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Maxine: Posted on Friday, November 25, 2011 11:04 AM
I was at the Reconnecting Arts & Community Event and wasn't able to get to the meeting to collect my bear, so he arrived in the post a few days later. This little "beanie bear" was a little thin when he arrived, so my first mission was to put him on a better diet and fatten him up a bit. Then I had to decide how to decorate him. As a beader (and as this was a Bead Guild Challenge) my first instinct was to bead him from head to toe, but then (in my over-imaginative mind), he would have been saved brom being butchered or milked for bile only to send him to the streets as a tortured Dancing Bear. This would not do! Then I thought if I had been a bear .... who had been locked in a cage or tied to a rope, what would I want to do if I was free..... ROMP IN THE WILD!!!! So that is what happened. My bear has been embroidered with a vine which has wrapped around him as he has rolled on the forrest floor and he has a bunch of blossoms on his bottom where he has sat in the meadow and wondered at the wildflowers and all the beauties of nature which he never envisaged during the terror and torment of his previous life. If you would like to help the Free the Bears Fund, all donations are used 100% towards the bears. |
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Maxine: Posted on Monday, August 08, 2011 9:30 PM
I designed this set as part of the “Out on the Town” Bead Guild of WA bead challenge. The Guild supplied the basic kit consisting of Czech M&M’s and Atlas beads, glass, filigree and stardust rounds, Japanese Miyuki cube beads and seedbeads. All beads in the kit are available from the Bead Company in Osborne Park. I purchased extra stardust rounds, Miyuki cubes and silver lined clear glass seedbeads. I had the Rose Montées from a previous design.  I am quite pleased with the outcome as the piece came out very close to my sketching with only a few minor changes made during the process.  I kept the earrings very simple as the neckpiece, although only in black and silver, is quite busy with the different shapes and textures. One of the bracelets is formed of spiraling silver-lined clear and black seedbeads, while the other uses the Japanese Miyuki cubes as the base and is embellished with different sized silver lined clear glass seedbeads.   Both bracelets are finished with smooth silver-plated toggle clasps while the neckpiece has a strong magnetic clasp for easy wear. Jean won the competition with a black filigree headband which she had embellished with components made from the beads in the kit. The pieces entered for judging were of a high standard, but the numbers were low, which was disappointing as the Guild had extended the due date by a month as several members had indicated they needed more time and then didn’t enter. I am now designing and making items for the Annual Bead Guild of WA Competition which this year, for the first time, will be judged by photos of the items instead of in “real” life. Click here to see my winning design from last year. |
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Maxine: Posted on Saturday, February 05, 2011 5:33 PM
 My Beach Bag was chosen as joint winner in the "Summer" challenge. Yayy!! Such a buzz to be judged by peers. Today was the first Bead Guild meeting for 2011 and it was nice to catch up with other members after a couple of months off due to the Christmas break. It was also great to see the variety of items and techniques used in the "Challenge".  The designs included necklaces, bracelets, a beaded mini bikini & beach towel scene through to my beaded and embroided beach bag. It was a delight to share the win with Jean. She is such a talented and lovely lady who incorporated beaded beads she had created from the kit into her necklace. Pictures of all the entries will be posted to the Bead Guild's site in the near future, so remember to check them all out. Remember the Bead Guild is open to all beaders and new members are always welcome. Come for a cuppa and have a chat with like minded people, bring an item you are working on, or need assistance with, or participate in one of the regular workshops. Hope to see some of you at the next meeting in March 2011. Love Maxine |
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Maxine: Posted on Wednesday, December 29, 2010 2:23 PM
It is finished!! My "Bead Guild Feb 2011 Bead Challenge" entry I got the package of beads and threads home and poked them around for a few days before I finally had an idea of how to incorporate all the elements into a single item.  The theme being summer - I decided to make a beach bag and use the items from the challenge to decorate the pockets. The bag itself is turquoise linen lined with emerald green ripstop nylon. It has a large pocket on one side and a smaller one on the other. The straps are long enough to wear across the body like a satchel (to make it easier when carrying other items in your hands - or trying to keep the kids under control)  The larger pocket has a garden scene with flowers and a butterfly. I have used the threads as stems and leaves on some of the flowers and in the centre of the large orange "hibiscus". The hibiscus uses the memory wire to keep its shape and be 3D. Above the other pocket, on the strapwork, I have wrapped the heart and flower beads onto the chain and added a "bronzed Aussie" face. The chain and findings are in both silver and gold and are secured to the bag with a turquoise satin ribbon. I used all the elements in the challenge package, plus added a few of my own items to complete this project. |
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Maxine: Posted on Saturday, December 04, 2010 6:16 PM
This afternoon was the last meeting of the Bead Guild for 2010. The next meeting will be in Feb 5th, 2011. We all took a plate to share and members who had extra items that they no longer needed etc, had a bit of a jumble sale. I wasn't going to buy (I always tell myself that I have enough things), but when I got there, Leslie had some lovely little white centred, clear size 15 seedbeads and a chain of lovely links - so I just had to get them. The seedbeads, I have been working something out in my head for a while so will use them shortly, but the chain will be added to all the others, just waiting for the right inspiration...... I was lucky enough to also be the winner of the annual "Bead Jar" give-away and have come home with some great loot. I have been sorting through them and already got some great ideas for some of them. Some are not beads that I would usually purchase, so that will make me think outside the box. We'll see what develops with those. This picture shows some of the beads I have sorted so far. The leaves in the foreground are interesting and have two threading tubes down the back of each one. Over the Christmas break the Guild Members have a "Challenge" to complete. This year's title is 'Summer' and from the beads below members can make anything they wish. They can use as much or as little as they like from the kit, and add more from their own stash, but they will earn points for each bead/item used from the kit. When telling us the outlines of the challenge, Di did say that she could be evil, and on seeing the amount of fibre and the colour combinations - I am apt to believe her. Still, challenges and competitions are a great way of getting the creative juices flowing. I will keep you posted on how I am going with this..... The kit contains, memory wire, chain, seedbeads, lampworked beads, bugles, crackle beads, pearls, flower beads and 5 different forms of fibre. Everyone participating in this challenge received the same items, in the same colours, but from past challenges there will be an extremely wide variety of finished items shown in February. Remember the Bead Guild is open to all beaders and new members are always welcome. Come for a cuppa and have a chat with like minded people, bring an item you are working on, or need assistance with, or participate in one of the regular workshops. Hope to see some of you at the next meeting in Feb 2011. Love Maxine |
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