Addiction

Every now and then I go a little nuts and become addicted to making something or to a certain technique. At the moment it is beaded circles. I'm not even sure what I'm going to make with them yet but they look gorgeous. I have provided a little sneak peek below. It'll probably be a present so I have added a filter in case the future owner stops by.

       

Hint hint hint

So we aren't allowed to reveal our soups for the blog party yet but lots of people are doing pixelated photo hints. Here's mine. I put it in the mail this week, I'm not sure how long it will take for it to get to Poland so I guess I'll have to be patient and wait to see what Agata thinks :-).

Capture a Cab Without Backing

I was told I capture cabs in an unusual way so I thought I would give a quick tutorial (for advanced beaders) here.

First I string enough 11 delicas (or seeds) to go around the cab, there must be an even amount of beads and a little lose is better than too tight. Then I pass through the beads and peyote.

Keep the tension tight

Peyote until you have enough of a strip to cover the height of the cab, if you have worked a tight tension, you should have a slight cupping effect. Change to the opposite side of the ring that you have been working on and switch to size 15 seeds. work in a slightly looser tension and position the cab into the bezel before you end the peyote.

Once you have positioned your cab and finished your first row of 15s, turn the work cab side down and work one more row. 

Turn it back and work rows of 15 seeds until you are happy with the end result. The below picture is a completed one. I probably could have pulled the tension a little tighter on the seeds. I cannot readily find 15 delicas but that would undoubtedly give a cleaner finish but I like the contrast between the delicas and the seeds. This method frees up design ideas, by not having to use the Stiff Stuff and Ultrasuede, double sided designs become possible.  

(oh and I am aware this is a different cab lol)

Exciting Times

                          

I have been working on something but it will remain a secret for a little while. I got my Bead Soup Blog Party partner, Agata from Inaurem, she is all the way over in Poland. We've had some lovely chats via email and we have learnt that we have similar tastes in colours but very different skill sets. I am looking forward to a challenge and had a lot of fun making up my bead soup. I have provided her with a little challenge but have made sure that she is able to use the materials. I can't wait to see what she comes up with.

Bead Soup Party

Pretty Little Things

A friend, Melissa suggested I give this a go. I think I will as it will be lovely to see some of my pieces that I have never got around to using, used by another talented beader. Now to decide on my bead soup to send and sign up in time.

Purple Starburst

Another more dainty ring added to my repertoire. This one uses silver seed beads and Swarovski bicones and a rondelle. It has a netting edge to make it appear more whimsical.

The Cedar Beader Brand

I am currently building up my business as a small hobby business. I have not contributed to this blog for a while and I don't plan to make items available through here. I am practicing and improving my skills and developing a small stock of patterns and go to designs as well as my one off freeform pieces. I will be more active in the near future so watch this space.

For now here is a new prototype for a ring I created. If you are interested in seeing it become a pattern or buying it as a custom made piece. Please inquire through my Facebook. I am happy to share patterns for a small fee and ideas here but I ask that you please respect my work and try not to reverse market what you see. I draw inspiration from others but never take their designs as my own. I have also worked really hard on developing my branding and the image here is one that represents my Photoshop skills as they stand.