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Reaching Back: Far back!

By Anne Marie September 28, 2022 September 27, 2022 2

This is the time of year, that I find myself reaching back, far back, to some of my earlier days of arting. I’ve been creating for a very long time, and it’s a good thing that I’ve always been good at maintaining my photo files. Actually, that was until I had a fatal computer crash, but that was a long time ago, and most of my photos were also saved on another device. Let that be a lesson to us all, backup, backup, backup! Do you want to know how much creating I’ve been doing this week? Not a heck …

A Bead Muse Muses

Fibre First, but Beads Next!

By Anne Marie September 21, 2022 September 20, 2022 0

In my world, it was fibre first, but beads next! Does that mean that fibre trumps beads? Not really, because everything is equal in my world. It all depends on what I feel like working on at the time. After learning traditional quilting (by hand), I quickly morphed into making art quilts (by machine). Stitch was definitely first, but when I learned that embellishments raised my quilts to another level, I never looked back. For me, it’s always about the texture! A couple of my early art quilts! The pear was my first, and only, attempt at raised bead embroidery. …

A Bead Muse Muses

Pulp With a Side of Fibre!

By Anne Marie September 7, 2022 September 6, 2022 0

Pulp with a side of fibre, refers to the fact that the photos in this blog post, relate to paper, or fabric, or both. My stash runneth over in both areas, so it’s only fair that I get a chance to showcase them today. Let’s start with my paper bowls! I started out making them as plain as can be, but then I challenged myself to embellish them with some beading. I actually used wallpaper paste to form the bowls, but that made them brittle, and hard to easily bead. I’m sure that methyl cellulose would have worked, but instead …

A Bead Muse Muses

Wee Bits of Beady Goodness!

By Anne Marie August 24, 2022 August 23, 2022 0

My focus this week, is on wee bits of beady goodness! I’ll start with that, then slide into some other beauties. You know that I can’t stick to just thing, don’t you? Tiny little landscapes, lovingly embraced by metal bezels. Once upon a time, I taught this course, and who knows, I might be persuaded to teach it again. My family of tiny landscapes! Individual shots. Although I would categorize my Embellished Orb (in progress) as larger than “wee”, it’s very bead intensive, and I’m using all sizes of beads (including 15/0’s), buttons, and other goodies. It’s coming close to …

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

Landscapes of my Mind!

By Anne Marie August 10, 2022 August 9, 2022 0

Landscapes of my mind are near and dear to my heart! I used to call them Serendipity Landscapes, and I expect that I will alternate both descriptions in the future. Dreamy landscapes are probably one of my favourite things to create! Small ones, are even more precious, so I challenged myself to see what I could fit into some of the bezels that BeadFX carries (they’re not just for resin). Ahem, I might add that I’ve probably harassed a few people, to make sure that we get just the right bezels for my tiny landscapes. I do admit that some …

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

Hello Dolly – and a few other things!

By Anne Marie June 29, 2022 June 28, 2022 0

Hello Dolly was a theme of sorts, when I was teaching my “Natures Garden”, Beaded Art Doll class at BeadFX, several years back. I always had a fascination with Beaded Art Dolls (BAD), stemming back to an old Yahoo group of the same name (which eventually morphed, kicking and screaming, over to a Facebook group). I lurked on there for years (and am still lurking), before stitching my very first doll. Of course, after the first one, I had to create a workshop, then ended up designing, stitching, and stuffing countless BAD’s, for my students. Including the wool doll form …

A Bead Muse Muses

What’s Old is New Again: Isn’t that the truth?

By Anne Marie June 15, 2022 June 14, 2022 2

What’s old is new again, and I’m not just saying it! Of course, what’s old is also old, but that’s what memories are made of. Not to mention, what’s new, is still new, but that’s another story. First up is one of my favourite Bead Journal Project (BJP) series from the past. I never remember which year is which, and am too lazy to actually look it up, so let’s just say it might be 2009. This series is loosely based on colourful row houses. It was tons of fun, and includes many lasting memories. In each house, you will …

A Bead Muse Muses

Sweet Bead Dreams: From the past!

By Anne Marie June 1, 2022 May 31, 2022 0

While wondering what to write about this week, I started musing about my Sweet Bead Dreams from the past. For me, that will always start with Robin Atkins, Bead Journal Project, as it had such a huge influence in my work, and started me working on series! As I’m not finished showing you my 2010 series, I thought that I’d show you a three more. More than just intuitive beading, they’re really Mixed Media, Visual Journals. They represent so much more than the beads, with the inclusion of stitch, paint, landscapes, and the echoes of whatever was going on in my …