Edging into September with Beaded AB and Calendar pages

I should have posted a few hours ago but I got all caught up in making pages for the September Calendar Journal.

I finished up the last week of August with a pocket for the old calendar page.  I like doing a tag a day and kinda personalizing them.   The tag with a couple of beads and a leaf was the day I tackled my beaded edging.  :)

I tweaked the first day of September with ribbon to cover the sewing and added a bigger sticker to cover a bad choice for a sticker.  Then I added 3 black crystals to the September page set. We are bringing on the Bling!  The September page says, "she understood the need for change"!  This is an understatement as I seem to be facing it on all fronts!  

I had done the first set of pages for September and was doing the rest of the month.  The first was too bright even after an initial attempt to get the two pages to flow together so...

I dulled it down and added a bit of bling to Jolina's photo.  I had already adhered the flower and the sticker  so I tried to be careful.  The first photo of the post shows the better flow.

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I really liked adding the beads to the Altered Book on Leaves that I'm working on alongside some others over at Bluebeard and Elizabeth's blog,  Altered Book Lover.  Lesson 16 was the beading tutorial with links to the lesson on windows and doors.  Lesson 17 is our next tutorial for polymer clay but the links for the beaded edges are at the end.  I hope you'll check out my classmates endeavours.

At first I thought thread might work but was cautioned that I need some stiffening to support the heavy beads so I was off to buy wire.  I ended up looking through a couple of beading books on the book shelf at Michael's to see what the thinnest wire was and these nice coloured ones are 26 gauge.  The higher the number the thinner the wire.  The pliers can rub some of the finish off but I was happy with how it worked.  But first I reinforced the edge and used black gesso to colour the piece of card stock that I had glued to the back of the page.  I punched holes and just threaded beads on after tucking the loose end around the wire and up into the first bead.  It took a bit to relax and get creative but it was so much fun I was soon trying various arrangements.

I had precut the wire and barely made it to the end.  I remembered crimp beads and was able to add one so I could pinch it for a good finish!

I did add a bit more red to the bottom of the page and I think I can call this set finished.  They are 'tip ins' and are ready to be glued into the book.

The back looks okay so I don't feel the need to disguise it at all.

I am definitely going to be adding this great technique to my books and journals!

Big Girl Beader

Patience is indeed a virtue.

All good things come to those who wait is also true but the waiting is not idleness but rather the gathering of experiences.

Then the aha! moment comes.
  The experiences, the number of examples that have been tried come together and a quantum leap happens.  You 'get it'!

So now is the time to make a distinction. 

Beading will be for fibre art.

We will use beads to make jewelry.

Not finished but the beginning of a good jewelry idea!

The best of times/the worst of times

It was one of those days!

I couldn't let the state of the basement remain chaotic any longer.  I had  managed to clear a path through the basement to the laundry area.  I was making piles of keep, don't keep, eliminate and recycle.  I had already washed son #3's wallet.  The various aspects of it had been hung to dry.   8{  I was down investigating the depths of the grey water barrel when my young beader cheerfully announced her arrival a few feet behind me.  :o  It is perhaps good that I already have no colour left in my hair!  It is also good to accelerate the heart every once in a while.  That now done we proceeded to have tea and discuss our beading options.

This charm bracelet has us a bit intimidated! 

So we glazed the polymer clay for this pendant necklace.

My good friend Sherry, who blogs over at Createology has sent us amateur beaders a new book and Jenn happily turned pages and added even more to our wish list.  Some of this stuff looks good enough to eat!  ;^)

Nevertheless

I came to terms with the early spring and today I find that winter is back!  These girls are patiently awaiting the arrival of their offspring.  The front runner is in the barn reconciling the loss of one triplet, encouraging the second and trying to keep track of the third.  The next two are arguing over whose lamb is whose.  A young expectant mother is all excited and annoying everyone because the lamb she is looking for hasn't been birthed yet.  Sheep!!!

Beading class was also not without its no no's but the bracelet was completed to Jenn's satisfaction.  We also learned that the 'string' in the bead kit was the elastic we had needed.  vbsigh!  This bracelet can certainly be improved upon but it is my favourite to date. 

We then had a look at the next project and while it looks a bit complicated we will be proceeding one bead at a time, or should I say, jump ring!  The original bracelet was a thrift shop find.  We removed 3 charms and kept the shoe.  We'll be adding our own selections.  Jenn is a pink and purple gal.

The new art counter is working wonderfully. I may need to actually give up some more form to have function at optimum levels.  This is very different for me and really says something because I like things to look nice.  But I so want to just make 'nice' and I'm not caring so much about pretty surroundings! 

I read a quote somewhere and then had it confirmed by a short video last night that the talent to make great works is there.  But the ability to actually make it falls short and we know it is, well, awful.  I was there.  What I did was not what I envisioned.  I was discouraged.  Thank goodness I didn't quit.  Because it happens to everyone.  What is necessary is to stick, and stay; swallow the salt and then savour the sweet taste of a small success that signals the end of the beginning and the beginning of a whole new exciting journey.  Last week I had that Aha! moment.  Things 'cu licked'.  While I'm still learning, things aren't quite so awful.  I knew I had arrived when my Rooster commented on my new artistic addiction.  :)  I've been noticed.  LOL  I showed him my balance page and asked what he thought.  He took a moment to think.  He said, yes!  VBSigh  Because if he got it, I got it! 

Beautiful Birthday Beads

Seems I need to keep better track of our beading helper!  Yes, this is me explaining things to our young beader.  She wanted to make a bracelet for her mum's birthday.

She had laid out an arrangement last week which she tweaked a bit.  Then she strung them.  A slight glitch as 3 of the beads have been positioned wrongly as the hole does not run as placed.  We had to decrease the size so one was removed but she liked the placement as it was.  Beauty is in the eye of the beader!  :)  She is actually getting quite handy with the chain nose pliers as she places the finishing toggle on the bracelet.

We found a nice box that we made our own and she is quite happy with her present.  Another bead dazzling beading day!

Key to my...

Keys are intriguing.  This is for the hallway and I need to find a good hook to hang these heavy Home Sense keys.

Our beading student does not wear earrings so I thought a key chain might employ some of the earring techniques.  When I saw the key ring the grand kiddie's aunt made I thought this could be a lot of fun.

I already have some 'good stuff' we could incorporate

Then we rolled up some polymer clay, baked it and then put some modge podge on them. I think I'd find something better than that as it is messy.

The flower making was kinda fiddly but FUN!  We fixed the flower on with E6000 adhesive.  I guess we'll see how fragile the petals are! :O

I do think we found a key to success with this project.

Into every life a little red must fall

Goodness, buying beads and bead supplies can put you onto the red very quickly.  LOL

 I dug through my previous acquisitions before we made our 'field trip' to Michael's in the big city.

We settled on Stringing Beaded Jewelry which I felt was the best beginner book. Clear, large pictures and quite a few options.  Then we threw our hands up in the air and went for a kit.  I just added some glue.  I had also surmised that with all my many pliers I was missing the much needed crimpers so we grabbed a pair of them.

Then we just played a bit when we got back.  As I keep saying, "we got options!".

                                                         I hope you have a red letter day!

B is for beads and beautiful

The technique for my page x page challenge was beading. Now I spent a good part of the day on this and it isn't finished. I think I need to elongate the clusters more and make them a bit looser. I also need proper beading thread but the thread I'd gotten definitely showed so I used monofilament thread which I gather is a no/no. But this is all about practice and learning. I learned if I can persevere with thread I can't even see, I can probably do this. Actually, I rather liked it! I liked it a LOT! oh, DEAR!

Now this blog is about my creative efforts. I had nothing much to do with this. But my goodness, CUTE!