Kaleidocycles

I have been interested in making a kaleidocycle for a couple of years. I found them as a paperarts project. I printed, coloured and made a number of paper ones. But after a few weeks of they would come apart.

I knew that there had to be a way of doing it with beads. It was just triangles linked together. I tried to figure it out but was not able to get my brain around it.

The amazing beaders at Contemporary Geometric Beadwork figured it out. The instructions will be in the upcoming book CGB Pattern Book. I have pre-ordered a copy and was sent the Kaleidocycle instructions.

So I worked on making one using the colours suggested in the pattern. Basic black and white for the triangles, blue and red for the seams, yellow, green and silver for the hinges.

For my second one I decided to use the same triangle design and change the colours. So the triangles are white with one of 4 vibrant citrus colours. The seams are all white and the hinges are silver.

My most recent one again uses just one triangle design and changing colours. I went back to a favourite colour palette, the sea anemone palette, in The Beader's Color Palette by Margie Deeb. I used two of the colours on each side and the rotate thru as you flip the kaleidocycle. I did not want the seams or hinges to stand out so I used crystal AB beads.

Here are the three finished kaleidocycles. The collage show each of the four sides. The Citrus colours did not photograph very well.

I am very pleased with these. I like to sit and twist them as I watch tv. I am going to work on another variation with the sea anemone palette. I want to have all four colours on each side, just in different places in the pattern.

Ocean Blog Hope Reveal Day #2

It has been two weeks since I revealed my creations as part of the Ocean Blog Hop. Today is the second reveal day and here are the participants-

Our hostess:  Lisa Lodge, A Grateful Artist

Carolyn Lawson, Carolyn's Creations

Ev Shelby, Raindrop Creations

Toltec  Jewels, Jewel School Friends

Karla Morgan, Texas Pepper Jams

Ema Kilroy, Ema K Designs

Candida Elkins Castleberry, Spun Sugar Beadworks

Catherine Yvonne King, Catherine's Musings

Melissa Trudinger, Bead Recipes

Shaiha Williams, Shaiha's Ramblings

Chris Eisenberg, Wanderware

Eleanor Burian Moore, The Charmed Life

Kay Thomerson, Kayz Kreationz

Jill Bradley, Chat 2 Jill 
Rebecca Ednie, Eclectic Endeavours

I thought that I would share some pieces that I have created in the past inspired by an ocean dweller. Here is a picture of a sea anemone for Margie Deeb's Beader's Color Palette book.  It listed the delica colours of 203/910/073/281.

Sea Anemone

As a color experiment I did the tuffet box pattern, from Julia Pretl's Little Bead Boxes book, three times. Each time I change the placement of the colours with in the pattern.

Sea Anemone Tuffets

Last June I took Jean Power's Geometric Stars class. I decided to use the colour from the sea anemone inspiration. Once again I experimented with the placment of the colours within the pattern.

Sea Anemone Stars

Take time to hop around and see what everyone has created.

Happy Beading!

Vacation Beading - Day 2 & 3

Yesterday I had lunch with Maria to celebrate are birthdays this week. We had burgers at the Works down in Bloor West Village. I gave her the Shooting Star pendant that I made on Thursday.

I spent the rest of the day working to finish my series of geometric stars from the class with Jean Power. Using the colour palette from the sea anemone as seen in Margie Deeb's book The Beader's Color Palette.

I finished the fourth star today. 

Here are all four stars together.

I just need to decide how best to display them.

Tomorrow I will do some beading in the morning and spend the afternoon with my sister and her family.

Happy Beading!

5 years on...

I was looking back through some posts recently and notice that today, June 26 marks my fifth (wooden or daisy) blogoversary!! Original blog combined beading and book review. I decided to do a mostly beading a few years later.

Let's take a look back.

In 2008 I made this trio for foxgloves designed by Kerrie Slade.

I also did my very first box in a class with Julia Pretl.

In 2009 I was able to take classes with Margie Deeb, including her Around the colour wheel workshop.

During a week at a cottage with my family I did some beading with my nieces.

I also started my Smaug box in my dragon series.

In 2010 had an amazing trip to Ottawa with Maria, including visit to Museum of Civilization.

In July I took a number of class with Marcia DeCoster. Here are my beaded beads.

I also made a few things from her book Beaded Opulence. I love this Urchin bead.

I finished a series of boxes inspired by the lampwork of Amy Waldman Smith.

Blogging was a challenge in 2011 but here a some favourites. I was able to take classes with Diane Fitzgerald in March at beadfx. Here is my Moorish tile beaded bead.

My love of owls is well known by my friend Maria. She gave me the owls that are the focal of this Owl Trio necklace.

After almost a year without blogging I got back to it in the spring of 2012. It was a year of many beading challenges and triumphs.

I decided to participate in the  Designer Style Challenge hosted by Creativ Festival for their 25 anniversary. Here is my inspiration.

I also participated in my first Bead Soup Blog Hop, hosted by Lori Anderson.

In August I found out that both my beadwork and paper arts entries were semi-finalists in the Designer Style Challenge. At the show in October I won third place in the beadwork catergory. Both pieces were on display during the show.

2013 has been a fun year so far with bead challenges and blogging adventures.

Maria and I have been doing a series of blog post on her blog called the ABC's of Creativity. I have done many of the post and enjoyed sharing inspiration and resources with fellow beaders.

I participated in my second Bead Soup Blog Hop in the early spring.

In March I finished the Tomcat box from Julia Pretl's book Little Bead Boxes. I had now made at least one of every box in the book.

Triangle boxes

Square boxes

Pentagon boxes

Hexagon boxes

I have many more challenges to come this year with three more blog hops that I will be participating in and many started projects to finish.

Thanks to those who read and comment on my blog. A special thanks to those that have taught me  and inspired my beadwork.

Happy Beading!!

Show and Tell night @ Toronto Bead Society

Last night was the first Toronto Bead Society meeting of 2011. We had a show and tell night. I took in my collection of boxes inspired by various things. Here is my display of boxes and inspiration sources.

My sources of inspirations included to following -

Margie Deeb's book The Beader's color palette for the Sea Anenome Boxes.

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien and Eargon by Christopher Paolini for two of my dragon boxes.

Lampwork beads from glass artist Elly Peters.

Lampwork beads from glass artist Amy Waldman Smith. Watch for a complete post about this series soon.

 

Of course the starting inspiration for all of my boxes is Julia Pretl's book Little bead boxes.

Thanks to fellow members who also shared their beadwork. Also for all those who admired the work on display I hope that you were as inspired and amazed as I was.

Beadwork - Rainforest Cascade Necklace

I finished the second class project from the classes with Margie Deeb last month. I realized after I was done that I had not followed the instructions. I did not have two fringes coming out of each of the anchoring beads. I also did not like the way the drop enamel beads hang. I need to redo this part of the necklace.

I have been wearing the foundation multi-strand necklace. It looks great on this own.

Beadwork - Red Collar of light and colour

Friday's class with Margie Deeb was for the Collar of light and colour. This piece has a foundation of tubular herringbone fringed with a variety of red and pink daggers. During the class we started the foundation. Later in the afternoon we started to do the fringing. Based on the sizing of the class sample, I realized that I needed to adjust where the fringe starts. My foundation needed to be 18 inches long, so I started the fringe 2 inches from the end.

Collar in progress at the end of class

Finished collar!!

Colour Play

Yesterday was a great, colourful day. I attended the Around the colour wheel in 5 hours class with Margie Deeb. We learn the properties of colour and how to create various palettes. It was fun to see how different the palettes were even when we start with type of scheme.

Here is a palette Suzanne and I create for a floral print.

To help Roxann use some interesting pink beads we did this.

Thanks Margie, it was a great day. I am ready to create colour palettes with contrast in hue, value, intensity and temperature!

Colour Guru Margie Deeb

I am so looking forward to tomorrow, as I will be taking my first class with colour guru Margie Deeb. She is coming to Toronto to teach and present with the Toronto Bead Society. Wednesday's class is Around the wheel in 5 hours. On Friday I will be making the Collar of glass and light and on Saturday the Rainforest Cascade Necklace. She is also going to be presenting to the general Toronto Bead Society membership at our meeting on Wednesday November 11 @ 7 p.m.

I have enjoyed her two books about colour, The beader's guide to color and The beader's color palette. I used one of the palettes as inspiration for my Sea Aneome box series .

It is going to be an inspiring time. I will post thoughts and pictures over the next few days

Beadwork - Sea Aneome Box 2

Here is the second in my Sea Aneome box series. I still have to do the lid, but I have run out of one colour of beads. My inspiration was from Margie Deeb's Beader's Color Palette. The first box in the series had the darker fuchisa as the dominate color. Here the pale creamy yellow is. I think that this is closer to the inspiration picture regarding the ratio of colours.

Here is the bottom of the box.