Floral swirl and ant bead embroidered pendant

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I'm still obsessed with raku and metal together.  This time, the raku focal takes center stage, another beauty that I bought from Amy Mealey of Xaz Bead Company.  Amy does trunk shows online, which you can learn about at the link. 

For the beadwork, I tried to pick up the flash colors in the raku piece.  It's hard to get photographs that do justice to these colors, as they shift so much depending upon the angle and the light.  The bezel top is finished in a twisted seed bead pattern.  The edges are all finished with edging brick stitch, stack stitches on the upper 3/4s, and strands of seed beads and two raku beads, leading to a sweet little ant charm made by my hero, Jennifer West.

Step-by-step instructions for putting together a bead embroidered piece, including back stitch, edging brick stitch, and stack stitch can be found in the free first chapter of my e-book Every Bead Has a Story.  Chapter two has instructions for stitching a peyote stitch bezel, and Chapter three teaches the square stitch bail.  Additional chapters focus on altered surfaces, dimensional beading, found objects and unusual materials, and integrating bead embroidery with other fiber arts.

Copyright 2019 Cyndi Lavin. All rights reserved. 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.