Posted by Angelique on August 3, 2008
Well, I dunnit.
I finally started using my BeadTool 3 to create beading patterns. My mom had been asking me to do some for a while now, but I just hadn’t gotten around to it. I guess it was partly because I was worried I wouldn’t be able to make anything good. Once I started she really loved them. I have only created four small christmas ornaments, one butterfly in different colors for a cuff bracelet, and four cuff bracelet patterns in various colors, but at least I’ve started doing it.
I haven’t started actually doing the beadwork for any of my patterns, but I will eventually. I just haven’t gotten to that point yet.
However, my mom is making one of my patterns for the newest Etsy Beadweavers team challenge. Voting will begin on August 9th. So if you are interested in voting, that is the link. Vote for whoever you like, you don’t have to vote for me, but please come and vote. 
Her entry is due August 5th, but this bracelet has been giving her a heck of a time, so we’re hoping she’ll make it. She began it in brick stitch, but it kept falling apart, so yesterday she had to tear the whole thing apart and start over in peyote. I would post a picture, but as of right now, the bracelet is still itty bitty (only to the 34th row), but I promise, when she finishes it I will post a picture.
Wish us luck!
Have a great day!
Posted by Angelique on
This was the second embroidery I did for my family. In 1996, my aunt had a baby girl and I thought she would enjoy a picture of her daughter, Gina. So when the baby was a few months old, my mom and I found a picture that my aunt had given us, and I happily went to work. Here’s the final outcome.
I made it for my aunt for either her birthday or Mother’s day 1997, I can’t remember which. From what she told me, everyone who had seen it always said they loved it, and I know for a fact that she still has it today, so I know she loved it too.
I had never done a portrait before, so this was a learning process. And as with any learning process, I look back and see things I would’ve done differently if I had been more experienced. For example, since it was a portrait, I wanted to try and make it more realistic by doing highlight and shadow on the face. Here is a close-up so you can see it better.
It looks okay, but when I do another portrait, I will most likely leave those off and just make the indentions for the nose and chin or anything else like that needs to be shown. Other than that, I like the way it came out. Here is a close-up of the dress.
All the little dots took a while, but I think it looks better with them than it would’ve without them. And unlike the face, the shadows on the sleeves of the dress worked out well. I guess it’s true when they say you won’t know what works till you try it, right?
For more delicate pictures, a lot of times I like to put lace around the edges. I felt like the pink lace looked really pretty on this one. And voilà! Here is the completed gift.
With the help of Gina, I now have a better idea of what will work on future portraits and what won’t. I am very grateful for that. Which is good, because I have a couple of portrait requests already waiting for me. As I finish them, I will write a blog and also post them on my webpage so everyone can see.
Hope everyone is healthy and happy!
Posted by Angelique on August 2, 2008
I love doing embroidery. And I love giving them as gifts because it makes those I love happy. I try to find things that will be significant to the people I make them for. For my Grandma it was hummingbirds, but for my Grandpa, it is cardinals. This is what the cardinal project looked like when I first started it.
Here is the finished embroidery before I put it in the frame.
It took me a while to make because I was going to school at the same time. But I finally finished it and got it to him for Father’s Day 2007. I wish I could’ve been there to see his reaction, but he lives too far away for that. However, from what my mom told me, he has it hung in the same room as the hummingbird. I’m glad he liked it.
Here is a close-up of the bird’s head. I like to do detail work on my pictures. The more detail the better. It takes a long time, but it comes out looking so pretty when it’s done. It took me at least a week or so just to finish the detail work on the cardinal itself. But I think it was worth it.
The feet is where I had a little bit of trouble. It took me a bit to figure out how to make them to where they didn’t blend in with the stick the bird is perched on. I decided to outline them because the color I chose for the feet was just a shade darker than the color for the stick. I figured the outline would help separate the two. It looks like it worked.
Overall I was very happy with the outcome. I am sort of a perfectionist when it comes to my work, so if I wasn’t happy with it, most likely I would have just chucked the whole thing and started over. Then it would’ve been the next Christmas before he received it. Everything worked out though, and now the cardinal is hanging right where it was meant to be. Here is a picture of it in the frame getting ready to be packaged and shipped (Sorry about the flash right in the middle of his head……remember boys and girls, flash and glass don’t mix). 
Hope everyone is healthy and happy! Have a great day!
Posted by Angelique on July 6, 2008
Back in 1995 I decided to make a hummingbird embroidery picture for my grandma. She loved hummingbirds and there were always hummingbirds around her house, so I wanted to make her something to immortalize what she loved. I had been doing cross-stitch and plastic canvas for a while, and I had done one (a flower made from the name Lola) for a friend. Unfortunately, I don’t have a picture of that one; however, thankfully, I do have a picture of the hummingbird:
I put lace around the edges before I put it under the glass in the frame. Here are some detail pictures:
And, last but not least, here is a picture of my grandma when she opened it on Christmas Day 1995:
I think I was still working on it Christmas morning, but I finished it by the time we opened gifts. If I remember correctly, it took me about a month to finish this, but her reaction when she saw it for the first time was worth every minute and every poke of the finger.
My grandma is not with us anymore, but at least I was able to give her something made with love that she would cherish, and that makes me very happy.
Posted by Angelique on July 5, 2008
Hello All,
We have finally moved into my mom’s house for the most part. We still have some big stuff at the old house, but we have moved all the computers and the microwave, so you know we have officially moved out. Luckily, my aunt owns the house we were in, so she has said there is no rush in getting everything out. We have an appointment this week on Thursday for my son, so we will bring more things into Freer this next weekend. Then we probably won’t be able to go back until August. But when school starts again in August, I will be bringing things with me when I come back into Freer. Then again, I will also take the kids into town to stay with their father, hopefully, once a month. We’ll see how that goes when the time comes.
Life has been pretty hectic trying to remember everything that has to be done when we move. My mom and grandma keep reminding me of more stuff every time I turn around. I hope to have all the utilities and bills turned off or transferred by the 11th of July, then all I will have to worry about is packing up all that big stuff and getting it to Freer. Will it be done by the end of summer? Who knows, but I am working on it.
I have also finally started designing beadwork designs for my mom. I don’t have enough experience creating beadwork yet because I haven’t been able to practice, but I have started creating designs so that my mom can make them if she chooses to. My brain seems to be going crazy with beading designs. She bought me a journal so that whenever I think of one, I can draw it for her or write down the idea. I only have the first few pages filled so far, but I am working on it. Hopefully between both of us, we can get more beadwork out on her website.
I’m hoping to have my website up and running by the end of the summer, and also hopefully write some of my other blogs I have been meaning to write. But then again, we’ll see how things go. Otherwise, nothing new for now.
Hope everyone is happy and healthy.
Filed Under: Life Comments:
Designing Frenzy
