My first beaded painting

Healing Beads

• Beads, creativity, and healing are related. 
• Beads help us to break through the walls of doubt and criticism that prevent us from exploring our full artistic potential.
• Beads are a pathway to greater creativity and source for personal healing.
• If you want creativity, if you want to develop your artistic abilities, work with beads. 
• Beads are inherently creative due to the infinite variety of their colors, shapes, sizes, materials and texture.
• This artistic medium allows you to be like a child in a castle, every room filled with unique, challenging and beautiful toys, and hours to play with them.

 

• - Beads are good therapy and much cheaper than a therapist.
• - Beads bring beauty and a creative force to our lives that is healing and nurturing.
• - You and I are worth it; and we don’t have to sell our work to prove it!
• - Beads are valuable, whether they’re in a drawer, on our works-in-progress, or on a finished piece.
• - Making things with beads, even simply holding or looking at them, connects us to our artistic side, our creative force.

Robin Atkins (extracts from her book "One Bead at a Time")

Online Beadshops

Online Shops
Cranberry: www.cranberry.net.au (Ultra Suede, Nymo thread, needles, seed beads, cabochons etc)
3rd Rock: www.3rdrock.com.au ( cameos, caboshons)
Beads Online: www.beadsonline.com.au
Space Trader: www.spacetrader.com.au
Feeling Inspired: www.feelinginspired.com.au
Wholesale Beads (Cheltenham): www.wholesalebeads.com.au
Shop 51, 148 Chesterville Rd, Moorabbin VIC 3189, Australia
Beads Venue: www.beadsvenue.com.au
Polymer Clay: www.polymerclay.com.au (Ultra Suede, ring and bracelet bases)
Oz Beads: www.ozbeads.com.au
Gems & Beads International: www.gemsandbeads.com.au
AE Metal: www.aemetal.com.au (silver and jewellery supplies)
Shops
Ajit Gems: http://ajitgems.com/ (gemstones and silver)

Room 904B, Level 9, Century Building, 125 Swanston Street, Melbourne - VIC 3000

P: 61-3-96392241

E: ajitmel@bigpond.net.au 

Koodak: www.koodak.com.au (silver and jewellery supplies)
Company Name: Koodak Jewellers Supplies (Vic) Pty Ltd
Opening Hours: 9:00am - 5:00pm Monday - Friday
Email Address: koodak@koodak.com.au
Contact Phone Number: (03) 9654 5811
Address: 4th Floor, 125 Swanston St, Melbourne 3000 Vic
Maria George (beading and embellishments):
179 Flinders La, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
 (03) 9658 7333

My Favorite Bead Artists

Bead Embroidery:

Sherry Serafini http://www.serafinibeadedjewelry.com 

Heidi Kummli http://www.freespiritcollection.com

Robin Atkins http://www.robinatkins.com

Bead Artwork:

Beverly Choy http://www.mylovelybeads.com/php/newsletter/201004/vampi1.html

Tatiana Van Iten http://www.beadsky.com/tatiana_van_iten.php

Eva Maria Keiser http://www.mylovelybeads.com/php/newsletter/201104/eva1.html

Embroidered Pearl Bib

Embroidered Pearl Bib:
This was my first large scale bead embroidery project.
It started from choosing one large 30X40mm cat's eye cabochons, and 2 smaller ones of the same kind.
Nothing was planned ahead, I kept going in rounds and match colors as I went.
As my friend advised, I used simple ribbons to tie it up at the back.
I was pleased with the results - good balance of shape, color and texture - well done Julion!

Moon Embroidered Bracelet

Being at home with flu for a week  - for some may sound awful, but I have tried to make the most of it.
The result - Moon Embroidered Bracelet.

And some intermediate pictures of the process:

Beaded Sari Anyone?

For 2011 New Year's Eve, my sister and I were invited to attend the "Eastern Fairytales" costume party.

We decided to go for the Indian Saris. We purchased some lovely fabrics, one in pink and white, another in turquoise color, of 5.5 meters each, but I had to narrow the width of each piece down to 1 yard only.

It took me some time to embroider the edges of each sari and our blouses with some lovely ribbons, beads and sequins.

My lovely colleague Geetha gave me a few free lessons on how to wear a sari - thanks to her!

Learning Bollywood dance routine for two was not that easy - but we did it, thank G-d for YouTube! 

Some instant tan application a couple of hours prior to the party, black wigs, power eye makeup and lots of costume jewelery completed our look. 

At the party, everyone complemented on our matching outfits and (almost) synchronous dancing - not to mention our matching nail polish!