I have finished my April Bead Journal piece. Yes, I'm clearly a bit behind, but plugging along! I did not encrust the whole piece this time - partly to save time and partly because I chose a more planned, geometric design, and I think it looks nicer with a bit of white space.
I originally wanted to do a beaded version of a pysanky (a Ukrainian Easter egg that is 'written' on with a stylus and beeswax, and dyed from light to dark colors). I chose a star pattern design with a red background. I began beading on white felt, as that is the background you would have if you began with an ordinary, raw egg (if you were doing pysanky.)
However, my beads (mostly size 11) were a little large to get the detail to fit into the relatively small piece of felt. So, I just beaded what I could of the design and improvised the rest. I had some lovely Mookite stone beads in various shades of dark red as well as tan, so I worked those in, too. Overall, I think the piece came out nicely and definitely reflects the sunny bright feeling I had in April with the onset of spring as well as the Easter season.
