25 Sunday Aug 2013
Tags
bead embroidery, beads, beadwork, bracelet, costume, jewellery, jewelry, peyote stitch, wedding
I took five white stones in an assortment of opaque, clear, and milky and attached them to a strong backing with my favorite peyote stitch, then decorated the rest of the fabric. The backing is faux suede. It closes with pearls and beaded loops. I like it!
White Bridal Cuff
20 Tuesday Aug 2013
Posted in applique, bead embroidery, Beadwork, burlesque, costume, fascinator, Headdress
This fascinator became so fancy that it looked like it was going to become a full showgirl headpiece. Well it didn’t, but the name “Demi Showgirl” seemed apt.
I made the base a feather like shape and fully beaded it, adding my favorites, coloured stones, which are attached with the decreasing peyote stitch, which is my fave stitch right now. The base is wired so it can shape to any head.
Turquoise and White “Demi Showgirl” side view
I dyed the feathers to match the turquoise. That was fun and I am looking forward to more feather dyeing in my future!
Turquoise and White “Demi Showgirl” front view
With a few chunky pearls and a bit of fringe, I think I have started a new style of fascinator that I will develop more.
Turquoise and White “Demi Showgirl” close up
Demi Showgirl – Close Up
08 Monday Jul 2013
Posted in Beads, beadweaving, Beadwork, bracelet
Tags
beadweaving, beadwork, bracelet, jewellery, jewelry, peyote stitch
Just three new bracelets that will be up on Etsy for sale very soon. The middle one is cool because it has a beaded bead (peyote stitched tube) threaded onto a beaded chain (herringbone stitch). The bottom bracelet is in ombre colours from black through brown, to copper, then gold. Very pretty under the light and against darker skin.
Enjoy!
Three New Bracelets
Don’t forget to click for a larger view. 🙂
18 Tuesday Jun 2013
Posted in bead embroidery, Beads, Beadwork, burlesque, costume, fascinator, Headdress, Jewellery
Tags
applique, bead embroidery, beads, beadwork, burlesque, costume, fascinator, Great Gatsby, Headdress, jewellery, jewelry, peyote stitch
The 20’s headdress is coming along quite nicely. I have one side medallion done and have started the other side. I have solid brown coloured headbands ready to incorporate too. I just have to decide if two or three headbands will be best and if I should shorten them from regular headband length to shorter “crown” length. If the bands are too long, the whole head piece will have to sit behind the ears and I don’t think this is what will look the best. I will let you know when I have settled on this. Probably some headbands will be destroyed in the process.
Brown Medallion – Side A
The side medallions are pretty big – 22cm or about 3 – 1/2 inches across. They are nice and thick too – about a centimetre (3/8″) but still flexible.
Brown Medallion – Side A
This is how I am making them: I use a very thick piece of interfacing on top of which I glue a circle of light brown felt (to match the medallion bead colours but not detract from them). Then I bead the medallion top and when I’m done I attach another piece of light brown felt to the back. I seal the edges with a spiral edging stitch.
Here is the third and last medallion being started. I begin by sewing a gold toned glass stone into the centre with a peyote stitch. I lightly glue the stone first to keep it from falling, but once the peyote circle is started, I don’t have to worry about that.
Brown Medallion – Side B
01 Friday Jun 2012
This is a free form bead embroidery that looks to me like some exotic sea creature. With its blue and green jewels, “pearls” and a pendant shell, it’s a blend of all kinds of flotsam and jetsam.
The jewels are held in place with a decreasing peyote stitch. The two fringes on the outside have the beginnings of the spiral stitch that is popular for bracelets.
I pretty much made this up as I went, with only the thought of the two different coloured jewels to get me started. The design is so asymmetrical that I felt a little off dizzy at times, but the sea is not the place to go if you need perfect balance!
