Work in Progress: Interim RAW

It’s been a long week of not much beading here in my workspace. The two tutorial projects that I’ve been working on are stalled while I wait for time and sunlight to get the next round of photos in. So I’ve mostly been adding new rows to the culled bead RAW monstrosity.

The RAW is coming along really nicely, although I’ve barely made a dent in my collection of culled beads. Hopefully this means that I’ll be able to go forward with the design that I have planned. I’m hoping I’ll be able to add at least another 15 inches or so of beadwork before the next stage.

I’ve been adding larger beads like 8/o’s and TOHO triangles to the edges here and there, but they’re starting to pile up nonetheless. I’ll probably end up having a bead cup to capture the larger beads as they start to take up too much space. I’ll be able to incorporate them into stage two when it’s time to add embellishments and such.

One thing that I’ve noticed during this project that hasn’t come up before is how much more obvious nylon tail threads are compared to Fireline. Because the thread is so much softer, it always seems to be in the way. As this swatch of right angle weave has grown, I’ve been stopping every few additions to weave in old tails. Normally I would just leave them all in place and weave everything in at the end, but that just isn’t an option here.

What are you working on this week?

Mortira

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Copyright 2016 Inspirational Beading

Work in Progress: Messy, Messy RAW

This week I got started on my new abstract/ugly necklace design, using nothing but culled seed beads. I’ve always got an old tealight cup on my bead tray to collect beads that are a little wonky, and after so many years of beading, I’ve collected a lot of them. They’re the perfect material for an ugly necklace, and my plan is to stitch a great big swatch of them with right angle weave. This will be the base for my piece, which will probably include some embellishments of assorted bead leftovers and some Unfinished Objects.

I’ve still got a tray of lime green 8/os waiting to be put away after shooting some photos for an upcoming tutorial. I’ve got 3 different projects lined up for you in the coming weeks. The one I’ve just completed is so much fun – I think you’re going to really love it. Keep watching for that one!

What are you making right now?

Mortira

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Copyright 2015 Inspirational Beading

Culled Bead Collection Update

Back in January I snapped a photo of my collection of culled and wonky seed beads, in the hopes that it would take on some kind of transformation later. I knew of course that it would get bigger, but I wondered if the ratio of jet black to colorful beads would change much over time.

It’s a little hard to tell just from a photo, but the amount of beads has increased by at least 50%. The color hasn’t really changed all that much. I wonder if it isn’t just my preference for jet black, but the quality of that particular color? I didn’t use jet black in my seed bead brand comparison, so it’s hard to tell.

Then

Right now all of the projects that I have lined up require either a bunch of planning, or I’ll be taking step-by-step photos. This means I can only work on them when I’m at home during the day, but I need something to bead in the middle of the night. So I think it’s time to finally get started on using this big bag of wonky beads.

Now

I recently checked in with the Ugly Necklace Contest, and there aren’t any rules posted for a 2016 contest. I hope this doesn’t mean there isn’t going to be one! I still find making an ugly design really therapeutic, so I’m going ahead with my idea. It’ll give me something meditative to work on, and I’ll get a chance to use up some of the colored bead threads I’ve had in my stash for forever, since I’m sort of hoarding the last of my Fireline right now.

I’m not going to give too many details about my theme for the new piece, but I will say that it was inspired by a mean critique, and it will almost certainly include some UfOs. I’ll be sure to share some in progress photos!

How do you store and use your culled beads?

Mortira

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Copyright 2015 Inspirational Beading

Culled Bead Soup Experiment

As I get ready to start taking inventory for this spring’s tax returns, I’m doing a lot of sorting and reorganizing. While I was cleaning my work space and putting away a lot of stray bead packages, I discovered that I had several baggies and tubes of culled beads built up from the past few years.

I always drop misshapen beads into a designated tea-light cup on my bead tray, and when it gets full I’ve been in the habit if pouring most of the beads into the nearest empty package. I always leave a few behind to act as stop beads, and then forget about the rest. The result is a sprinkling of these little mixes all over the place.

During my cleanup, I decided to consolidate all of the culled beads into a single large bag. It occurred to me that I probably have other tubes and baggies stashed somewhere else from ‘the early years’. I thought it would be interesting to catalogue this batch, and then check back later this year to see how the quantity and colors have changed.

Right now the mixture is mostly black 11/o seed beads – partly because I used it so much, but also because after switching to Czech seed beads, I got a lot picker. I’ve tried to reduce the waste a little bit by setting up a second cup for culled beads. In it I’m saving all of the beads that are just really tiny, but not weirdly shaped. They’ll come in handy for fringes some day.

When it’s time to take a look at the mix again, I’m hoping to use it in a new purge necklace, while also using up some UFOs and unwanted beads.

Do you save your culled beads? Have you come up with a special use for them?

Copyright 2015 Inspirational Beading
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