#freeformpeyote

Using Bead Soup & Other Fripperies!

By Anne Marie February 8, 2023 February 7, 2023 0

Using bead soup & other fripperies is probably a crazy way to start this week’s blog post. However, I’ve been watching how a few friends deal with this dilemma, so I felt that I should weigh in on the subject. I love bead soup! I use it in both my intuitive bead embroidery, and freeform peyote. It’s something that I would use it in other projects, but it would depend. That’s a pretty vague answer, but they would not be appropriate in all types of projects. Some of my friends (not naming any names) dislike bead soup. They patiently sort/separate …

A Bead Muse Muses

Love of Life & Love of Beads!

By Anne Marie February 1, 2023 January 31, 2023 0

What does love of life & love of beads mean to you? This sentence could be interpreted many ways, yet to me it’s a very soft, and loving way of dealing with the February blahs. I’m originally from Vancouver, which has a temperate rain forest climate. February was often the month where Mother Nature started coming alive (trees budding, etc.). Yes, their weather patterns are changing, but still…. Not like Toronto, where we’re expecting a huge dip to -24C (-11.2F) over the weekend. That’s just nasty, cold, and depressing, but we will probably see more blue sky (which is a …

A Bead Muse Muses

Are You Excited About Beading?

By Anne Marie January 18, 2023 January 17, 2023 0

Are you excited about beading, now that the holiday’s are over. We’ve certainly seen an uptick in customers dropping into the store lately! So, that’s a sure sign that many of us are relaxing back into beading. Was the holiday crazy for you? Did you have trouble getting to your destinations? I know that there were weather problems all over the place, but how did it change the way you celebrated? Did you get a chance to bead a bit, to relieve the stress? Never mind, it’s over for the year, so now it’s time to get back to creative …

A Bead Muse Muses

Jewelry Trends for Winter 2022 – and more!

By Anne Marie October 26, 2022 October 25, 2022 0

I’ve just been reading about Jewelry Trends for Winter 2022, and I admit that I find this time of year quite interesting. Changing seasons = changes in direction, but sometimes the changes are quite radical. Runway fashion is always extreme, but if you look hard enough, you will be able to spot realistic trends, then interpret them into your own jewelry. The Zoe Report indicates a trend to going big, or going home!! Some of those stacked bracelets, will be incredibly hard to wear comfortably, but what if you stacked just a couple? Silver is back (not that I ever stopped …

A Bead Muse Muses

Tales of the Past, and Present!

By Anne Marie October 19, 2022 October 18, 2022 0

Tales of the past, and present relates to the way my mind has been working lately. I just came back from a vacation up north. My creative energies were channeled into my colourful photographs, but other than that, the muse was remarkably quiet. I hate these mental roadblocks! What causes them? A simple change in location? I won’t let that worry me. I am back home, and I’m confident that the ideas will start percolating shortly. Remember my freeform peyote pandemic project? I’ve pretty much decided that it’s finished, and unless we get a big Covid wave this fall/winter, it …

A Bead Muse Muses

Working with Unusual Materials!

By Anne Marie October 5, 2022 October 4, 2022 0

Nothing gives me greater pleasure, than working with unusual materials! I love puzzles, and problem solving, so is it any wonder that I’m on a constant quest to challenge myself? To be honest, I haven’t done much of that lately, but it’s coming. My head is full of ideas, but my fingers still need to get into the act! How about the freeform peyote, that I added to this piece of quartz? I attending the Scarborough Gem and Mineral Club show, a couple of weeks ago, and was happy to find a couple larger pieces of quartz. Instead of perfect …

A Bead Muse Muses

Intuition Rocks!

By Anne Marie August 31, 2022 August 30, 2022 2

I Intuition rocks, and that drives just about everything I do! It doesn’t matter if it’s Freeform peyote, Intuitive Bead Embroidery, painting, or even writing this weekly blog post. Yes, I can do traditional beading, and am a firm believer that you need to learn the rules, before you start breaking them. But breaking them is more fun for me, and yes you have permission to call me a rebel! A few photos to illustrate my point of view! Let’s start with these little houses, that I bead embroidered (years ago) with my rather intuitive style! Some say that it’s …

A Bead Muse Muses

A Concrete Solution: Is needed to cement your ideas!

By Anne Marie August 17, 2022 August 16, 2022 0

A concrete solution is a capital idea! I’m afraid that I’ve been slacking off during the summer, so it’s definitely time to cement my fall plans! Let’s start this blog post off with some jewelry that I made out of Artist’s Concrete (purchased at BeadFX, of course). I absolutely love this stuff, because it has a clean industrial look, no smell, and is very easy to work with. I have taught classes for this in the past, and the necklaces in the first photo (and the directions for making them), were published in the Belle Armoire Jewelry magazine in 2019. …

A Bead Muse Muses

The Art of Letting Go!

By Anne Marie August 3, 2022 August 2, 2022 0

The art of letting go is not always an easy thing to do. I sometimes get caught up in what I think that I should do, versus what I really do want to do. So I try to compromise, and generally come out ahead of the game. This summer has been hot, hot, hot, and that did not exactly encourage me to create. On top of that, I don’t have any long-term projects on the go right now. Those time crunches really rev up my creative engine, and I often find that’s when I’m most creative. Crazy, I know! None …

A Bead Muse Muses

Freeform Frolics – and all that entails!

By Anne Marie July 27, 2022 July 26, 2022 0

Freeform frolics is an all or nothing, type of beading, and I simply love it. I started by making earrings, graduated to pendants (including some with natural elements), then finished with bracelets. At least for now, that is! I’ve always been fascinated with freeform peyote, so much so that I joined the Freeform Peyote Beading Facebook group, and lurked there for quite a while, before posting any of my work. Real progress was made, after I purchased the “Explorations in Freeform Peyote Beading” book by Karen Williams. I highly recommend it! I went on to design three different workshops, that …