Almost Done!

Here it is, the last day of 2011, and I have eleven of my twelve ATC's for this year's BJP done. I have the plans for number 12 in my head and, with a little luck, will have it completed today or tomorrow. Woohoo!


I've created a separate page on my blog for the ATC's I've made for the 2011 bead journal project. I haven't been very good about posting them as they were finished throughout the year but now you can see them all in one visit. Well, all except the last one. ;- ) I'll add it as soon as I can after I get it done. In the meantime, Happy New Year everyone!

Magpie Sue

The BJP 2012 is Ready

Hi everyone. Here is the moment you have waited for!! The 2012 BJP blog can be found HERE.

If you have registered for the next year, I have sent an invitation to you today.  Please respond as soon as possible so you will be able to post when you are ready.  I'd also like to ask you to visit the blog and make sure your name is spelled correctly and if you have a blog the link works correctly.  If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me.

Let the beading begin!!

Registration update.

There seems to be some confusion about the process of registering for the 2012 BJP. To send in your information, you must copy and paste the list of questions to an e-mail and send it to: beadjournalreg11@gmail.com You will not be notified of the receipt of your information until AFTER December 10th when registration closes. If I have not gotten your information when it closes, do not panic. I will work with you! Please be patient. Carol and I are doing our best. It wont be long now until you receive your invitation to post on the blogs, which is also your confirmation that you are in! Thanks! I hope this clears things up a bit. Tracey

PS. Forgive my lack of posting, I am going through a family crisis at the moment. Thank you!

this is my last piece for this years BJP A tree called life.
as you can see it's not finished yet it was supposed to be for august but I got so dreadfully behind on it I had to push it back until now.

it's also been the most technically challenging for me and so i keep putting it down in frustration!
on top of that it still doesn't look right to me, and I can't figure out how to "fix" it.
oh well, this was supposed to stretch my abilities and it has!

Last Spirit Doll this year!

Now on my Pinelands Treasures blog, my "Elvis Spirit Doll". It was loads of fun to make! Happy holidays to all. - Barbara

2012 Bead Journal Project Update

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! The first week of Registration for the 2012 Bead Journal Project has come to a close. As of today, Sunday November 27th we have 28 people registered. This includes 19 different States and 3 Countries! I will post an update every Sunday until Registration closes December 10th. Have a great week and get busy making your plans for the 2012 BJP! Tracey

July Finished! Count me IN!

.

Hi Everyone!

Huge thanks to Tracey N, our Mama Angel for 2012! Without her, there wouldn't be a BJP next year! I have registered and am really looking forward to another year of monthly bead journal commitment!

I'm loving the pieces I've made so far this year and am looking forward to quilting them together. Because of focusing almost all of my attention on my new book, due to be released next fall, I'm a behinder this year. I recently finished July and August. I just posted July's piece (see detail above) on my blog, here.

May you all have a terrific holiday season... many blessings,

Robin A.

Well, I'm Gonna Try Again!

Last year, I didn't finish but one object...and it took me ten months with my crazy life! But, it is done...and I learned a valuable lesson...don't GO BIG or you might go home! Ha! So, this year...I'm shooting for smaller is better! Here's my one and only 2011 completion!

I'm Just Saying "No" to 2012 BJP...

I'm not signing up for BJP 2012. All this year I did exactly ONE PIECE. When and if my life ever gets straightened out (unlikely, the way I'm living it) I'll maybe drop back in at some point. I wish everyone well who is (or is not) continuing on with this, and THANKS for the support and continued inspiration.

Reminder!

Just a reminder to everyone, Registration starts tomorrow November 21 through December 10th for the 2012 BJP. I hope to see you all next year!

Send the following information to: Tracey beadjournalreg11@gmail.com

In order to be sure your registration is processed, when you send your request, please include answers to the following questions:

Your full name, first and last.
Your web name or alias, if you have one.
Your email address. Please give us your “best” email address, one that is not likely to change during the year and one that you check frequently. (Note: we don’t contact you very often.)
Your home address.
Your telephone number.
Do you have a website? Y/N – If yes, what is the URL?
Do you have a blog? Y/N – If yes, what is the URL?
Were you a registered participant in any other Bead Journal Project? Y/N - If yes did you complete the project for the year? Y/N
If you are a new participant, where did you hear about the 2012 BJP?

Please don't think that you cannot participate if you didn't finish previous years projects. Thank you for honoring the process. We're all excited to be able to participate another year and want to ensure the process is efficient and smooth for everyone!

November done!

Did I even do October? it's been so long I don't remember!

oops! No I didn't, OK so here is Octobers!)

"I call it "a mind can hide"

this one? not much! there are more detail pictures and you can see them here

Registration for the 2012 Bead Journal Project

Registration for 2012 BJP begins November 21st through December 10th.

It’s wonderful that everyone is eager to join the BJP for another year! However, to ensure we are all set-up and ready to operate smoothly, please wait until the official registration date of November 21st to send in your registration request! Beginning Monday, November 21st, you can send a request to Tracey beadjournalreg11@gmail.com for registration.

In order to be sure your registration is processed, when you send your request, please include answers to the following questions:

Your full name, first and last.
Your web name or alias, if you have one.
Your email address. Please give us your “best” email address, one that is not likely to change during the year and one that you check frequently. (Note: we don’t contact you very often.)
Your home address.
Your telephone number.
Do you have a website? Y/N – If yes, what is the URL?
Do you have a blog? Y/N – If yes, what is the URL?
Were you a registered participant in any other Bead Journal Project? Y/N - If yes did you complete the project for the year? Y/N
If you are a new participant, where did you hear about the 2012 BJP?

Please don't think that you cannot participate if you didn't finish previous years projects. Thank you for honoring the process. We're all excited to be able to participate another year and want to ensure the process is efficient and smooth for everyone!

2012 Bead Journal Project

Hi everyone! It looks like the 2012 Bead Journal Project is a go! I think it will be a much smaller version, but in my opinion, that is a good thing. It will allow us to be a tighter community, a more supportive community, and will be much easier to closely follow each others accomplishments. I am pleased to announce I will be the "Mama Angel" this year, and will also handle registrations unless someone else steps forward to volunteer. I will be contacting other angels later today to iron out details, so look for more information very soon! I am excited for the new year of the Bead Journal Project. I hope you will join me on this adventure!

Where Are You, Mama Angel???

So far
twenty of you
said YES
to begin again in Jan!

A few want to
start later.
Only one said No.

Well, those are encouraging poll results! Not a big group, maybe, but seems like it would be a dedicated group. I say, let's do it!

Bravo to a few of you who said you'd be willing to help out! Carol, who set up the blogs last year, is willing to do it again. Tracy, I think, will help too. Now, what we really need is a Mama Angel to glue us all together, somebody who has time and energy to keep up with the member blogs and the BJP blog... posting, encouraging, assigning tasks, fixing problems... most of all encouraging. Where are you, Mama Angel? Please email me (robin at robinatkins dot com) if you can run the BJP for 2012.

Meanwhile, blessings to all, thanks for responding to the polls, hope to see you here next year!

xxxooo
Robin

..oops..erasing a blog i posted here by accident.

This Year & Next

I'm pleased and proud to say that I am more up to date with my Bead Journal Project this year than I have been in any previous year. I was all caught up as of August. For September I want to honor one of my maternal aunts who passed away that month. I'm waiting to see what little thing of hers I might be able to use on an ATC. The foundation has been set up for October's ATC.

While I've been plodding right along on my BJP, for some reason I haven't been that active on the group blogs. At times I've been too immersed in my primary artistic endeavor, quilt making. At other times I wasn't creating anything at all. Instead of seeking out inspiration from other beaders I was binge reading novels (not to be confused with literature!). In spite of my rather low key participation this year I wholeheartedly support continuing the BJP as a group effort. There is a camaraderie, a fellowship, that comes from a group like this. It's there to tap into if we need or want it but doesn't overwhelm or intrude unless we let it. Whether or not the Bead Journal Project hangs together as an official group I intend to keep making beaded treasures to record and document my life's journey. I enjoy bead embellishment too much to stop!

Magpie Sue

What About Next Year????

The year 2011 has whizzed by, hasn't it? I'm still working on my August piece, with September and October also started. Even though I'm writing a new book and my beading time is somewhat limited, I'm still planning to finish the year's projects and then stitch them into a wall hanging/quilt.

However, it's time to think ahead to 2012...

Do we want to continue the BJP? If so, do we want to make any changes in how it runs? I just added a poll to the side bar. Please "vote" your interest or lack thereof in continuing. If you have comments, please write them in a post.Thanks!!!

Beady blessings to everyone!
Robin A

I realize it is already October, and I just finished my July BJP!  I'm working madly on catching up and still having fun!  You can see my "Hot! Hot! Hot! July project on my blog:  http://beadsforever2.blogspot.com/2011/10/hot-hot-hot-july-bead-journal-project.html
Thanks for viewing!  Linda

Let's hit the seashore....September BJP

Hitting the surf in Virginia Beach when I was 16 left me with good memories and a new appreciation for ocean wildlife.

http://beadingheartart.blogspot.com/2011/10/bjp-september-virginia.html

september done

yeah I know I skipped august and I'm going to go right on skipping it for a little while longer. I did however finish september and you can see the whole process on my blog  here

I know it's been forever since I made a piece for the bead journal. The last project I was working on has been consuming all of my time. However I figured it could work for both my bead swap and my bead journal piece :) 

BJPs

I finished my Aug and Sept BJPs and you can see them here.  Sorry I'm such a bad photographer.  I read all these links about how to make good photos but nothing seems to help.  I missed getting the good photographer gene from my dad.

September finished early

This month's Spirit Doll was a nostalgic one to make. Hope you have a chance to take a peek at my Pinelands Treasuresblog. You may find her nostalgic too! Thanks... Barbara

Project for August

I have completed my project for August.  Please have a look at my blog if you would like to see what I've done.  Indigo's Beads.

Thanks! 

Lisa C.

Getting Caught Up

I have two more to make to be all caught up but I've made a lot of progress in the last few weeks! You can see what I did for February and March in my current blog post, and there are links toward the bottom of that post to the posts showing January, June, and July.

Magpie Sue

BJP Done

Hi Everyone!
I have posted to my blog my 2011 pieces. Because of time constraints, they are all done and can be seen here: http://heidibeads.blogspot.com/2011/08/bjp-2011.html (I obviously can't figure how to make a link so maybe cut and paste - sorry)

I haven't had much time on the computer but what I have seen I love. What an awesome group of creative, inspiring, thoughtful people. Thank you. I will check back as I can.

Heidibeads in CT where we are actually having a beautiful weather day!

August Finished

My Spirit Doll and BJP for August is now at the top of my Pinelands Treasures blog. I fell in love with the fabric at first sight and just had to make a doll with the theme. She was fun to make!

A new State joins the BJP - Nevada

Last month I had the opportunity to go visit my cousin Patrick in Flagstaff Arizona.  We took a little roadtrip to Las Vegas and in doing so, I had been to a new state to add to my BJP collection of state quarter magnets.  The inspiration for this month's BJP was so loud, I had to put it to the top of the quarter pile, so to speak and whipped up the piece in a day!

http://beadingheartart.blogspot.com/2011/07/bjp-july-2011-nevada.html

Strange But True...

... I have actually completed one page! This is the preview, and you can see the entire piece on my blog, if you like.

July Bjp

For my July BJP, continuing with my tree theme, I did a live oak with moss.  After a lot of thought, I decided to use embroidery floss for moss instead of beads and I like it.  There are enough other beads there.

June PJP Finished!

My purple thumbs seem to be greening, the subject for my June BJP!!! A bit more about that on my blog, here.

A very big beady project has entered my life... one that will take about 6 months to complete. While it's an incredible opportunity, it will suck my energy and time like never before. If you don't see me blogging and commenting as much for a while, please forgive me and know I'll be back as soon as possible.

BJPs this year are awesome!!!!

Robin A.

Kentucky Caves - June BJP

June's journey takes me back to being around 12 years old discovering the Mammoth Caves of Kentucky during a family vacation.

http://beadingheartart.blogspot.com/2011/07/june-bjp-2011-kentucky.html

~Lynn

June Bead Journal Project

Normally June is known as June Gloom, but not this year.  You can view my June BJP on my blog.

Whatever the sun has sung-July BJP

I haven't quite completed my project for July but it's mostly done!
the phrase for this month is whatever a sun has sung is you, and I need to add bells, to make it sing the right way, and a back with a pin so I can wear it and then it will be done.
and you can see it here in all it's sunny glory

July Finished

My new Spirit Doll for July is now on my Pinelands Treasures blog. This photo is just a peek. I hope you enjoy seeing all of her!

Macrame, anybody?

Sorry, this is slightly off-subject... or so it seems...

I'm looking for anybody in the BJP who does macrame with beads, especially done with finer (lighter weight) cord. Please contact me if you do. Thanks!

Robin A.

My piece for July

I finished my July piece.  It was quite challenging for me, but I succeeded in finishing it!  If you would like to take a look, please visit my blog at Indigo's Beads.  Thanks ~ Lisa

My May BJP - just a little late.

I call my May project "May Gray (with a little bling)"  You can read about it on my blog.

June BJP

I finally finished my June BJP - my apple tree.  See it here.
Kay

May - Totally Unexpected Results

I posted my May piece just now, one that turned out opposite my expectations, providing a shocking ah-ha revelation! Check it out here, and please tell me what you think about it...

I'm caught up with posting now (yay!) and am working on my June piece. I've also been catching up on your blogs and am utterly charmed with the work being done in the BJP this year!

Robin A.

April BJP Posted!

Hi BJPers!!!

Yay, I'm making progress, catching up finally! I just posted my April BJP piece here. It's quite different than my other "intersection" pieces this year....


I'll post May's piece later this week.

Cheers!

Robin A.

Bead Journal Project May

I finished it a couple of days late, I posted it even later!!!

A friend has commented that it is very different from my other ones.  What do you think?  It is the only one this year that had a plan of any real sort.  I;m not sure I like it as much as the random ones.  Would be interested to hear from you...

March posted finally

Hi BJPers...

I've been missing you all, but am determined to get back into blogging, especially reading yours.

I'm actually up to date, working on June's piece. Tonight I finally posted March, which is a very significant one for me, here. Below is a peek...


My goal is to post the other two finished pieces and get caught up reading your posts in the next two weeks. It makes me happy to contemplate this!

Robin A.

May Piece

I have posted my piece for May and you can see it on my blog. It is quite different than my first 4 pieces. I'm really late because we had a 3 week vacation. This one is about the positive effect of my divorce.

June whatever a moon has meant

I have put up the BJP for june here on my blog.
hope you enjoy

I'm still here :)

Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to let you know that I am still here, I have completed January - April and should get them up on my blog soon. Time just gets away....Hugs to all - Heidibeads

Finished my June project

If you would like to see what I created for June, please come visit me here.  Thank you!

~Lisa @ Indigo's Beads

June Finished

My Spirit Doll for June is now on my Pinelands Treasures blog. She's in honor of a new resident in the family! Thanks...Barbara

May

Done and mounted!
whew I thought I'd never get that one done!
now I'm glad I did some of my projects ahead of time It gives me a little breathing room for life and other stuff! ;)
not that that is going to last very long!
july is the last of my work aheads
so i will have to be extra vigilant not to get behind!
there's more of an explanation on my blog here.

Just checking in...

Hi Everyone... Just wanted to say I'm keeping up, nearly finished with May's BJP piece. But, I still have to photograph March, April and May so I can get them posted on Beadlust. Should be soon. Happy spring to all (except, happy fall to those in Southern hemisphere).

Robin A.

April Spring Piece

Here is my April spring piece. I tried being even more random then I usually am, and I like the way it turned out. Visit my blog for more photographs. Hope everyone is having a beautiful and creative spring.

Restart

I had a time-problem the last weeks and got bad behind with my project. I didn´t want to quit, so I decided to restart it with smaller pieces. I did the january and february pieces again in smaler size and I am ready with march, april and may, too, so I am happy in time again.

If you want, you can look here:

http://medousa.twoday.net/stories/18112454/

Greetings

Marion

April done and dusted!

 I didn't quite expect to finish my April piece by the end of the month, because we were moving house, but I did manage to do so with a couple of days to spare.

It's here.  I have chosen the focal piece for May but haven't sorted through colourways yet.  The house is hopelessly disorganised though I am managing to get a bit of crating time most days!

OOOPS

oooops. i posted something here that was supposed to be on my blog...i can't figure out how to delte it so I'm writing over it. If you know how to delete please help :)

April finally finished on 5/9!

My piece this month is about my year living on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. You can see it on my blog.

Slick Trick

The experienced beaders out there may have already know about this but I just discovered it for myself and thought I would share it.

I use small zipper plastic bags to store my beads. I bought a couple of hanks of seed beads the other day. It's always a struggle to get strung beads into the bags and not all over the floor. This time I had the bright idea to cut the strings of the hank over this pitcher (just a little creamer I picked up at the thrift shop one day).

For the most part it worked like a dream. The beads slide off the stings and into the pitcher. I'll admit that a few beads did get away from me but that was because I was trying to shoot the pictures while holding the top of the hank.

Once I had all the beads in the pitcher I was able to easily pour them into the baggie.

Because it's a small pitcher I didn't even need a funnel or anything.

I have no reports to make on finished bead journal projects unfortunately. I did January and have February partly done but I've been sewing quilts lately instead of beading. One of these days I'll get caught up and I'll invite y'all over to my blog for a party!

Magpie Sue

Baubles & Bits, May Project

I have finished my BJP project for May.  If you would like to see it and read about it, please visit my blog.  click here.  Thank you for stopping by!  And Happy Mother's Day to all moms of people and fur babies out there!

~ Lisa C...Indigo's Beads.

May Finished!

My "Spirit Doll" for the month of May is now on my Pinelands Treasuresblog.We can all relate to her theme, and I hope you like her!
Barbara

BJP so far

just to re-cap, I thought you all would like to see pictures of my project so far. as together they start to make more sense with the theme of the year


Januaries "I carry your heart"



Februaries "Wherever you go"


March's "Whatever is done"

                and Aprils "I fear no fate"

new BJP photos

I finished 2 more, see here for photos.  I'm experimenting with different ways to edge them, using fun yarns for these.

March Piece (Yep...still a little behind!)

I'm only one month behind now! You can see more pictures, and read about it on my blog. 

Have a beautiful day!

April's BJP is finished!

I'm getting better at this.  Not that this month's project is better than my 1st three, but for two month's in a row I finished on time.  You can see my April BJP HERE.

April 2011 - Go West Young (Wo)Man

My bead project journal journey carried me out West this month - to Arizona! 

Another one done!

How can it be April already??? I think this year is going to be a learning curve for me. Hopefully next year I will be a little better organized and get more accomplished.

This month I made one of my favorite fish cuff's. This is .hmm..maybe the 6th one of these I've made. Each time a new fish. Each time my technique improves. It's kinda fun to look back at them and see how each one improves. The first one I did I didn't even make my fish, I used a iron on fish and created a scene around it. So these creatures have evolved for sure. And I already am working in my head the changes I will make on the next one. Maybe by the 50th one I will be satisfied and not have to make any more :)

Here is a picture. If you would like to see more you can find more pictures here.
 

Have a beautiful and creative day everyone!

Adventure is Therapy

I finished my March piece several weeks ago, but just got around to putting it up on my blog. I am 70 and decided this was a good year to review the best parts of my life. I certainly do not want to wallow in the bad stuff. You can see my piece at beadyann.blogspot.com

april Bjp blog entry

the line of poetry for april's piece is, "I fear no fate for you are my fate my sweet" 
again this one stumped me for a while but I figured it out!)
I t was among the first three I finished in january when the initial inspiration hit me for this project.
I have most of the idea's mapped out (sort of!) and I am a month or so ahead but that may change at any time.
I'm not usually this organized, at this stage in the game I am usually scrambling to make the deadline and midway through loose interest or am so far behind I get discouraged, so this is a good sign!

and you can find it here 

March

My March piece can be seen on my blog here.  It really is this blue.  The polymer clay face cab came from a lot I bought on Ebay, I think, but as with all of them, too long ago to be able to acknowledge the artist properly.    The found object this month is, quite literally, something I found on the floor.  I have no idea how it came to be in my house, I'd never seen it before!  It is a millefiore-style glass button, cut on an angle, and it matched the face so beautifully that I just had to use it.  I love blue so I had lots of blue beads in the stash, in fact many more than I could sensibly use in an ATC sized piece.

It is finished with my usual encrusted edge.

Next month is going to be slightly different - still a face and a found object, but slightly different!

March Cuff Complete - Joyful Heart

This month's entry has been a true labor of love.  I am very proud to share my newest cuff bracelet created with the inspiration of The Joyful Heart Foundation and it's founder, actress and activist, Mariska Hargitay. 

Please check out my latest blog entry to learn more about this wonderful foundation and how it came to inspire my work.  Thanks for your visit. Your thoughts and comments are most appreciated!

http://lisafullerdsgns.blogspot.com/

Lisa

another paisley in progress on the may project and you can see it here.

March Bead Journal Project from BeadsForever

I'm improving!  I finished my March BJP on time this month!  It came out completely different than what I had in mind when I started, but perhaps my muse knows best.  You can see it and read about it on My Blog.

Thinking ridiculously far ahead!

This is jumping the gun a bit, but I just woke up with a marvellous idea for my 2012 BJP: an interpretation of Bartok's opera Duke Bluebeard's Castle. Go and read about it here, and if you're so inclined, prowl about on Amazon.com and listen to extracts, say this recording. I absolutely adored this opera throughout my adolescence, it's the most amazingly evocative work, dark and beautiful and bright and cruel.

There are seven rooms, each with a different meaning and assigned a different colour of light. Then there are the three previous wives, defined as representing morning, noon and evening. After that, Bluebeard turns to Judith and starts singing about, "The last one I found at night," with some really helpful imagery as far as beading is concerned (though of course it's creepy as all hell). So the seven rooms, the three wives, Judith and Bluebeard adds up to twelve. That said, the seventh room is the one for the wives, so that's repetitious as I'd be making individual pieces for each of them, but I'd work something out, maybe a piece for the castle as a whole. I could make my set shape a gothic arched doorway, and perhaps border each one with the light colour for that room. I have fond memories of a film version from about twenty years ago, where instead of the spare approach of the coloured light streaming onto the stage from each door, they had a whole castle with literal portrayals of the rooms. (The little model for the Kingdom was far more convincing when I was a child, alas.) The torture chamber was just a white tiled room where Judith could clearly see the torture instruments, even though they weren't there, and the streams of blood started as an eerie red light on the walls. The garden was simple but beautiful, with calla lilies (good choice, they're white and have pure lines and are usually used for funerals) and rippling celesta music and white birds flying around. Blood gets into everything in the first five rooms, I'm not sure how I'd show it but obviously something subtle with beading. It wouldn't have to be a strictly representational portrayal, I think I'd go for something more abstract and symbolic, which is of course entirely in keeping with the way Bartok approached this fairy tale to begin with.

And now I need to put the idea aside, stop getting excited, and get back to my big queue of quilts and this year's BJP! It'll be good to let that one evolve gently in my mind, and I think I will need this year to build up the beading and design experience before tackling it anyway.

Has anyone else used this sort of approach for their BJP? I'm still a beginner, so I just went for 5" squares of batik fabric for my first year, and am choosing colours and patterns as the spirit moves me each month rather than in any sort of literal journalling way. I know some people are taking a more structured approach, and I get the impression that this tends to happen once you're more experienced and have already done the BJP before.

April Finished!

My "Spirit Doll" for the month of April is now on my Pinelands Treasures blog. I hope you have a chance to take a peek. Thanks in advance!
Barbara

Getting ahead

i'm starting on may's project now so hopefully I will finish before the end of the month. you can see that here.

I'm still looking for the blog with the paisleys in the header so if you know who please let me know.

March's Madness

Here is March's piece.  I thought of this as I was finishing my February piece.  I am still waiting for April to manifest itself in my brain, I know it has something to do with pastel colors......

Working Ahead a Little Bit

I worked ahead a little bit and finished (well, mostly finished) my project for April.  Please take a look at my blog, Indigo's Beads, to see and read about it.  Thank you!

Febrary's piece "The Yin and Yang of the Heart"

This took me awhile to finish because I had to take some time out to finish another project I was working on. You can see it here.  I am excited about March, hopefully it won't take as long!

Believe it or not, I did actually finish this in February!

And here it is in all its glory. It was quite a hard month and I wasn't in the mood for complex beading, so I picked a soothing green and went for simple straight lines. They took longer than expected, of course, and not all of my bugle beading lines turned out dead straight, but the overall effect is still pretty and as usual, I learnt something from it (mainly how to get my bugle beading lines straighter!). I'll try to start the March one soon, the fabric I'm planning for it should be here any day now, as I hate doing this near the end of the month and feeling pressured by the deadline.

march BJP done!

I have, after an extensive course change in concept, finished my march project.
and you can see it here

New Blog

I just finished building my new blog and you are welcome to visit. My January and February pieces are posted on my blog

My New Home

My "Pinelands Patches, Beadscapes and Spirit Dolls" blog was accidentally deleted, and I was forced to open a new blog. In trying to get everything up and running, Carol suggested a test post here to be sure the link is working. It's called Pinelands Treasures. Clicking on that title or in the list of names on the right should take you there. I will soon have my April Bead Journal Project posted, but for now I've resurrected a few favorite older posts to get things rolling. Please let me know if you have any problems finding the new blog, and a shout of thanks out to Carol for her help! ...Barbara M.

Getting a Late Start

I'm getting a late start introducing myself, but I have finished my January and February pieces. Last year I only finished 7 and then life got in the way.

I've been beading for 20 years, the last 9 years here in New Mexico. In April 2009 I met Robin Atkins in Denver at the Rocky Mtn Bead Bazaar. Her inspiration launched me on BJP 2010. I hardly participated in the blog at all, but this year I want to.

I turned 70 in December 2010 and have been thinking about my life. My 2011 BJP pieces are going to represent events that had a large impact on my life. My idea is to write a bit about each and make a book with the pieces and the writing to leave for my granddaughter who is now 10.

My next step is to start a blog myself. I'm forcing my self to do this before I go back through all the posts and check out the blogs of those who have them. More when I get my blog up and running. Wish me luck!

Ann S. NM

March BJP

The March tree is done - a Weeping Willow.  I think I forgot to post my Feb one but it is on my blog, too - simpsonhome-kaysim.blogspot.com.

February ready

My February-Piece is ready, and you can look here for it. Please scroll down for the English text.

Better Late Than Never - February BJP

I just finished my February piece and blogged about it HERE.  Think red!  Thanks for looking.

Take a Little Road Trip with Me

My State quarter journey landed me in Pennsylvania this month.  Hop in and let's hit the road  - I'll drive and pay for the gas!

March BJP

Continuing the theme in February

This winter has been pretty grueling here in Michigan, and I needed to think spring and have fun with my February BJP piece. You can see if I succeeded on my blog. Thanks for looking.

February Finished!

I have finally finished my February BJP!!!! Thanks to all of you who helped with the shank button problem. I decided to use Robin's method of poking a hole in the fabric and anchoring the button with a ribbon. Go here to view my project and blog.

Dawn

Healing Hearts/in the pink

I finished my February piece a few days ago and just posted an entry about it on my blog HERE.
On to March!

march BJP started

I have finnally started on the "whatever is done" phrase for march! whoopie!
and you can see it here so here's to inspiration!

oh BTW still looking for that blog with the paislies in the header,
if anyone has a clue where to go I'd be much obliged!
thanks!)

1 down, 11 to go

I finally finished something..well sorta kinda.  I have been struggling to find out what I wanted to do for my monthly piece, and have started and stopped several different projects over the past two months. It finally occurred to me that we were coming into month three and I had nothing done, so in a panic I quickly put this piece together last week so that I wouldn't get booted from the group. So this is my piece, and hopefully by the end up the month I will catch up on my other two pieces. I'm not sure what it's going to be. It started out as a bracelet, but now I'm thinking I might use it to top a trinket box.

And while I was taking the photo of this my kitty, Juliet, insisted on getting in on the photo shoot. So here she is too!

Bead Journal Project February

I finished my BJP for February about halfway through the month, but haven't got round to blogging about it yet.

The face is yet another from a job lot I bought off Ebay, quite an attractive one I thought.  The found object has a history, this time - this piece of twisted wire, along with another one, were among my late father's effects.  I have no idea if he had intended to do anything with them but they have obviously been manipulated quite deliberately and I love the organic quality of the shape.  It went well with the face.

I chose a mostly green palette, including one mixture that included cream, purple, pink and mauve as well.  They went with the browns of the face and the copper wire.  This 'design' is a lot more organic than January's, because of the way the face and the wire spoke to me.  

Again it is ATC size, 2 1/2 X 3 1/2 inches, done on Lacy's Stiff Stuff and backed with ultrasuede.  I used my 'signature' encrusted beading edge again.

I haven't started March's yet, because I am about 2/3 of the way through crocheting what will become a felted bag and I want to get that out of the way, but I have chosen the face cab and the found object and the colours and I'm raring to go.  Next week, hopefully!

I Can Hardly Believe It's Finished!

It's only March 2, and I've finished my March freeform peyote cuff AND listed it in my Etsy shop AND written the blog post about it!

That's not like me at all.

Since my birthday was February 28, you might think I'm turning over a new, non-procrastinating, leaf. That's doubtful, but it sure is nice to have a project finished and not be racing against the clock on the last day of the month.

:-)

All set for March!

Please visit my blog at Indigo's Beads to see what I have created for the month of March.  Thank you!  And I also want to say that everyone's work this year is really wonderful!

February Journal Cuff Complete!

Well, I'm happy to say I kicked it up a notch and am now right on schedule.  February was completed on time... yesss!  ;)   Please check out my latest in my beaded cuff collection.  This month's theme is "confidence." 

Thanks~
Lisa

February Cuff
http://lisafullerdsgns.blogspot.com/
http://www.lisafullerdesigns.com

January project *finally* complete!

I have finally finished my first bead journal piece for the year. I was away on a trip for the first three weeks of January, so I had a (very) late start, and while I actually finished the piece a week ago, I didn't get the blog post up until tonight.

My January Penguins piece was inspired by my trip, and the trip may end up being my theme for the year - we'll see!

HELP!!!!

I was on track to finish February's piece but ran into "technical" difficulties. I want to add a shank button to my piece. I do not want to anchor it with beads like you would a cabochon because the edge of the button has some wonderful detail. I also have some hesitation in putting a hole in the fabric to let the shank rest under the piece. I have thought about removing the shank but then how would I attach it to the fabric? Is there a glue that would hold the button to the fabric?

Any info would be appreciated.

Dawn

February Freeform

I can hardly believe I'm still on track! Having the attention span of a gnat makes committing to an endeavor such as the Bead Journal Project quite a challenge for me.

My February freeform peyote cuff was finished a couple of weeks ago, but I've just gotten around to updating my blog.

Check it out! :-)

An update for February

Sort of a mix of an update on my BJP piece, my trip to Tucson and what I've been working on lately.
I'm aiming to finish on time, but you can't bead with your fingers crossed.
LINK
Cheers!

March Finished!

My Spirit Doll for March, the month of St. Patrick's Day, is now posted. You can see "Irish Chain Girl" at the top of my blog Pinelands Patches, Beadscapes and Spirit Dolls. I hope you like her! - Barbara

February is over!

February already is embroidered. Invite you to look at my blog: http://tanya-horosheenastroenie.blogspot.com/

Question

I found an intriguing blog the header had beaded black paisleys in it and now I can't find it again.
can anyone help me out?

January Piece Posted!

I'm a few weeks behind but wanted to get this posted to share my January piece.  I'm working on February now so am excited to share more in the months to come. 

Here's my January piece:

Here's my blog entry about my piece:


January Cuff - Spirit   (Thanks for looking!)

Lisa

Break Announcement

I have to announce a beading and blogging break. I will move. Hope to be back sometime in May.

Sweeeeeet - I Finished February Early!

Hi everybody!

This year I'm using the "X" shape to explore intersections in my life. This month it's all about my relationship with my husband... how our paths intersect. You can see it here. I'd love to hear your impressions if you have a minute to leave a comment.

Happy Valentine's day!!!

Robin A.

Encrusted Bead Edging

Several lovely people have left questions on my blog asking me how I did the edging on my January piece, which is photographed there.


I call the technique encrusted bead edging, and I sort of made it up.  I am a self-taught bead embroiderer and I muddled my way through books, magazines and experimentation.  I am under no illusion whatsoever that I invented this technique, just that I worked it out for myself and use it all the time.  If anyone knows who did invent it, I would love to know that so that I can (a) acknowledge them publicly) and (b) thank them!!!  I came up with it when I got frustrated with trying out instructions for a 'proper' picot edging.


In case anyone else is interested I have posted instructions on how I do it.  I will try to take photographs or something later because it is easier to show than to explain.  And it is VERY easy, perfect for the slapdash beader like me!


I leave a little gap between the edge of the Stiff Stuff (or whatever beading foundation I am using) and the main beading, then when I;m finished the beading I stick it down to the ultrasuede or whatever cut to the same size.  (Actually I stick it down and trim around when it's dry). 

Then I pick up about five or six seed beads at a time (depending on the size of the gap and the size of the beads) and loop it over the back, coming back up through the front.  It;s like doing a loosish overcasting stitch.  Sometimes you have to experiment with the exact numbers of beads, and if you don't leave a perfectly even gap, which I don't, some loops will take more beads than others.  I usually use a mixture of the beads I have used in the work, to pull all the colours/textures together, but there is no reason not to do it all in just one colour, or whatever really.

It's a fairly random procedure that produces a finish I rather like.

I carry your heart

Well folks Februaries BJP is done, you can see it here.
I'm a little disappointed with it, it's pretty but not what I wanted.
I wanted stunning and it's kind of plain.
maybe next month.

Bead Journal Project - January

I am rather pleased with myself. I;ve tried to do the BJP twice before - the first time I lasted four or five months, the second time I gave up almost immediately. But this time I am no longer studying so I think this will be the perfect year for it!

I am however hoping to return to full-time work soon (job-hunting is busily underway) so I decided to work on a small scale to ensure that I didn't get bogged down. I've chosen to do densely beaded ACT size pieces. After some idle thinking I decided I wanted to base them all around faces, as I have a box full of assorted face cabachons that I have collected from various online sellers that were just crying out to get out of that box! And once I had started, the thought came to me of Face and Found Objects.

January uses a face from a collection of grotesques that I bought when I was doing my final exhibition pieces for my Diploma of Studio Stitch Textiles.  I used some to create a piece inspired by The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, in which the design was based to some extent on the sets for the movie, which were rather distinctively Art Deco.  I decided to use one of these grotesque faces for my January piece, and beaded around it in similar colours and shapes to those I used for that exhibition piece.

The Found Object part of it came to me while I had already started, and I must admit that the button I used was, quite literally, the first 'found object' that I 'found' after making the decision - it was lying around on the table I keep the television on.  I decided that I would not make a big thing out of the found objects for my pieces - I will choose the face carefully but the found object has to come serendipitously.  The button in this one looks like it has come off a man's shirt but has no specific meaning to me.  It could have fallen off one of George's shirts, or just been one of the many and varied stash buttons that I organised recently.

I did the front on a piece of Lacy's Stiff Stuff slightly coloured with watercolour pencils in shades to match the beads, just in case anything showed through, and backed it with a piece of complementary Ultrasuede. I finished the edges with a crusted beading edge.  I have tried quite a lot of beaded edges but I always come back to this one, which is both the easiest and, in my opinion, the most opulent.  Plus it has the great virtue of being so flexible that you can cover up unevenness in the original embroidery and no-one is any the wiser!

Pictures here if you are interested:

January 2011

I finally finished (I think) January's BJP piece. You can see it on my blog. I'm working with printed fabrics this year and trying to let my fun side show. Good luck and happy beading to everyone in 2011!

My February Project is Done

If you would like to see pics of what I have done, please visit my blog here.  Comments and feedback are appreciated...would love to know what you think.  Thanks!  :)

January's piece

I'm Robin (aka Beadmomma) from Charlotte, NC.  I have finished my first piece and you can see it here on my blogspot.  I am enjoying looking at everyone else's and I do admire the time it takes to have finished more than one!

February Finished!

My Spirit Doll for February is now on my blog. You can see "Crazy Quilt Girl" here Pinelands Patches, Beadscapes and Spirit Dolls. Thanks in advance for visiting!

Pack your bags - we're off to California!

My state quarter for February came up as California - it was a tough trip for me.  At first I thought my piece was only going to remind me of what an awful experience it was, but thankfully I was able to eek out the little bit of beauty I found while there.

February 2011 BJP - California

January BJP finished!

You can read about and see my finished January project on my blog.  Only 1 day late!  Yay!

My BJP January Project

It's finished! I decided to use the Bead Journal Project as an inspiration to create a freeform peyote cuff for each month, using the month's birthstone as the primary color.

So I created a January cuff!

Now it's time to get started on February's project.
:-)
MaryLou

i chose the E.E. Cummings poem; i carry your heart with me, as a thread to hang my project on. the poem has been one of my favorites and it really does tie together my life for the last year.

January is done and you can see it here,

the poem starts off with,
I carry your heart with me (i carry it in my heart)
I am never with out it

I am excited to be a part of this years BJP and hope you all will be just as excited with my little offering

Flora Goodson
A.K.A. mommabear
http://florasbeecrazyquilter.blogspot.com/

FINISHED JANUARY BJP TOO

Here is my January BJP. It was fun to do and I am looking forward to working on February's.

January finished too

Here is my January-BJP. The site is in german, but please scroll down for translation (I hope with not so much wrong...)

January finished

Here is my January BJP page.

January Finished!!

I'm exploring intersections this year! Please come take a look, here.

It's so exciting to see everybody's work being unveiled... Such fabulous inspiration and creativity... OMG! I'm in beady heaven!

Robin A.

Another January Finish!

I completed my ATC-size project for January on Saturday. Whooppee!! I'm pleased with the way it turned out. I'm even happier about the tiny little easels I found to display my handiwork. Come on over to my blog to see what I've done! :- )

Magpie Sue

A quick question

Sorry there are no pics yet on my blog for my January piece. I have an idea and have been making notes all month and should get some time later this week to really sink my needle into some beads :)

The question: Anyone know how to create a button that links to the BJP Facebook page? I created a link for my blog and it looks like ... a link, lol. Just wondered if there was a way to spruce it up some.

Love what I am seeing, per usual. So much talent out there!! Makes me want to get my mittens on right now ... haha!

Thanks for any responses :)

Keep your needles threaded!

Bobi

January Finished.

Pics and words for "Just Beneath the Surface"  HERE.
I have no idea what I'm doing for February, but I have a bunch of beading to do in the meantime.
Cheers!

January Finished!

I've decided to make a Spirit Doll for each month as my Bead Journal Project for this year. You can see "Music Girl Spirit Doll" for January on my Pinelands Patches, Beadscapes and Spirit Dolls blog. Thanks for visiting, and I hope you like her!

First piece done!

I have completed January!



You can read more about it at my quilting blog here. Very brief version: the grey/blue batik called to me, no doubt due to all the snowy weather we've been having, and I decided to play around with circles. When I was nearly finished, I realised that I'd created the "I saw three suns in the bright cold sky" song from Schubert's Winterreise cycle, something I spent a great deal of my teenage years singing. This is my first year doing the BJP and I am very much a novice beader with plenty more to learn, but I'm rather proud of how this came out, wonky beading lines and all.

ETA: I have now moved my quilting blog to Dreamwidth instead of Livejournal, so anyone who tried to access it before and was put off by the ads should be fine with the new link.

A beginning

I have started my January page. You can see the beginning here and here.

Making Progress

Where I Am.  Not just some progress pics, but way too many words about Making Stuff.

BJP

This is my first year in the BJP and I think it is going to be so much fun.  I love to quilt and bead.  I have done my first one and you can see it on http://www.simpsonhome-kaysim.blogspot.com/.  I think when the year is over, I will put them together in a little booklet.
Kay S.

Catching Up...

I finished my December 2010 page, and it can be seen on my blog. I only have Sept. left to do from last year, and I will be done with that late this month or sometime in Feb/March. Right now though, I'm working on January 2011.



-- Lois2037 (listed as Lois B on the sidebar)

January is ready!

This year I first joined the BJP.  I love to embroider and thread and beads. January embroidered with great pleasure. Details can be found on my blog: http://tanya-horosheenastroenie.blogspot.com/

Hello

Hello to all! I am excited to be on this beading journey with all of you.  I have been beading for 40 years and have never done anything like this and I am looking forward to having fun with it.  I finally have my size and theme figured out, now to bead it...

Hi - Robyn from Newcastle, Australia

I'm not sure I know what I am doing here! My first encounter with BJP came via Robin Atkins' books that I saw at a workshop I did in 2009. I had already fallen in love with beads and wanted to learn more about bead stitches (peyote etc) and bead embroidery. I spent the whole night poring over Robin's books and my life has never been the same since! This year as part of my quest to live a more creative life, I decided to register for the first time in BJP even though I am starting another course with Jude Hill in January. I foresee late nights and semi-blindness in my future because I want to start off by actually doing my piece on time! I am really looking forward to being part of the BJP community.

It's good to be back!

I see a lot of familiar names here at the BJP - whee!  Here we go again!!

I'll try to document what I'm up to, with extra fortified beading berries, on My Blog.

Cheers!

My first year in BJP

Hi All,
I'm new to the BJP this year. There was a sharp learning curve for using the Google account, and figuring out how to post to this blog. Sigh...

DH and I just got back from a three-week trip, and I leave again tomorrow for Callaway Gardens School of Needle Arts. So I haven't settled down to starting my January BJP "page". I have been thinking and journaling ideas for my project(s) and have decided to explore layers and color this year. Since I would like to do the BJP pages in conjunction with a Master Craftsman in Color through the Embroirders' Guild of America, the exploration of color will be my primary focus.

I'm looking forward to actually producing work instead of just imagining it. The BJP will give me the push I need to get projects done.

Here's to a fruitful and prosperous New Year!

CathieB

Okay, today I made up my mind!

And...my approach will be somewhat unorthodox at best. If you really knew me, that would not come as any surprise at all!
I thought long and hard, and the idea of a "journal" just didn't feel right for me. I don't journal first off, and can't usually find a post-it-note when I need one. Oh, I have journals, notebooks, memo pads...dozens of them! But, I can never remember which one I used for what!! So, having a "journal" of my beaded work seemed like a dust collector to me...and that really gave me pause to figure out what to do.
So, my journal will be different...not at all the same shape each month...although each will be stitched to the same size piece of felt. What I finally decided is that I wanted to bead objects that I could and would eventually really use. I always have tons of projects underway...embroidery, quilts, crazy quilts, jewelry...so what to do?? In the end...I will create a project each month...that I can incorporate into my crazy quilts by "releasing them" from their original felt journal page. And, they will follow a theme...but I'll keep that a secret for now. I will post about it on my blog...www.shawkl.com...after I take some photos first. But, if you want to check it out this weekend...perhaps the idea will inspire you too...if you are still on the fence!

Saying Hello

it is my first year with the BJP and I´m happy to be here. Beading is a loved passion of mine for years, but I have never done a longer lasting project and find it interesting to do it.
At the moment I´m working on the January-Part and I´m about half ready.

Blessings

Marion

Oh my goodness - just feel that love!

I am so blown away by the wonderful comments I received on my very first BJP piece.  I am speechless (writeless?  wordless? - what is the proper term when blogging and you just can't find the words to express your emotions?)  Well, you get my meaning, right? 

Anyhow, Thank You from the bottom of my beading heart.  You girls Rock!  Being part of the BJP community is the best kick-off to a new year for me!

xoxo

Another newbie

Hi everyone! This is my first year doing the BJP, and I'm really looking forward to it. I'm fairly new to beading, and I tend to get stuck creatively, so I'm hoping this will give me the required shove to just get on with it. The photos of everyone else's bead journals have been extraordinarily inspiring to me.

I've been doing the odd bit of embroidery for years and got into quilting in a big way about three and a half years ago. Funnily enough, it was the prospect of beading that got me interested in a quilt idea last year, and I had great fun making the quilt and getting beading books and learning a bit about beading. You can see the quilt in question here; the beading is simple but it's definitely what the quilt needed. That's also my main journal, by the way, with a link to my quilting journal, and the latter is where I'll be doing the beading blogging. If anyone else is on LiveJournal, I'll probably cross-post to the fabric_journals community there, as I have a few friends who are keen on doing art journalling of one sort or another this year.

I do find that beading is an even more obsessive activity than quilting, and also rather conducive to eyestrain, so I'm deliberately not going to take on too small a size for the BJP as I don't want to end up solidly encrusting the pieces. At the moment, I'm thinking of beading as something I can incorporate into quilting, although no doubt it will take over and tell me what to do! I don't really have a theme in mind, I think I'll pick a piece of batik every month and see what it says to me, perhaps try a new technique every month, and as yet I have no idea what to do with the finished pieces so I'd like to keep my options open. 5" square is a good size, I believe? Since I'm likely going to be making the pieces into a quilt later, and right now I still hand-sew everything and don't want too many layers to fight through, I was thinking of basting the fabric to some white flannel for stability. I'll be using a Q-snap frame as ever - the size of the pieces will probably be related to which frame size works best! If the Q-snap doesn't work without batting, it'll probably be an 8" or 10" round embroidery hoop, assuming they don't distort things too much? Any advice for a newbie?

Hello Everyone!

Hi, I'd like to introduce myself ~~  My name is Sherri White and this will be my first year participating in the BJP.  I've read about it; looked at blogs and photos for a few years now and this will be my year to jump in and give it a try.  I'm working on my page for January and it's progressing nicely.  One of my goals is to incorporate more spontaneity into my work.  It's not going to happen in January!  ;-)  I have a tendency to plan and over plan...   This project will force me to work at a pretty fast pace and I'm looking forward to a great learning experience.   I'm also looking forward to making some new friends here too!