Bead Soup Blog Party 8 Reveal!

Welcome to the 8th Bead Soup Blog Party, created and hosted by the absolutely amazing Lori Anderson.

 

 

BSBP 8 - Introducing Bead Soup 2!

Now that you've met my first (official) partner, Hajer, please allow me to now introduce my second (unofficial) partner, Bridget of www.shears58.net!

Long story short we both got ants in our pants waiting to hear from our BSBP partners so we decided to become back-up partners. Look at the luscious soup that Bridget sent me :

BSBP 8 - Introducing Bead Soup 1!

Since the reveal is coming up fast (this Saturday!) I thought that I had better shake a leg and introduce my two wonderful partners and the beautiful soups they sent me. So without further ado, cast your eyes over this very special soup sent to me by Hajer of My Beaded World :

The Final 7th Bead Soup Blog Reveal!

DIY Kumihimo Disc

I can't remember exactly how it came about, but a comment from my talented bead soup partner Karen Mitchell gave me the urge to have a go at kumihimo.

Being a wee bit in the sticks I can't just pop out and buy art and craft supplies at my nearest shops and being impatient and I couldn't be doing with ordering online and waiting for one to turn up. So I had a go at making one myself.

Tada! My amazingly crappy looking contraption made from an old CD, a bit of craft foam I found in my kids art box, copious glue and a now extremely blunt pair of scissors. But it works really well. I can't show you my completed items because they're for the BSBP party (although I have somewhat given it away in the pics above).

Now for all of the effort it took to make compared to how cheap kumihimo discs are to buy I would suggest just getting a new one but if you really fancy having a go at making one yourself then here's how to do it:

1) Get yourself a CD you don't mind ruining and measure the diameter.

2) Hop over to http://friendship-bracelets.net/wheeldesigner.php to design yourself a template. Set the diameter to your CD diameter and choose the number of strings you're going to use. Personally I would suggest no more than 8 strings because it gets way too difficult to cut enough slots in your CD for more than that.

3) Print out and cut out your template and lay it on top of your CD. Don't glue it yet! Draw around the template, using a permanent marker, onto your CD.

4) Using a strong pair of scissors that you don't really care about roughly cut out the shape you've just drawn onto the CD. Perfect doesn't matter here, the CD is there to give you stiffness and strength that cardboard or foam alone won't give you. And you need the extra cardboard /foam on top because the CD edges will wear your threads. So I recommend making more of a star shape than worrying about nice curved edges. You can see in my pictures that the CD ended up being cut to a lot smaller size than the final disc and that the slots in the CD are more valleys than slits. It's the slits in the foam that hold your cords/threads in place.

5) Now find your self a bit of foam, or failing that, glue a few layers of card board together and glue your paper template on top of your foam/cardboard. Once dry, cut out your kumihimo disc shape - nicely this time - and give yourself a wee bit extra slit than suggested by the template for extra holding power.

6) And the final step is to glue your mutilated CD onto the bottom of your foam/cardboard kumihimo disc. I can't remember what glue I used, some general purpose craft glue I think, I wouldn't have used superglue because I can't be trusted not to glue myself together.

Once your glue is dried there aresome nice easy instructions on the friendship bracelet site here.

All in all it took a good hour to make and another 24 hours for the glue to be properly dry. A messy make but it does do the job and I made some really nice things with it.

I had so much fun making kumihimo cords that I bit the bullet and bought myself a proper one online.

From making my own I realised that the thicker the foam, the stiffer the disc will be and the easier it will therefore be to use. No one likes a floppy disc! (Bad IT humour - sorry)!

And those tiny little ones might seem appealling because firstly they are the cheapest and secondly they are so weeny you can pop them in your pocket and take them anywhere. BUT the smaller they are, the harder they are to use and the bigger, 'normal' size ones are just as portable and fit nicely into your average handbag for on-the-move-anywhere-braiding.

So I highly recommend the 6" Kumiloom pictured above (no, I don't get paid for recommending them unfortunately).

It's way thicker than the beadsmith version and the straight, rather than round, sides make it a breeze to remember where you were if you have to put it down.

Last I checked it was around 8 US dollars I think (I couldn't find any available in Australia) but if you are just starting out why not treat yourself to a complete starter kit (about 30 - 40 bucks).

The one I got includes 16 bobbins, a proper Kumihimo book, the big kumiloom disc pictured above and oodles of cords and beads as well as clasps AND glue so you can whack out some gorgeous bracelets and necklaces straight away without having to buy anything else.

Sound like a salesman don't I?!? Sorry, I was so impressed with my kumi-kit that I had to share! Now the project kit I bought can be found here or search for "Kumiloom" on ebay.

If you're unsure that this is for you then have a go at making your own first and using bits of wool or even thin strips of old fabric.

As for me, I'm a convert and you'll see me regularly at the beechworth bakery kumi-looming with a coffee while my gorgeous kids are safely locked in the kids area!

 

What tiny hands can do.

For Valentines day Irish Mishly published a free Angry Birds video and my son and I made some for Dad. My son liked his so much that Dad only has them 'on loan'. I like them so much that I am sharing them with you.

All his own work and he's only five! He even put a red fence around the red one and made a white base for them all to sit on. My little artist!

Meanwhile my less-than-tiny hands has been having fun with my bead soup and I've almost finished two items. I'm really pleased with what i've done so far. Here's a wee teaser pic:

 

 

BSBP : A selection of tasty soups

I've finally got a bit of space and time to do some blog-hopping and eye-up some of the wonderful bead soups people have created. Here'a a wee selection of some of my favorites - click on the blog names to take you to the respective blogs for more info (let me know if the links don't work):

Artistry HCBD : Mmmm, look at those beaded beads and rich colours.

Lamplight Crafts : Turquoise is definitely the in color at the moment. Check out the fabulous glass swirls and how the color palette has been chosen to match.

Cobblestone Lane : The only other Penny in the BSBP! More turquoise, but this time matched with warm metals. Beautiful combination.

The WiggleButt Blog : Gorgeous earth and forest palette coupled with lovely nature inspired components.

Beautifully Broken Me : Beautiful, beautiful components and a burst of red and sky blue.

Mrs M Makes : Of course all soup requires a spoon. What an amazing handmade component!

Ida Louise Jewelry : Love this selection of old golds, peaches and browns and look! Some of those fabulous bicone beads that were in my soup from Karen Mitchell!

Beads, Fibres & more Goodness : Wow! A veritable cornucopia!

Pipa the Latest : Beautiful colour palette.

Stringing Fool : Lovely warm pinks and interesting shapes.

I could go on and on and on .... and I'm sure I will on another post!

So inspiring. What I find really interesting is the similarity in colour palettes and materials. Lots of turquoise, dusky peaches, earthy tones and natural or nature inspired components. A collective mind at work or are we all unconsciously influenced by fashion trends? Fascinating.

Fair to say I'm loving my first BSBP and am wriggling like an impatient five year old for the first reveal. Are we there yet? What about now? Are we there now?!?

 

Brief look at my attempt at soup...

Just so you can compare.

 

I think I did OK with the colours but it's certainly not on a par with what Karen sent me.

I'm finding it a really fascinating journey. Hopping around to look at the bead soups other people have created and getting a brief glimpse into their lives, dreams and thoughts at the same time.

My better half is finding it very difficult to understand why I'm so rapt with BSBP - which surprises me little since he & I met through work.

His mind is still required to create within strict rules. And yet he is currently embarking upon a very similar journey.

Not bead related, a much more typical 'manly' themed project but it elicits the same excitement in him and he is engaging with new people and learning new skills.

Despite our projects seemingly being worlds apart we have daily show and tells with each other.

These things keep us young and alive and I hope our passions inspire our children to constantly look for the new and find pleasure in the smallest of things.