The first thing that I do when I start a project is choose a focal bead or beads. Here I started with a fabulous dichroic glass cabochon (rounded with a flat back) that I bought a number of years ago on Etsy. I can't for the life of me remember who I bought it from. I would give the person credit if I knew.
This cab is in the colors of green,blue and purple, which leads to the next step in the process. Bead selection! This is the fun part! I go through all of my stash and pull out all of the beads in the color range that I have choosen. I sort through them one by one to see which ones match and which ones go in the "sort box" to put away later. I end up with a palate, like a painter (see picture above). I love having all the colorful beads in front of me! I may not use all of the ones on the palate, but I have a selection to work from. So much fun!!!
Next I select the backing material. I almost always use microsuede. I have a large selection of colors and textures, and I like the weight and feel of it. I am not big of the "stiff stuff" that alot of beader use. I find it too stiff to work with. I like the feel of working with fabric that has some give.
At this stage the cab is glued (and in some cases sewn, in the case of beads or buttons) to the backing fabric. I let it dry for a little while and then it's time to go to work! The header picture of this blog is the first rows of bead stitching around the cab on the "Tide Pools" bracelet pictured on this page also!
The first few rows of beads around the stone or cab are to stablize it or "set" it in the bracelet. Thats what you see in the pictures here.
So, these are the begining steps of my project. I love all of this and it is making me want to go work on my present project, but since it is 1:18 in the morning and I need some sleep, I am going to stop for tonight! I will continue with the "tale" tomorrow! Thanks for reading and goodnight!
Kathy
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