BJP 2013 ~ November Ta-dah

I love the look of  hydrangea flowers as autumn fades into winter. The beautiful shades of blues and pinks turn to the colour of vintage linens and lace. Earlier in the year my Mum moved from her home of 50 years and I unpacked boxes that had been hidden under beds and in cupboards. In one of the boxes were pieces of lace saved by my grandmother and her sisters for one day. I sorted through boxes of beads and broken jewellery also saved for one day. So although I never knew my grandmother and her sisters I do have photos of them and I feel I have a connection with them as I see their handiwork and the pieces they saved and my Mum saved as too precious to throw away.

My grandmother, Muriel, is in the middle with her older sister, Gertrude, on the left and her younger sister, Letty, on the right.

Imagine my delight as I realised I had the perfect place for one piece of lace and some of the beads. One day had come for a piece of lace that was just the right size for my November felt leaf and I had beautiful antique cream lustre beads that could make a pretty border.

 

I didn't want to cover too much of the lace work and I wanted to develop the circular shape of the large hydrangea heads and have the smaller flowers that make up the larger heads. I added wooden beads to complete the circle of lace flowers and then added cream and pink individual flowers in another circle.

 

 

I added a few more flowers with larger beads in the middle.

 



I hope my grandmother and her sisters would like my finished leaf.

I can't resist showing one of the small boxes of beads I came across for 'good children' and some of the glass bottles I'm filling up as I sort the beads.

 

 

 

I have nearly finished my December leaf and I am collecting together everything I need to display all the leaves together so hope to finish before the New Year :)

BJP 2013 April ~ Ta-dah

When I started my tulip because the shape was simple I thought I would finish it in a couple of days.

 In truth I would bead a petal and then undo it as the colours didn't work or the beading looked messy. Simple ideas show up mistakes! The colours on the tulips in the garden just blend so beautifully the beaded version was always disappointing. I think if I had more colour choice of the tiny beads I would have found it easier. But after much trial and error I think I have something I'm happy with. I wonder how I will feel about it at the end of the year? In contrast to the stop start nature of beading the petals the bugle bead border was a breeze and I like the random mix of colours.

And for you April I have taken a photo of the first four leaves on my rough sketch. Still not decided on background material and whether to add words. I do love Linda's words and thoughts she includes in her art.

 

I'm really looking forward to catching up on everybody's blogs with a cup of coffee after being away and planning for my May leaf.

Being away at the moment is going to my Mum's house from which she is moving  after 50 years. As I mentioned last time I am looking at my family history and was delighted to find an old family bible in a drawer. By old I mean published in 1625 and with names and dates going back to 1704. Couldn't resist including a couple of  photos.

Happy beading :)