Inspiration and frustration - an interpretive bead dance

Have you ever fallen head-over-heels in love — with beading supplies — and then had a heck of a time figuring out how to use them? OK, you're all beaders, so I'm going to guess that you will be able to relate to this!

I found these a.d.o.r.a.b.l.e. 10 mm resin flower cabs on Etsy (CM Vision Jewelry Supplies, http://www.etsy.com/listing/103439526/sale-48pcs-24-colors-rainbow-dahlia) a couple of weeks ago and promptly ordered some. When they arrived, I swooned – they are even cuter in person! I played around with them for a while, rearranging them in different ways before deciding I wanted to try to capture one in a seed bead bezel. Since these are small, I got out some 11/0s and 15/0s and set out to make a peyote bezel. Hmmm...not so great. So I tried netting. Nope. A combination of peyote and netting? No luck.

Because the cabs are pretty tall, have a gradual taper, and are textured instead of smooth, I found that by the time I had enough beadwork to actually hold the cab securely, it covered up too much of the flower detail. No good! I may attempt some more seed bead bezels sometime in the future, but I was anxious to get something created with these little cuties, so I decided to glue them down onto Ultrasuede and surround them with bead embroidery. Then I cut each one out, and cut a piece of leather for a backing. I stitched the layers together with a brick stitch edging, and then connected the components into a bracelet. I still have to figure out what to do about a clasp, but I'm pretty pleased with my piece.

So what supplies have flummoxed you? Did you find a solution? Tell us about your beady dance between inspiration and frustration.

Comments

Tracy G. wrote re: Inspiration and frustration - an interpretive bead dance on Thu, Jan 24 2013 10:36 AM Good problem-solving, Julia - the solution turned out beautiful!

Julia Gerlach wrote re: Inspiration and frustration - an interpretive bead dance on Mon, Jan 28 2013 12:23 PM Thanks!