Tuesday 3 December 2013

December beading attempts

So with house guests gone, I started working out the plan for the December beads. I had an idea to use some bangles I picked up in a sale a few years ago. I wasn't quite sure how I might go about it. But I thought I might try out the process I had used for the beaded star washers.

However, 50 beads later and I had only got part way around, I decided it would be interesting enough with part of the circle covered. So, I worked back along the way. A few hours later I had this.

Which was rather not in keeping with a daily creativity project! If I got one a day done, I wouldn't get anything else done!

So, I went to a different, but similar idea, as I had sorted out what beads I would use for embellishment.
Okay curtain rings...not such a long time. (no photo of that step)

But still a bit more time than I know I will have in December. So, I stopped partway again and finished the rows off like the bangle. Then made lemonade from lemons and put them both together! Gorgeous...as a project in its own right.

Then I parcelled it up and gave it to my friend* for a decoration!
mounted on some of my sprayed paper

I will probably do curtain rings on a future month - perhaps January which is not so busy for me 'usually'.

Today, after pulling out drawers to see what idea might spring out at me, eventually I have a different idea. Well, I had other ideas like the mother of pearl buttons I bought in the summer, but I wanted something rather metallic so I could stick with the selection of beads for embellishment I had picked for the bangles/curtain rings.
However, I have run out of willingness to cope with my back which is hurting too much from several hours hunched over beads! So, I decided to pour out all my woes to the dear readers out there!

I will see if I can sort it out tomorrow...and catch up with myself!

*One of the friends I had given a fabric postcard to. She wanted to know how I made the postcards, so I went round to her house with some bits and did a mini-workshop. My friend has MS, so can't do as much as she used to, but was quite interested in the idea of fusible web. Besides the postcard idea, she might be able to use fusible web for projects that were solely hand stitch before. at the very least she can fuse bits and then just do a decorative stitch on them.

By the way, this friend use to work for a company in London that made costumes for film stars. (They were eventually bought by Angels which is the main costuming company now.) She has a little notebook of swatches from some of the gowns and other clothing. Including a piece of shirting from a shirt she made for Clark Gable! and an issue of Radio Times with an actress wearing one of her creations. plus many more.

...And she goes on about how clever I am?

PS If you have an idea of how I could eventually make something with the bangles that wouldn't take hours and hours, I would love to hear it!

1 comment:

Margaret Cooter said...

How about wrapping the bangles in strips of cloth and sewing the occasional bead (or whatever) onto the fabric? Sort of like a charm bracelet...