Glitter, Glisten, Glimmer: Beaded Ornament Tutorial

Welcome to day 2 of ARTSPARK's winter tutorial blog hop!

Let's make a lovely little ornament.

I'm using Miyuki twisted bugle beads, number 6, 11, and 15 seed beads, and a felt ball.

I use a #11 straw or applique needle and Nymo or Sylamide beading thread.

Knot your thread -  push it straight through then knot on the other end just to be safe. Trim the tail.

Place a #6 bead on the needle, slide it down, then pick up a #11 on the needle without sliding it down. 

Stick the needle back down through the #6 hole then straight out through the other side. 

Make a knot there to be safe then make this same little stack at each pole and on each of the four directions of your little globe.

After you've made your six stacks, make a knot as close to underneath the bead as possible. If your thread is too short get another one ready. 

Load on a #11, a bugle, and another #11 - keep the  last bead on the needle. Slide the needle back through the bugle and bottom seed bead and come out on the other side of the #6.

Make six of these bugle stacks around the #6 stack.

After making six of these bugle stacks send your needle through the felt ball to the next #6 bead stack and repeat the process around each center bead.

Make knots fairly often to secure your thread by taking a little bite of the felt ball as close to underneath a bead as you can. Leave the needle half way through.

Wrap the thread around the front end of the needle, hold the wrap there with your finger, then pull the needle through.

Send your needle through one of your seed/bugle stacks - you can catch the top bead after you've pulled the needle through if you miss it on the first pass. 

Pick up a bugle bead then send your needle through the seed bead on the top of the next stack in the circle. 

Add a bugle between each of the stacks without going back down to the felt ball. Just hop from one seed bead on the top of a bugle to the next. 

When you get to the last seed bead, go through it again, and through the bugle and the next seed bead.

Take your needle back down to the felt ball through the bugle and seed bead, bringing the needle back up under the next #6 bead.

Repeat the process of adding a bugle between each stack until you have a lovely hexagon around each #6 bead stack center thingie. (Yes - "thingie" is a technical term.)

Make sure you have plenty of thread to make a loop, doubled thread is a good option here. Bring your needle up through one of those big #6 bead center thingies, and add lots of little tiny #15 seed beads until you have a string of them long enough to make a hanging loop.

Take your needle back down through the #6 stack and bring it out as close under one of the other hexagon bead formations as you can. 

Do the knot thing, in fact knot it twice for good measure. Send the needle anywhere through the felt ball and then trim the tail. 

Viola! 

Something beautiful to hang on your tree, or in your window, or on your rear-view mirror.

If you don't happen to have those dazzling twisted bugles in your stash - no worries.

I've put together kits for you with everything you need to make your own ornament.

Each kit includes one felt ball, all the beads you need, a spool of nymo beading thread and a needle.

 Shipping within the U.S. is free.

Choose your color

Winter White $8.00 USD Deep Green $8.00 USD Kelly Green $8.00 USD Lime Green $8.00 USD Bright Christmas Red $8.00 USD Deep Vintage Red $8.00 USD Muted Heather Red $8.00 USD

And if you liked this tutorial, you will love my DVD.

It's 90 minutes of blissful beading play time and full of inspiration.

Learn to apply beads to fabric and make your own wonderful works of art.

Pop it in your computer and print out a PDF pattern for the floral quilt on the cover.

$24.95 + $5.50 shipping

Tutorial: Citra-Solv Photocopy Transfer

The work I do as a mother involves a lot of delayed gratification. When I escape to the studio and put on my artist's hat it can be nice to see some instant results. Solvent photocopy transfer is one of my favorites. You need only a photocopy, fabric,  Citra-Solve®, and a few seconds of elbow grease - and VIOLA!

Citra-Solv transfer by Lyric Montgomery Kinard

The good people who produce this environmentally friendly cleaning product have included an ARTISTS' PAGE on their website. I'm honored to have been included among other textile artists I admire such as Jane Davila and Jane Dunnewold.

I encourage you to take a peek over there - lots of interesting things being done. It makes me think that I have some experimenting to do. Dissolving pages from National Geographic magazine? Hmmm. Wonder how I can do that on fabric.

Want to join me in a little playtime? Here are the instructions for moving the ink from a photocopy onto paper or fabric. Wear gloves and work in a well ventilated area. The stuff is much more pleasant than the paint stripper I used to use but it IS still a solvent.

dragonfly transfered onto rice paper
adhered to book cover with gel medium

Materials:

• Citra-Solve®  (find where to buy it here)
• Cotton ball
• Metal spoon
• Non-porous smooth surface
• Masking tape
• Fabric or paper of your choice
• Photocopy

Directions:

1. Find a copyright free black and white image. I love to use vintage family photos.

2. Make a photocopy of the photo, sizing it no larger than 5" x 7".

3. Cut away the background if it detracts from or competes with your image. (You can alter the image digitally too - see the Tutorial link above for PSE help.)

4. Draw in any lines that need emphasis or add in some fun scribbles. Maybe Grandma always wanted a tiara or your puppy looks great in polka dots! You can digitally manipulate the photo as well.

5. Make a final photocopy. (Note: Inkjet prints DO NOT work with this method. Laser printers might.)

6. Tightly tape a piece of fabric or paper to your glass or non-porous surface.

7. Tape the photocopy face-down on your paper or fabric. Don't let the tape cover the image.

8. Barely dampen the cotton with Citra-Solve® and squeeze it out. Rub it on the paper just until you see the ink show through. It should be barely damp - too juicy and your image will bleed and blur.

9. With the back of the metal spoon, rub, rub, rub hard and like crazy in all directions. You are moving the ink from the paper to the fabric.

10. Pick up one corner of the paper and peek. Look for spots that haven't transferred yet then put the paper back down and rub some more in that spot.

11. Toss the paper in the trash and let the solvent evaporate.

12. Feel free to play around with the image. Color it in with colored pencils, ink, paint or whatever you have on hand. Be creative! Have fun!

The only tricky part is finding a photocopier that works. If you are using Citra-Solve® (the other orange solvents I've tried have not worked) and you are rubbing and nothing is happening it is most likely the copy that is at fault. I test any copy I make right at the copy center. Dampen a cotton ball with the Citra-Solve® and stick it in a little zip-loc bag in your pocket. Make one photocopy then place it face down on another piece of paper on the counter, dampen with the Citra-Solve® then rub it a bit with the scissor handles on the counter, the back of your thumbnail, whatever you have there. If it's going to work it will work right away. If not, no amount of rubbing will work. Find another copy center. Don't leave the bag in your pocket too long. The solvent will eventually dissolve through the bag although it won't really hurt your clothes. (Ask me how I know!)

If you'd like to see it instead of just read about it I demonstrate the technique along with a lot of other fun techniques in the Quilting Arts DVD Workshop "Surface Design Sampler Platter."

Here is a link to the first of several Tutorials on how to Photoshop your images.

Tutorial: Sketchbook Slipcover

 Welcome to Artspark's third day of the Spring Tutorial Fling!

I love working with fabric and I love sketching. My sketchbooks want to be pretty on the outside - even if they are a mess on the inside.

If you'd like to make a sketchbook slipcover you'll need just enough fabric to wrap your book like a gift (mine is quilted to batting although that is not required.) You'll also need inside fabric that's just a little longer than the fabric you'll use for the outside of the slipcover.

And because I had just enough fabric left over I made a little pencil case. Melanie Testa has a tutorial here so you can make one of those too if you wish.

Make sure you don't miss the following tutorials from other Artspark members!

Spring wreath: Alisa Burke

Making a Faced Binding: Judy Coates Perez

Journal mapping: Jill Berry

Artspark Tutorial Spring Fling

Welcome to day 2 of Artspark's Spring Tutorial Fling

Freezer paper stencils from your sketchbook images and Paintstiks: Jane LaFazio

Bunny Power: Quick Tombo Rabbits: Carla Sonheim

Painting Eggs: Tracie Huskamp

To answer your questions from yesterday. This piece is about 6" and is a mother of pearl disc on shibori dyed fabric. And lots of beads. It will be framed in this lovely little shadow box. (I took the glass out to photograph it.) Scroll to yesterday's post to see a close-up.

I'm going to try something new and give you all first dibs before I list it on Etsy. 

PEARLS 6"x6"

framed and wired for hanging

$85.00 usd (plus shipping)

Angelus Leather Paint for Shoes

A wonderful student saw this and passed it on - I'm going to have to try these paints for leather. Especially as I recently had bit of an ebay boot buying binge and have a few pair patiently waiting in the wings for their day of glory.

Angelus Leather Paint

"Angelus Acrylic Leather Paints are brilliant and opaque in color and are used for decorating, staining, or edging smooth leather and vinyl articles. Ideal for painting special areas on western boots, belts, tennis shoes, purses, jackets, etc. Angelus Leather Paint, when dry, will not peel, crack, or rub-off. Waterbased for easy clean up."

For those of you who might have missed it 

you can find the shoe painting tutorial HERE. 

Art Spark Tutorial Tsunami (part 4)

More by the creative Artspark Crowd!

Alisa Burke

Little Monsters Tutorial

http://alisaburke.blogspot.com/2010/10/little-monsters-tutorial.html

Tracie Lyn Huskamp

Covered Button Corsage

http://thereddoor-studio.blogspot.com/

And There Was Much Fun To Be Had

Really - there was. In spite of the heat wave and barely-there air conditioning - we had a FANTASTIC time with the Burke Quilters Unlimited. The class was Screen Printing and the location was Judy Gula's most fantastic shop ever: Artistic Artifacts Annex.

 I can't seem to remember if this we were beading or learning photo transfer here.

Kathy is making a lovely piece with her citra-solv photo transfer.

You can see a tutorial here. 

Meghan is using transfer paper for her photo transfer piece.

 Cyndi Souder and Judy Gula laugh over a funny X-Acto knife story.

Hubby had been "using" her kit out in the garage for quite some time while she was looking for it.

Busy, busy students learning Screen Printing.