We're always learning something new here! The Legend of the Christmas Spider is an Eastern European folktale which explains the origin of tinsel on Christmas Trees. There are many versions -- Here is one:
| A widowed mother and her children were too poor to decorate their Christmas tree, so friendly spiders spun elaborate webs on the evergreen. When the family awoke on Christmas morning, they opened the curtains and the sunshine hit the webs, turning them silver and gold. |
Recently a customer was in who wanted to make one -- and we thought "what fun!" and started making them too. Now we have them hiding around the shop. See if you can find one when you come.
]]>| "You really can do anything!" This exclamation, from a student in a bead embroidery class, I think sums up quite nicely what I like about it so much. When my co-worker Philonese describes beading as "painting with beads," I feel that bead embroidery is the ultimate expression of that concept. As someone who designs "on the go" (which I don't actually recommend), bead embroidery allows me the luxury of watching a design evolve. I like being surprised (usually) with the results. If the final piece is less than satisfying, I can always take it apart and re-use the beads -- they never go bad. |  Vintage black button with bead embroidery and fringe. |
| Occasionally there's the totally accidental design, as with Leviathan of the Deep Purple Sea. Since I need to start each embroidery class with "blank slates," as it were, I'll have random buttons glued in advance to some backing. I had been using this backing for a while to demonstrate various techniques. One day I looked at it and thought, "hmm, it's looking kind of like a sea monster." That's when I decided to finish it and give it a name. |  Leviathan of the Deep Purple Sea |
| I can plan a design in advance, sort of. I took advantage of small citrine and garnet cabochons I've had and glued them to the backing with -- if not a complete design in mind, at least the concept for a flower. |  Small cabochons for a spring time flower motif |
| Ultimately I enjoy the process of "going with the flow." And I like fringe. Could you tell?  Copper element center with beads and fringe. |  Vintage metal button with beads and fringe. |  Colorful enamel center surrounded with beads and fringe. |
| Introducing guest blogger Cassie Steele who edits a stitching and sewing website, stitchandsew.net. She noticed the connection between embroidery and bead embroidery, and has shared this article with me. If you're new to sewing in general, check out her site -- it has great information especially for beginners. |  Kim's bead embroidered felted bag |
| 3 Bead Embroidery Hacks That You Need To Know Embroidery is a big fashion trend nowadays as it’s in everything from blouses, jackets, jeans, bags, and even high-end sneakers. The trend is an homage to the 70’s as it can be seen in colorful florals to insect motifs on both couture and high street offerings. Celebrities have been spotted sporting the trend - model of the moment Bella Hadid has been seen in full bohemian mode wearing embroidered jeans. Oscar-winner Brie Larson has also been photographed wearing an embroidered floral bomber jacket, proving that this trend can work as part of casual wear. If you’re handy with a needle and thread and looking to add some spice to your outfits, elevate the trend by doing bead embroidery. It’s a great way to add some color and sparkle to your clothes and accessories, and you’re sure to love how decadent your piece looks. Here are a few bead embroidery hacks that you need to know. |  Bead embroidered jeans |
| Gather the right supplies If you’re just beginning to sew or embroider, the first thing that you have to do before adding detail to your jeans is to gather your supplies. You will need beads, thread, needles, a backing material, and a foundation material. You will have to stitch the beads onto a fabric foundation which can be anything from leather, suede, or faux leather before you can put the finished design on your clothes or accessories. The backing protects the back of your design by covering the embroidery stitches and protecting the beadwork. Moreover, using backing material is important as it protects your skin from getting scratched by the bead and makes your clothes more comfortable to wear. |  A little advance planning goes a long way |
| Don’t stitch at an angle How you stitch makes a big difference in how your design will turn out. If you don’t keep the needle straight when you insert it in your foundation material, the beads may bunch up or crowd against each other or will be spaced too far apart. It may be difficult to do this at first, but try and keep your needle straight to get a clean and even bead design. If you’re a beginner, you may want to practice doing a few hand sewing projects first to train yourself not to stitch at an angle. |  Keep you stitches even |
| Don’t stitch too tight or too loose Stitching too tightly can cause your fabric to bunch up. On the other hand, stitching too loose can cause your beads to go in different directions and make your design look messy and unfinished. Adjust the way you stitch and make sure to check your design regularly to ensure that the beads are where they’re supposed to be. Doing bead embroidery is a great hobby and a unique way to make your outfits stand out. Practice before doing your final design and have patience as you complete your project. Before you know it, you’ll have a sparkly, colorful piece that you’ll be proud to wear. |  Create your own sparkle! |
| It's so much fun working with people who discover new and creative designs that are also simple! Laurel found this one for ornament hangers (you kind of get two ornaments in one, huh?). Besides being so cute, they can be used as package toppers, or give a set as a hostess gift! Here's the easy how-to. |  Angel ornament hangers |
| Start with 5 inches of 20 gauge wire. Use round nose pliers to make a small loop at one end. |  Use round nose pliers to make a small loop at one end of the wire. |
| Use the Melody MacDuffee technique to make an earwire type loop:
|  Yep, this is your basic ball point pen! |
|  Use the pen to shape the wire. |
|  Make a small bend in the wire. |
|  Add beads. |
|  Bend the wire under the last bead. |
| Another view with the bottom bend. |  Another view. |
|  Wrap the remaining wire around the pen. |
| Slide the pen out and you have a slightly coiled wire. |  Remove the pen and admire your coil! |
|  Use round nose pliers to make another small loop at this end. |
|  Shape the wire. |
| Now you've completed one ornament hanger! |  Success! |
 Make a set to give as a hostess gift! |  So many possible designs! |
 Angels are a favorite. |  Use them as package toppers. |
| Need a macrame refresher? Half knots and square knots are the most basic elements of macrame, and once you get in a rhythm you hardly have to think about how to do them. (At that point, thinking usually gets in the way, as so often happens when someone asks how to spell a word that you usually know how to spell until someone asks.) |  One half knot: half way there! |
| At any rate, I had created a detailed step-by-step pictorial a while back for making half knots and square knots and decided I'd freshen it up some. I'm sure there are more professionally photographed and detailed instructions to be found, but I kind of like mine anyway. Go ahead and click on the image at right or this LINK, and scroll through at your own leisurely pace. |  |
 A series of square knots |  A series of half knots |  Macrame bracelet with bling! |
| Probably not. Sure, we both see blue, but there's a good chance we don't see the same blue. I think the way vision works is both weird and amazing and complicated when you add in color. Hence, my advice: don't get too bent out of shape over color choices. Choose colors you like, take your time to think about your selection and be sure it works for you, but don't lose sleep over it. |  Various seed beads in tubes |
| Still, when selecting colors that you want to work together, it helps to compare. Especially because the color you see when a lot of small beads are packed into a tube is not necessarily the same color you'll see when the beads are strung singly. |  Transparent green seed beads, in the tube and a single strand |
| When customers are selecting seed beads for a particular project, we encourage them to open the tubes for a better look (always over a bead mat, please!). I'm not a photographer, so the images here are not perfect representations, but you can see how differently beads look in the tube when compared with a single strand. This is especially true for lighter and more transparent colors. |  Transparent blue seed beads, in the tube and (below) a single strand |
| YES: Plan, compare, ponder. But don't overdo it. Remember, no one sees the same colors as you anyway.  Light rose delica seed beads |  Colorlined green seed beads |
| TOTALLY off topic here, but my daughter was telling me about two different ice cream trucks near where she lives, and wondering if they have "ice cream truck wars" because they never seem to cross certain boundaries. (This was her intro explaining that the one she hears ALL the time plays a tune that drives her nuts.) |  |
| This got us thinking that this could be a good plot for a lighthearted mystery involving kooky ice cream truck drivers, their territories, and . . . well, the rest has to be filled in. Tying this plot in with beads is another challenge. Typing "beaded ice cream" into Pinterest does not produce a lot of beaded ice cream images, though there are some other interesting images out there. |  |
| So who's up for contributing to the Ice Cream War Mystery? Write your contributions and ideas in the comments section and we'll see what happens. Let's get started. Tom Ballou had been driving his ice cream truck in this neighborhood for nearly 20 years, and by golly if he was going to sit around and watch some other wanna-be ice cream truck move into his territory. |  |
Sure, they were having extreme heat this summer, but that didn't mean people were out eating more ice cream. In fact, they mostly stayed inside where it was air conditioned. He'd had to crank up the volume of his music to get noticed, much less overwhelmed with customers.
Still, he'd never wished anything bad happen to the new guy, Jimmy somebody, and just because they'd had a showdown the other evening where Tom might have said some unfortunate things about how he'd like Jimmy to no longer exist, all he really meant was that he just wanted Jimmy to go away. But this, this, he never imagined anything like this. What could possibly have caused Jimmy's truck to totally melt? And where was Jimmy? Oh man, Tom did not have a good feeling about this.
]]>| Here in the Oak Park Arts District, we're excited about hosting Oak Park's 6th Annual Sculpture Walk, to be installed in early May. With that in mind, I came across these bead embroidered sculptures by Betsy Youngquist. They are AMAZING. On her website she says "I have always been fascinated with the intersection of humans, animals and mythology. My creative pursuits are centered on exploring those connections. Beads form the backbone of the materials I use." |  |
| Betsy continues to explain how “Children with their vast capacity for wonderment weave tales of gossamer, create magic kingdoms, and pass through invisible portals to lands of untold enchantment. . . . Creating art is a means to return to the looking glass and reenter the garden where flowers whisper and birds can talk. As my beaded characters emerge they carry with them tales from the other side of the mirror. I am grateful for the joy and astonishment experienced through this journey.” These sentiments are clearly displayed in her work. Enjoy viewing a sampling here. Click on any of the links or photos to go directly to her website. |  |
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| Aquamarine is in fact a color variety of the mineral beryl (emerald is another). Like many beryls, aquamarine forms large crystals suitable for sizable fashioned gems and carvings. It’s preferred color is a moderately strong dark blue to slightly greenish blue. (Another plus: it has been said that the mineral beryl gives the wearer protection against foes in battle or litigation. It makes the wearer unconquerable and amiable, and also quickens the intellect.) |  Rough aquamarine often occurs as beautiful six-sided crystals |
| If you were born in March, these seem like pretty good reasons to get yourself some aquamarine! Unconquerable happiness and amiability to all! As always, the Gemological Institute of America gets credit for all of the information here. I just copy & paste. |  Aquamarine crystals range from tiny to very large—some even up to 100 lbs. |
| Let’s acknowledge March babies with aquamarine, the birthstone for March. And a beautiful stone it is. Aquamarine is prized for its blue to greenish-blue hue and transparency. |  Aquamarine is prized for its blue to greenish-blue hue and transparency. |
| The name comes from the Latin for seawater, and it was said to calm waves and keep sailors safe at sea. March’s birthstone was also thought to enhance the happiness of marriages (it’s also the gem of the 19th wedding anniversary). The best gems combine high clarity with limpid transparency. |  Because aquamarine’s color is light, cutting is important and well-cut gems show brilliance |
 Rarely, aquamarine can show a cat's-eye effect, as in this cabochon |  Most cut gems are eye-clean, without visible inclusions |
| Continuing with my Beads & Nature theme, I was recently reminded of local artist and occasional customer Sandra Wilcoxon and her beaded skulls. Yep, real skulls. This isn't new though. Especially in the southwest and native American traditions there is a long history of decorating bovine remains. |  Sandra's beaded steer |
| If you've run out of ideas for how to procrastinate, let me suggest you go to Pinterest and type some combination of words that includes "beads" and "skulls" or "cow skulls." Procrastination success! Once more the creativity of others serves to astonish. Here are a few images to get you warmed up. |  Small skulls (bird beaks?) |
 Sandra's Red Bull |  Well, it's blue now |
 Huichol style beaded skull |  Another Huichol style |