I finished it!!! Sherry Serafini necklace

Oh I'm so annoyed!!!! I've just stayed up an extra hour and a half waiting for the bloody treasury to open up!!!! and arghhhhhhh!!! it got stuck, and then I couldn't get into it again.... and now the treasury is full again!!!! argggghhhhhhhhhhh!!!!! the treasuries frustrate me a LOT!!!! :-)

So I cannot post my beautiful treasury... but I finally finished the Sherry Serafini piece "A Mermaid's Attire" I've been working on for... hmmmm....  what feels like a century!!!! :-) but was probably about a month, or maybe just a bit less... :-) (see previous post )

and here it is:

I really learnt so much making this, even though I really, REALLY do not like following instructions... which is probably why it took me soooo long to finish it!!!! but having said that... I thoroughly enjoyed making it!!!!! and yes... not right now, but I would love to buy another project, especially a Serafini one!!!! Some of you may have been following my blog since the beginning and may already know how crazy I am about her work.... and after making this piece, my love for her work has grown tenfold!!!!! To get a glimpse into her amazing work and technique was such a treat for me!!!!  The next best thing after attending one of her classes, which I would love to do!!! but am unable to for at least a few years!!!

I can't even begin to tell you how many mistakes/changes I made... but I really tried to stay as true to the piece as possible... and I think for my first attempt I did it justice... if I were to make another one (which I'm not!!! :-D) I'm sure I would not make most of the mistakes that I made, in terms of following the pattern backwards, missing rows, different sized beads and then filling all the gaps, that I'm sure were not supposed to be there, with extra beads.  But I am pleased with the outcome... I LOVE the piece!!!.... and best of all it's all mine!!!! and this is probably (and sadly) as close as  I will ever get to one of  Sherry Serafini amazing works of art!!! :-)  I already wore it this morning to my cousin's baby's Brit Milah... so what if I was a bit overdressed with it on!!!!  :-) I rarely go out at night, so I wore it for a breakfast thing! :-) and it felt and looked amazing!!!!!!!!  I really want to make a cuff using some of the new techniques I learnt making this necklace... so stay tuned! :-)

This is a very happy me (happy because I get to wear this gorgeous work of art, even if it is around the flat wearing my pyjamas :-D).  If you want to see what the actual piece looks like as it was intended to be by the artist, please click on "A Mermaid's Attire by Sherry Serafini" - I think I did ok :-) the one thing I'm sorry about is that I didn't have and couldn't find the large turquoise drops the pattern required.... but if you haven't seen the original you wouldn't really know that it was supposed to have them... but I still wish I used /had them :-)

Come back and see what cuff I'm going to make to complement this piece!!!

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend and happy beading!!! :-)

Breast Cancer Project - Part 2 + my love for Sherry Serafini's work :-)

Here is my second square for the Bead Artists Against Breast Cancer fundraiser organized by Jeanette Shanigan (you can read more about it and see my first square in my previous post Breast Cancer Project - part 1 ) Again I was thinking of all the things I love so I started thinking of the sea, water, lakes with grass all round.... I've always felt the most comfortable in life when I've been in water, I love it, LOVE swimming, can spend my life swimming, although I rarely get to swim nowadays, I'm usually watching my 4 year old who can't :-)  so that's how  my second square came about.  

 

 

 

 

 

This square was actually finished about a week ago, but have been busy with both my "real" job and I've been working on a Sherry Serafini necklace.... I actually bought the pattern of one of her pieces - A Mermaid's Attire from Bead Pattern Central, collected more or less all the necessary beads I needed for it - although I couldn't find some and had to substitute with the closer thing I could find or I was happy with -  and started beading!!!! and I can't tell you what a joy and how much I've learnt from following this pattern!!!!  I would really like to fly to the US and attend one of her classes... but as that is simply not feasible at the moment :-) this was the closest best thing for me :-)  I LOVE Sherry Serafini's work.... I mean I actually drool over  her work!!!! whenever I'm stuck or am lacking inspiration, the first thing I do is get all my books that have her work in and I go to her web site - her amazing work just does it for me!!!! I'm crazy about it, and I drive all my friends a bit crazy too talking about her, especially as most of them have absolutely no interest in beadwork!!! :-) anyway... :-D this is what I've been doing all week with all my waking free moments.... I keep having these aha moments while I'm beading... this necklace is just beautiful, and how she's designed all the different elements to fit, is amazing.  I've never followed instructions before to make someone else's creation, it's not something that interests me.... I like looking at the instructions to work out how it's done, but to actually execute the whole thing, to me, seems pointless.... as I miss out the excitement of creating something unique and mine! that to me is the challenge, not whether I can follow the instructions, which by the way I can't, as I have no patience.... even with this piece, which I'm madly in love with, I've had to make some changes, some out of me trying to correct mistakes I'd made without having to destroy hours of work, and some because I couldn't find the exact beads I needed so I had to substitute quite a few - and I'm a bit sorry about that, because I would have loved to have made the necklace as it is intended to be, but.... :-)
I am so glad I bought this and that I'm actually doing it, and not just reading the instructions - it's an amazing learning experience for me, thorough enjoying it!!! :-)

I'm not sure when I will have the whole thing finished - so far I'm about 1/3 of the way, but the next bit is using a technique I have not used before and therefore have no idea how long it will take me to do it.... but as soon as I finished it, I'm definitely posting a picture!!! so come back soon :-D

a new technique learnt.... a new necklace created....

I'm sooooo exited!!!!!.... I just received the most amazing book from amazon.... The Art of Bead Embroidery by Heidi Kummli and Sherry Serafini.... What a book!!!!!!! Amazing!!!!!! Probably one of the top 2 best beading books I ever bought! and I have quite a few....

This book is first of all visually stunning and also incredibly inspirational! The techniques are explained brilliantly.... in all, in case I didn't make myself too clear.... I LOVE this book!!!!!!! and I LOVE Sherri Serafini (http://www.serafinibeadedjewelry.com/) amd Heidi Kummli (http://www.freespiritcollection.com/)!!!!!! I especially LOVE Sherri Serafini's bead embroidered handbags... you must check them out!!!!! Simply stunning ART!!!! (http://www.serafinibeadedjewelry.com/handbags.html) I LOVE them for producing this book and sharing their work and techniques....

So after many, many hours of drooling over the book (I think that I may need a new copy soon), I finally sat at my beading table and beaded..... and this is my very first attempt at bead embroidery, and although not finished, and a really bad scanned photo, I couldn't wait to share it.... as soon as it is finished and Avia comes to take proper pictures, of course I will put it up for sale on etsy.... :-) but I couldn't wait till then, because I'm so proud and pleased with the result.... and especially how the back turned out... ( I used an old suede shirt, which I cut up, for the backing.... I like the idea of recycling my clothes.... I hated the shirt but I loved the suede, and now it's being used, instead of hanging at the back of my cupboard.... and there's enough suede there to probably do a few hundred projects)

I can't believe how natural it felt to bead embroider.... I guess I had some strange mental block against trying it.... but not only I took to it like a duck to water (thanks to the amazing book), but I thoroughly enjoyed making it and can't wait to start another one!!!! here is the result.... front and back... Looking forward to starting a new one, as soon as my schedule allows it :-)

yet to be titled (and properly photographed) will post the finished piece properly photographed at a later stage