I was needing some healing and this piece evolved.

I had so much fun with it that when I heard about Robin Atkin's Bead Journal Project (http://www.beadjournalproject.com/), I decided to join and make a commitment of one piece a month for a year. It doesn't have to be bead embroidered or covered from top to bottom with beads, but it does need to be the same consistent size each month and have some beads on it.

The idea of expressing a feeling or feelings through beadwork once a month really appealed to me.

It begins January 1, but we are not allowed to post any of our work on the Bead Journal Project Three until April. We can, however, post to our own blogs. So I am hoping to post once or twice a month on the piece I am doing for the project.

The above piece is 4"x6" and what I learned from that is that I would need to go smaller for the project. I'm too new at this and I want it to be fun. I don't want to bite off more than I can chew. I also want to incorporate polymer clay as an added element; maybe a cane slice, small sculpture or beads. I'm really looking forward to it.