Create a Beadwork Portfolio

What a great idea. Wish I'd thought of it. Yes, I have picture albums all over my computer for various sites where I display my work, but I never thought about some of these tips.

A picture accompanied with the description of the work, the materials used, when it was made, if sold, who it was sold to etc. etc. Click on the title to read the original blog post in "Beading Daily" by Jean Campbell.

Printing these out can be expensive, but if you need to carry it with you to show potential buyers it's well worth the extra time and money.

If not you can store it on your computer and still have it readily available. You can have one for items for sale, items sold, UFO's etc. and even one with sketches and plans for future projects.

I'm not much of a planner. I get an idea in my head and "doodle" until the beads go where I want them to, then make a pattern, but sorting and storing pictures of work is definitely something I need to try.

Inspirations for Beading

Picasa Web Albums - 18HandsGallery - may show/beaders

Check out the slide show on this web site. Some really inspiring eye candy!

The next time you're stuck for inspiration for shapes or color combinations check out some scrapbook suppliers for the patterned papers. Thanks to Inspirational Beading for that tip.

Beadwork Shows and Books

Wow! I guess the season for summer shows, festivals, contests etc. is in full swing across the nation.
The Rockwell Museum of Western Art in Corning, New York is displaying art work of two different Native American artists until October.
"Visions Beyond Clay: The Artwork of Tammy Garcia"
"Sewing the Seeds: 200 Years of Iroquois Glass Beadwork," The items in the exhibit come from the 2,000-piece collection of Iroquois beadwork assembled by Dolores Elliott of Binghamton.

I'm unable to determine where Steward is, (I'm assuming Alaska, but never assume) "Across town, the Qutekcak Native Tribe hosted its second-annual Native Arts and Crafts Fair, with 18 vendors displaying an array of beadwork, jewelry, sealskin pillows, carved knives and more".

Beading Daily has announced it's summer beadwork challenge.

And Native American Art History Books has put this fabulous book of Native American designs up for sale. At the time of this writing used books are available for as little as 81 cents and new books start as low as $1.99. Check them all out and happy beading and selling during this beautiful summer.

St. Petersburg Chain

SQUEEEEEE. I finally had that A Ha moment! Yes I know it's very undignified to squeal like a school girl, but I just can't help it. In my last post I said I was having trouble with the St. Petersburg Chain stitch. I've been trying to wrap this poor old brain around it for months! I have free beadwork tutorials by Howling Rabbit, Maria Oldring, and Alexis (sorry, all the URLs I have for these no longer work) and I've gone back and forth from one to the other trying to make it work. It works for a while and I would get a little bit done, lay it down and when I came back I'd be just as lost as I was in the beginning. I'm so backward I just couldn't get the concept to stick.

Today I put it aside after one more frustrating attempt to grasp it and went on about other things. Out of nowhere a perfect picture video style flowed through my mind. I ran back to my bead mat, picked up the instructions, and sure enough, there it was on the instructions, in plain sight, but I just hadn't been able to get the sequence right.

Ok, not much to report. Just a word of encouragement to anyone out there who's been grappling with a stitch forever, don't give up. In will finally soak in. :)

New Creative Outlet

My bead muse seems to have left me for sunnier climes. Unfortunately she didn't offer to take me along, so I'm stuck here in the fog and drizzle unable to focus on the St. Petersburg Chain I'm trying to finish. I keep forgetting where I go from here and have to refer back to the instructions. Frustrating!

So, I started playing around with photo shop and experimenting with what I could do with pictures of my beadwork. The ones I like best look something like mother of pearl and are made by distorting a buffalo nickle with a beaded bezel around it. The red one shown above I removed the green beads and distorted a picture of a rose from my garden to make a red taffeta look background.

I started a whole new category in my Zazzle shop called Weird Faces. As you look at them bear in mind that all of the pictures are distortions of pictures of beadwork. It seemed that no matter how I distorted a picture I saw a face in it, so I just decided to make faces on purpose.

OK enough playing around. I really should get some housework done before the temperature goes back up to 92 tomorrow.

Beaded Wedding Dress

Owens-Hudson | SCNow

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"The bride wore a strapless Casablanca satin gown, with dramatic beadwork accentuating the waistline. She carried a bouquet of sunflowers, roses and tulips, wrapped in ivory satin ribbon."

If you've got a June wedding coming up, I hope you haven't waited til the last minute to do the beadwork. Sometimes we think we'll do it ourselves and add a personal touch to that perfect garment for a special occasion. Beadwork is fulfilling, personal and can turn an ordinary garment into an heirloom, but remember it DOES take time.

Happy beading.