Follow up to "Buyer beware" ~ Tiffany sues!

Tiffany has filed suit against eBay not only for facilitating the sale of fakes, but also for profiting off of those sales.

Eyeglass holder

Eyeglass holder

I'm sick, sick, sick of my sunglasses unbuttoning my blouse for me when I stick the earpiece down my neckline!



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Buyer beware

We already know this stuff, but it's a good reminder...

Pearly piece for spring ~ part 2

Finished!

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Untitled pin

Another quick little bead-embroidery project:

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Pearly piece for spring

I've completed three strands just like this one now, and the next step is to weave or braid them together. The base is crocheted silver wire so that the whole piece should hold it's shape quite well.

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New piece for a show

All the Daughters of Eve

A friend invited me to join a local arts organization, and I decided to take the plunge. Actually, I've been thinking about this kind of networking group for awhile, so I was pretty excited when she brought it up. There will be an exhibition this spring on the theme "The Vessel". This is a picture of the piece that I'm submitting for the show.

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Bead-embroidered heritage necklace

Bead-embroidered heritage necklace

This is the necklace that I demonstrated on HGTV. The taping was done in late June, during an unbelievable heat wave, and as per usual in TV-Land, it just aired about a month ago in December :-)

Materials:
photo to use as cameo (original will not be harmed)
1 sq. foot of tapestry fabric
1 sq. foot of buckram interfacing
1 sq. foot of faux leather backing fabric
2 pieces of 1 sq. foot of fusible webbing
3 sq. inches of small scrap of muslin
2 feet satin or velvet ribbon--cut in half
paper for pattern
inkjet transparency film
Golden’s Matte Medium
raw sienna acrylic paint
fabric glue or liquid seam sealant
nylon beading thread
glass pearls or fresh-water pearls
#8 seed beads
#11 cylindrical seed beads
assorted Lucite flowers and leaves

Tools:
fine-point felt-tip pen
plastic CD spindle case
iron
photo-editing software on computer (colored photocopies can be substituted)
scanner
inkjet printer
bone folder
paintbrushes
sponges
fabric pins
beading needles
fabric scissors

1. Create a paper template for the necklace design by tracing around the base of a plastic CD spindle case on paper for the inside neck measurement. Draw the outer edge of the necklace by measuring two inches below the bottom of the circle and tapering the curve up toward each side of the neck. The pattern will resemble a sun visor. Scan the template into the computer and print it out on transparency film. Cut out the paper pattern and trace the outline onto the tapestry fabric with a fine-tip pen (figure A). Use the transparency printout as a see-through pattern to determine which part of the fabric pattern to use.


2. Iron fusible webbing to the back of the tapestry and bond the fabric to buckram (more information on buckram at the end of the tutorial) or another stiff interfacing. Cut around the design, leaving several inches of border.

3. Scan and alter a photo using image software into the size and colors desired for a central "cameo". Print out image onto an inkjet transparency.

4. Transfer the photo to a piece of muslin using polymer medium. Brush the medium onto the muslin, press the transparency in place and burnish well with a bone folder. Lift the transparency off the fabric. Let it dry and seal the transfer onto the fabric with additional polymer medium (figure B).


5. Cut piece into an oval shape. Finger-paint the edges around the photo with raw sienna acrylic paint to create a vintage look (figure C).


6. Pin in place and bead around the muslin cameo with #8 seed beads and glass pearls to cover the raw edges of the muslin (figure D). There is no need to turn under the edges as the polymer medium and paint will prevent the fabric from unraveling.


7. Stitch embellishments to the rest of the necklace; flowers, beads, charms, etc. Use tiny #11 cylindrical beads to create vines and stems (figure E).


8. Backstitch a line of #8 seed beads around the outline of the necklace.

9. Run a very thin bead of fabric glue or acrylic medium just outside of this line of beads. Let it dry and clip the fabric close to the outside of the glue line, without cutting into any of the stitching (figure F).


10. Determine the ribbon length and cut ribbon ends at an angle. Treat the ends with either a liquid seam sealant or fabric glue to prevent unraveling. Glue ribbons to the back of the tapestry (figure G).


11. Use fusible webbing to attach the necklace to a piece of faux leather backing fabric, sandwiching in the ribbon ties. Place the necklace face down on several layers of towels to prevent them from crushing the beading designs, and cover the faux leather with a thin towel to keep from flattening the pile.

12. Clip the backing even with the tapestry (figure H).


13. Stitch another line of beads to cover the raw edges. Pick up one bead at a time and bring the thread up through all layers of fabric, exiting behind the first line of beads. Then pass the thread down through the bead that was just added, pick up another bead and repeat the sequence the entire shape of the necklace (figure I). This technique leaves the edge completely finished.

FREE e-BOOK CHAPTER

Copyright 2006 Cyndi Lavin. Not to be reprinted, resold, or redistributed for profit. May be printed out for personal use or distributed electronically provided that entire file, including this notice, remains intact.

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The finished bracelet

I might have to buy some of these bracelet blanks ~ this was really enjoyable, and much much faster than my neckpieces!

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Beaded straps

Paula Morgan has posted some really good ideas for making beaded straps for your pendants or amulet bags!

Link



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Bead-embroidered bracelet

An on-line friend sent me a bracelet blank and these three amazing cabs last week. So of course, this project jumped right to the top of the heap! I've been making some smaller pins with beaded cabs, and I'm just not quite ready to tackle The Next Big Thing quite yet!

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Keeping this one handy!

Optical Lens Magnifier

I do not need glasses...yet! But there are times when the print is just too small. This handy magnifier is actually a powerful antique optical test lens, dangling from a gorgeous strand of purple, pink, garnet, and black. The lens is French, from a test set made in the late 1800s. Isn't that the coolest thing? The lens "strength" is etched on the glass. The necklace is a 24 inch long continuous strand to slip over your head.

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Here they are...

It was pointed out to me that some people would rather see pictures of the pieces that got in the book than a picture of the book! Well, ok, twist my arm :-) My pictures are not anywhere near as nice as the ones the photographer took for Sara Withers's book, but here they are:

The first one is vintage lucite beads from several necklaces, repurposed. The second one is very simple, but uses the most beautiful moakite beads. I was somewhat surprised by the choices, but hey...who am I to argue?

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Two of my pieces got picked!!

Order

Two of my necklaces appear in Sara Withers's new book, The Encyclopedia of Beading Techniques. Or at least they used to be mine: they have both moved on to other homes since the book came out!

This book is a very nice introduction to so many beading techniques. It's the book I wished I'd had when I first started!

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Where do you get those???

I just scored two more sets of old optical lenses!! One set is vintage American, maybe a few dozen years old, and the second set is antique French, from the late 1800s or early 1900s. Very very cool!

I've gotten so many questions about how to find them, that I'm going to make some of these available, first come first served until the extras are gone.

Contact me if you are interested!