Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Extended Beads

While making the altered book front cover, I wanted to make a cracked utee piece for the front of it, and melted some clear utee with flex in it in my melt pot. Then, I thought lets make one of Claudine's sticky back canvas beads as shown here, while the pot is hot. It is so easy to get sidetracked! So while making the book cover and painting canvas for beads, I am also cooking dinner, listening to the tv... is this what is called multi-tasking?..lol
I digress. I had painted a couple of strips of canvas and followed Claudine's instructions, and made the beads. I did stamp on them too with one of the swirls from The Artistic Stamper, so when I rolled them up, the stamp in black showed up. I liked the effect. But I had seen Suze's comment about dipping them in utee, so as the pot was hot, I threaded them on a knitting needle, and dipped and rolled them in the hot clear utee. Pulling them out of the pot, the utee had clung to the end of the knitting needle and as I had covered the needle in embossing ink, when cooled the whole bead including the end slid off the needle! I was so pleased as the bead had an end! You could cut off this end while warm, but I liked it so much, I filled it up with Suze's Waltz beadazzles! I then superglued in an eyepin, and had what I call my extended beads!


I did make 2 versions, and one s fatter and shorter than the other. Of course you could use beads rather than the canvas, or paper or almost anything you like. My photos are rather rubbish, but you get the idea.
A Claudine, Leandra (she is the inventor of Leandra beads) bead with a twist! Maybe a technique called the CLJ... mind you sounds a bit pretentious.....Have absolutely no idea if this has been done anywhere else, but I love the idea of adding the bedazzles,or any other component and when I get my meltpot out again I will be making more and and trying to refine it too. Would love to hear what you think,

5 comments:

PaperArtsy said...

Wow, this works really well Jennie. Loving those bedazzles in the recess. Good thinking!! Leandra

Hazel said...

This worked out so well, Jennie - it's inspiring me to have a go - just watched the vid and might get my melt pot out again x

Suze said...

holy moley...brilliant...Now I feel a need to rush up to the craft room and give it a go.
Another wonderful evolving idea

House of Hullabaloo said...

Those are beautiful! It sounds hard though. How can you do that many things at once?

Minxy said...

This is awsome Jennie, sorry i've not been by lately, looks like you've been keeping yourself busy though, great new pieces, you can really tell you had fun learning and now showing off all your ranger skills xx