Well, here it is! I've finished my January Bead Journal piece. I scanned it (rather than taking a photo), so the fabric looks a little lumpy because of the big bead. Eventually, I hope to bind all of the pages together somehow into a book of sorts. I still need to add a backing and possibly a border around the whole thing.
I really like the colors of this piece, though I'm not sure I'm satisfied with the layout. I keep looking at it upside-down and liking that better! So, I may flip it. Who knows! I'm just happy that I completed it. I would love to hear any comments/suggestions anyone may have.
I've started work on my January Bead Journal piece! I am working on rectangles of ultrasuede that are about 3.25 inches by 4.5 inches. I took Robin's suggestion and added some acid-free paper to the back for stiffness, and basted that to the ultrasuede with a margin around the edge for finishing. I'll hopefully bind all of the pages together at the end of the project into a little book (binding will be on the far left, so I have a slightly larger margin there.)
Like many folks, I like the idea of various white beads conveying winter/snow. But I decided that I wanted some color, too. I went to one of the local bead shops here and found a nice piece of purple ultrasuede and some pretty little Rhodonite stones, so I began by putting those on. I then added the long tube beads around the larger stone and have been adding seed beads from there. I am still not sure where this will end up, but I like it so far! I have some pink seed beads and some metallic looking purple-ish seed beads that I hope to add. Hope you enjoy seeing the progress!
I've completed the trial bead embroidery piece that I posted yesterday. I was thinking of doing a border around the edge, but I sort of like that it is irregular and not perfectly round. I'm looking forward to switching gears and starting to think of how I want to approach my first Bead Journal piece for January. I'll be sure to post pictures as I go!
Happy New Year! I am excited to have joined a project called the Bead Journal Project. It was created by bead artist Robin Atkins and involves creating one bead embroidery piece per month for the year 2010. The rules are loose and creativity encouraged - one just has to pick a consistent size for each monthly piece. Otherwise, let your inner artist emerge!
The project has several blogs - I'll be participating in the More Bead Journal Project Three.
I have just recently started dabbling in beads and am absolutely entranced by seed beads and an encrusted style of beading. So, I think I'll be working small (maybe 3 X 4 or so) and just see what mood strikes me each month as I work on each piece. It will be fun to see how it evolves.
I started a trial piece last month just to see how it might progress and I'm nearly done with it. It's a round format and only about 4 inches in diameter. I'll post another picture when it's finished. 
I hope to continue with botanical drawing and pet portraits this year as well, so stay tuned to see what I'm working on. Looking forward to a creative 2010!
