Di’s tip: For many years I was a freelance illustrator, so when I’m inspired to create a new piece, I prefer to sit at my drawing board. I do a rough sketch, then a very detailed, scaled to size sketch of my design. I use a medium weight tracing paper with imprinted quadrille lines on it. It helps to keep everything straight and orderly.

   If there is an image on a blank shape to be incorporated in the design, it is prepared first. I then photocopy the blank, cut it out, and adhere it to the tracing paper. Metal stampings are put in position and traced around with pencil. This give me the size relation to everything else, and shows if something is visually out of balance. Sometimes I actually photocopy those too.

   At this point, I surround myself with the beads and components I have chosen to use in the design, so I may sketch some of those in also.

   The transparency of the tracing paper allows me to add to my design without ruining what I have so far. Here’s how; If you decide to change a portion of the design, take a 2nd piece of tracing paper and lay it over the original sketch. Add whatever you think might enhance the design. If it doesn’t look to your liking just toss it away. If it works, put that 2nd sheet under the original and trace those additions onto your original sketch. This saves a lot of unnecessary erasing.

   This sketching process is how I work. For me it makes for more thoughtful, planned designing, and creates a great road map guide to follow as I work.

Techniques used: Bead embroidery, & basic jewelry assembly techniques.

Materials used:

Seed beads size 11 & 15, large baroque pearls, small fringe pearls, accent beads, bugle beads, antique brass stampings & connectors, mesh chain, point drops, large fluted pendant, eyepins, crimp ends, image on metal blank by Alphonse Mucha, Nymo™ beading thread, Lacy’s Stiff Stuff™, Ultrasuede™ backing.

Taking pictures of your progress at different stages is a great way to document (and remember) how it all came together.

Right: The main elements are glued down to the Lacy’s and the image on blank. I like to leave at least 1/2” more edge of Lacy’s around my components than I think I’ll need, because sometimes designs change from the original plan. That extra beading area will be much needed for the addition of any potential  beads.

Above: My original sketch. You can see I penciled in the bead surround, the bugles, and the large pearls. It gave me a feel for how the actual beads would look when in place. It would have been much easier to erase them and sketch in something different, as opposed to beading without a plan, and deciding that I didn’t like what I had created after hours of work.

Bead Dreams 2007

Second Place

Finished Jewelry