Way, way behind!

I just finished my September project. I know, I'm pretty far behind but I'm planning to catch up fast! This is my first ever beaded project aside from kits and I'm pretty excited about it. Please visit and take a look! 

Sept and Oct Finished!

For those of you who are looking, I've posted both Sept and Oct, finished, on my blog here. They are both quite personal and reflect my emotional state for the past few months. I tried to explain about it in my post.

Thankfully, the BJP has kept me going and feeling happier. I do so enjoy reading all the blogs and being inspired by the wonderful work you all are doing! It's a blessing in so many ways!

Robin A.

Hi, I'm completely behind, so much has been going on in my life, I've been working a second job, which meant I had no time for the last couple of months, then our old dog died and we got a new kitten. I went to Rhinebeck (NY Sheep & Wool Festival) and took along what I needed to get started on my September page, but was so fascinated by the little coiled baskets I learned to make in the class I took that I spent all my free time making those.

I'm thinking that I could actually make them for my BJPs because they do incorporate beads, you can add beads as you make them and add beaded embellishments.

But I need to settle on something and start making my pages.

Not one, but two per month!

I've decided I'll try doing two pages per month - one more artistic, the other more of a journal/intuitive expression of my life right now. Thanks for your suggestions Robin!

See my blog for my Sept pieces, with one with beaded edges, the other mounted and framed.

For October, I spent a while planning out the artistic piece and worked on some samples - and promptly screeched to a halt when I realized I'd misplaced a hank of multi-colored beads I'd planned to use. Guess that project will have to wait a bit longer, until I've used more of the supplies I already have.

For now, its back to the drawing board. I have added a number of photos of completed and nearly-completed projects to my Flickr album.


Denise
Flickr

Completed September BJP

I've completed my September BJP called Returning Home. This is my first year participating and you can find it on my blog Plays with Needles. I really enjoyed viewing all of your completed pieces and "listening" to your stories. Thank you.

September page is done!

I have really shifted directions this year. Instead of working on techniques, I've decided to work on symbolism and expression. I've chosen a simple heart design and a phrase or verse from one of the Psalms to be the unifying themes for each month, and the size is tiny...just 4x4. And each page is very very simple. I like it...it's soothing to make them.

You can see the first one on Jewelry&Beading if you'd like :-)

September Update from Madeline

I have made some changes to my blog and posted an update on my September piece. I actually was able to follow Diane's instructions and successfully added the project button to my blog. For someone who is new to blogging this is a huge success. Another way I am building skills by taking part in this project.

I have my September entry partially completed and have not even begun to prep for my October piece. I am thinking based on my theme that I will need to go and look for some fabric and beads since, if I stick to my theme, I will need to buy supplies since it is not a color palette that I normally work in (at least I can look forward to the supply shopping--maybe that will help to motivate me). I am usually drawn to the cool colors and this will require me to move to another warm color (the orange family) which will be a stretch for me. To see a more detailed note on my September piece go to my personal blog.http://maddiemibjp08.blogspot.com/

September BJP08

Yay. I have finished my September page. You can see it on my blog if you want. Now that I am done with that I get to take a look at all the postings on these three blogs. See ya.
Timaree

Intro and progress

BJP newbie here :) I heard about this project just days before the sign up closed and I knew I had to join! Luckily there were still a few spaces left!! I had some swap obligations to complete, so i had a late start on this month's project, but it is going well and I am happy with it so far. Please visit my blog for my intentions for the year and to see what I've done so far--suggestions welcome!!

I have really been enjoying visiting everyone's blog and seeing the beauty in the sheer variety of ideas!!

Maria from Chicagoland

Done for Sept.

I've completed the September BJP, photographed it and finally got it on the computer. If you'd like to see it you can visit my Blog here.

I have to say, even with me being tramatized by my mistake, I really enjoyed it. I learned a valuable lesson (always good to learn) and am anxious to get going on October' page. This is quite relaxing, I must say.

If you do end up checking my page, please let me know what you think. Do you think it needs to have the edge finished or should I leave it as is?

Been busy stitching!!

See my blog for TWO BJP pieces (still got to decide which is final size) & a semi-finished UFO.

Denise

Mounting/Finishing BJP pieces

I happened across a link I wanted to share with some cool suggestions on mounting fiber collages that may change my BJP plans, as it has opened up some new possibilities and ideas for finishing my BJP pieces.

A call for entries has gone out for next year's Fiberarts For a Cause project - Collage Mania 2009. "All materials are acceptable, but collages must contain some fiber (paper, fabric, or other fibrous material). There are no restrictions on content or style. Art quilts are, of course, acceptable." All entries must measure or be finished to a size of 10x8", but they provide a FAQ on acceptable mounting options if your collage is not 10x8".

By the way, I did finish my first Sept piece, plus two more (all different shapes and sizes, however...). No pictures, posted yet, either. plus the FAQ I've linked to may change things altogether. So, I'm really not very far along in the making-a-final-choice-in-the-size-department. I'll keep you posted.

On the Move

I am on the move! On my blog you can see the start to this year and how close to done I am on the last page of last year. I've been trying to get around to see everyone's blogs. There are a lot! I will get to yours if I haven't yet. I don't intentionally leave some un-looked at. We are in this together.
Timaree

September

I've completed my piece for September. I was struggling with so many ideas and thoughts, as well as size and material. It's funny how things just fall into place just when they are needed! I settled on a finished piece of approx. 4.5 X 4 ... a little more information on my blog, http://faeak.blogspot.com/
There is also a photo on there.

Have a wonderful, beady week!

Bobi

A Huge Mistake and a Do Over

Over at my blog I am trying to keep an update of my learning process and my journal pages. If I could just remember to grab my camera....

I explained, painfully, of the mishap I had with my first page. I wasn't happy with the bezel I had done, but had decided to leave it anyhow so you could see it and hopefully, share tips for my next time. I finished beading my design (it didn't take as long as I thought) and was all ready to trim the excess and put the backing on. I know you are supposed to be careful here and I really thought I was. But....I did trim the thread. In a few places it seems. Loose beads everywhere. I ended up pulling out the stitching and will have to redo most of my stitching. While I was at it, I pulled out the bezel stitching I didn't like too. Turns out, I didn't need to bezel anything, according to a book I looked at, which was probably why it was floppy.

I considered scraping the whole thing and starting over with a new page, but this was my first one and I wanted it to be the first page. So after letting it sit for a couple of days out of sight, I am going to re-work it. It will be a tad smaller than my stated size, but that really can't be helped at this point.

Lesson one I learned: Do NOT trim your piece in the evening without great lighting.

The Dreaded "D" Word....

I'm thinking about one of my BJP pages and of all colors, I would really like to use a nice bright fuchsia and lighter tones, but of course, aren't nearly all pink to fuchsia beads dyed? Horrors! Who wants to put all that work into a project and have the color change right before their very eyes? So my question is for all the experienced bead embroiderers out there - have you dared to use dyed beads in your work, or even galvanized (not the new Toho permanent finish) for that matter, and did the color/finish hold up or did you regret the choice? Has anyone found a pink to fuchsia bead (preferably size 15/0, Japanese manufactured) that is color fast? Have you ever dyed your own beads? Does anyone have a not-too-complicated technique or bead treatment that aids color preservation that they are willing to share? Any advice would be dearly appreciated....

Greetings from the Pineapple State!
I'm so excited to be a part of the project this year and to see all the wonderful ideas and creativity of everyone come to life. I have been studying Hinduism lately, a culture and religion so joyful and rich with wonderful symbols, that these studies have now become the inspiration for my BJP. I haven't had a chance to read all the posts yet, so I hope I'm not duplicating anyone else's ideas, but there is so much to explore I'm sure many of us could choose this subject and still create many unique pieces. Warmest good wishes to all for a prosperous year of beading and creativity!

ON YOUR MARKS, GET SET...

...ACK! I'm so excited to get going on this! I feel like a horse at the starting gate! I've already posted some stuff to my blog. If you're a "looker" you can check it out here. If you're waiting until the end of the year, don't look yet! ;) But I've posted my theme, plan & some patterns there!
I also started a new label on my blog called 2008 BJP so if you hit that label you will only come up with the BJP stuff related to this new year...and can avoid all my other ramblings!
I'm just so excited about this next project, I couldn't wait to say ALOHA!!! ;)
And welcome to all the new members! Hi to all the returnees!
Warmest aloha,
CC

Labels

For this BJP year, I've already determined the acceptable labels for your posts. Please stick with these labels. It will take a few posts to get them all in the index. In this post, I've added all the months. If you post about your work for a specific month, you can use the appropriate month label for it.

The reason to limit the possible labels is because it's easy to get too many labels (confusing) or ones that are too long (hide the down arrow).

Hope this is OK with everyone. If you feel it's important to add a label, please ask Diane M. (our blog master) about it. Thanks!

Robin A.