Experimenting with Bead Embroidery

The end of 2012 I was working on the Bluebell Pixie by Nora Corbett. Naturally I got distracted when I was oh so close to finishing her off, and started stitching her Petal Fairy instead. But after 3 days of cross stitching I realized I needed to change it up a bit and decided to try my go at beading again.

Bluebell by Nora Corbett

For those of you who don't know I kind of went through a phase where I didn't see the point of putting all this effort into making beautiful things only to be swallowed by all of the resellers found on Etsy (Etsy is for Handmade or Vintage...a reseller is someone who buys mass produced items and then sells them off as handmade for easy money.) I pushed by beads to the side and indulged in my OCD and cross stitch and managed to finish a few projects. 2012 was the year I finally finished my first cross stitch pattern and got it framed. It then got me obsessing over other projects and managed to finish a total of 6 along with numerous other starts.

Anyways, after deciding to bead again I ended up frustrating myself with my bad habit of looking for something and tearing everything apart looking for it only when to find what I was looking for to say to myself "Oh I will clean this up later" and then eventually just shoving it all into a photo box or bin. So I started sorting. All the findings in one bin, seed beads in another, crystals in another, special beads....well you get the point. Once everything was inventoried in my head I came across an article my nan had cut out of a newspaper for me to read, it was bead embroidery, which I have been meaning to try.

This is as far as I have gotten so far:

 Notice a theme in color? I swear that was unintentional lol! The center portion is lace agate, so are the two beads on either side that have a criss-cross over top. Swarovski crystals are also used along with glass beads. I am designing as I go so it will be a one of a kind piece. I am thinking of adding a rectangular lace agate above the white long beads (picture below) and doing a peyote stitch around it like I did with the center bead, then adding another Swarovski crystal above that creating a dramatic tear drop shape.

I don't know what I should name this piece when it is done. Any ideas? What does it remind you of?

New Design!

If you like bling and sparkle you are going to love my latest design that is for sale on my Etsy shop! I like to call it "A Girl's Best Friend". It is heavy with Krienik and Mill Hill beads but it will be worth it once it is all stitched up. If you don't want to do all the work with the sparkles I will be more than happy to adjust the pattern accordingly so it is just stitched in DMC. This would look super cute on a little jewellery or keepsake box!

The border is Krienik with little beads as tiny jewels that accent the frame. The tiny jewels also scatter around the Ruby pendant, Emerald ring and Blue Topaz earrings. Again if you want different colored stones to match a birthstone or someone's favorite gemstone I will be more than happy to make some adjustments. I just went with some of my favorite gemstones!

The finished design measures 43 stitches wide and 41 stitches high. It is available in a PDF format and can be e-mailed almost right away! Feel free to check out the listing here.

If the listing isn't there anymore and you're interested in purchasing it you can either message me on Etsy or leave a comment down below and I will list a new one right away and inform you.

Update time!

Wow sure has been a while since I last posted. I have been super busy with moving to a new town and getting organized and back into the swing of things! Moving isn't easy and doesn't allow a lot of down time or creative time. Over the past month or so I have been able to get a few things done though and I wanted to share how much I have done.

This is the progress I have gotten on my Christmas Angel by Joan Elliot:

She is coming along nicely. I spent a total of 4 days stitching the update in between organizing everything for the move and I think a couple more days of stitching she should be done! It is a pretty fast stitch if you are able to dedicate a couple days to it. I am just excited to start adding the beads! :D My goal is to finish her by late October...but we shall see how that comes along..I may get distracted once again!

Because of all the reds and greens in her I got a little bored. I kept messing up in areas so I had to put her away for a little while. I then decided to pick up my first ever project on linen that I started about 4 or so years ago. It is the Flower Faerie by Barbara Baatz. My mom has been on my case about completing her since it was one of those projects I HAD to start right away. So after unpacking I had found my mom bought all the missing threads so I didn't have an excuse to not finish her. This was how far I had gotten before I stopped for 3 years:

And after 2 days I was able to complete this much:

I have done a bit more since I took this picture, but not enough to post an update of it just yet. I love all the colours in her and she is going to look so beautiful when she is done.

I have a craft fair coming up at the end of November so I have also been working on new products to be sold there. I have been doing a lot of bead weaving lately and would like to share my newest additions to my collection.

They are very blingy. I love how from afar they look as if they are high-end gem encrusted gold but when you look closer they are just made of beads! They are perfect for the party season that is approaching. If you are interested in purchasing them you can see if they are still available at: http://www.etsy.com/shop/LastingAllure


And one last thing I have been working on are my own cross stitch patterns from my paintings/drawings. I hope to have a pattern up for sale in the next month or so so please check back to see if my current project is up! I promise you it is very pretty and will have beads and sparkles!

For now though I must go do some chores so I can get back to being creative! Happy weekend everyone.