Hot! Hot! Hot! July Bead Journal Project

OK!  I'm way behind!  I know it is already October and I've just finished my Bead Journal Project for July.  There were several reasons for the delay.

The main reason for my taking so long is that I wanted to make a dichroic glass cab that represented the sun.  Seemed like a good idea, but it actually took me over a month.  I'll spare you the gorey details.

After making a "sun" that I thought I could use, I could not figure out how to place it on the backing so I could bead around it.  I ended up breaking off some of the rays and refiring the piece, so that I could place it in the upper left hand corner.  That helped!

Once that was done, it was not difficult to figure out a beading design.  I wanted to show how HOT the month of July was and using all the "hot" colors was a no brainer.  These colors are not my favorite colors - as I'm a "cool color gal" by nature.  But once I gave myself permission to get wild and crazy it finally took shape.

So here is my July Bead Journal Project.   Not my favorite, but it does represent the very hot weather we experienced here in the high desert of Southern California.

You can view the work of other members of the Bead Journal Project by going to these links:
http://beadjournalproject4.blogspot.com/
http://blog2beadjournalproject4-2011.blogspot.com/

You won't be disappointed by all the creativity!  Happy Beading Everyone!

Bead Journal Project - May 2011 - May Gray (with a little bling!)

I don't know what happened, but time got away from me.  Here it is the end of June and I just finished my May Bead Journal Project.   I know one of the reasons I got a late start was because I didn't have any gray dichroic glass (do they even make any?) and I was determined to use the May Gray theme. So I pondered and procrastinated and then I took a vacation and went to the Bead and Button Show in Milwaukee (more about that in another post). It was just a short flight from Milwaukee to South Dakota where my family lives, so I continued my vacation with them for another 10 days. By the time I got back home and resettled into beading, June was almost gone too!

I call this piece "May Gray" because out here in California, the month of May is often full of gray days.   The large dichroic piece has a grayish bluish purplish hue.  I surrounded it with some size 8 Ceylon grey/lilac beads and then added the matte cylinder beads in an outward array.  The layers all use muted colors from gray to pale yellow (with some shiny beads interspersed), hoping to represent the changes throughout the month of May.  I added the dichroic glass hands of a clock in the 5 o'clock position to represent the 5th month.

You can view the Bead Journal Projects of others on these two sites:
http://blog2beadjournalproject4-2011.blogspot.com/
http://beadjournalproject4.blogspot.com/

Bead Journal Project - April Showers Bring Spring Flowers

OK, not a very original title for my April Bead Journal Project, but it just seems so right for this month.  I was able to use three of my "DichroCentric" dichroic glass beads and turn them into Spring flowers.  When I was almost 3/4 of the way finished, I did think of another idea for this month's project that excited me a little bit more than this one, but I was so close to being finished.  I'll just save that idea for another rainy day!

You can view many other beautiful BJP's on these blogs:  http://beadjournalproject4.blogspot.com/ and
http://blog2beadjournalproject4-2011.blogspot.com/. 

Bead Journal Project for March 2011

I had high hopes when I chose my dichroic glass cab to use for the March Bead Journal Project.  It was green and it was quirky.  I was sure I was going to make a Pathway to Spring and show it coming in like a lion and leaving like a lamb.  Now that I've finished it, it looks more like some wild cosmic galaxy swirling in outer space.  Therefore I have named it "I Have No Clue How This Relates to March!"  Whatever --- it is finished on time this month! 

It was a bear to photograph.  The dazzle of the size 15 gold plated rocailles in the green pathway have no "dazzle."  But at least I got a different comment from my husband this month, "That's pretty wild!"  Not sure if that is an improvement over "that's different" or not. :}  Hmmmmm - maybe I could call it 'March Madness.'

If you are interested in seeing more Bead Journal Projects by other artists, check out these blogs:

http://blog2beadjournalproject4-2011.blogspot.com/

http://beadjournalproject4.blogspot.com/

February Bead Journal Project

My new motto:  Better Late Than Never!  For my 2011 Bead Journal Project, I am creating 3"x3" bead embroidered art pieces around my dichroic glass cabochons for each month of the year.  I just finished my February BJP piece (only 10 days late).

For February, I wanted to make a dichroic glass heart to bead around and I was quite pleased with how it turned out.  For some reason, abstract swirls came to my mind, so using the pinks, reds, golds and purples in the glass, I came up with this design.

It will be interesting to see how all these different "bead paintings" look together at the end of the year.  I'm sure I will hear my husband's most used comment when he views my bead work, "That's different."  But that's OK because I'm having such fun with these!

 

Bead Journal Project - January 2011

I'm only one day late in finishing my very first Bead Journal Project!  Yay!  I thought I was being so smart to limit my size to 3x3".  Believe me, that is huge when it comes to doing bead embroidery.  Next year, I will think even smaller! 

I am hoping to put all of my monthly projects together into an art picture, so I am leaving the edges unfinished until I know how I'm going to put them all together.  I will be using one of my own dichroic glass cabochons for each month of the year. This cab has always reminded me of a winter blizzard, so I thought it was appropriate for January. You can see just a bit of the trees, buildings and ground through the swirling snow.

This was very difficult to photograph, so it looks a bit blue in this picture.  All of the beads (except for the green ones) are crystal, silver or white and many have an AB finish.

I'm very happy with my first Bead Journal Project and excited that I finished my January project before leaving for the Tucson bead shows tomorrow.