BJP Jan and Feb

Once again this year I have joined the Bead Journal Project (BJP)(and the Crazy Quilt Journal Project, CQJP). I had done so a few years back and decided to join in the fun and creativity again this year as well. I think these groups are a wonderful way to push yourself to complete projects and share in the creative process with others.

This year for the BJP I decided to do my beaded rocks again. I decided to choose a theme this year of doing endangered species. It always saddens me when I hear that there are creature that have been here for thousands of years and then along comes people and wipes them off the face of the Earth. Hopefully some of my pieces will just bring a little more awareness of their plight. I am not sure exactly which species will be done and I will probably include insects and plant life within this theme.

I often get asked how I  do these rocks. The procedure is fairly simple. Although it is time consuming and requires a steady hand and getting use to how to handle and place the beads. I am going to start with my February rock to give you a basic how I do this. First I use a somewhat flat rock. I got mine from along the shores of Lake Superior. There was a great place that had slate like rocks and I collected a bunch and brought them home to my old place in northern WI. I have since moved to FL and moved my rocks with me. My father thought I was a bit goofy for bringing my rocks but I knew I wanted to make more beaded rocks at some time and I would need those rocks.

To start with I would wash the rocks just to be sure they didn't have any dirt or lose pieces on them. I then paint the rock. This you probably don't have to do that but I feel that the beads/glue will stick better to the painted surface.

Then I researched what type of photo I want to put on the rock. I did most of this by simply googling images of my tiger. With my tiger I knew I wanted a close up of the one side of the face. I took a basic photo of a live tiger and traced with tissue paper the basic outline. I then looked at several photos to see where the patches of color were on the cat.

From there I used a sharpie marker and retraced the outline from the tissue paper on to the rock. The sharpie goes thru the tissue paper on to the rock.

Once the pattern is on the rock I begin to glue the beads on the rock. Depending on the pattern you might want to consider how you want the beads to lie on the rock. This rock I started with the lines around the eyes and nose. The first rows are the most difficult to lie down. You need to be sure they are straight  and the beads lie up and down. It's not as easy as it seems. To place the beads I will load  3 to 4 beads on a beading needle and dip the beads slightly into the glue. I do not completely submerse the beads in the glue, only one side.

I then just go about gluing the rest of the beads on the surface. The beads only go to the edges of the rock. I do not put them on the bottom of the rock. I usually just leave the bottom of the rock plain but I suppose one could place some felt or something of that nature so the rock wouldn't scratch surface.

Here is the completed tiger rock. I was very happy with how this rock turned out.

Here is my January rock. Last month I did the rhino. Another critically endangered species

Here are a few edge on views of that rock.

If you have any questions regarding these rocks please feel free to ask.  And I hope you will check back through the course of the year for more rocks and some of my CQJP as well.

Final Beaded Rocks

Well I finally finished my beaded journal project for 2012. I know it's two month past due.....but I did get them finished. First one is all done in all greens and blues. I love these colors together and as you can see it works well on the beaded rock. So here is November's beaded rock:

December's beaded rock reminds me of winter, cool blues, whites and silver.

In both beaded rocks I used some left over beads and beads of different shapes. Next onto 2013. Both CQJP and BJP. I'm starting a little behind but that OK. It's winter now in Wisconsin so there should be time to catch up. Have a wonderfully creative week   :)

Oct BJP

Well...I hope everyone had a wonderful Thankgiving! I just want to give thanks for all of you that follow and visiting my blog. I have meet so many kind and talented people thru the internet and my blog. I just really want to thank you for visiting here.

 

So, here is my beaded rock for Oct....yes still a little behind but catching up slowly. It naws at me to be behind. So now all I'll have is this month's rock (Nov) and Dec. I can't believe the year has gone by so quickly. I have already registered for next years BJP (also CQJP) but I haven't really decided what I'm going to do but I'm pretty sure it will be something completely different. That is what is so fun about beading. There are sooooo.... many wonderfully different things one can do with beads!

 

This month's rock has a little lizard hiding on a leaf like they would in their natural habitat. I've always liked reptiles. When I was a little younger I actually had a lizard with very similar colors as this guy on the rock. He was mostly green with a bright blue tail. Well, here are a few pictures:

 

 

And here are some pictures of my doggie just cuz she's pretty and I love her:

 

 

Hope you enjoy  :) And everyone have a wonderfully creative week  :)

Beaded rock

BJP September

 

Here is my beaded rock for Sept. I know that I'm a little behind, but this month I am going to play catch up. Just finished my bee rock. I decided on a honey bee this time because of the plight that the honey bee faces in this country recently. Honey bees are facing a serious crisis in our country right now and disappearing at an alarming rate and scientist are not really sure why. I think any of us that are gardeners knows how important this little fella is when it comes to pollination. Many of us have heard a little about the problem but we truly don't realize how serious it is. One of the suspects are the new hybrid plants that they are producing that have the insecticide right in the plants as it grows. I am a strong proponent of organic foods and eat organic when ever they are available. Here is just one more reason to support organic growers. Educate yourself about the food you put in your body. Eat organic and support Non GMO foods.

 

 

 Hope you enjoy my little bee and next I'm working on a little lizard. He's about half finished so stay tuned.....Have a great day  :)

August BJP

Well it's been awhile since I posted last, sorry. I have been working, working, working. August is always a ruff month for me and we always seem to be short handed at work. Good pay but long days. I have also been making earrings to sell at my local flea market for when I actually do get a day off.  But I have finally finished my August beaded rock. With fall in the air here in northern Wisconsin I decided to do a maple leaf this month. I think it's the best rock so far. It took awhile because I wasn't sure of the path I wanted it to take but in the end it turned out nicely.

 

 

 

 

I also made a lot of earring in the last two weeks to sell at the local flea market. I had to laugh because I took a few of my beaded rocks with me to use as weights in case the wind picked up. Those rocks were a smashing hit. People loved them. The rocks actually drew people into my booth (kids REALLY loved them) People would come over and touch them. As soon as they touched them they realized they were rocks and were amazed. I spent the better part of my day explaining how to do these rock. It was fun to watch people enjoy them so. Any ways here are a few photos of all the earring I have been working on. I wish my earrings were as much of a hit as the rocks. People like the earrings but they loved those rocks more.

 

 

Well that's all for now because I finally get a full day off and I have soooo... much to do. Like get started on next month's projects...lol. Have a great week.

 

 

P.S. If you are looking for directions on how to make the beaded rocks go to Jan and then go to the post titled 'Beaded Rocks'. There are no patterns but there are full direction on how to make the beaded rocks. Have fun with them.

June Beaded Rock

Here is this month's beaded rock. I was beginning to have beader's block with this month's project (kind of like writer's block). I really couldn't decide what I wanted to do. So I googled abstract art and found a few images I liked and decided to go with this basic idea. I enjoy working with a lot of color so this pattern appealed to me. I wasn't sure if I wanted to outline the circles in black or just keep going out with color out to the very edge. I sometimes like to use black in my normal quilting because I like how black seems to make colors 'pop'. Well, as you can see, I decided on the black outline. If I ever do this pattern again, next time I will continue using color out to the edges just to see which one I actually like better.

I had a very cool visitor last night. He/she is a Polyphemus moth. He/she stayed awhile so I got to take a few pictures. In the morning it was gone so I'm hoping he/she found its way to someplace safe. Last year I had bunch of Luna moths on my porch. I am hoping to see more this year and I have been keeping my eye out for them.

 I hope everyone has a wonderfully creative week....  :)

May beaded rock

Here is my May beaded rock. I had made a rainbow beaded rock for my daughter for Christmas this last year. I really liked it so I decided to make another one for myself. This one reminds me of a clam.

I am also including a photo of the back of this rock because sometimes people just are wondering. The shape of where the beads are placed around the bottom are where the rock actually sits on a flat surface. I am thinking that maybe I should put felt on the bottom here.

And.....I decided that while I had all the beads laid out I might as well make a couple of them for gifts for next year. Or maybe I'll do a blog give away with one of them? So I've been busy this month. And yes, sometimes I'm a little bit of an over achiever, but only because I really liked the rainbow theme on these rocks.

I also made a couple of refrigerator magnets for myself. They turned out OK. Not overly exciting. They are just some wood pieces with a magnet on the back. Not sure I will make any more.