Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Bridal Cuff, Ready to Attach

Here we have the finished beadwork all ready to attach to the cuff.

I have to trim the cuff a little so that it fits just right so the finished piece will be posted later tonight. I am hoping to get some better photos so you can see the ivory and white more clearly. It really is quite striking!

As it turns out, I really like the silver in this piece which is quite a surprise ot me beacuse at the onset I did not think I would.


Be sure to stop by Divella Delights to see the finished cuff later tonight!

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Bead Embroidered Bridal Cuff


I wanted to do a Bridal Cuff but was lacking a center stone to use. This is where those beading books come in handy! I made a center flower and some leaves using one of the techniques in “The Beaded Garden” with some variation of my won and made the focal point for the beginning of my Bridal Cuff.
 
 
 
 

The photos are a little challenging because at the moment it is white on white and I am no photographer but you can see how handy those books are when you have to improvise.

I plan to use a variety of shapes and sizes of seed beads in ivory and white as well as some beautiful little white pearls I have leftover from my daughter’s bridal necklace I made last year. I could not resist the chance to show her off so here she is wearing the necklace.
 

  I have some small silver flowers I will probably use too but if you have followed me at all, or if you bead yourself you know how the direction can change! First I will have to drill them as they have no holes in them yet. You can see them in the Blue Lace Agate Cuff.
Follow along with me at Divella Delights for the process and I will post the finsished photos here as well!

In addition to beading magazines like Bead and Button that have wonderful information on beading stitches, there are some books on beading techniques that I have and found invaluable time and time again. If you are like me and a self-taught bead-weaver, do yourself a favor and build a library in your studio. I have all my magazines in binders by year to keep them nice and neat.
I don’t ever part with my beading books…or any other craft books for that matter, I keep them all for the valuable resource they continue to be. I do have some favorites that I turn to.
“The Beaded Garden” by Diane Fitzgerald gives me references of leaves and flowers and the stitches used to create them. From there I make up my own but the techniques and instructions in this book are fabulous. I used it to help me create the piece below, my own beaded garden.
Recently I have become enamored with bead embroidery. My daughter was having a masquerade party for her birthday and asked if I would make her a beaded mask so I begrudgingly gave it a try and a new addiction was born. I then bought the book “The Art of Bead Embroidery” by Heidi Kummli and Sherry Serafini. In that book you will have an enormous amount of information about everything bead embroidery. They give you information about foundations to bead into, backings, finishing techniques and more so that you can make a piece of jewelry you’ll be proud to wear and is professional in detail and technique. I began with cuffs and am now designing my first neckpiece.
If you like to make your own beaded beads for your designs, “The Art of Beaded Beads” from Lark Books is terrific and again once you learn the techniques you create your own designs in no time. They have some really fun and quite fascination techniques to learn and explore. I found it very helpful with this design.
 
If you find yourself balking at the price of some of these and other beading books, just remember you will have this information at your fingertips for years and years to come. Don’t skimp on your supplies and this certainly includes your resource materials such as books, magazines, etc…
Be sure to stop by my website Divella Delights!

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Beading Patterns



Don't forget, Divella Delights also sells beading patterns. I have Peyote patterns, and beadweaving tutorials! Here are a some photos for you to fall in love with!