Big Al's Planet Beaded Baubles

Here, I have strung up a fun group of brightly-colored lampwork beads with seed beads and small embellishing beads.  This is available at Etsy:   http://www.etsy.com/shop/BigAlsPlanet 

Needle-felted beaded embroidery

This was a fun process of creating an image of a horse (titled “Freedom and Will”) with felting needles and then embellishing with beaded embroidery.  One of the beading techniques I used here was peyote stitch with a varying-sized bead to create more texture.  This piece will be published in Heidi Kummli’s latest book on animal totems in beadwork.

I made a notebook from a wooden book with white pages, which I coffee-stained before stamping and writing notes inside. For the cover, I cut two pieces of plywood, each 8 3/4″ x 6″. I then cut a strip 1 1/2″ wide from the short edge of one of these, pieces to use as a binding. I hinged these two pieces back together, and then drilled holes through the binding edge where the holes in the paper line up. I wired the pieces together, and then added beads and tied on decorative fibers. The wood was then stained and rubber stamped with twig (hand-carved) and leaf images (Stampin’ Up!), using Stucco and Verdigris ColorBox pigment ink.

Hand-Carved Stamps

I drew a wild horse on the face of a stamp carving block, and then used linoleum cutters to carve away the negative space.

Paper Mache Boxes

Using round and oval papier mache boxes with rusted tin tops, I layered ColorBox® ink onto the box lids and then sprinkled them with bronze Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel by Suze Weinberg. I then heated the powder and added more, reheating until I had a thick layer of molten powder, and then pressed pre- inked, hand-carved stamps into the powder.

Field Notebook

These animal images were stamped into a “field notebook” whose pages were coffee stained to create the look and feel of an old book.

Using round and oval papier mache boxes with rusted tin tops, I layered ColorBox® ink onto the box lids and then sprinkled them with bronze Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel by Suze Weinberg. I heated the powder and added more, reheating until I had a thick layer of molten powder, and then pressed pre-inked, hand-carved stamps into the powder. I removed the stamps, allowed the box lids to cool, and then painted the boxes with Pearl Ex powders, using a soft dry brush. She also used gold Rub ‘n Buff to highlight the edges. After painting the bottom of each box with a base coat of acrylic, I sponged on gold paint. Images may also be stamped on the box with Ancient Page inks. Ribbon or wire may be used to embellish these boxes. Small wooden pegs are used for legs on each box, which may be painted to coordinate.