Bead Journal July

"Every Crowd Has a Silver Lining." -- P. T. Barnum

C'mon, are you smiling?

Hope so.

It made me laugh.

I hand sculpted my Bald Headed Beads (copyrighted) from polymer and attached them to the base using Silimide beading thread. I wire wrapped the hanging loops using 16 gauge nickel. Sterling silver jump rings were used to attached the chain. I glued silver lame' to the base and then glued the polymer transfer to the silver lame'. Wishing you lots of silver linings.

Bead Journal June

I sculpted the two peaceful, loving birds from polymer. The Dream talisman is a transfer onto polymer.

I used antique steel cut beads for the neck piece as well as on the front design.

A couple of crystals, seed beads, a piece of turquoise and some fresh water pearls.

The base is Nicole Campanella's Beadwright bead backing material. You can find it HERE (Nicole is temporarily away due to an illness in her family. Please check back again). It was easy to use and I love all the colors it comes in. I made the pocket and lining from material I purchased at JoAnn's Fabrics. I used Krazy Glue to attach the birds and Weldbond glue to attach the material.

Bead Journal June

I was inspired by a woman who carried a talisman in her pocket. She chose something meaningful that would help keep her grounded in stressful moments.

I thought I could apply this helpful idea to myself by putting a "pocket" in my Bead Journal Project.

I can change what talisman I use; or insert a wish or two.

But, for today and tomorrow, it's about feeling peaceful, loving and full of dreams.

Bead Journal May

These are the last of the BJP photos for the May project.

Just a couple of different views.

And an explanation of the construction. The embroidery base is Lacey Stiff Stuff. The fabric used for the back and inside is from JoAnn's Fabrics. The beads are simple seed beads with a couple of pressed glass leaves thrown in. The stringing material is Silimide and I used a #10 beading needle. I used Kato polymer clay for the transfer and WeldBond to adhere the polymer to the fabric. I really enjoyed this piece. Working on polymer beads tomorrow.

Bead Journal May

Each monthly Bead Journal Project has been a joyous challenge for me. A creative assignment due by the end of the month.

I get to experiment and play and then have "show and tell". Then the realization of--but I will also be sharing emotions--hit. Oh jeez, how would that be-on the internet, yet?

And, what surprised me even more was viewing other Bead Journal Project members' work and being completely moved by their sharing.

Robin Atkins' April's Bead Journal Project really touched my soul. Her piece was on "Forgiveness" and it was beautiful. If you get a chance stop by her blog, Beadlust to take a look.

Bead Journal May

"And the day came when the risk to stay tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to bloom." - Anais Nin

Taking risks is so scary. I have put off entering competitions or showing my work because without a formal art education, what chance does one have? Recently, I entered the Progress and Possibilities competition. I have wanted to enter for years. Such a simple thing--just to enter, and yet I was terrified. Fear of criticism, fear of rejection, fear of failure, just plain fear. Not knowing how to "size" the entry photo or word the description were just overwhelming. It felt so good just to do it!

Entering Robin Atkins' Bead Journal Project was a huge step. I wanted to combine polymer with beading, but was apprehensive. How would that go over? Then I found out the BJP was about expressing oneself through beads. The monthly project could be covered in beads or have only a few, as long as it had some beads, it could include other materials.

I love creating with polymer and being able to combine it with my beading has been a great bonus.

Bead Journal April

"There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly."-R. Buchminster Fuller

Experimented with April's Bead Journal Project; backed it with some material, used a smidgen of fiber string for the caterpillar and a polymer butterfly cane I made a while ago.

Glued the material on the back and folded it over the top to form a sort of tunnel for my necklace cording.

Made a copy of the quote, scanned it in my computer and flipped it horizontally so I could put it on the polymer. Conditioned some white polymer and ran it through the pasta machine on a thin setting, printed the quote out on some baking parchment and immediately applied it to the white polymer and baked it at 250 degrees for 45 minutes.

It smudged on the word "butterfly", but I am going to practice until I get this to transfer without smudging. The little caterpillar is on the side of the left leaf and the polymer butterfly is on the right.

Yeah, I'm happy with it. The quote just struck a cord in me--it took a long time to find myself; to struggle out of that cocoon. Who knew there was a butterfly in there, but once out, I soared and have enjoyed the ongoing process ever since. (OK, a couple crash landings, but I got up again).

Bead Journal April

I worked on this yesterday. I keep starting new ones. I can't seem to get the feeling I want to express put down in beads.

Tomorrow I am going to concentrate on finishing the insides of these pieces. I'm attempting the transfers again. Yeah, good luck on that one.

I need to finish things up.

Finally bought a new gun case. It is one size larger than my beading case so it will hold blocks of clay, my tools and a box for the in-process pieces without any problems.

Tomorrow I will fit it with some blocks of clay and a better in-process box. That was about the extent of my creating yesterday.

I Won Paris Gal's Giveaway!

I bead embroidered on the pattern of this small swatch of material. I won one of Rhonda's (of "A Little Bit French" blog) Friday giveaways and this little piece of gorgeous material was in it along with lots of other goodies.

The colors were beautiful and so different from what I usually do, I just had to try it.

It is still in process, but I'm really liking it. Thank you Rhonda for your generosity and beautiful packaging of my Friday giveaway present.

And most of all thank you for all of your handmade goodies. Your tags, labels, trims, materials, lace, ribbons and stamps are wonderful. It is no wonder you do so well on Etsy (http://www.parisgal56.etsy.com/). Visit Rhonda's shop here.

I received the material I embroidered and everything in the above photo. That's a fantastic giveaway! Thank you again Rhonda.

Featured in Polymer Clay Daily!

Woo Hoo! Yippee! Yay! I have been dancing around all day! Cynthia Tinapple's Polymer Clay Daily featured one of my beaded polymer pieces.

I got an email from my friend Linda Moseley of Diva Designs Jewelry congratulating me and I thought "What???" Oh my gosh I was blown away. What a great feeling and honor to be featured on PC Daily!

-Thank you Cynthia for taking the time to write such nice things about my piece. I know I have talked about Polymer Clay Daily before, but it's worth repeating.

-Context based from Polymer Clay Daily: “Cynthia Tinapple of Worthington, Ohio started Polymer Clay Daily in September, 2005. Polymer Clay Daily is a highly curated blog written by Cynthia to showcase fine polymer clay art and to serve as a portal to the polymer clay community.”

-And about my friend Linda-she has a great blog called scdiva in which she shares her talent and experience in working with polymer. Her tutorials are fantastic. Diva Designs Jewelry is fantastic. This day has been fantastic and I'm pretty sure today's blog will be up tomorrow too because I'm going to bask in this one.

-Just like the Oscars--I also have to thank Robin Atkins for Bead Journal Project 3 (see sidebar) for accepting me in her project. I committed to one beaded piece per month for a year and each one has to be the same size for the year. I felt by joining BJP I would be able to combine my polymer with my beading and also process some issues in a positive way through creating.

January, February and March's BJP

Bead Journal Projects for January, February and March.

Above-the inside reads, "I always try to balance the heavy with the light-a few tears of human spirit in with the sequins and fringes." by Bette Midler

Above inside reads: "You cannot prevent the birds of sadness from passing over your head, but you can prevent their making a nest in your hair." - Chinese Proverb

Inside: "If malice or envy were tangible and had a shape, it would be the shape of a boomerang." by Charley Reese

"Sometimes our thoughts and lives get a little smeared before we manage to make them clear again." - Whytefeather (I was complaining how unhappy I was with the smeared lettering). If you get a chance, read yesterday's comments. They are so powerful.

If Envy Had a Shape, It Would Be a Boomerang

The words read "If malice or envy were tangible and had a shape, it would be the shape of a boomerang." by Charley Reese

I hate the transfer and it was a lot of work. It's blurred, sloppy and just a mess.

It hangs nicely and it will fit perfectly in the mosaic, but I know I will end up either covering the messy words, painting over them or removing the polymer completely.

But I don't think I will be able to remove it because it is cemented to the Lacy Stiff Stuff. Maybe I will try a transfer on pure white instead of the translucent; or maybe fabric or just plain paper.

To reiterate one more time, my Bead Journal Projects are my way of giving myself permission to process negative feelings in a positive way. She is a colorful, art filled being with a good soul. Her face is full of confusion because she thought she was one thing, but learned she was another.