WINTER SOLSTICE ORNAMENTS

 The snowy owl, the arctic fox and the sweet little deer went into the forest... As the longest night of the year is rapidly approaching I find myself huddled around the bead table working these ornaments. Tis the season! I'm using these wonderful little woodland creatures (polymers clay cabochons) as the focal pieces in my beadwork. They are from an artist in Chernihiv Ukraine, Katerina Piskunova. I'm selling these three ornaments for $350.00 each. Just contact me at custombeadwork@yahoo.com if you are interested in adorning your tree with these little guys. I can take a credit card over the phone. With these pieces I was trying to capture the feeling of being in the woods on a long winters night so I kept the colors muted and earthy. Really they are just a very fun expression of the winter season. Thanks for looking!

DESERT WILLOW, HUMMER AND RABBIT

  Finished an order with the request of a hummingbird, the desert willow and a rabbit. The new owner is in Joshua Tree CA, so I was trying for a dry, airy feeling on this one. Also, I've done alot of rabbits so I wanted to do something different. I went for the rabbit in motion, instead of sitting, and was pretty happy with the way he turned out.

RAVEN AND SKULL

 I finally finished my Raven and Skull bag. It's one of what I call my book reports, which is to say I read a book and then after mulling it over for a bit, I design a piece of beadwork about the story. The book in this case is " A Raven Named Grip" by Marilyn Singer. The story goes that Charles Dickens had a raven ( actually several ), Grip who could speak. He made him a character in his book "Barnaby Rudge". When Dickens went to America from England, he met with Edgar Allen Poe who had read the book and he saw a portrait of Dickens children with Grip. This stuck with Poe and later he was inspired to write the poem " The Raven". So in this piece of beadwork I was trying to capture a mood, a bit victorian, a bit spooky. The challenge on the beadwork was all the black. I put the leaves behind the raven beak to keep the dark colors from running together.  Contrast is always the name of the game. Ofcourse, ravens and skulls are some of my favorite subject matters and I do love to combined them with bright red roses. 

CHICKADEE CUFF KIT

                                              

This is the first video for the chickadee cuff kit! I said in the video that I was doing an option with a blue background but I wasn't happy with it, so we will all be sticking with the tan background and fall colors. I've really been into the mellow, muted colors lately. I will post the next 7 videos as links. It should be everything you need to keep yourself moving along with this project but if you have any questions feel free to contact me at: custombeadwork@yahoo.com or on FB. Have fun with this cute little guy, they are definitely one of my favorite!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x299B2ePAYQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SudBeNeI_xI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQ2BAOi414Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2U2Q5jy5ykc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=de07Yqsjv2U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2f9_vzr13w

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/XXQp2aPIQYU

MULTIPLE PROJECTS AT ONCE, TOO MANY?

 Is there such a thing as too many projects going at once? It can feel overwhelming but also can eliminate the possibility of getting bored with what you're working on. You can just switch to a different piece of beadwork. Right now I'm finishing up the Canadian Goose, doing the whip stitch around the flap. I also have one of my book report pieces started. Then there's the chickadee kit for a cuff, which is coming along quite nicely and last but not least, the pet (kitty) portrait order. Tzipora, here is a sneak peak of how it's coming along.  I'm moving along at a pretty good clip. With the spring sun spurring me on, they will all get done in a timely manner. But then, there's the new ideas! LOL

COYOTE AMERICA

 Just finished my piece of beadwork, I've definitely decided on black leather, and I'm looking at colors for the lazy/whip stitch. This is part of my book report series, the book being "Coyote America" by Dan Flores. He talks about how even after many campaigns of trying to annihilate them, they still thrive across the continent, from Alaska to New York. I hear them frequently and on one occasion I was beading and glanced out the window to see one over at the pull-off. Looking very healthy I might add, it was a big rabbit year. In this piece of beadwork work I tried to capture the fact that they are everywhere, in urban and rural settings. The campfire was my nod to the southwests supernatural stories about them, frequently a trickster type character. I'm so happy to have them as part of our wonderful world of animals. I was also happy with the way the beadwork turned out, always a little tricky with so many colors to make it look not muddled. The direction you lay the beads can really help with that. Plus, so fun and fast working on buildings and streets, lots of straight lines so you can really fly along!

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

 So, I've had this Canadian Goose on the hoop for awhile and finally decided to bead it. I knew that it might not be right for a cuff because of the long black neck, it lands right on top of the wrist. ARG! Anyhow, I  finished it up and now I have to make a decision. Should I make it into a bag flap or something else, or, go ahead and put it on the cuff, whip stitch it up and call it a done deal. Please I'm looking for opinions, What do you think?