Midnight at the Oasis - a mixed media bead embroidered necklace

Midnight at the Oasis 

"It's midnight at the oasis, send your camel to bed," sang the incomparable Maria Muldaur. My friends and I used to howl with laughter as we sang along! Now I find myself nostalgic for the song if you can believe it. 

This bead embroidery necklace uses complicated clusters of graduated stacks of seed beads to create the texture. The photograph just doesn't show how dimensional it is. If you'd like to see all my process shots, there's a three-part post on my blog that starts at the link. 

Copyright 2020 Cyndi Lavin. All rights reserved.

Phoebe - a mixed media bead embroidered necklace

Phoebe

Hello friends! I haven't had time to work on new pieces since I'm still running a food pantry and hot meals program during the Time of Covid. So I thought I'd take a bit of a trip down memory lane and share some of my older pieces again. I hope you don't mind. This one is called Phoebe. She is named for Saturn's ice moon, which was in turn named for a Titan of Greek mythology. 

 Copyright 2021 Cyndi Lavin. All rights reserved. 

Fossils

I got this great polymer clay cabochon set from Sherri Kellberg, BeadazzleMe. I thought I just needed a push to get back into making things, and this seemed to do it. I am trying to set aside some creative time when I'm not working on or obsessing over the food pantry and meals program.

Further instruction on making bead embroidered pieces can be found in Every Bead Has a Story, where the first chapter is free to download.

Copyright 2020 Cyndi Lavin. All rights reserved.

COVID-19 update

Some of my friends - around the US and around the world - have probably wondered why I've stopped posting new work. Here's why:

I run a food pantry and a weekly dinner for the food insecure, lonely, and marginalized people in my community. With the covid-19 crisis, my work there has increased a higher percentage than I can even figure out. I've been eating, sleeping, and breathing Stone Soup Kitchen Ministries. It has left no vacant brain space for making new art right now.

As an introvert, I would have liked nothing better than to hunker down and just make things. But that wasn't in the cards.  I've been put in a uniquely privileged position to be able to do this, and I thank you all for understanding that it is the most important thing to me right now.

Some day in the not TOO distant future, I hope to be able to create art again.

A bead embroidered floral donut pendant

Available!  Leave me a comment

Just last week I finished and posted a pendant using one of Yvonne Irvin-Faus's quirky fun pieces.  Seems I'm on a roll!  For this one, I decided to go more elaborate with the bail, stitching up a butterfly bail.  They are waaay easier to make than they look.  In fact, when I was on vacation last summer, I stitched up a whole bunch of these. 

Which leads me to an idea.

If you are stuck inside right now, especially if you can't get the exact materials you'd like in order to start/continue/finish a project, or if you are finding your creativity waning because of stress, try this.  Pick an easy small project like bails and make a bunch of them in various colors.  It doesn't have to be bails.  It doesn't have to be anything fancy.  It doesn't have to be something for a specific project.  JUST MAKE SOMETHING...ANYTHING!  The act of making, of moving your hands, will open your mind and unblock your creativity.  I promise.  I've seen it work hundreds of times. 
 
As always, if you are interested in getting started with bead embroidery, I invite you to download a free copy of my e-book's first chapter, Every Bead Has a Story.  If other forms of beading interest you, please check out the Tutorials tab at the top of the blog.  It's a good time to plan and try out a new art form!

Copyright 2020 Cyndi Lavin. All rights reserved. 

Eyes of March #2

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I love these bright fun pieces by Yvonne Irvin-Faus.  Yvonne has a site you can check out called MyElements by Yvonne.  In fact, I just realized when I went to post this piece that I had made a similar one almost exactly a year ago!  You can see it at the link...it's a bit more elaborate than this one.

As always, if you are interested in getting started with bead embroidery, I invite you to download a free copy of my e-book's first chapter, Every Bead Has a Story.  If other forms of beading interest you, please check out the Tutorials tab at the top of the blog.  Since we are all laying low right now, due to the virus, it's a good time to plan and try out a new art form!

Copyright 2020 Cyndi Lavin. All rights reserved. 

Peaceful fox: a bead embroidered pendant

Available!  Leave me a comment

This pendant features a pyrography fox cabochon that I bought from House of the Green Lady on etsy.  I fell in love with him the moment I saw him.  He is only 1 1/2 inches tall and an inch wide, so I wanted to keep the embellishment pretty simple and straightforward.  He has a square stitched bail on the back.   

Copyright 2020 Cyndi Lavin. All rights reserved.