On the Workbench Today - seed beads

in handcrafts •  7 years ago 

A little behind the scenes for anyone wondering what happens before the things we make are finished.

Seed Beads

A friend gave me tons of 11/0 beads, and I am soo excited to use them...but first, organizing...

IMG_0652.jpg

There are many, many cuts of beads, sizes, finishes and colours. I organize by size...some people organize by manufacturer, some by finish, some people keep beads in project groups. There are as many ways as there are people.

I tend to do size and colour...and since I do like to group by project when working on larger items, I love these containers.

IMG_0654.jpg

For years I kept my beads in little 2x3 zip baggies and kept them in a box. It worked well, because I had no space to organize well...but I have to say that I bead alot more now that I can see the beads easily and they are far easier to work with.

No matter how one organizes beads though, it is super important.

IMG_0657.jpg

She gave me so many beads!!! I cannot wait to get started beading with new colours :)

IMG_0659.jpg

I still keep my 13/0 seed beads in baggies, but now they are in this amazing gourd bowl my friend Candy made. She does such beautiful work! I traded with her for a pair of slippers...and though I know most people would put the gourd bowl on a shelf and dust it, I tend to use art in functional ways when I can...

IMG_7219.jpg

The slipper trade...

Shearling Deertan nampeh 1b.jpg

There is always so much more happening behind the scenes, friendships, sharing techniques, trading, giving...there is a strong community beyond what can be seen :) and I am grateful...

New beadwork coming up soon!

Authors get paid when people like you upvote their post.
If you enjoyed what you read here, create your account today and start earning FREE STEEM!
Sort Order:  

how to make shoes .... ??

I will do some posts on how to make shoes after the holidays, they will take a long time so I have to wait until the quiet part of winter :)

oh.
I will always support you

Thank you :)

Yes.
Please visit to my blog

That's a lot of beads !!

Sorry I don't know anything about beads. What do the 11/0 and 13/0 numbers mean?

It is! tons of beads...I can make so many things :) 11/0 and 13/0 are sizes. Most beadwork you see is 11/0, but 13/0 is smaller, and then there are 15/0 which are super small...and even 18/0.

The smaller the beads, the more intricate you can make the design :)

WOW! I have never had this level of organization in my bead room, I am impressed. I enjoy listening to you talk about them though (as a long time professional bead embroiderer for designers and my personal biz). :)

haha, it took me over 30 years to get this organized... I would love to see your work too!!

In my next post concerning embroidery I'll include a wider shot of the mess. ahahahaha, you'll gag. I've made a few bead embroidery post of stuff in the works or close to finished. I'm finishing up a great bag currently. I've been doing bead work most of my life, it's like a meditation process for me -- my SaukFox granny kind of gave me that perspective about beading and weaving. <3

Somehow I work well with the bead craziness, however, I do have bags of the mixed seedbeads (and other beads) that are truly epic... like monsters. :)

I almost missed this because we were talking in other places :O

It is like a meditation for me too, which is part of why I challenge myself. I love the deep winter when everything is quiet and I can bead for hours...

You know, those bags of mixed beads? Kids are great at sorting ;) My kids never said they were bored after about 8 years old, because they knew I would hand them a bowl of beads to sort, hehe

LOL... kids are good at that, I was too. Great memories. :)

I LOVE the winter so much for arting. <3

This post has received a 6.32 % upvote from @bellyrub thanks to: @elew.