BRACELET IN PINK BEAUTY ON THE LOOM

PRETTY IN PINKS LOOM BRACELET

 

 

 

BRACELET BEADING ON A LOOM

LOOM BEADING AGAIN

I have pulled out one of my looms and have been trying out some of my odds and ends beads to find some fun use of those beads in a bracelet.

I apologize for this terrible photo. I just had bad luck with my camera today.

I will be visiting our very large bead store..  Shipwreck Beads in Lacey Washington some time this week to pick out a few bracelets closures.

I am learning to just have fun and it is amazing that these projects can start out as one style and then I change them mid way.  I certainly do not mind pulling my beads back off the loom so I can go in a completely different direction with my bracelets.

Be brave, if your project starts to disappoint you then by all means try something else.  Be courageous and brave...and have fun with your loom projects!!  If the bracelet doesn't please you then how about making it a beautiful bookmark?!

AN INTERESTING LOOM PATTERN.

 

This is a pattern I transferred several years ago. It is done in several section then sewn together. I think it would be a fun project. Hopefully I will begin this one about the end of March. That is my plan.

 

 

 

 

Okay. my pity party is over and I am back to my favorite looming blog.  I will get busy on some project real soon and get photos posted too.

Thank you Solorn for your words of wisdom!!

MY LATEST LOOMBEADING PROJECT

This is my latest loom project. Sometimes I just have to stop what ever I am crafting and do a loom project.

This started out as a bookmark but as it took form I really liked it and decided that it would fit well on my wrist as a pretty bracelet.

Several small bowls held many of the different colored beads I used in this project.

I am pleased with this  finished project and I look forward to making it into a bracelet by adding a closure to fit the style.

The joy of loom beading is your beading can take on a life of it's own and turn out to be a completely different type of item than when you started. That is the fun of loom beading!

Test patterns and playing with color combos

 I have been playing around with different colors to use in my Butterfly loom pattern.

That is why you see different background colors in this project.
I am not happy with any of these colors so I did disassemble this project before going much further.

You will never know what colors will look good together in a loom pattern until you take a chance and start beading them together. You may be surprised what color combinations please you.

Another lucky find

I am lucky enough to be married to a Machinist and he is closing out his shop that he has had for over 40 years.

The first thing I did was to ask if I could be have the cabinets that held washers, nuts, bolts and many other small items.  I knew I could never afford to buy units as these and I was thrilled when he said I could have all I wanted.

Above are a few of the sets that I grabbed up for all my bead projects.

There are many different sized drawers with larger areas to hold my larger collection of beads.

Many different types of beads fit real well in these drawers.

I love how easy it is for me to see all my beads.

And all my restringing projects are very easy to get to .

I have decided that for now I will store all my beads by color.  I am spending to much time just trying to decide what to work on so it may not be so overwhelming when I limit the color selection first.

I will let you know how that works for me!

A CHANGE IS COMING AT LAST FOR ME

I am getting my life more organized so I see BEAD WORK in my near future again.

I have reorganized my craft room and I did a wonderful job of sorting through my book stash and I am donating many of them.

I sat down one day and made a list of what crafts thrill me the most. You see, I have so many different types of crafts stored away that it has cause me to feel very frustrated. 


When I enter my craft room I want to start crafting but there is so many projects that I have saved that I am overwhelmed and by the time I leave the craft room I have not done any projects.

So I took some time and made a list of just what types of projects really excite me.  This is the list I came up with...
1. Loom Beading.
2. Embroidery Work
2. Cross Stitch

These is the top 3 of my crafting project I wish to continue.
Among my other collections of crafts I have a large assortment of Pine cones and sea shells.

I will spent the time between now and Christmas of 2012 constructing the pine cone project and also the sea shell projects.  And of course I will spend my evenings doing my hand stitching and beading on one of my many looms.

I have a wonderful feeling of freedom and control. I no longer feel overwhelmed when I enter my craft room but see the few wonderfully fun projects I want to work on.  Each completed project will be wrapped and stored away in boxes in preparation for the Christmas sale late next fall.

I also have many beads...glass, plastic and wooden beads that I will not be using on my loom work so I have been trying to decide just what I want to do with these.  I am listing some sports stuff on Ebay soon and I may post a few there to see if they would sell. Some of the beads are vintage so maybe someone would like them as much as I do.

I will post photos as I complete a project.

A TEST PROJECT

I am trying beading different types of BOOKMARKS and this is my first attempt.
The difficult part will be finding the perfect pattern then finding the best bead color combination.
I already have an idea how to cover and enclose the back side and add a tassel to make it complete.

I have a new camera and picture program and so far I am not happy with the results. A few pictures I uploaded today are yet to be discovered any where in the program.

Be patient with me as I practice, practice, practice with this craft...and hope for better pictures soon!

It is so wonderful, fulfilling, relaxing, and enjoyable to be back to beading once again. I have missed it.

I FINALLY WENT TO THE GREATEST STORE ON EARTH!

While we were doing our Costco shopping in Olympia a few days ago, my husband asked me if I wanted to go by Shipwreck Beads in Lacy, Washington on the way back home.  Believe me, I couldn't get the response out fast enough.

I have been waiting for the right time to visit this enormous Bead store and that day felt like the time to make this adventurous trip.

It took us some time to find this hidden away jewel but we arrived in plenty of time to do LOT'S of shopping.  And shopping I did!

According to the pamphlet they handed out at checkout, this is a family owned and operated business since it was founded in 1969.  Shipwreck Beads first location was in a tiny ship on Olympia's Mud Bay.

At 80,000 square feet, they carry over 8.3 BILLION beads in stock with new items arriving every day.

It is the largest selection of beads available the world over.

And as you can imagine, they also offer a new deli so you can keep on shopping!!

The store is enormous but they make it real easy to find what you are looking for.  They had many colors of my size 11 loom beads but I was disappointed in their lack of selection of beading looms for sale.

There was only one style but fortunately it was the type I was looking for. And at a very good price.

This is a Continuous Bead loom meaning that you can bead an item that is actually longer than the loom itself. Very handy to have when beading hatbands and such.

Since I don't have to pay any shipping the price of these beads were very reasonable.  In Montana I bought these beads at a Crafts store but had pay more to cover their costs and shipping.  But now I can buy them myself right from her source.  And there are many, many color choices to choose from.

And I was excited to find that they sell white size 11 beads in large quantities that saves me even more money.

I am always in need of white beads.

And I was very happy to find these beautiful tubular Turquoise beads at unbelievable prices.  They will work very well added to my beaded feathers.

So I am sooo ready to get back to my beading projects.  It has been a long time since I sat at my loom and now is the time to return to it. 

Of course I will post photos when I am back in the swing of things here.

PROJECT # 9

Project # 9 is complete.

This was an interesting pattern. I enjoyed it so much that I have beaded it in several different colors

 And the red feather is something new for me too. I rather like it.  I was happy to find some additional small red feathers as even a small white feather to add some charm to this feather project.

PROJECT # 4 COMPLETED

I enjoyed working on this feather project and I am real happy the way it turned out.

Of course both ends of this woven bead project were both interwoven with the white thread to hold all the beads together securely.

I have located a nice site on line to order more feathers from so I am going to try to expand my style of feather designs.  So stay tuned!!

A BEADED GIFT FOR A FRIEND

I plan to gift these feathers to a friend for her birthday but I did not have anything to wrap them in. And I do not want to drive into town to purchase a gift box.
I found a shipping box that a book had arrived in ...hmmm, how to wrap it.

I couldn't find a pretty way to wrap it so I came up with the idea of painting the box instead of wrapping it with paper.

I gave it two coats of paint then sat back and waited for it to dry.

I found a few different sizes of pine cones from my cone storage and painted them with a lacquer to help them be stronger as a decoration.

I dug into my feather storage and came up with a few pretty white plum feathers.

I used my glue gun to attach them to the top of the box lid.

I again used the glue gun to attach the pine cones in an attractive design on the lid top.

I found two pretty reddish brown feathers from my feather collection to add a bit of color to the piece.

After many different placing's I decided on the brown feathers rising up out of the arrangement.

I added a few layers of tissue paper inside the box and the feather gift nestles perfectly inside.

She is also a spiritual person so I think she will really appreciate this gift.

PROJECT # 10

This was a fun and interesting project. The thoughts and feeling that occurred during the beading and the joining of these feathers was very special. I know in my heart that beading is without a doubt my true found passion.

PROJECT # 8 COMPLETED

 

PROJECT #7

I had found a batch of glass beads and decided to try them on my loom. The picture is disappointing as this piece really did turn out my better than it shows. I think this type of beading will appeal to the young set when is is applied to the feathers.
I will try to get a better picture of this project.

PATTERN BEAD LOOMING--PROJECT #2

A pattern project...
I ventured on the Internet and found some patterns for beading on the loom.

This was my first experience with a actual pattern on the loom and I found it very easy and enjoyable.

I know the pattern ideas will be endless and I am excited to see where this leads me with my love of beading on a loom.