Beading Arts

There are stunning entries in all the categories for BeadDreams 2017 , but I have to agree with the People's Choice winner... Draco Volanti Daryl Adams, 2017 Daryl's piece also won first place in the metalwork category!  See all the winners at the link above.

This is a free, self-paced course offered by the fabulous Kathy Shaw .  If you've ever wanted to try crazy quilting or to get better at it, here's your chance!  Hit the link on Kathy's name.  Registration is only open until midnight of March 18, so don't procrastinate!

Registration for the basic crazy quilt course with the wonderful Kathy Shaw is open now. It's an online course and it's free. Stop procrastinating...registration is only open until the 15th!

I told you a few weeks ago about the basic crazy quilting online class I signed up for with  Kathy Shaw .  Well, I'm here to tell you now that it was great.  The last part included adding beads, buttons, lace, and other embellishments.  It was a lot of fun, but then I found myself balking a bit.  Even though I admire really jam-packed CQ squares, it's just not my style.  I like space between the elements and to allow the fabric to speak as well.  Go figure, because I'm certainly not like that with my bead embroidery!  Here's what I added: Antique sequins Beads Two tri-colored butterflies I decided to fill the corners with a templated version of blanket stitch, which is what I use (the plain variety, that is), to finish all my hand-stitched quilts.  You can see the dots in the photo below.  I finished the block by turning it under, setting it on top of a larger piece of wool felt with some cotton batting in ...

Yup, I can be taught!  I decided to take my own advice when I wrote the article Why Take a Class? , and I signed up for Kathy Shaw's basic crazy quilting online class.  And it's great!  Yes, I've done crazy quilting before, so why would I want to take a beginner's class?  Well...maybe it's time I learned how to do it "right"! I know that there are many different styles and methods, but I like Kathy's.  And since I like her style, why wouldn't I want to learn from her?  And I like the way she structures her online classes, which are free, by the way.  Everyone takes the beginner class so that everyone in the future is on the same page, so to speak.  The first class consists of putting together a CQ block during which you learn about design challenges, template seaming, silk ribbon work, and adding beads.  You'll notice that my block doesn't have any beads on it yet.  There's a reason for that... Although I like to add the...

The piece I learned to make in a class taught by Nancy Eha I like to take a class from time to time, but I haven't taken one for awhile.  So I've been mulling over what I might like to do and thinking back on the classes I've taken in the past that I think were really successful.  A number of years ago, my friend Debbie emailed me to suggest that we go take a beading class together , and my first thought was that it would be a pleasant way to spend the day with her, but not much more.  Wrong!  It turned out to be one of the best classes I've ever taken.   Although I’m used to teaching myself whatever technique interests me, either by the brute force of trial and error or by reading about it, I’m not a total stranger to the classroom.  Usually I like to take technique-based classes to improve my learning curve, or when the subject included expensive equipment that I wanted to try out before launching into buying it.  But here was Debbie, sugge...

Here's the results from the hop that I told you about last week!  My friend Carmi Cimicata arranged it, bless her, and the rings that we all made were a lot of fun. Dazzle-It blog hop post Marissa Decipeda-Wong   Tammy Powley   Jennifer Tryon Lisa Pace Nancy Donaldson Eileen Bergen Technorati Tags: bead embroidery , handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

Tutorials The Best Books Design Series A practical lesson in choosing colors Color and fashion forecast sources: Pantone Fashion Trendsetter College Fashion Jewelry and beading shows with classes Jewelry and beading school classes Online jewelry and beading education Jump start your learning curve Know your jewelry terms Online color training and tools Online jewelry design tools Online creativity tools Online bead and jewelry forums

Lucky lucky girl!!   Wendy Kovin has won a class from  Mastered  on Tambour Beading !  I should remind all of you that if you visit their site, you can get a free trial period for any class that you're thinking about taking, so that you can see for yourself the great value offered.  Good think to think about to fulfill your New Year's resolution to learn something new!   Technorati Tags: bead embroidery , handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

We've only spoken about tambour beading a few times here on Beading Arts, mostly because I know nothing about the technique other than how it looks.  Recently, I was contacted by Mastered , a British company offering online fashion and jewelry master classes, and guess what they have added to their line-up?  A class called "Couture embellishment: Tambour beading" !   Mastered offers a free trial of every course, so I visited the this one and found that the whole set up is very user friendly and thorough. This course is being taught by artists at Hand & Lock , a 246-year-old embroidery company which has worked with the finest couture houses in the world, as well as created work for the Queen and Royal family, and the British military. Within each module you'll find a mix of HD video content, written tutorials and exercises. They take you from learning the chain stitch, to working with the beads and sequins to advanced tambour techniques and working ...

What would you like to learn how to do this year? Personally, I'm looking into soutache bead embroidery a bit!  I hope you'll take the challenge, and pick something new to work on, and maybe even to master, in 2013.  Here are links to my updated posts about various jewelry education opportunities. Free bead embroidery stitches e-book Information and tutorials to get you started Know your jewelry terms Jumpstart your learning curve with a kit Do you want to design for yourself? Take A Stitch Tuesday 2013 Bead Journal Project 2013  The Wearable Art Project 2013 Spring/Summer 2013 color and style forecast Jewelry and beading shows with classes Jewelry and beading school classes Online jewelry and beading education Creativity resources online Online color training and tools Online jewelry design tools Technorati Tags: bead embroidery , handmade beaded jewelry , wearable art , beads , jewelry , necklace , mixed media , beading

My friend Lori Anderson invited me to take part in a Memories and Thanks blog hop .  Lori's events are always fun and meaningful, so I signed up.  Plus, it was back in November, and how could anyone possibly know back then that there wouldn't end up being any extra time between November and January 12! Some of you know that my husband Mike had heart surgery right after the holidays.  He is recovering very well, but we won't know if it's been successful for several more months.  It was a non-open heart procedure called cardiac ablation, intended to cure atrial fibrillation.  Cardiac ablation is considered minor heart surgery, but you can go tell that to someone who isn't in love with the patient! Like many people with moderate to severe A-Fib, Mike is athletic, lean, and extremely healthy in all other ways.  We have great hopes now that after the monitoring months are over, Mike will be able to go completely off all of the nasty drugs that have ...