The Stash

Some have asked how I store my beads. I'm using plastic boxes from Walmart's sporting goods
section. They measure 8" x 14" x 2" deep. They come with adjustable dividers for inside. I like to keep all my seed beads and Delica's in the small 2" x 2 1/2" bags. All the different sized tubes, and flip top boxes take up too much space. And I end up spilling more using them also.
Delicas are Miyuki beads and I mostly buy Miyuki seed beads also.
I used the BeadCreatorPro and Beadelator program to make patterns. Each of these can be
program to used the Miyuki Bead Number and give you a shopping list for the pattern you create. So as I collected beads I just found it easier to keep
them in numerical order. The Delicas are separated from the seed beads. I also have a note book
with every number that I have, so I can tell at a glance if I have a number or not. It makes online buying easier. lol - and that's about as organized as I am!
I have 19 of these boxes now. I need another 3 or 4 to finish up. I have a small computer desk in this room. My big loom is on top of the desk. The tray that normally pulls out for the keyboard, holds miscellaneous jewelry board and do dads, and the bead boxes are below and you can see
there is plenty of room for more there.

Another Favorite Seller - Delica Beads

Want to see all the colors of Delica beads all in one page? Go here
http://www.beadedimages.com/delicaALL.htm
An 11/0 Delica is slightly smaller than an 11/0 seed bead. A seed bead has a round edge to it while a Delica is a straight cut and each bead fits snug up against the other. It's called Tiling.
I think Delica beads are better for loom work, and structural pieces, pieces that you want
to have a stiffer body, keep their shape on their own.
Barbara Ebbe is the owner of beadedimages.com. She is also an author of several books with patterns for beading with Delica's
This is one of my favorites with not only charts and instructions for the amulet bags, but instructions for various fringe and straps.
http://www.beadedimages.com/book4.htm
You can buy Delica's in small or larger quantities. Barb also sells Tilas and 15/0's and HexCuts, and more.

Book Review - The White Russian Beading Book

Ok, that's not really the title, but I have never seen anyone mention what the title on the cover
translates to, and I can't type it here because we don't have all the keys necessary to type it in Russian.
So it's commonly called The White Russian Beading book. And yes, you can google it by entering
the White Russian Beading Book. It's totally written in Russian.
Why buy a book in Russian if you can't read Russian? It's a BEADING BOOK, of course. lol
But, really, it has some fantastic beading eye candy. A lot of the real, old world, designs. And oh, it has charts, step by step charts, that need no translation. Seed beads of various sizes and bugles are used quite a bit.
It's a 400 page, hard back book. It's a little expensive, but check Ebay often for it and you might
luck out. I found a copy there 2 years ago for a reasonable price. It's a wonderful book.

One of My favorite Sources - Beadgal

http://stores.ebay.com/beadgal

This is one of my favorite places to buy seed beads. I buy almost all my beads on line and
I really like to have a nice stash here, so when the mood strikes to bead, I usually have
the color I want here. I've been beading quite a few years so I have a nice stash - lol. When I shop, I usually like to
pick a color and buy quite a few shades at one time.
Sue (beadgal) has a great selection of seed beads, 11/0's in a wide range of colors. She also carry
coordinating 6/0 and 8/0's and cubes and drop (fringe) beads. Her prices and shipping are
very reasonable. Be sure to check her Ebay store next time you need a seed bead fix.

Here's the beads I received today.

Russian Leaf Done in Peyote Part 2

Continue repeating Steps 3 through 5B, decreasing at the end and increasing at the other as shown.
I can't tell you a specific number of rows because that will depend on the size of leaf you wish
to make. For now, we'll go with 8 rows.
Remove Stop Bead and flip work, Step 6 and repeat Steps 1 through 5B until both sides are even. Step 7
I've added the silver picot bead along the final edge.

Next step also depends on your purpose for the leaves. You attach each of the ends together
to form the leaves. (Finished Leaf) Your pattern may call for several leaves attached to each other to form a flower,
or a single leaf for earrings, or a string of them for a necklace. Again, these can be made in a variety of sizes.

Russian Leaf Done in Peyote Part 1

I had a request for a tutorial for Russian Leaves. I'll do them in Peyote first and then
St Petersburg Chain.

Russian leaves can be made in any size, from small embellishment size to extra large collar size.
The width of the leaf is determined by the number of beads in your starting row. For a tutorial size here, I am making a medium large leaf.

Russian leaves are worked one side at a time. You start with an even number of beads. I like Delicas best, but seed beads also work. I am also using a picot at the end of each row, shown here in silver. If you want a plain edge, just eliminate the silver bead.

Take a length of Fireline or thread, about a yard is sufficient for a regular sized leaf. Center a stop bead on the thread, you'll use the other half for the other side of leaf. I'm starting here with a picot bead, 16 delicas (remember start with an even number) and 3 picot SEE STEP 1
beads to make the point. Turn the needle and go back through the last bead of the main color.
Let the silver picot beads form a point. SEE STEP 1A. Then you will work the rest of the black beads in peyote. STEP 2

At the end of the row, you'll turn and work the next row in peyote,STEP 3 this time stopping one bead
short from the end of the row Step 3A. You are making a reduction here by stopping short. Add Picot silver bead and turn. Step 4 Complete row in peyote. At the end of this row, you make an addition.
Add 2 black beads and 1 picot bead. Step 5 Bring the need back through the first of the 2 black beads
just added. Step 5 APull tight, keeping the picot bead to the left, inside, and you'll see you are in position to finish the row in peyote again. Step 5B

More tomorrow

Bead Table Wednesday

Bead Table Wednesday. My herringbone is bracelet length, but I decided I want some End Caps for it before adding the clasp. So, I'm going to order them. And while ordering, I want to choose a few more beads to go with the Budha (what is correct spelling? I see it both with one d and 2 ds) shown here. This will be a bead embroidery project. I think I probably have enough beads in jade color, but want more in the brown and/or bronze color.

A Thank You Shoutout to Susan Faye

I won a freebie from www.SusanFaye.etsy.com and I just received it so I wanted to thank
Susan for the six personalized book plates. Aren't they cute? Susan has lots of beautiful original
artwork in her Etsy store - drop by and take a look.

Wordless Wednesday

WIP Metallic Herringbone Bracelet

After putzing around with some red swarovski hearts for a week, I gave up. I was trying to combine cubes and hearts and it just wasn't working for me. So I put them away and will try
again some time in the future.
Yesterday and today have been so cold, we are not even venturing out of the house. I started
this herringbone stitch bracelet yesterday and should have it finished tonight or tomorrow.
This is worked with delicas in color numbers
1831 Duracoat Galvanized Silver
21 Steel
26 Metallic Dark Steel
40 Bright Copper

As you can see, I am working on a reed. The type you use for a kabbob or reed air freshener.
It makes it very easy to stitch you piece and slides right off when you reach your desired length.

Bead Table Wednesday

I got a nice new bead mat. Much larger. I was jealous of Kristen's - lol. Her's was so nice and neat, but a bigger mat for me just meant a bigger collection of beads.
Tonight I was lining up some metallic delica's to start a bracelet tomorrow.

Wordless Wednesday

Love, Love, Love

All ya need is Love... lol....here's my hubby opinion of Valentine's day.



But here's a chart for Valentine's - LOVE
Created on the Beadelator program, it measures
2." wide by 6 " inches longer. You can add rows
on each end to make it longer if you need to do
so. It's done up in Peyote. I left the background
white, but you can change that to another color if you are so inclined.

Edgar Allan Poe Chart

I had a request for a chart for Edgar Allan Poe since his birthday is coming up, Jan 19.
Poe is of course, the author of the Raven and so many more scary tales. If you are a big
fan of those early horror movies with Vincent Price, you are familiar with Fall of the House of
Usher, Pit and the Pendulum, Premature Burial and others.
This chart is for a cuff bracelet size 2.75" by 7.70". It's done in Peyote stitch, but if you'd
like to see it in loom, let me know. Pattern was created on the Beadelator program.
http://beadelator.com/

Magatama Beads - Russian Spiral Bracelet

After the first inch or so, I thought I wouldn't like this bracelet. But then it started to look familiar to me. The matte black and the silver - what was it? Then it dawned on me. Motorcycle leathers! This would have looked so great with my riding leathers. We sold our bike two years ago due
to my husbands health issues, but I still have my jacket. So, I thought I'd remind those of you who
sell at shows, be sure to make some things that aren't so girly girl. Think about what might appeal to other people.

Magatama Beads

These are really cool beads. 4 x 7 mm beads by Miyuki
http://www.miyuki-beads.co.jp/english/seed/LongMagatama.html

And I found them in Florida at
http://sparklespot.com/catalog/long-magatamas-c-127_129_146_157.html
She is now a member of the Hive and she also ships.

I've started a russian spiral piece here with size 8 seed as the core bead.

Mona Lisa

This chart is 2.35" x 6.60". Again, work in delica's for the best finish.
Pattern is created on BeadCreatorPro program. Shown here in Peyote
stitch. If you'd like to see it in Brick or Herringbone, let me know.

Wolf - Peyote -

This also can be worked in Peyote. If you work on a loom and would like the chart for the loom, let me know. This piece measures 2.5" wide and just under 7" long. This pattern is created on the BeadCreatorPro Program. It looks best worked in Delica's since they 'tile' so beautifully for a pattern like this.

Sunflower Chart

This is worked in peyote and measures 3" wide by just under 6". If you want to use it as a cuff bracelet and extend it just a bit, start and end with a few more rows of background. Pattern was created on BeadCreatorPro

Shells - Part 2

And here is the last of the types of seashells we collected this year. We did end up with a nice bag of them.
And what I did with them. Last year, I bought a nice shadow box from Michaels and hubby stained the box. I filled the shadow box with different varieties of shells and it's all ready to hang. I have quite a bit leftover and will probably fill a nice decorative glass jar, bowl or vase with those.

12 Random Things about Me

Joni Nickrent, here at the Hive, shared 12 random things about herself and asked us to do the same so here are mine.


1. My dad lost his right arm when he was a young man. It never stopped him from doing anything. I always figured if he could try anything, so could I.
2. I loved stenography in high school. The teacher couldn't talk fast enough. I could do
240 words per minute.
3. My mom died when I was 19, I had a brand new baby and a husband in Vietnam, and my older sister has learning disabilities.
4. My first job was at Ft Monmouth NJ -
5. I met my second husband there when he returned from Vietnam. He became a police
officer in north jersey and I took a job as a health claims adjuster for union members.
6. I became a union shop steward when I found out that this same office would not allow the women
working there to join a union. We not only joined a union, but our salaries were almost doubled and we acquired paid sick days.
7. At one time I had over 1,000 african violets growing under lights, and shipped leaf cuttings all over the world. Now, I grow over 1,000 different varieties of Hosta.
8. I run co-ops every year to buy plants and bulbs at wholesale prices.
9. I collect tea pots, Rowe pottery and blue willow china
10. We live in the woods in a small log cabin. My sister has lived with us for over 20 years.
11. I wouldn't be here if my Grandmother hadn't missed the boat - Titanic!
12. At one time, I made all my clothes and even suits for my husband.