July ABS and Bead Embroidery

Okay, I know that I've already submitted an entry into the July ABS competition. But I couldn't resist entering one more time with this beautiful lampworked glass bead from Pam Ferrari. I used the color scheme of the painting, some wood and brass beads and voila!...another entry for ABS. It's definitely something I'm not used to doing. I don't consider myself a "stringer" and I'd forgotten how hard it was to make wire-wrapped loops. Whew! I'm glad I don't do that everyday!
Now, I want to show you a couple new pieces of bead embroidery that I've recently finished. The first is a pendant that I call Autumn's Mark and the second is a barrette that I call Solveig's Summer Barrette (because it was made for my friend Solveig to wear this summer!). I am really loving these pieces, both made with cabochons from Lawatha.
I also wanted to say a quick word about bead embroidery. A year and a half ago when I started doing beadwork, I started with off-loom techniques, peyote, brick stitch, and herringbone. It wasn't until I bought The Art of Bead Embroidery by Sherry Serafini and Heidi Kummli that I really started to do bead embroidery and I absolutely love it. I love the freedom that it offers. I can organize the beads any way that I want and put them in any pattern. I don't have to think about how I can create the design with one bead connected to the other, I can just put them where I want them to go. I don't have to follow any rules and I'm only limited by my imagination.
If you've ever wanted to try something that you didn't think you could do (for me it was bead embroidery) go ahead and give it a shot, you never know, you may find that there are other hobbies/adventures that you love just as much as what you are doing now. (oh, and if you say that you are limited by budget/time, etc...bead embroidery was perfect for me because it only required the purchase of a $2 piece of stiff felt and 1 yard of ultrasuede for $4 and for only $6, I've been able to create all of the pendants and barrettes that I've posted on this blog and my Flickr account) Thanks for letting me get on my soapbox. Have a great day!

P.S. I haven't forgotten about my promise to do something exciting with the Maiz bracelet...more details coming soon! :)