Category: Beading

Hundreds upon thousands of glittering glass beads call to me from their tiny little plastic recipticals perched atop my book case. How my hands itch to grab crazily and pull random colors, stringing them up into fantastic designs. And yet…

It’s been quite some time since I’ve done a serious beading project now. While I’d love to just take the plunge and attempt some intricate lacy pattern, I think it may just end in a whole mess of tangled threads and all of the hundreds of thousand seed beads on the floor. Hoping to preempt this hiroshima in bead-form, I carefully picked through my collection and picked out some of the cheapest, bulkiest plastic numbers I’ve got.

A very simple one-shot deal: A medium chain with large spherical pink and white beads threaded through eyepins, topped off with black seed beads, all crimped and cut short at the end. Not my usual racket, but a very enjoyable venture. I guess I had been taking my crafting a bit too seriously, so it was very refreshing to ease back into beadwork and do something more bulky and fun.

Some might say I can be almost comically neurotic when it comes to timing, and unfortunately I can't entirely disagree. It wouldn't kill me to show up somewhere slightly late, but I would much prefer arriving 10 minutes early, just in case. That's why my dilemma of not having a watch was really screwing with my head, you understand. I'm generally on a very tight schedule, so if I don't know what time it is when I'm out of the house, I start to get a bit anxious, although usually for no good reason.

For the past couple of months, I've sort of been "in-between" watches, ever since my adorable Hello Kitty watch broke and I was unable to find a replacement. I had been borrowing one of my mom's old clunky things as a temporary time piece, but it seemed like there would never be a chance to find one I actually liked. And then there was the thought of getting out my crafty side and somehow making one…

And when the temporary watch slipped off my wrist and into a pot of parafin wax the other night… That cemented it: I could put it off no longer. What was blocking my good intentions from manifesting themselves in the first place? My reluctance to actually do something about an issue that was so important to me was bordering on appauling. The very next day I hauled my ass down to ACMoore's and bought myself a plain watch face and some beads, and the end result is what you see above.

It may be extremely simple and perhaps plain, but I'm honestly really happy with it. I see it as being elegant but still neutral, so I don't need to worry about it whether I can wear it to school versus a formal occasion.

I find it deeply satisfy to finally resolve this whole thing, and to have beaded the band myself, despite its simplicity. Screw that mass-produced crap that is never quite what you're looking for – Do it yourself, and do it right!

For once, a search of my local library actually yeilded a book of some interest! A rare occassion indeed; It's such a small collection of books, organized very poorly or not at all, I never walk in with much hope for actually finding a specific title. The only time that it usually satisfies my desire for printed text is when I just want a reading book, any reading book, and have the time to just browse through the new selections.

Sadly… I have already returned this particular treasure, and I can't recall the exact title. I believe it had something to do with 'Beaded Acessories' and had a purple spine… but I can't be 100% sure. Anyway, I'll probably have to hunt it down again, there are so many interesting projects, ideas, and just useful techniques.

What really caught my eye was the concept of a beaded raspberry. How cute! Easy enough to make, just really tedious. I think that my berries each used about 40 – 50 seed beads… It took a very long time just to accumulate enough finished raspberries to make something. I sketched out a few ideas and settled on the finished product you see here. I'm actually rather proud of this original design, because it's more complex than I usually have the patience to put together.

I had planned on making a choker, just because I have a certain bias towards them, but when the chain went on it became a bit long, so it turned into a short necklace. No matter, it's still just as nice, in my opinion. Ha, I guess I finally found those illusive raspberries after all, huh? Too bad these aren't nearly as tasty, and would probably hurt your teeth. I think you'd be better off if you just wear them around your neck instead.

Nothing special, just another flowery brooch to show off today…

Can you believe that's the closest I could come to peach beads?  Pretty pathetic, but I guess peach just isn't a popular color in general…

Yes, my crafting ventures have been fewer than usual, but hopefully I'll come out of this funk soon.  Maybe if it could stop raining for more than 30 minutes… Bleh.